summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/doc/man-sections
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/man-sections')
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/advanced-options.rst107
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/cipher-negotiation.rst96
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/client-options.rst353
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/connection-profiles.rst75
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/encryption-options.rst135
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/examples.rst240
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/generic-options.rst438
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/inline-files.rst25
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/link-options.rst409
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/log-options.rst73
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/management-options.rst135
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/network-config.rst10
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/pkcs11-options.rst80
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/plugin-options.rst57
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/protocol-options.rst281
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/proxy-options.rst65
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/renegotiation.rst52
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/script-options.rst842
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/server-options.rst774
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/signals.rst30
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/tls-options.rst668
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/unsupported-options.rst32
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/virtual-routing-and-forwarding.rst78
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/vpn-network-options.rst534
-rw-r--r--doc/man-sections/windows-options.rst244
25 files changed, 5833 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/advanced-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/advanced-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b96e40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/advanced-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+Standalone Debug Options
+------------------------
+
+--show-gateway args
+ (Standalone) Show current IPv4 and IPv6 default gateway and interface
+ towards the gateway (if the protocol in question is enabled).
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ --show-gateway
+ --show-gateway IPv6-target
+
+ If an IPv6 target address is passed as argument, the IPv6 route for this
+ host is reported.
+
+
+Advanced Expert Options
+-----------------------
+These are options only required when special tweaking is needed, often
+used when debugging or testing out special usage scenarios.
+
+--hash-size args
+ Set the size of the real address hash table to ``r`` and the virtual
+ address table to ``v``.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ hash-size r v
+
+ By default, both tables are sized at 256 buckets.
+
+--bcast-buffers n
+ Allocate ``n`` buffers for broadcast datagrams (default :code:`256`).
+
+--persist-local-ip
+ Preserve initially resolved local IP address and port number across
+ ``SIGUSR1`` or ``--ping-restart`` restarts.
+
+--persist-remote-ip
+ Preserve most recently authenticated remote IP address and port number
+ across :code:`SIGUSR1` or ``--ping-restart`` restarts.
+
+--prng args
+ *(Advanced)* Change the PRNG (Pseudo-random number generator) parameters
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ prng alg
+ prng alg nsl
+
+ Changes the PRNG to use digest algorithm **alg** (default :code:`sha1`),
+ and set ``nsl`` (default :code:`16`) to the size in bytes of the nonce
+ secret length (between 16 and 64).
+
+ Set ``alg`` to :code:`none` to disable the PRNG and use the OpenSSL
+ RAND\_bytes function instead for all of OpenVPN's pseudo-random number
+ needs.
+
+--rcvbuf size
+ Set the TCP/UDP socket receive buffer size. Defaults to operating system
+ default.
+
+--shaper n
+ Limit bandwidth of outgoing tunnel data to ``n`` bytes per second on the
+ TCP/UDP port. Note that this will only work if mode is set to
+ :code:`p2p`. If you want to limit the bandwidth in both directions, use
+ this option on both peers.
+
+ OpenVPN uses the following algorithm to implement traffic shaping: Given
+ a shaper rate of ``n`` bytes per second, after a datagram write of ``b``
+ bytes is queued on the TCP/UDP port, wait a minimum of ``(b / n)``
+ seconds before queuing the next write.
+
+ It should be noted that OpenVPN supports multiple tunnels between the
+ same two peers, allowing you to construct full-speed and reduced
+ bandwidth tunnels at the same time, routing low-priority data such as
+ off-site backups over the reduced bandwidth tunnel, and other data over
+ the full-speed tunnel.
+
+ Also note that for low bandwidth tunnels (under 1000 bytes per second),
+ you should probably use lower MTU values as well (see above), otherwise
+ the packet latency will grow so large as to trigger timeouts in the TLS
+ layer and TCP connections running over the tunnel.
+
+ OpenVPN allows ``n`` to be between 100 bytes/sec and 100 Mbytes/sec.
+
+--sndbuf size
+ Set the TCP/UDP socket send buffer size. Defaults to operating system
+ default.
+
+--tcp-queue-limit n
+ Maximum number of output packets queued before TCP (default :code:`64`).
+
+ When OpenVPN is tunneling data from a TUN/TAP device to a remote client
+ over a TCP connection, it is possible that the TUN/TAP device might
+ produce data at a faster rate than the TCP connection can support. When
+ the number of output packets queued before sending to the TCP socket
+ reaches this limit for a given client connection, OpenVPN will start to
+ drop outgoing packets directed at this client.
+
+--txqueuelen n
+ *(Linux only)* Set the TX queue length on the TUN/TAP interface.
+ Currently defaults to operating system default.
+
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/cipher-negotiation.rst b/doc/man-sections/cipher-negotiation.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f143305
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/cipher-negotiation.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+Data channel cipher negotiation
+===============================
+
+OpenVPN 2.4 and higher have the capability to negotiate the data cipher that
+is used to encrypt data packets. This section describes the mechanism in more detail and the
+different backwards compatibility mechanism with older server and clients.
+
+OpenVPN 2.5 and higher behaviour
+--------------------------------
+When both client and server are at least running OpenVPN 2.5, that the order of
+the ciphers of the server's ``--data-ciphers`` is used to pick the the data cipher.
+That means that the first cipher in that list that is also in the client's
+``--data-ciphers`` list is chosen. If no common cipher is found the client is rejected
+with a AUTH_FAILED message (as seen in client log):
+
+ AUTH: Received control message: AUTH_FAILED,Data channel cipher negotiation failed (no shared cipher)
+
+OpenVPN 2.5 will only allow the ciphers specified in ``--data-ciphers``. To ensure
+backwards compatibility also if a cipher is specified using the ``--cipher`` option
+it is automatically added to this list. If both options are unset the default is
+:code:`AES-256-GCM:AES-128-GCM`.
+
+OpenVPN 2.4 clients
+-------------------
+The negotiation support in OpenVPN 2.4 was the first iteration of the implementation
+and still had some quirks. Its main goal was "upgrade to AES-256-GCM when possible".
+An OpenVPN 2.4 client that is built against a crypto library that supports AES in GCM
+mode and does not have ``--ncp-disable`` will always announce support for
+`AES-256-GCM` and `AES-128-GCM` to a server by sending :code:`IV_NCP=2`.
+
+This only causes a problem if ``--ncp-ciphers`` option has been changed from the
+default of :code:`AES-256-GCM:AES-128-GCM` to a value that does not include
+these two ciphers. When a OpenVPN servers try to use `AES-256-GCM` or
+`AES-128-GCM` the connection will then fail. It is therefore recommended to
+always have the `AES-256-GCM` and `AES-128-GCM` ciphers to the ``--ncp-ciphers``
+options to avoid this behaviour.
+
+OpenVPN 3 clients
+-----------------
+Clients based on the OpenVPN 3.x library (https://github.com/openvpn/openvpn3/)
+do not have a configurable ``--ncp-ciphers`` or ``--data-cipher`` option. Instead
+these clients will announce support for all their supported AEAD ciphers
+(`AES-256-GCM`, `AES-128-GCM` and in newer versions also `Chacha20-Poly1305`).
+
+To support OpenVPN 3.x based clients at least one of these ciphers needs to be
+included in the server's ``--data-ciphers`` option.
+
+
+OpenVPN 2.3 and older clients (and clients with ``--ncp-disable``)
+------------------------------------------------------------------
+When a client without cipher negotiation support connects to a server the
+cipher specified with the ``--cipher`` option in the client configuration
+must be included in the ``--data-ciphers`` option of the server to allow
+the client to connect. Otherwise the client will be sent the ``AUTH_FAILED``
+message that indicates no shared cipher.
+
+If the client is 2.3 or older and has been configured with the
+``--enable-small`` :code:`./configure` argument, using
+``data-ciphers-fallback cipher`` in the server config file with the explicit
+cipher used by the client is necessary.
+
+OpenVPN 2.4 server
+------------------
+When a client indicates support for `AES-128-GCM` and `AES-256-GCM`
+(with ``IV_NCP=2``) an OpenVPN 2.4 server will send the first
+cipher of the ``--ncp-ciphers`` to the OpenVPN client regardless of what
+the cipher is. To emulate the behaviour of an OpenVPN 2.4 client as close
+as possible and have compatibility to a setup that depends on this quirk,
+adding `AES-128-GCM` and `AES-256-GCM` to the client's ``--data-ciphers``
+option is required. OpenVPN 2.5+ will only announce the ``IV_NCP=2`` flag if
+those ciphers are present.
+
+OpenVPN 2.3 and older servers (and servers with ``--ncp-disable``)
+------------------------------------------------------------------
+The cipher used by the server must be included in ``--data-ciphers`` to
+allow the client connecting to a server without cipher negotiation
+support.
+(For compatibility OpenVPN 2.5 will also accept the cipher set with
+``--cipher``)
+
+If the server is 2.3 or older and has been configured with the
+``--enable-small`` :code:`./configure` argument, adding
+``data-ciphers-fallback cipher`` to the client config with the explicit
+cipher used by the server is necessary.
+
+Blowfish in CBC mode (BF-CBC) deprecation
+------------------------------------------
+The ``--cipher`` option defaulted to ``BF-CBC`` in OpenVPN 2.4 and older
+version. The default was never changed to ensure backwards compatibility.
+In OpenVPN 2.5 this behaviour has now been changed so that if the ``--cipher``
+is not explicitly set it does not allow the weak ``BF-CBC`` cipher any more
+and needs to explicitly added as ``--cipher BFC-CBC`` or added to
+``-data-ciphers``.
