OpenVPN keeps on turning itself off

[Ralph Sieber]

Thanks. Change "Username / Password Auth. Only" to No.

Alright that didn't help. Was off again this morning.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

Alright that didn't help. Was off again this morning.

Give VPNMON-R3 a try, please. It keeps the connection going. And it will likely tell you why your connection keeps failing in its logs.

 

[Ripshod]

Give VPNMON-R3 a try, please. It keeps the connection going. And it will likely tell you why your connection keeps failing in its logs.

And also by email if you set that up.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Alright that didn't help. Was off again this morning.

Attach a copy of the entire System Log (System Log - General Log > Save) so that we can see the cause.

 

[Ralph Sieber]

Here it is.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Here it is.

I think I've seen this problem reported before. What is your "WAN Connection Type" set to? Is it "Static IP"?

If it is Static IP can you change it to "Automatic IP", reboot the router, and then see if the VPN client has started correctly?

 

[Ralph Sieber]

I think I've seen this problem reported before. What is your "WAN Connection Type" set to? Is it "Static IP"?

If it is Static IP can you change it to "Automatic IP", reboot the router, and then see if the VPN client has started correctly?

I think it is not even trying to start after reboot.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I think it is not even trying to start after reboot.

This looks like the other problem I've seen reported. I had hoped that changing your WAN connection type would work around it. I've never been able to recreate this problem myself so I've been unable to diagnose it further.

Other than wait and hope for a firmware fix I think you'll have to use the script solution in either post #6 or post #7. I'd also suggest that you disable your nightly reboot as that should not be necessary.

 

[Ralph Sieber]

I am thinking to get a new router.
Is this a general problem with Merlin or particularly for this model?

 

[L&LD]

Have you tried the latest firmware for your very old router?

Home | Asuswrt-Merlin

asuswrt-merlin.net

It seems to be worth performing a full reset on your router, particularly if you haven't done one recently.

Is it a good idea to keep up with Firmware updates?

I have had issues in the past when updating firmware and Internet speed, But it may have just been a fluke, Should I keep up with the updates? If so On all routers or the nodes as well? What about ones acting as access points? Thanks

www.snbforums.com

 

[Viktor Jaep]

I am thinking to get a new router.
Is this a general problem with Merlin or particularly for this model?

Along with @L&LD's suggestion on doing a fresh reset with the latest firmware... yes, you probably still will have issues down the road, no matter the hardware or firmware. The VPN slider is a very manual process. If something goes wrong, the connection will either just die, or it might restart. There is really no telling depending on the situation. This will require you to manually force the VPN slider switch back to the "on" position. I have a theory that this functionality wasn't really meant to be used for full-time VPN connectivity, but just sporadic use, where you would slide it on/off when you needed it... and if it does die, that it dies gracefully without trying to reconnect and possibly bringing your ability to use your router/internet down with it.

If you need help with VPNMON-R3, just ask. I'd be happy to help you walk through the steps on getting it up and running. It has literally brought years of peace of mind giving me nearly 99.9999% VPN connectivity uptime.

 

[Ralph Sieber]

Thank you both.
I could give it a try, but I am also afraid it will not fix it permanently.
That's why i am asking if it is Merlin or the router model. What's your experience with the AX-86U or AX-88U?
Might be switching to WireGuard.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

Thank you both.
I could give it a try, but I am also afraid it will not fix it permanently.
That's why i am asking if it is Merlin or the router model. What's your experience with the AX-86U or AX-88U?
Might be switching to WireGuard.

I can only lead a horse to water... but it's in your court if you want to try or not. Frankly, it doesn't matter what router or firmware you choose. It comes down to the SOHO, or better yet, consumer-grade VPN functionality implementation on Asus' part. VPNMON helps it function more reliably.

 

[Ralph Sieber]

So the new VPN features Asus advertises for these models (VPN Fusion) aren't any better?

 

[Viktor Jaep]

So the new VPN features Asus advertises for these models (VPN Fusion) aren't any better?

"VPN Fusion" on stock Asus is basically "VPN Director" on Merlin FW. I can't speak to it, since I've never run stock. But if it's using the same VPN functionality on the back-end, you will be dealing with the same level of reliability.

 

[CaptainSTX]

So the new VPN features Asus advertises for these models (VPN Fusion) aren't any better?

I am running VPNMON-R3 just to be sure all three of my VPN clients stay up most of the time. When I check the stats from VPNMON I normally see that at least once a week some or all of the clients have been restarted. I am using an 825 ms ping time so as to not be overly aggressive on restarting but even then all clients seem to need restarting. In the time I have been using VPMON there has only been one client that VPNMON could not restart even though it was relentlessly trying.

I use the VPN clients on my router primarily for my IoT devices as I don't want them associated with my WAN IP in case the devices are phoning home. However, it is important to me that devices such as my thermostat maintain 24/7 Internet connectivity, so even with VPNMON installed I still have not enabled the kill switch.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

I am running VPNMON-R3 just to be sure all three of my VPN clients stay up most of the time. When I check the stats from VPNMON I normally see that at least once a week some or all of the clients have been restarted. I am using an 825 ms ping time so as to not be overly aggressive on restarting but even then all clients seem to need restarting. In the time I have been using VPMON there has only been one client that VPNMON could not restart even though it was relentlessly trying.

I use the VPN clients on my router primarily for my IoT devices as I don't want them associated with my WAN IP in case the devices are phoning home. However, it is important to me that devices such as my thermostat maintain 24/7 Internet connectivity, so even with VPNMON installed I still have not enabled the kill switch.

