Skip to main content

Managing Secure Networks on OPNsense UI

Published on:
.
2 min read

Zenarmor SSE and higher editions empower your organization to create highly secure and private networks with ease. Leveraging the innovative WireGuard protocol, the Zenarmor private network serves as a dynamic mesh virtual private network (VPN) designed for optimal performance.

What sets the Zenarmor private network apart from traditional VPNs is its superior speed and efficiency. Zenarmor delivers a robust, scalable framework that redefines remote access management. Unlike conventional VPN solutions that force network packets through a centralized data center or point of presence (POP), Zenarmor minimizes latency and sidesteps the drawbacks of centralized routing. This results in a remarkably smoother and faster experience for end users, enhancing productivity across the board.

With Zenarmor, organizations can effortlessly expand their network coverage across multiple locations without the burden of duplicating hardware infrastructure. This adaptability makes it an ideal choice for enterprises managing global operations, branch offices, and the needs of a remote or hybrid workforce. Available for deployment in public clouds, on-premises data centers, edge devices, or as a hybrid solution, Zenarmor offers a level of scalability and reliability that traditional VPNs simply cannot match in today's enterprise landscape. Embrace the future of secure networking with Zenarmor and elevate your organization's operational efficiency.

Zenarmor's secure private networks are managed through a central cloud management portal called Zenconsole. This powerful tool streamlines configuration, simplifies policy updates, and enhances user onboarding, enabling you to scale your network effortlessly.

warning

You cannot create and manage secure private networks for your organization through the OPNsense UI. However, you can check the status of your secure private network connection on the OPNsense UI.

Figure 1. Secure Networks on OPNsense UI

Viewing Secure Network Status​

You may easily view the secure private network connection status of your OPNsense gateway by navigating to the Zenarmor > Secure Networks page on OPNsense UI. Secure Networks page provides the following information.

  • Coordinator Server
  • Relay Server
  • Overlay Networks

Viewing Coordinator Server​

Zenarmor's coordinator server initiates connections between peers in secure private networks. The details can be viewed in the Coordinator Server pane.

  • Status: This field shows the connection status between your gateway and the coordinator server. When your OPNsense gateway is successfully connected to a secure network, this Status field will display as Connected. If your gateway fails to connect to the secure private network, it will show as Not Connected.
  • Location: This field displays the location of the Coordinator Server. The Zenarmor coordinator server is located in North Charleston, United States.

Figure 2. Viewing Coordinator Server on OPNsense

Viewing Relay Server​

The Zenarmor relay server behaves as a proxy server between the peers when they cannot communicate with each other directly. In such cases, secure private network peers connect through the nearest Zenarmor relay server. The details can be viewed in the Relay Server pane.

  • Status: This field shows the connection status between your gateway and the relay server. When your OPNsense gateway is successfully connected to a secure network, this Status field will display as Connected. If your gateway fails to connect to the secure private network, it will show as Not Connected.
  • Location: This field displays the location of the Relay Server. Zenarmor provides 5 relay servers located in different regions of the world, like the United States, Europe, and Asia. Peers should connect to the nearest relay server.
  • RTT: The time OPNsense gateway takes to get a response from the relay server after initiating a network request.

Figure 3. Viewing Relay Server on OPNsense

Viewing Secure Private Networks​

You may view the list of secure private networks that your OPNsense gateway connected to and their details on the Overlay Networks pane by navigating to the Zenarmor > Secure Networks page on OPNsense UI. Overlay Networks pane displays the following details.

  • Secure Private Network Name: The name of the secure private network is displayed.
  • Secure Private Network IP Range: The IP address range used for the overlay network is displayed under the name of the overlay network.
  • Overlay IP Address: The secure private network IP address of the OPNsense Gateway is displayed.

Viewing Secure Private Networks Details​

Secure Networks page allows you to view the status of the connections between your OPNsense gateway and other peers in a secure private network. You may view the secure private network details by following the next steps.

  1. Navigate to the Zenarmor > Secure Networks page on OPNsense UI.

  2. Locate the secure private network that you want to view from the Overlay Networks pane.

  3. Click on the Show Details button next to the secure private network. This will display all peers in the secure network along with their connection status to your OPNsense gateway. Listed peer details are as follows.

    • Peer: This field displays the name of the peer.
    • Connection Status: This field displays the status of the connection between your OPNsense gateway and the peer. When they are connected, the duration of the active connection appears.
    • RTT (Round Trip Time): The time OPNsense gateway takes to get a response from the peer initiating a network request.
    • Connection Type: Connection type between the peers. Available transport types are as follows.
      • Relay: Peers communicate with each other via a relay server hosted by Zenarmor.
        • P2P: Peers directly communicate with each other over an encrypted tunnel.
        • Local: Peers have a LAN connection between each other and communicate via this local network
    • Location: Geo IP location of the peer.
    • IP Address: Overlay IP address of the peer.

    Figure 4. Viewing Overlay Network Details on OPNsense

You may view the details of a selected peer by clicking on the Show Details button. This will display the Peer Details window on the right side of the page. Peer Details window includes the following information about the peer pairs.

Figure 5. Viewing Peer Details on OPNsense

  • Name: Name of the peer.
  • Hostname: Hostname of the peer.
  • Overlay Ip: Secure private network IP address of the peer.
  • Is Pop: This option indicates whether the peer is operating as a Point of Presence (POP). (Coming soon)
  • Is Endpoint: This option indicates whether the peer is an endpoint device.
  • Advertised Networks: Displays the networks advertised by the gateway.
  • Transport Type: Connection type between the peers. Available transport types are as follows.
    • Relay: Peers communicate with each other via a relay server hosted by Zenarmor.
    • P2P: Peers directly communicate with each other over an encrypted tunnel.
    • Local: Peers have a LAN connection between each other and communicate via this local network.
  • Awaiting Signal: This option shows whether the peer has a connection with the coordinator server. It has a value of true when the peer is not responsive.
  • Established At: The moment when the gateway is connected to the peer.
  • Handshake Duration (ms): The time the handshake takes between the peers.
  • RTT (ms): The time it takes to get a response from the corresponding peer after initiating a network request.
  • Rflx Ip: Public IP address of the peer.
  • Geo Lat: Latitude value of the GEO IP for the peer.
  • Geo Lon: Longitude value of the GEO IP for the peer.
  • Geo Country Code: Country code of the GEO IP for the peer.
  • Geo Country: Country of the GEO IP for the peer.
  • Geo City: City of the GEO IP for the peer.
  • Self Session: Session ID of the peer.
  • Peer Session: Session ID of the other peer.
Last updated on by Zenarmor