+
+We strongly recommend to switching away from BF-CBC to a
+more secure cipher as soon as possible instead.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/client-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/client-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ec1e3b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/client-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,353 @@
+Client Options
+--------------
+The client options are used when connecting to an OpenVPN server configured
+to use ``--server``, ``--server-bridge``, or ``--mode server`` in its
+configuration.
+
+--allow-pull-fqdn
+ Allow client to pull DNS names from server (rather than being limited to
+ IP address) for ``--ifconfig``, ``--route``, and ``--route-gateway``.
+
+--allow-recursive-routing
+ When this option is set, OpenVPN will not drop incoming tun packets with
+ same destination as host.
+
+--auth-token token
+ This is not an option to be used directly in any configuration files,
+ but rather push this option from a ``--client-connect`` script or a
+ ``--plugin`` which hooks into the :code:`OPENVPN_PLUGIN_CLIENT_CONNECT`
+ or :code:`OPENVPN_PLUGIN_CLIENT_CONNECT_V2` calls. This option provides a
+ possibility to replace the clients password with an authentication token
+ during the lifetime of the OpenVPN client.
+
+ Whenever the connection is renegotiated and the
+ ``--auth-user-pass-verify`` script or ``--plugin`` making use of the
+ :code:`OPENVPN_PLUGIN_AUTH_USER_PASS_VERIFY` hook is triggered, it will
+ pass over this token as the password instead of the password the user
+ provided. The authentication token can only be reset by a full reconnect
+ where the server can push new options to the client. The password the
+ user entered is never preserved once an authentication token has been
+ set. If the OpenVPN server side rejects the authentication token then
+ the client will receive an :code:`AUTH_FAILED` and disconnect.
+
+ The purpose of this is to enable two factor authentication methods, such
+ as HOTP or TOTP, to be used without needing to retrieve a new OTP code
+ each time the connection is renegotiated. Another use case is to cache
+ authentication data on the client without needing to have the users
+ password cached in memory during the life time of the session.
+
+ To make use of this feature, the ``--client-connect`` script or
+ ``--plugin`` needs to put
+ ::
+
+ push "auth-token UNIQUE_TOKEN_VALUE"
+
+ into the file/buffer for dynamic configuration data. This will then make
+ the OpenVPN server to push this value to the client, which replaces the
+ local password with the ``UNIQUE_TOKEN_VALUE``.
+
+ Newer clients (2.4.7+) will fall back to the original password method
+ after a failed auth. Older clients will keep using the token value and
+ react according to ``--auth-retry``
+
+--auth-user-pass
+ Authenticate with server using username/password.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ auth-user-pass
+ auth-user-pass up
+
+ If ``up`` is present, it must be a file containing username/password on 2
+ lines. If the password line is missing, OpenVPN will prompt for one.
+
+ If ``up`` is omitted, username/password will be prompted from the
+ console.
+
+ The server configuration must specify an ``--auth-user-pass-verify``
+ script to verify the username/password provided by the client.
+
+--auth-retry type
+ Controls how OpenVPN responds to username/password verification errors
+ such as the client-side response to an :code:`AUTH_FAILED` message from
+ the server or verification failure of the private key password.
+
+ Normally used to prevent auth errors from being fatal on the client
+ side, and to permit username/password requeries in case of error.
+
+ An :code:`AUTH_FAILED` message is generated by the server if the client
+ fails ``--auth-user-pass`` authentication, or if the server-side
+ ``--client-connect`` script returns an error status when the client
+ tries to connect.
+
+ ``type`` can be one of:
+
+ :code:`none`
+ Client will exit with a fatal error (this is the default).
+
+ :code:`nointeract`
+ Client will retry the connection without requerying
+ for an ``--auth-user-pass`` username/password. Use this option for
+ unattended clients.
+
+ :code:`interact`
+ Client will requery for an ``--auth-user-pass``
+ username/password and/or private key password before attempting a
+ reconnection.
+
+ Note that while this option cannot be pushed, it can be controlled from
+ the management interface.
+
+--client
+ A helper directive designed to simplify the configuration of OpenVPN's
+ client mode. This directive is equivalent to:
+ ::
+
+ pull
+ tls-client
+
+--client-nat args
+ This pushable client option sets up a stateless one-to-one NAT rule on
+ packet addresses (not ports), and is useful in cases where routes or
+ ifconfig settings pushed to the client would create an IP numbering
+ conflict.
+
+ Examples:
+ ::
+
+ client-nat snat 192.168.0.0/255.255.0.0
+ client-nat dnat 10.64.0.0/255.255.0.0
+
+ ``network/netmask`` (for example :code:`192.168.0.0/255.255.0.0`) defines
+ the local view of a resource from the client perspective, while
+ ``alias/netmask`` (for example :code:`10.64.0.0/255.255.0.0`) defines the
+ remote view from the server perspective.
+
+ Use :code:`snat` (source NAT) for resources owned by the client and
+ :code:`dnat` (destination NAT) for remote resources.
+
+ Set ``--verb 6`` for debugging info showing the transformation of
+ src/dest addresses in packets.
+
+--connect-retry n
+ Wait ``n`` seconds between connection attempts (default :code:`5`).
+ Repeated reconnection attempts are slowed down after 5 retries per
+ remote by doubling the wait time after each unsuccessful attempt. An
+ optional argument ``max`` specifies the maximum value of wait time in
+ seconds at which it gets capped (default :code:`300`).
+
+--connect-retry-max n
+ ``n`` specifies the number of times each ``--remote`` or
+ ``<connection>`` entry is tried. Specifying ``n`` as :code:`1` would try
+ each entry exactly once. A successful connection resets the counter.
+ (default *unlimited*).
+
+--connect-timeout n
+ See ``--server-poll-timeout``.
+
+--explicit-exit-notify n
+ In UDP client mode or point-to-point mode, send server/peer an exit
+ notification if tunnel is restarted or OpenVPN process is exited. In
+ client mode, on exit/restart, this option will tell the server to
+ immediately close its client instance object rather than waiting for a
+ timeout.
+
+ The **n** parameter (default :code:`1` if not present) controls the
+ maximum number of attempts that the client will try to resend the exit
+ notification message.
+
+ In UDP server mode, send :code:`RESTART` control channel command to
+ connected clients. The ``n`` parameter (default :code:`1` if not present)
+ controls client behavior. With ``n`` = :code:`1` client will attempt to
+ reconnect to the same server, with ``n`` = :code:`2` client will advance
+ to the next server.
+
+ OpenVPN will not send any exit notifications unless this option is
+ enabled.
+
+--inactive args
+ Causes OpenVPN to exit after ``n`` seconds of inactivity on the TUN/TAP
+ device. The time length of inactivity is measured since the last
+ incoming or outgoing tunnel packet. The default value is 0 seconds,
+ which disables this feature.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ inactive n
+ inactive n bytes
+
+ If the optional ``bytes`` parameter is included, exit if less than
+ ``bytes`` of combined in/out traffic are produced on the tun/tap device
+ in ``n`` seconds.
+
+ In any case, OpenVPN's internal ping packets (which are just keepalives)
+ and TLS control packets are not considered "activity", nor are they
+ counted as traffic, as they are used internally by OpenVPN and are not
+ an indication of actual user activity.
+
+--proto-force p
+ When iterating through connection profiles, only consider profiles using
+ protocol ``p`` (:code:`tcp` \| :code:`udp`).
+
+--pull
+ This option must be used on a client which is connecting to a
+ multi-client server. It indicates to OpenVPN that it should accept
+ options pushed by the server, provided they are part of the legal set of
+ pushable options (note that the ``--pull`` option is implied by
+ ``--client`` ).
+
+ In particular, ``--pull`` allows the server to push routes to the
+ client, so you should not use ``--pull`` or ``--client`` in situations
+ where you don't trust the server to have control over the client's
+ routing table.
+
+--pull-filter args
+ Filter options on the client pushed by the server to the client.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ pull-filter accept text
+ pull-filter ignore text
+ pull-filter reject text
+
+ Filter options received from the server if the option starts with
+ :code:`text`. The action flag :code:`accept` allows the option,
+ :code:`ignore` removes it and :code:`reject` flags an error and triggers
+ a :code:`SIGUSR1` restart. The filters may be specified multiple times,
+ and each filter is applied in the order it is specified. The filtering of
+ each option stops as soon as a match is found. Unmatched options are accepted
+ by default.
+
+ Prefix comparison is used to match :code:`text` against the received option so
+ that
+ ::
+
+ pull-filter ignore "route"
+
+ would remove all pushed options starting with ``route`` which would
+ include, for example, ``route-gateway``. Enclose *text* in quotes to
+ embed spaces.
+
+ ::
+
+ pull-filter accept "route 192.168.1."
+ pull-filter ignore "route "
+
+ would remove all routes that do not start with ``192.168.1``.
+
+ *Note* that :code:`reject` may result in a repeated cycle of failure and
+ reconnect, unless multiple remotes are specified and connection to the
+ next remote succeeds. To silently ignore an option pushed by the server,
+ use :code:`ignore`.
+
+--remote args
+ Remote host name or IP address. It supports two additional optional
+ arguments: ``port`` and ``proto``. On the client, multiple ``--remote``
+ options may be specified for redundancy, each referring to a different
+ OpenVPN server. Specifying multiple ``--remote`` options for this
+ purpose is a special case of the more general connection-profile
+ feature. See the ``<connection>`` documentation below.
+
+ The OpenVPN client will try to connect to a server at ``host:port`` in
+ the order specified by the list of ``--remote`` options.
+
+ Examples:
+ ::
+
+ remote server.example.net
+ remote server.example.net 1194
+ remote server.example.net tcp
+
+ ``proto`` indicates the protocol to use when connecting with the remote,
+ and may be :code:`tcp` or :code:`udp`.