Thanks for providing some details on this, @CaptainSTX! What VPN provider are you using? After having switched away and switched back to NordVPN, I can safely say that they don't have the best up-time record... their servers cause a restart at least 2x a day I'd say. The AirVPN servers on the other hand have been rock solid for me.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Thanks for providing some details on this, @CaptainSTX! What VPN provider are you using? After having switched away and switched back to NordVPN, I can safely say that they don't have the best up-time record... their servers cause a restart at least 2x a day I'd say. The AirVPN servers on the other hand have been rock solid for me.

I use StrongVPN. The client that requires the most frequent restart is in Stockholm which is 4000+ miles distant with a typical 140 ms ping time. The Stockholm client requires a restart every 2-3 days. The domestic servers I connect to are normally good for 3-6 days.

Again, VPMON is an excellent addon application. Thank you!

 

[CaptainSTX]

Have a small issue.

Had problems with my VPN clients and in order to repair I removed VPNMON.

Got my three clients working again and then reinstalled VPNMON-R3 including the options that I had before.

The issue I would like to fix is to show the time each tunnel has been up. Currently it is showing this only for client 1 and no times for clients 4 & 5. Previously it was showing times for all clients. I use StrongVPN and I have only have one server for each client which is part of the ovpn file they provide. I do not kill the connection if a tunnel goes down.


Slot | Mon | Svrs | Health | VPN State | Public VPN IP | Ping-->VPN | City Exit / Time
-------|-----|--------|--------|--------------|----------------------|------------|---------------------------------
VPN1 | [X] | [0000] | [ OK ] | Connected | xxxx.xxx.065.005 | [0039.909] | Dallas: 0d 13h:00m
VPN2 | [ ] | [0000] | [n/a ] | Disconnected | [n/a] | [n/a] | [n/a]
VPN3 | [ ] | [0000] | [n/a ] | Disconnected | [n/a] | [n/a] | [n/a]
VPN4 | [X] | [0000] | [ OK ] | Connected | xxx.xxx.104.124 | [0031.876] | Charlotte
VPN5 | [X] | [0000] | [ OK ] | Connected | xxx.xxx.213.008 | [0146.447] | Stockholm


Reset/Reconnect VPN 11) 22) 33) 44) 55) (C)onfiguration Menu / Main Setup Menu
Stop/Unmonitor VPN 1!) 2@) 3#) 4$) 5%) (R)eset VPN CRON Time Scheduler: 01:00
Enable/Disable (M)onitored VPN Slots (L)og Viewer / Trim Log Size (rows): 2000
Update/Maintain (V)PN Server Lists (A)utostart VPNMON-R3 on Reboot: Enabled
Edit/R(U)n Server List Automation (T)imer VPN Check Loop Interval: 60sec
AMTM Email Not(I)fications: Failure (P)ing Maximum Before Reset in ms: 825ms

What do I need to change to get the time to show up for all servers? I have rebooted and also updated from prior stable version to 388.7. Issue was occurring on 388.6_2.

Thanks.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

Have a small issue.

Had problems with my VPN clients and in order to repair I removed VPNMON.

Got my three clients working again and then reinstalled VPNMON-R3 including the options that I had before.

The issue I would like to fix is to show the time each tunnel has been up. Currently it is showing this only for client 1 and no times for clients 4 & 5. Previously it was showing times for all clients. I use StrongVPN and I have only have one server for each client which is part of the ovpn file they provide. I do not kill the connection if a tunnel goes down.


Slot | Mon | Svrs | Health | VPN State | Public VPN IP | Ping-->VPN | City Exit / Time
-------|-----|--------|--------|--------------|----------------------|------------|---------------------------------
VPN1 | [X] | [0000] | [ OK ] | Connected | xxxx.xxx.065.005 | [0039.909] | Dallas: 0d 13h:00m
VPN2 | [ ] | [0000] | [n/a ] | Disconnected | [n/a] | [n/a] | [n/a]
VPN3 | [ ] | [0000] | [n/a ] | Disconnected | [n/a] | [n/a] | [n/a]
VPN4 | [X] | [0000] | [ OK ] | Connected | xxx.xxx.104.124 | [0031.876] | Charlotte
VPN5 | [X] | [0000] | [ OK ] | Connected | xxx.xxx.213.008 | [0146.447] | Stockholm


Reset/Reconnect VPN 11) 22) 33) 44) 55) (C)onfiguration Menu / Main Setup Menu
Stop/Unmonitor VPN 1!) 2@) 3#) 4$) 5%) (R)eset VPN CRON Time Scheduler: 01:00
Enable/Disable (M)onitored VPN Slots (L)og Viewer / Trim Log Size (rows): 2000
Update/Maintain (V)PN Server Lists (A)utostart VPNMON-R3 on Reboot: Enabled
Edit/R(U)n Server List Automation (T)imer VPN Check Loop Interval: 60sec
AMTM Email Not(I)fications: Failure (P)ing Maximum Before Reset in ms: 825ms

What do I need to change to get the time to show up for all servers? I have rebooted and also updated from prior stable version to 388.7. Issue was occurring on 388.6_2.

Thanks.

Hmmm... I'll have to look into why it would have done that. Any chance you may have picked 2 VPN slots initially, and then changed it to 5 down the road?

I think the first thing to look at is to make sure that the /jffs/addons/vpnmon-r3.d/vr3timers.txt file looks correct. If you're missing any lines, just add using the example below:

VPNTIMER1=1714280868
VPNTIMER2=0
VPNTIMER3=0
VPNTIMER4=0
VPNTIMER5=0

After saving it, try stopping/starting vpn4/5 and see if the time comes back?