+
+ For forcing IPv4 or IPv6 connection suffix tcp or udp with 4/6 like
+ udp4/udp6/tcp4/tcp6.
+
+ The client will move on to the next host in the list, in the event of
+ connection failure. Note that at any given time, the OpenVPN client will
+ at most be connected to one server.
+
+ Note that since UDP is connectionless, connection failure is defined by
+ the ``--ping`` and ``--ping-restart`` options.
+
+ Note the following corner case: If you use multiple ``--remote``
+ options, AND you are dropping root privileges on the client with
+ ``--user`` and/or ``--group`` AND the client is running a non-Windows
+ OS, if the client needs to switch to a different server, and that server
+ pushes back different TUN/TAP or route settings, the client may lack the
+ necessary privileges to close and reopen the TUN/TAP interface. This
+ could cause the client to exit with a fatal error.
+
+ If ``--remote`` is unspecified, OpenVPN will listen for packets from any
+ IP address, but will not act on those packets unless they pass all
+ authentication tests. This requirement for authentication is binding on
+ all potential peers, even those from known and supposedly trusted IP
+ addresses (it is very easy to forge a source IP address on a UDP
+ packet).
+
+ When used in TCP mode, ``--remote`` will act as a filter, rejecting
+ connections from any host which does not match ``host``.
+
+ If ``host`` is a DNS name which resolves to multiple IP addresses,
+ OpenVPN will try them in the order that the system getaddrinfo()
+ presents them, so priorization and DNS randomization is done by the
+ system library. Unless an IP version is forced by the protocol
+ specification (4/6 suffix), OpenVPN will try both IPv4 and IPv6
+ addresses, in the order getaddrinfo() returns them.
+
+--remote-random
+ When multiple ``--remote`` address/ports are specified, or if connection
+ profiles are being used, initially randomize the order of the list as a
+ kind of basic load-balancing measure.
+
+--remote-random-hostname
+ Prepend a random string (6 bytes, 12 hex characters) to hostname to
+ prevent DNS caching. For example, "foo.bar.gov" would be modified to
+ "<random-chars>.foo.bar.gov".
+
+--resolv-retry n
+ If hostname resolve fails for ``--remote``, retry resolve for ``n``
+ seconds before failing.
+
+ Set ``n`` to "infinite" to retry indefinitely.
+
+ By default, ``--resolv-retry infinite`` is enabled. You can disable by
+ setting n=0.
+
+--single-session
+ After initially connecting to a remote peer, disallow any new
+ connections. Using this option means that a remote peer cannot connect,
+ disconnect, and then reconnect.
+
+ If the daemon is reset by a signal or ``--ping-restart``, it will allow
+ one new connection.
+
+ ``--single-session`` can be used with ``--ping-exit`` or ``--inactive``
+ to create a single dynamic session that will exit when finished.
+
+--server-poll-timeout n
+ When connecting to a remote server do not wait for more than ``n``
+ seconds for a response before trying the next server. The default value
+ is 120s. This timeout includes proxy and TCP connect timeouts.
+
+--static-challenge args
+ Enable static challenge/response protocol
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ static-challenge text echo
+
+ The ``text`` challenge text is presented to the user which describes what
+ information is requested. The ``echo`` flag indicates if the user's
+ input should be echoed on the screen. Valid ``echo`` values are
+ :code:`0` or :code:`1`.
+
+ See management-notes.txt in the OpenVPN distribution for a description of
+ the OpenVPN challenge/response protocol.
+
+.. include:: proxy-options.rst
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/connection-profiles.rst b/doc/man-sections/connection-profiles.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fd3382b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/connection-profiles.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+CONNECTION PROFILES
+===================
+
+Client configuration files may contain multiple remote servers which
+it will attempt to connect against. But there are some configuration
+options which are related to specific ``--remote`` options. For these
+use cases, connection profiles are the solution.
+
+By enacpulating the ``--remote`` option and related options within
+``<connection>`` and ``</connection>``, these options are handled as a
+group.
+
+An OpenVPN client will try each connection profile sequentially until it
+achieves a successful connection.
+
+``--remote-random`` can be used to initially "scramble" the connection
+list.
+
+Here is an example of connection profile usage:
+::
+
+ client
+ dev tun
+
+ <connection>
+ remote 198.19.34.56 1194 udp
+ </connection>
+
+ <connection>
+ remote 198.19.34.56 443 tcp
+ </connection>
+
+ <connection>
+ remote 198.19.34.56 443 tcp
+ http-proxy 192.168.0.8 8080
+ </connection>
+
+ <connection>
+ remote 198.19.36.99 443 tcp
+ http-proxy 192.168.0.8 8080
+ </connection>
+
+ persist-key
+ persist-tun
+ pkcs12 client.p12
+ remote-cert-tls server
+ verb 3
+
+First we try to connect to a server at 198.19.34.56:1194 using UDP. If
+that fails, we then try to connect to 198.19.34.56:443 using TCP. If
+that also fails, then try connecting through an HTTP proxy at
+192.168.0.8:8080 to 198.19.34.56:443 using TCP. Finally, try to connect
+through the same proxy to a server at 198.19.36.99:443 using TCP.
+
+The following OpenVPN options may be used inside of a ``<connection>``
+block:
+
+``bind``, ``connect-retry``, ``connect-retry-max``, ``connect-timeout``,
+``explicit-exit-notify``, ``float``, ``fragment``, ``http-proxy``,
+``http-proxy-option``, ``key-direction``, ``link-mtu``, ``local``,
+``lport``, ``mssfix``, ``mtu-disc``, ``nobind``, ``port``, ``proto``,
+``remote``, ``rport``, ``socks-proxy``, ``tls-auth``, ``tls-crypt``,
+``tun-mtu and``, ``tun-mtu-extra``.
+
+A defaulting mechanism exists for specifying options to apply to all
+``<connection>`` profiles. If any of the above options (with the
+exception of ``remote`` ) appear outside of a ``<connection>`` block,
+but in a configuration file which has one or more ``<connection>``
+blocks, the option setting will be used as a default for
+``<connection>`` blocks which follow it in the configuration file.
+
+For example, suppose the ``nobind`` option were placed in the sample
+configuration file above, near the top of the file, before the first
+``<connection>`` block. The effect would be as if ``nobind`` were
+declared in all ``<connection>`` blocks below it.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/encryption-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/encryption-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee34f14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/encryption-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+Encryption Options
+==================
+
+SSL Library information
+-----------------------
+
+--show-ciphers
+ (Standalone) Show all cipher algorithms to use with the ``--cipher``
+ option.
+
+--show-digests
+ (Standalone) Show all message digest algorithms to use with the
+ ``--auth`` option.
+
+--show-tls
+ (Standalone) Show all TLS ciphers supported by the crypto library.
+ OpenVPN uses TLS to secure the control channel, over which the keys that
+ are used to protect the actual VPN traffic are exchanged. The TLS
+ ciphers will be sorted from highest preference (most secure) to lowest.
+
+ Be aware that whether a cipher suite in this list can actually work
+ depends on the specific setup of both peers (e.g. both peers must
+ support the cipher, and an ECDSA cipher suite will not work if you are
+ using an RSA certificate, etc.).
+
+--show-engines
+ (Standalone) Show currently available hardware-based crypto acceleration
+ engines supported by the OpenSSL library.
+
+--show-groups
+ (Standalone) Show all available elliptic curves/groups to use with the
+ ``--ecdh-curve`` and ``tls-groups`` options.
+
+Generating key material
+-----------------------
+
+--genkey args
+ (Standalone) Generate a key to be used of the type keytype. if keyfile
+ is left out or empty the key will be output on stdout. See the following
+ sections for the different keytypes.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ --genkey keytype keyfile
+
+ Valid keytype arguments are:
+
+ :code:`secret` Standard OpenVPN shared secret keys
+
+ :code:`tls-crypt` Alias for :code:`secret`
+
+ :code:`tls-auth` Alias for :code:`secret`
+
+ :code:`auth-token` Key used for ``--auth-gen-token-key``
+
+ :code:`tls-crypt-v2-server` TLS Crypt v2 server key
+
+ :code:`tls-crypt-v2-client` TLS Crypt v2 client key
+
+
+ Examples:
+ ::
+
+ $ openvpn --genkey secret shared.key
+ $ openvpn --genkey tls-crypt shared.key
+ $ openvpn --genkey tls-auth shared.key
+ $ openvpn --genkey tls-crypt-v2-server v2crypt-server.key
+ $ openvpn --tls-crypt-v2 v2crypt-server.key --genkey tls-crypt-v2-client v2crypt-client-1.key
+
+ * Generating *Shared Secret Keys*
+ Generate a shared secret, for use with the ``--secret``, ``--tls-auth``
+ or ``--tls-crypt`` options.
+
+ Syntax:
+ ::
+
+ $ openvpn --genkey secret|tls-crypt|tls-auth keyfile
+
+ The key is saved in ``keyfile``. All three variants (``--secret``,
+ ``tls-crypt`` and ``tls-auth``) generate the same type of key. The
+ aliases are added for convenience.
+
+ If using this for ``--secret``, this file must be shared with the peer
+ over a pre-existing secure channel such as ``scp``\(1).
+
+ * Generating *TLS Crypt v2 Server key*
+ Generate a ``--tls-crypt-v2`` key to be used by an OpenVPN server.
+ The key is stored in ``keyfile``.
+
+ Syntax:
+ ::
+
+ --genkey tls-crypt-v2-server keyfile
+
+ * Generating *TLS Crypt v2 Client key*
+ Generate a --tls-crypt-v2 key to be used by OpenVPN clients. The
+ key is stored in ``keyfile``.
+
+ Syntax
+ ::
+
+ --genkey tls-crypt-v2-client keyfile [metadata]
+
+ If supplied, include the supplied ``metadata`` in the wrapped client
+ key. This metadata must be supplied in base64-encoded form. The
+ metadata must be at most 735 bytes long (980 bytes in base64).
+
+ If no metadata is supplied, OpenVPN will use a 64-bit unix timestamp
+ representing the current time in UTC, encoded in network order, as
+ metadata for the generated key.
+
+ A tls-crypt-v2 client key is wrapped using a server key. To generate a
+ client key, the user must therefore supply the server key using the
+ ``--tls-crypt-v2`` option.
+
+ Servers can use ``--tls-crypt-v2-verify`` to specify a metadata
+ verification command.
+
+ * Generate *Authentication Token key*
+ Generate a new secret that can be used with **--auth-gen-token-secret**
+
+ Syntax:
+ ::
+
+ --genkey auth-token [keyfile]
+
+ *Note:*
+ This file should be kept secret to the server as anyone that has
+ access to this file will be able to generate auth tokens that the
+ OpenVPN server will accept as valid.
+
+.. include:: renegotiation.rst
+.. include:: tls-options.rst
+.. include:: pkcs11-options.rst
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/examples.rst b/doc/man-sections/examples.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3f494ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/examples.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
+EXAMPLES
+========
+
+Prior to running these examples, you should have OpenVPN installed on
+two machines with network connectivity between them. If you have not yet
+installed OpenVPN, consult the INSTALL file included in the OpenVPN
+distribution.
+
+
+Firewall Setup:
+---------------
+
+If firewalls exist between the two machines, they should be set to
+forward the port OpenVPN is configured to use, in both directions.
+The default for OpenVPN is 1194/udp. If you do not have control
+over the firewalls between the two machines, you may still be able to
+use OpenVPN by adding ``--ping 15`` to each of the ``openvpn`` commands
+used below in the examples (this will cause each peer to send out a UDP
+ping to its remote peer once every 15 seconds which will cause many
+stateful firewalls to forward packets in both directions without an
+explicit firewall rule).
+
+Please see your operating system guides for how to configure the firewall
+on your systems.
+
+
+VPN Address Setup:
+------------------
+
+For purposes of our example, our two machines will be called
+``bob.example.com`` and ``alice.example.com``. If you are constructing a
+VPN over the internet, then replace ``bob.example.com`` and
+``alice.example.com`` with the internet hostname or IP address that each
+machine will use to contact the other over the internet.
+
+Now we will choose the tunnel endpoints. Tunnel endpoints are private IP
+addresses that only have meaning in the context of the VPN. Each machine
+will use the tunnel endpoint of the other machine to access it over the
+VPN. In our example, the tunnel endpoint for bob.example.com will be
+10.4.0.1 and for alice.example.com, 10.4.0.2.
+
+Once the VPN is established, you have essentially created a secure
+alternate path between the two hosts which is addressed by using the
+tunnel endpoints. You can control which network traffic passes between
+the hosts (a) over the VPN or (b) independently of the VPN, by choosing
+whether to use (a) the VPN endpoint address or (b) the public internet
+address, to access the remote host. For example if you are on
+bob.example.com and you wish to connect to ``alice.example.com`` via
+``ssh`` without using the VPN (since **ssh** has its own built-in security)
+you would use the command ``ssh alice.example.com``. However in the same
+scenario, you could also use the command ``telnet 10.4.0.2`` to create a
+telnet session with alice.example.com over the VPN, that would use the
+VPN to secure the session rather than ``ssh``.
+
+You can use any address you wish for the tunnel endpoints but make sure
+that they are private addresses (such as those that begin with 10 or
+192.168) and that they are not part of any existing subnet on the
+networks of either peer, unless you are bridging. If you use an address
+that is part of your local subnet for either of the tunnel endpoints,
+you will get a weird feedback loop.
+
+
+Example 1: A simple tunnel without security
+-------------------------------------------
+
+On bob:
+::
+
+ openvpn --remote alice.example.com --dev tun1 \
+ --ifconfig 10.4.0.1 10.4.0.2 --verb 9
+
+On alice:
+::
+
+ openvpn --remote bob.example.com --dev tun1 \
+ --ifconfig 10.4.0.2 10.4.0.1 --verb 9
+
+Now verify the tunnel is working by pinging across the tunnel.
+
+On bob:
+::
+
+ ping 10.4.0.2
+
+On alice:
+::
+
+ ping 10.4.0.1
+
+The ``--verb 9`` option will produce verbose output, similar to the
+``tcpdump``\(8) program. Omit the ``--verb 9`` option to have OpenVPN run
+quietly.
+
+
+Example 2: A tunnel with static-key security (i.e. using a pre-shared secret)
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+First build a static key on bob.
+::
+
+ openvpn --genkey --secret key
+
+This command will build a key file called ``key`` (in ascii format). Now
+copy ``key`` to ``alice.example.com`` over a secure medium such as by using
+the ``scp``\(1) program.
+
+On bob:
+::
+
+ openvpn --remote alice.example.com --dev tun1 \
+ --ifconfig 10.4.0.1 10.4.0.2 --verb 5 \
+ --secret key
+
+On alice:
+::
+
+ openvpn --remote bob.example.com --dev tun1 \
+ --ifconfig 10.4.0.2 10.4.0.1 --verb 5 \
+ --secret key
+
+Now verify the tunnel is working by pinging across the tunnel.
+
+On bob:
+::
+
+ ping 10.4.0.2
+
+On alice:
+::
+
+ ping 10.4.0.1
+
+
+Example 3: A tunnel with full TLS-based security
+------------------------------------------------
+
+For this test, we will designate ``bob`` as the TLS client and ``alice``
+as the TLS server.
+
+*Note:*
+ The client or server designation only has
+ meaning for the TLS subsystem. It has no bearing on OpenVPN's
+ peer-to-peer, UDP-based communication model.*
+
+First, build a separate certificate/key pair for both bob and alice (see
+above where ``--cert`` is discussed for more info). Then construct
+Diffie Hellman parameters (see above where ``--dh`` is discussed for
+more info). You can also use the included test files :code:`client.crt`,
+:code:`client.key`, :code:`server.crt`, :code:`server.key` and
+:code:`ca.crt`. The ``.crt`` files are certificates/public-keys, the
+``.key`` files are private keys, and :code:`ca.crt` is a certification
+authority who has signed both :code:`client.crt` and :code:`server.crt`.
+For Diffie Hellman parameters you can use the included file
+:code:`dh2048.pem`.
+
+*WARNING:*
+ All client, server, and certificate authority certificates
+ and keys included in the OpenVPN distribution are totally
+ insecure and should be used for testing only.
+
+On bob:
+::
+
+ openvpn --remote alice.example.com --dev tun1 \
+ --ifconfig 10.4.0.1 10.4.0.2 \
+ --tls-client --ca ca.crt \
+ --cert client.crt --key client.key \
+ --reneg-sec 60 --verb 5
+
+On alice:
+::
+
+ openvpn --remote bob.example.com --dev tun1 \
+ --ifconfig 10.4.0.2 10.4.0.1 \
+ --tls-server --dh dh1024.pem --ca ca.crt \
+ --cert server.crt --key server.key \
+ --reneg-sec 60 --verb 5
+
+Now verify the tunnel is working by pinging across the tunnel.
+
+On bob:
+::
+
+ ping 10.4.0.2
+
+On alice:
+::
+
+ ping 10.4.0.1
+
+Notice the ``--reneg-sec 60`` option we used above. That tells OpenVPN
+to renegotiate the data channel keys every minute. Since we used
+``--verb 5`` above, you will see status information on each new key
+negotiation.
+
+For production operations, a key renegotiation interval of 60 seconds is
+probably too frequent. Omit the ``--reneg-sec 60`` option to use
+OpenVPN's default key renegotiation interval of one hour.
+
+
+Routing:
+--------
+
+Assuming you can ping across the tunnel, the next step is to route a
+real subnet over the secure tunnel. Suppose that bob and alice have two
+network interfaces each, one connected to the internet, and the other to
+a private network. Our goal is to securely connect both private
+networks. We will assume that bob's private subnet is *10.0.0.0/24* and
+alice's is *10.0.1.0/24*.
+
+First, ensure that IP forwarding is enabled on both peers. On Linux,
+enable routing:
+::
+
+ echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
+
+This setting is not persistent. Please see your operating systems
+documentation how to properly configure IP forwarding, which is also
+persistent through system boots.
+
+If your system is configured with a firewall. Please see your operating
+systems guide on how to configure the firewall. You typically want to
+allow traffic coming from and going to the tun/tap adapter OpenVPN is
+configured to use.
+
+On bob:
+::
+
+ route add -net 10.0.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 gw 10.4.0.2
+
+On alice:
+::
+
+ route add -net 10.0.0.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 gw 10.4.0.1
+
+Now any machine on the *10.0.0.0/24* subnet can access any machine on the
+*10.0.1.0/24* subnet over the secure tunnel (or vice versa).
+
+In a production environment, you could put the route command(s) in a
+script and execute with the ``--up`` option.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/generic-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/generic-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a07fe7e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/generic-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,438 @@
+Generic Options
+---------------
+This section covers generic options which are accessible regardless of
+which mode OpenVPN is configured as.
+
+--help
+
+ Show options.
+
+--auth-nocache
+ Don't cache ``--askpass`` or ``--auth-user-pass`` username/passwords in
+ virtual memory.
+
+ If specified, this directive will cause OpenVPN to immediately forget
+ username/password inputs after they are used. As a result, when OpenVPN
+ needs a username/password, it will prompt for input from stdin, which
+ may be multiple times during the duration of an OpenVPN session.
+
+ When using ``--auth-nocache`` in combination with a user/password file
+ and ``--chroot`` or ``--daemon``, make sure to use an absolute path.
+
+ This directive does not affect the ``--http-proxy`` username/password.
+ It is always cached.
+
+--cd dir
+ Change directory to ``dir`` prior to reading any files such as
+ configuration files, key files, scripts, etc. ``dir`` should be an
+ absolute path, with a leading "/", and without any references to the
+ current directory such as :code:`.` or :code:`..`.
+
+ This option is useful when you are running OpenVPN in ``--daemon`` mode,
+ and you want to consolidate all of your OpenVPN control files in one
+ location.
+
+--chroot dir
+ Chroot to ``dir`` after initialization. ``--chroot`` essentially
+ redefines ``dir`` as being the top level directory tree (/). OpenVPN
+ will therefore be unable to access any files outside this tree. This can
+ be desirable from a security standpoint.
+
+ Since the chroot operation is delayed until after initialization, most
+ OpenVPN options that reference files will operate in a pre-chroot
+ context.
+
+ In many cases, the ``dir`` parameter can point to an empty directory,
+ however complications can result when scripts or restarts are executed
+ after the chroot operation.
+
+ Note: The SSL library will probably need /dev/urandom to be available
+ inside the chroot directory ``dir``. This is because SSL libraries
+ occasionally need to collect fresh random. Newer linux kernels and some
+ BSDs implement a getrandom() or getentropy() syscall that removes the
+ need for /dev/urandom to be available.
+
+--config file
+ Load additional config options from ``file`` where each line corresponds
+ to one command line option, but with the leading '--' removed.
+
+ If ``--config file`` is the only option to the openvpn command, the
+ ``--config`` can be removed, and the command can be given as ``openvpn
+ file``
+
+ Note that configuration files can be nested to a reasonable depth.
+
+ Double quotation or single quotation characters ("", '') can be used to
+ enclose single parameters containing whitespace, and "#" or ";"
+ characters in the first column can be used to denote comments.
+
+ Note that OpenVPN 2.0 and higher performs backslash-based shell escaping
+ for characters not in single quotations, so the following mappings
+ should be observed:
+ ::
+
+ \\ Maps to a single backslash character (\).
+ \" Pass a literal doublequote character ("), don't
+ interpret it as enclosing a parameter.
+ \[SPACE] Pass a literal space or tab character, don't
+ interpret it as a parameter delimiter.
+
+ For example on Windows, use double backslashes to represent pathnames:
+ ::
+
+ secret "c:\\OpenVPN\\secret.key"
+
+
+ For examples of configuration files, see
+ https://openvpn.net/community-resources/how-to/
+
+ Here is an example configuration file:
+ ::
+
+ #
+ # Sample OpenVPN configuration file for
+ # using a pre-shared static key.
+ #
+ # '#' or ';' may be used to delimit comments.
+
+ # Use a dynamic tun device.
+ dev tun
+
+ # Our remote peer
+ remote mypeer.mydomain
+
+ # 10.1.0.1 is our local VPN endpoint
+ # 10.1.0.2 is our remote VPN endpoint
+ ifconfig 10.1.0.1 10.1.0.2
+
+ # Our pre-shared static key
+ secret static.key
+
+--daemon progname
+ Become a daemon after all initialization functions are completed. This
+ option will cause all message and error output to be sent to the syslog
+ file (such as :code:`/var/log/messages`), except for the output of
+ scripts and ifconfig commands, which will go to :code:`/dev/null` unless
+ otherwise redirected. The syslog redirection occurs immediately at the
+ point that ``--daemon`` is parsed on the command line even though the
+ daemonization point occurs later. If one of the ``--log`` options is
+ present, it will supersede syslog redirection.
+
+ The optional ``progname`` parameter will cause OpenVPN to report its
+ program name to the system logger as ``progname``. This can be useful in
+ linking OpenVPN messages in the syslog file with specific tunnels. When
+ unspecified, ``progname`` defaults to "openvpn".
+
+ When OpenVPN is run with the ``--daemon`` option, it will try to delay
+ daemonization until the majority of initialization functions which are
+ capable of generating fatal errors are complete. This means that
+ initialization scripts can test the return status of the openvpn command
+ for a fairly reliable indication of whether the command has correctly
+ initialized and entered the packet forwarding event loop.
+
+ In OpenVPN, the vast majority of errors which occur after initialization
+ are non-fatal.
+
+ Note: as soon as OpenVPN has daemonized, it can not ask for usernames,
+ passwords, or key pass phrases anymore. This has certain consequences,
+ namely that using a password-protected private key will fail unless the
+ ``--askpass`` option is used to tell OpenVPN to ask for the pass phrase
+ (this requirement is new in v2.3.7, and is a consequence of calling
+ daemon() before initializing the crypto layer).
+
+ Further, using ``--daemon`` together with ``--auth-user-pass`` (entered
+ on console) and ``--auth-nocache`` will fail as soon as key
+ renegotiation (and reauthentication) occurs.
+
+--disable-occ
+ Don't output a warning message if option inconsistencies are detected
+ between peers. An example of an option inconsistency would be where one
+ peer uses ``--dev tun`` while the other peer uses ``--dev tap``.
+
+ Use of this option is discouraged, but is provided as a temporary fix in
+ situations where a recent version of OpenVPN must connect to an old
+ version.
+
+--engine engine-name
+ Enable OpenSSL hardware-based crypto engine functionality.
+
+ If ``engine-name`` is specified, use a specific crypto engine. Use the
+ ``--show-engines`` standalone option to list the crypto engines which
+ are supported by OpenSSL.
+
+--fast-io
+ (Experimental) Optimize TUN/TAP/UDP I/O writes by avoiding a call to
+ poll/epoll/select prior to the write operation. The purpose of such a
+ call would normally be to block until the device or socket is ready to
+ accept the write. Such blocking is unnecessary on some platforms which
+ don't support write blocking on UDP sockets or TUN/TAP devices. In such
+ cases, one can optimize the event loop by avoiding the poll/epoll/select
+ call, improving CPU efficiency by 5% to 10%.
+
+ This option can only be used on non-Windows systems, when ``--proto
+ udp`` is specified, and when ``--shaper`` is NOT specified.
+
+--group group
+ Similar to the ``--user`` option, this option changes the group ID of
+ the OpenVPN process to ``group`` after initialization.
+
+--ignore-unknown-option args
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ ignore-unknown-options opt1 opt2 opt3 ... optN
+
+ When one of options ``opt1 ... optN`` is encountered in the configuration
+ file the configuration file parsing does not fail if this OpenVPN version
+ does not support the option. Multiple ``--ignore-unknown-option`` options
+ can be given to support a larger number of options to ignore.
+
+ This option should be used with caution, as there are good security
+ reasons for having OpenVPN fail if it detects problems in a config file.
+ Having said that, there are valid reasons for wanting new software
+ features to gracefully degrade when encountered by older software
+ versions.
+
+ ``--ignore-unknown-option`` is available since OpenVPN 2.3.3.
+
+--iproute cmd
+ Set alternate command to execute instead of default ``iproute2`` command.
+ May be used in order to execute OpenVPN in unprivileged environment.
+
+--keying-material-exporter args
+ Save Exported Keying Material [RFC5705] of len bytes (must be between 16
+ and 4095 bytes) using ``label`` in environment
+ (:code:`exported_keying_material`) for use by plugins in
+ :code:`OPENVPN_PLUGIN_TLS_FINAL` callback.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ keying-material-exporter label len
+
+ Note that exporter ``labels`` have the potential to collide with existing
+ PRF labels. In order to prevent this, labels *MUST* begin with
+ :code:`EXPORTER`.
+
+--mlock
+ Disable paging by calling the POSIX mlockall function. Requires that
+ OpenVPN be initially run as root (though OpenVPN can subsequently
+ downgrade its UID using the ``--user`` option).
+
+ Using this option ensures that key material and tunnel data are never
+ written to disk due to virtual memory paging operations which occur
+ under most modern operating systems. It ensures that even if an attacker
+ was able to crack the box running OpenVPN, he would not be able to scan
+ the system swap file to recover previously used ephemeral keys, which
+ are used for a period of time governed by the ``--reneg`` options (see
+ below), then are discarded.
+
+ The downside of using ``--mlock`` is that it will reduce the amount of
+ physical memory available to other applications.
+
+--nice n
+ Change process priority after initialization (``n`` greater than 0 is
+ lower priority, ``n`` less than zero is higher priority).
+
+--persist-key
+ Don't re-read key files across :code:`SIGUSR1` or ``--ping-restart``.
+
+ This option can be combined with ``--user nobody`` to allow restarts
+ triggered by the :code:`SIGUSR1` signal. Normally if you drop root
+ privileges in OpenVPN, the daemon cannot be restarted since it will now
+ be unable to re-read protected key files.
+
+ This option solves the problem by persisting keys across :code:`SIGUSR1`
+ resets, so they don't need to be re-read.
+
+--remap-usr1 signal
+ Control whether internally or externally generated :code:`SIGUSR1` signals
+ are remapped to :code:`SIGHUP` (restart without persisting state) or
+ SIGTERM (exit).
+
+ ``signal`` can be set to :code:`SIGHUP` or :code:`SIGTERM`. By default,
+ no remapping occurs.
+
+--script-security level
+ This directive offers policy-level control over OpenVPN's usage of
+ external programs and scripts. Lower ``level`` values are more
+ restrictive, higher values are more permissive. Settings for ``level``:
+
+ :code:`0`
+ Strictly no calling of external programs.
+
+ :code:`1`
+ (Default) Only call built-in executables such as ifconfig,
+ ip, route, or netsh.
+
+ :code:`2`
+ Allow calling of built-in executables and user-defined
+ scripts.
+
+ :code:`3`
+ Allow passwords to be passed to scripts via environmental
+ variables (potentially unsafe).
+
+ OpenVPN releases before v2.3 also supported a ``method`` flag which
+ indicated how OpenVPN should call external commands and scripts. This
+ could be either :code:`execve` or :code:`system`. As of OpenVPN 2.3, this
+ flag is no longer accepted. In most \*nix environments the execve()
+ approach has been used without any issues.
+
+ Some directives such as ``--up`` allow options to be passed to the
+ external script. In these cases make sure the script name does not
+ contain any spaces or the configuration parser will choke because it
+ can't determine where the script name ends and script options start.
+
+ To run scripts in Windows in earlier OpenVPN versions you needed to
+ either add a full path to the script interpreter which can parse the
+ script or use the ``system`` flag to run these scripts. As of OpenVPN
+ 2.3 it is now a strict requirement to have full path to the script
+ interpreter when running non-executables files. This is not needed for
+ executable files, such as .exe, .com, .bat or .cmd files. For example,
+ if you have a Visual Basic script, you must use this syntax now:
+
+ ::
+
+ --up 'C:\\Windows\\System32\\wscript.exe C:\\Program\ Files\\OpenVPN\\config\\my-up-script.vbs'
+
+ Please note the single quote marks and the escaping of the backslashes
+ (\\) and the space character.
+
+ The reason the support for the :code:`system` flag was removed is due to
+ the security implications with shell expansions when executing scripts
+ via the :code:`system()` call.
+
+--setcon context
+ Apply SELinux ``context`` after initialization. This essentially
+ provides the ability to restrict OpenVPN's rights to only network I/O
+ operations, thanks to SELinux. This goes further than ``--user`` and
+ ``--chroot`` in that those two, while being great security features,
+ unfortunately do not protect against privilege escalation by
+ exploitation of a vulnerable system call. You can of course combine all
+ three, but please note that since setcon requires access to /proc you
+ will have to provide it inside the chroot directory (e.g. with mount
+ --bind).
+
+ Since the setcon operation is delayed until after initialization,
+ OpenVPN can be restricted to just network-related system calls, whereas
+ by applying the context before startup (such as the OpenVPN one provided
+ in the SELinux Reference Policies) you will have to allow many things
+ required only during initialization.
+
+ Like with chroot, complications can result when scripts or restarts are
+ executed after the setcon operation, which is why you should really
+ consider using the ``--persist-key`` and ``--persist-tun`` options.
+
+--status args
+ Write operational status to ``file`` every ``n`` seconds.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ status file
+ status file n
+
+ Status can also be written to the syslog by sending a :code:`SIGUSR2`
+ signal.
+
+ With multi-client capability enabled on a server, the status file
+ includes a list of clients and a routing table. The output format can be
+ controlled by the ``--status-version`` option in that case.
+
+ For clients or instances running in point-to-point mode, it will contain
+ the traffic statistics.
+
+--status-version n
+ Set the status file format version number to ``n``.
+
+ This only affects the status file on servers with multi-client
+ capability enabled. Valid status version values:
+
+ :code:`1`
+ Traditional format (default). The client list contains the
+ following fields comma-separated: Common Name, Real Address, Bytes
+ Received, Bytes Sent, Connected Since.
+
+ :code:`2`
+ A more reliable format for external processing. Compared to
+ version :code:`1`, the client list contains some additional fields:
+ Virtual Address, Virtual IPv6 Address, Username, Client ID, Peer ID,
+ Data Channel Cipher. Future versions may extend the number of fields.
+
+ :code:`3`
+ Identical to :code:`2`, but fields are tab-separated.
+
+--test-crypto
+ Do a self-test of OpenVPN's crypto options by encrypting and decrypting
+ test packets using the data channel encryption options specified above.
+ This option does not require a peer to function, and therefore can be
+ specified without ``--dev`` or ``--remote``.
+
+ The typical usage of ``--test-crypto`` would be something like this:
+ ::
+
+ openvpn --test-crypto --secret key
+
+ or
+
+ ::
+
+ openvpn --test-crypto --secret key --verb 9
+
+ This option is very useful to test OpenVPN after it has been ported to a
+ new platform, or to isolate problems in the compiler, OpenSSL crypto
+ library, or OpenVPN's crypto code. Since it is a self-test mode,
+ problems with encryption and authentication can be debugged
+ independently of network and tunnel issues.
+
+--tmp-dir dir
+ Specify a directory ``dir`` for temporary files. This directory will be
+ used by openvpn processes and script to communicate temporary data with
+ openvpn main process. Note that the directory must be writable by the
+ OpenVPN process after it has dropped it's root privileges.
+
+ This directory will be used by in the following cases:
+
+ * ``--client-connect`` scripts and :code:`OPENVPN_PLUGIN_CLIENT_CONNECT`
+ plug-in hook to dynamically generate client-specific configuration
+ :code:`client_connect_config_file` and return success/failure via
+ :code:`client_connect_deferred_file` when using deferred client connect
+ method
+
+ * :code:`OPENVPN_PLUGIN_AUTH_USER_PASS_VERIFY` plug-in hooks returns
+ success/failure via :code:`auth_control_file` when using deferred auth
+ method
+
+ * :code:`OPENVPN_PLUGIN_ENABLE_PF` plugin hook to pass filtering rules
+ via ``pf_file``
+
+--use-prediction-resistance
+ Enable prediction resistance on mbed TLS's RNG.
+
+ Enabling prediction resistance causes the RNG to reseed in each call for
+ random. Reseeding this often can quickly deplete the kernel entropy
+ pool.
+
+ If you need this option, please consider running a daemon that adds
+ entropy to the kernel pool.
+
+--user user
+ Change the user ID of the OpenVPN process to ``user`` after
+ initialization, dropping privileges in the process. This option is
+ useful to protect the system in the event that some hostile party was
+ able to gain control of an OpenVPN session. Though OpenVPN's security
+ features make this unlikely, it is provided as a second line of defense.
+
+ By setting ``user`` to :code:`nobody` or somebody similarly unprivileged,
+ the hostile party would be limited in what damage they could cause. Of
+ course once you take away privileges, you cannot return them to an
+ OpenVPN session. This means, for example, that if you want to reset an
+ OpenVPN daemon with a :code:`SIGUSR1` signal (for example in response to
+ a DHCP reset), you should make use of one or more of the ``--persist``
+ options to ensure that OpenVPN doesn't need to execute any privileged
+ operations in order to restart (such as re-reading key files or running
+ ``ifconfig`` on the TUN device).
+
+--writepid file
+ Write OpenVPN's main process ID to ``file``.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/inline-files.rst b/doc/man-sections/inline-files.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..819bd3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/inline-files.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+INLINE FILE SUPPORT
+===================
+
+OpenVPN allows including files in the main configuration for the ``--ca``,
+``--cert``, ``--dh``, ``--extra-certs``, ``--key``, ``--pkcs12``,
+``--secret``, ``--crl-verify``, ``--http-proxy-user-pass``, ``--tls-auth``,
+``--auth-gen-token-secret``, ``--tls-crypt`` and ``--tls-crypt-v2``
+options.
+
+Each inline file started by the line ``<option>`` and ended by the line
+``</option>``
+
+Here is an example of an inline file usage
+
+::
+
+ <cert>
+ -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
+ [...]
+ -----END CERTIFICATE-----
+ </cert>
+
+When using the inline file feature with ``--pkcs12`` the inline file has
+to be base64 encoded. Encoding of a .p12 file into base64 can be done
+for example with OpenSSL by running :code:`openssl base64 -in input.p12`
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/link-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/link-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c132a62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/link-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,409 @@
+Link Options
+------------
+This link options section covers options related to the connection between
+the local and the remote host.
+
+--bind keywords
+ Bind to local address and port. This is the default unless any of
+ ``--proto tcp-client`` , ``--http-proxy`` or ``--socks-proxy`` are used.
+
+ If the optional :code:`ipv6only` keyword is present OpenVPN will bind only
+ to IPv6 (as opposed to IPv6 and IPv4) when a IPv6 socket is opened.
+
+--float
+ Allow remote peer to change its IP address and/or port number, such as
+ due to DHCP (this is the default if ``--remote`` is not used).
+ ``--float`` when specified with ``--remote`` allows an OpenVPN session
+ to initially connect to a peer at a known address, however if packets
+ arrive from a new address and pass all authentication tests, the new
+ address will take control of the session. This is useful when you are
+ connecting to a peer which holds a dynamic address such as a dial-in
+ user or DHCP client.
+
+ Essentially, ``--float`` tells OpenVPN to accept authenticated packets
+ from any address, not only the address which was specified in the
+ ``--remote`` option.
+
+--fragment max
+ Enable internal datagram fragmentation so that no UDP datagrams are sent
+ which are larger than ``max`` bytes.
+
+ The ``max`` parameter is interpreted in the same way as the
+ ``--link-mtu`` parameter, i.e. the UDP packet size after encapsulation
+ overhead has been added in, but not including the UDP header itself.
+
+ The ``--fragment`` option only makes sense when you are using the UDP
+ protocol (``--proto udp``).
+
+ ``--fragment`` adds 4 bytes of overhead per datagram.
+
+ See the ``--mssfix`` option below for an important related option to
+ ``--fragment``.
+
+ It should also be noted that this option is not meant to replace UDP
+ fragmentation at the IP stack level. It is only meant as a last resort
+ when path MTU discovery is broken. Using this option is less efficient
+ than fixing path MTU discovery for your IP link and using native IP
+ fragmentation instead.
+
+ Having said that, there are circumstances where using OpenVPN's internal
+ fragmentation capability may be your only option, such as tunneling a
+ UDP multicast stream which requires fragmentation.
+
+--keepalive args
+ A helper directive designed to simplify the expression of ``--ping`` and
+ ``--ping-restart``.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ keepalive interval timeout
+
+ This option can be used on both client and server side, but it is enough
+ to add this on the server side as it will push appropriate ``--ping``
+ and ``--ping-restart`` options to the client. If used on both server and
+ client, the values pushed from server will override the client local
+ values.
+
+ The ``timeout`` argument will be twice as long on the server side. This
+ ensures that a timeout is detected on client side before the server side
+ drops the connection.
+
+ For example, ``--keepalive 10 60`` expands as follows:
+ ::
+
+ if mode server:
+ ping 10 # Argument: interval
+ ping-restart 120 # Argument: timeout*2
+ push "ping 10" # Argument: interval
+ push "ping-restart 60" # Argument: timeout
+ else
+ ping 10 # Argument: interval
+ ping-restart 60 # Argument: timeout
+
+--link-mtu n
+ Sets an upper bound on the size of UDP packets which are sent between
+ OpenVPN peers. *It's best not to set this parameter unless you know what
+ you're doing.*
+
+--local host
+ Local host name or IP address for bind. If specified, OpenVPN will bind
+ to this address only. If unspecified, OpenVPN will bind to all
+ interfaces.
+
+--lport port
+ Set local TCP/UDP port number or name. Cannot be used together with
+ ``--nobind`` option.
+
+--mark value
+ Mark encrypted packets being sent with value. The mark value can be
+ matched in policy routing and packetfilter rules. This option is only
+ supported in Linux and does nothing on other operating systems.
+
+--mode m
+ Set OpenVPN major mode. By default, OpenVPN runs in point-to-point mode
+ (:code:`p2p`). OpenVPN 2.0 introduces a new mode (:code:`server`) which
+ implements a multi-client server capability.
+
+--mssfix max
+ Announce to TCP sessions running over the tunnel that they should limit
+ their send packet sizes such that after OpenVPN has encapsulated them,
+ the resulting UDP packet size that OpenVPN sends to its peer will not
+ exceed ``max`` bytes. The default value is :code:`1450`.
+
+ The ``max`` parameter is interpreted in the same way as the
+ ``--link-mtu`` parameter, i.e. the UDP packet size after encapsulation
+ overhead has been added in, but not including the UDP header itself.
+ Resulting packet would be at most 28 bytes larger for IPv4 and 48 bytes
+ for IPv6 (20/40 bytes for IP header and 8 bytes for UDP header). Default
+ value of 1450 allows IPv4 packets to be transmitted over a link with MTU
+ 1473 or higher without IP level fragmentation.
+
+ The ``--mssfix`` option only makes sense when you are using the UDP
+ protocol for OpenVPN peer-to-peer communication, i.e. ``--proto udp``.
+
+ ``--mssfix`` and ``--fragment`` can be ideally used together, where
+ ``--mssfix`` will try to keep TCP from needing packet fragmentation in
+ the first place, and if big packets come through anyhow (from protocols
+ other than TCP), ``--fragment`` will internally fragment them.
+
+ Both ``--fragment`` and ``--mssfix`` are designed to work around cases
+ where Path MTU discovery is broken on the network path between OpenVPN
+ peers.
+
+ The usual symptom of such a breakdown is an OpenVPN connection which
+ successfully starts, but then stalls during active usage.
+
+ If ``--fragment`` and ``--mssfix`` are used together, ``--mssfix`` will
+ take its default ``max`` parameter from the ``--fragment max`` option.
+
+ Therefore, one could lower the maximum UDP packet size to 1300 (a good
+ first try for solving MTU-related connection problems) with the
+ following options:
+ ::
+
+ --tun-mtu 1500 --fragment 1300 --mssfix
+
+--mtu-disc type
+ Should we do Path MTU discovery on TCP/UDP channel? Only supported on
+ OSes such as Linux that supports the necessary system call to set.
+
+ Valid types:
+
+ :code:`no` Never send DF (Don't Fragment) frames
+
+ :code:`maybe` Use per-route hints
+
+ :code:`yes` Always DF (Don't Fragment)
+
+--mtu-test
+ To empirically measure MTU on connection startup, add the ``--mtu-test``
+ option to your configuration. OpenVPN will send ping packets of various
+ sizes to the remote peer and measure the largest packets which were
+ successfully received. The ``--mtu-test`` process normally takes about 3
+ minutes to complete.
+
+--nobind
+ Do not bind to local address and port. The IP stack will allocate a
+ dynamic port for returning packets. Since the value of the dynamic port
+ could not be known in advance by a peer, this option is only suitable
+ for peers which will be initiating connections by using the --remote
+ option.
+
+--passtos
+ Set the TOS field of the tunnel packet to what the payload's TOS is.
+
+--ping n
+ Ping remote over the TCP/UDP control channel if no packets have been
+ sent for at least ``n`` seconds (specify ``--ping`` on both peers to
+ cause ping packets to be sent in both directions since OpenVPN ping
+ packets are not echoed like IP ping packets). When used in one of
+ OpenVPN's secure modes (where ``--secret``, ``--tls-server`` or
+ ``--tls-client`` is specified), the ping packet will be
+ cryptographically secure.
+
+ This option has two intended uses:
+
+ (1) Compatibility with stateful firewalls. The periodic ping will ensure
+ that a stateful firewall rule which allows OpenVPN UDP packets to
+ pass will not time out.
+
+ (2) To provide a basis for the remote to test the existence of its peer
+ using the ``--ping-exit`` option.
+
+--ping-exit n
+ Causes OpenVPN to exit after ``n`` seconds pass without reception of a
+ ping or other packet from remote. This option can be combined with
+ ``--inactive``, ``--ping`` and ``--ping-exit`` to create a two-tiered
+ inactivity disconnect.
+
+ For example,
+ ::
+
+ openvpn [options...] --inactive 3600 --ping 10 --ping-exit 60
+
+ when used on both peers will cause OpenVPN to exit within 60 seconds if
+ its peer disconnects, but will exit after one hour if no actual tunnel
+ data is exchanged.
+
+--ping-restart n
+ Similar to ``--ping-exit``, but trigger a :code:`SIGUSR1` restart after
+ ``n`` seconds pass without reception of a ping or other packet from
+ remote.
+
+ This option is useful in cases where the remote peer has a dynamic IP
+ address and a low-TTL DNS name is used to track the IP address using a
+ service such as http://dyndns.org/ + a dynamic DNS client such as
+ ``ddclient``.
+
+ If the peer cannot be reached, a restart will be triggered, causing the
+ hostname used with ``--remote`` to be re-resolved (if ``--resolv-retry``
+ is also specified).
+
+ In server mode, ``--ping-restart``, ``--inactive`` or any other type of
+ internally generated signal will always be applied to individual client
+ instance objects, never to whole server itself. Note also in server mode
+ that any internally generated signal which would normally cause a
+ restart, will cause the deletion of the client instance object instead.
+
+ In client mode, the ``--ping-restart`` parameter is set to 120 seconds
+ by default. This default will hold until the client pulls a replacement
+ value from the server, based on the ``--keepalive`` setting in the
+ server configuration. To disable the 120 second default, set
+ ``--ping-restart 0`` on the client.
+
+ See the signals section below for more information on :code:`SIGUSR1`.
+
+ Note that the behavior of ``SIGUSR1`` can be modified by the
+ ``--persist-tun``, ``--persist-key``, ``--persist-local-ip`` and
+ ``--persist-remote-ip`` options.
+
+ Also note that ``--ping-exit`` and ``--ping-restart`` are mutually
+ exclusive and cannot be used together.
+
+--ping-timer-rem
+ Run the ``--ping-exit`` / ``--ping-restart`` timer only if we have a
+ remote address. Use this option if you are starting the daemon in listen
+ mode (i.e. without an explicit ``--remote`` peer), and you don't want to
+ start clocking timeouts until a remote peer connects.
+
+--proto p
+ Use protocol ``p`` for communicating with remote host. ``p`` can be
+ :code:`udp`, :code:`tcp-client`, or :code:`tcp-server`.
+
+ The default protocol is :code:`udp` when ``--proto`` is not specified.
+
+ For UDP operation, ``--proto udp`` should be specified on both peers.
+
+ For TCP operation, one peer must use ``--proto tcp-server`` and the
+ other must use ``--proto tcp-client``. A peer started with
+ :code:`tcp-server` will wait indefinitely for an incoming connection. A peer
+ started with :code:`tcp-client` will attempt to connect, and if that fails,
+ will sleep for 5 seconds (adjustable via the ``--connect-retry`` option)
+ and try again infinite or up to N retries (adjustable via the
+ ``--connect-retry-max`` option). Both TCP client and server will
+ simulate a SIGUSR1 restart signal if either side resets the connection.
+
+ OpenVPN is designed to operate optimally over UDP, but TCP capability is
+ provided for situations where UDP cannot be used. In comparison with
+ UDP, TCP will usually be somewhat less efficient and less robust when
+ used over unreliable or congested networks.
+
+ This article outlines some of problems with tunneling IP over TCP:
+ http://sites.inka.de/sites/bigred/devel/tcp-tcp.html
+
+ There are certain cases, however, where using TCP may be advantageous
+ from a security and robustness perspective, such as tunneling non-IP or
+ application-level UDP protocols, or tunneling protocols which don't
+ possess a built-in reliability layer.
+
+--port port
+ TCP/UDP port number or port name for both local and remote (sets both
+ ``--lport`` and ``--rport`` options to given port). The current default
+ of 1194 represents the official IANA port number assignment for OpenVPN
+ and has been used since version 2.0-beta17. Previous versions used port
+ 5000 as the default.
+
+--rport port
+ Set TCP/UDP port number or name used by the ``--remote`` option. The
+ port can also be set directly using the ``--remote`` option.
+
+--replay-window args
+ Modify the replay protection sliding-window size and time window.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ replay-window n [t]
+
+ Use a replay protection sliding-window of size **n** and a time window
+ of **t** seconds.
+
+ By default **n** is 64 (the IPSec default) and **t** is 15 seconds.
+
+ This option is only relevant in UDP mode, i.e. when either **--proto
+ udp** is specified, or no **--proto** option is specified.
+
+ When OpenVPN tunnels IP packets over UDP, there is the possibility that
+ packets might be dropped or delivered out of order. Because OpenVPN,
+ like IPSec, is emulating the physical network layer, it will accept an
+ out-of-order packet sequence, and will deliver such packets in the same
+ order they were received to the TCP/IP protocol stack, provided they
+ satisfy several constraints.
+
+ (a) The packet cannot be a replay (unless ``--no-replay`` is
+ specified, which disables replay protection altogether).
+
+ (b) If a packet arrives out of order, it will only be accepted if
+ the difference between its sequence number and the highest sequence
+ number received so far is less than ``n``.
+
+ (c) If a packet arrives out of order, it will only be accepted if it
+ arrives no later than ``t`` seconds after any packet containing a higher
+ sequence number.
+
+ If you are using a network link with a large pipeline (meaning that the
+ product of bandwidth and latency is high), you may want to use a larger
+ value for ``n``. Satellite links in particular often require this.
+
+ If you run OpenVPN at ``--verb 4``, you will see the message
+ "Replay-window backtrack occurred [x]" every time the maximum sequence
+ number backtrack seen thus far increases. This can be used to calibrate
+ ``n``.
+
+ There is some controversy on the appropriate method of handling packet
+ reordering at the security layer.
+
+ Namely, to what extent should the security layer protect the
+ encapsulated protocol from attacks which masquerade as the kinds of
+ normal packet loss and reordering that occur over IP networks?
+
+ The IPSec and OpenVPN approach is to allow packet reordering within a
+ certain fixed sequence number window.
+
+ OpenVPN adds to the IPSec model by limiting the window size in time as
+ well as sequence space.
+
+ OpenVPN also adds TCP transport as an option (not offered by IPSec) in
+ which case OpenVPN can adopt a very strict attitude towards message
+ deletion and reordering: Don't allow it. Since TCP guarantees
+ reliability, any packet loss or reordering event can be assumed to be an
+ attack.
+
+ In this sense, it could be argued that TCP tunnel transport is preferred
+ when tunneling non-IP or UDP application protocols which might be
+ vulnerable to a message deletion or reordering attack which falls within
+ the normal operational parameters of IP networks.
+
+ So I would make the statement that one should never tunnel a non-IP
+ protocol or UDP application protocol over UDP, if the protocol might be
+ vulnerable to a message deletion or reordering attack that falls within
+ the normal operating parameters of what is to be expected from the
+ physical IP layer. The problem is easily fixed by simply using TCP as
+ the VPN transport layer.
+
+--replay-persist file
+ Persist replay-protection state across sessions using ``file`` to save
+ and reload the state.
+
+ This option will strengthen protection against replay attacks,
+ especially when you are using OpenVPN in a dynamic context (such as with
+ ``--inetd``) when OpenVPN sessions are frequently started and stopped.
+
+ This option will keep a disk copy of the current replay protection state
+ (i.e. the most recent packet timestamp and sequence number received from
+ the remote peer), so that if an OpenVPN session is stopped and
+ restarted, it will reject any replays of packets which were already
+ received by the prior session.
+
+ This option only makes sense when replay protection is enabled (the
+ default) and you are using either ``--secret`` (shared-secret key mode)
+ or TLS mode with ``--tls-auth``.
+
+--socket-flags flags
+ Apply the given flags to the OpenVPN transport socket. Currently, only
+ :code:`TCP_NODELAY` is supported.
+
+ The :code:`TCP_NODELAY` socket flag is useful in TCP mode, and causes the
+ kernel to send tunnel packets immediately over the TCP connection without
+ trying to group several smaller packets into a larger packet. This can
+ result in a considerably improvement in latency.
+
+ This option is pushable from server to client, and should be used on
+ both client and server for maximum effect.
+
+--tcp-nodelay
+ This macro sets the :code:`TCP_NODELAY` socket flag on the server as well
+ as pushes it to connecting clients. The :code:`TCP_NODELAY` flag disables
+ the Nagle algorithm on TCP sockets causing packets to be transmitted
+ immediately with low latency, rather than waiting a short period of time
+ in order to aggregate several packets into a larger containing packet.
+ In VPN applications over TCP, :code:`TCP_NODELAY` is generally a good
+ latency optimization.
+
+ The macro expands as follows:
+ ::
+
+ if mode server:
+ socket-flags TCP_NODELAY
+ push "socket-flags TCP_NODELAY"
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/log-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/log-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e385d18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/log-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+Log options
+-----------
+
+--echo parms
+ Echo ``parms`` to log output.
+
+ Designed to be used to send messages to a controlling application which
+ is receiving the OpenVPN log output.
+
+--errors-to-stderr
+ Output errors to stderr instead of stdout unless log output is
+ redirected by one of the ``--log`` options.
+
+--log file
+ Output logging messages to ``file``, including output to stdout/stderr
+ which is generated by called scripts. If ``file`` already exists it will
+ be truncated. This option takes effect immediately when it is parsed in
+ the command line and will supersede syslog output if ``--daemon`` or
+ ``--inetd`` is also specified. This option is persistent over the entire
+ course of an OpenVPN instantiation and will not be reset by
+ :code:`SIGHUP`, :code:`SIGUSR1`, or ``--ping-restart``.
+
+ Note that on Windows, when OpenVPN is started as a service, logging
+ occurs by default without the need to specify this option.
+
+--log-append file
+ Append logging messages to ``file``. If ``file`` does not exist, it will
+ be created. This option behaves exactly like ``--log`` except that it
+ appends to rather than truncating the log file.
+
+--machine-readable-output
+ Always write timestamps and message flags to log messages, even when
+ they otherwise would not be prefixed. In particular, this applies to log
+ messages sent to stdout.
+
+--mute n
+ Log at most ``n`` consecutive messages in the same category. This is
+ useful to limit repetitive logging of similar message types.
+
+--mute-replay-warnings
+ Silence the output of replay warnings, which are a common false alarm on
+ WiFi networks. This option preserves the security of the replay
+ protection code without the verbosity associated with warnings about
+ duplicate packets.
+
+--suppress-timestamps
+ Avoid writing timestamps to log messages, even when they otherwise would
+ be prepended. In particular, this applies to log messages sent to
+ stdout.
+
+--syslog progname
+ Direct log output to system logger, but do not become a daemon. See
+ ``--daemon`` directive above for description of ``progname`` parameter.
+
+--verb n
+ Set output verbosity to ``n`` (default :code:`1`). Each level shows all
+ info from the previous levels. Level :code:`3` is recommended if you want
+ a good summary of what's happening without being swamped by output.
+
+ :code:`0`
+ No output except fatal errors.
+
+ :code:`1` to :code:`4`
+ Normal usage range.
+
+ :code:`5`
+ Outputs :code:`R` and :code:`W` characters to the console for
+ each packet read and write, uppercase is used for TCP/UDP
+ packets and lowercase is used for TUN/TAP packets.
+
+ :code:`6` to :code:`11`
+ Debug info range (see :code:`errlevel.h` in the source code for
+ additional information on debug levels).
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/management-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/management-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de0d47e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/management-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+Management Interface Options
+----------------------------
+OpenVPN provides a feature rich socket based management interface for both
+server and client mode operations.
+
+--management args
+ Enable a management server on a ``socket-name`` Unix socket on those
+ platforms supporting it, or on a designated TCP port.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ management socket-name unix #
+ management socket-name unix pw-file # (recommended)
+ management IP port # (INSECURE)
+ management IP port pw-file #
+
+ ``pw-file``, if specified, is a password file where the password must
+ be on first line. Instead of a filename it can use the keyword stdin
+ which will prompt the user for a password to use when OpenVPN is
+ starting.
+
+ For unix sockets, the default behaviour is to create a unix domain
+ socket that may be connected to by any process. Use the
+ ``--management-client-user`` and ``--management-client-group``
+ directives to restrict access.
+
+ The management interface provides a special mode where the TCP
+ management link can operate over the tunnel itself. To enable this mode,
+ set IP to ``tunnel``. Tunnel mode will cause the management interface to
+ listen for a TCP connection on the local VPN address of the TUN/TAP
+ interface.
+
+ ***BEWARE*** of enabling the management interface over TCP. In these cases
+ you should *ALWAYS* make use of ``pw-file`` to password protect the
+ management interface. Any user who can connect to this TCP ``IP:port``
+ will be able to manage and control (and interfere with) the OpenVPN
+ process. It is also strongly recommended to set IP to 127.0.0.1
+ (localhost) to restrict accessibility of the management server to local
+ clients.
+
+ While the management port is designed for programmatic control of
+ OpenVPN by other applications, it is possible to telnet to the port,
+ using a telnet client in "raw" mode. Once connected, type :code:`help`
+ for a list of commands.
+
+ For detailed documentation on the management interface, see the
+ *management-notes.txt* file in the management folder of the OpenVPN
+ source distribution.
+
+--management-client
+ Management interface will connect as a TCP/unix domain client to
+ ``IP:port`` specified by ``--management`` rather than listen as a TCP
+ server or on a unix domain socket.
+
+ If the client connection fails to connect or is disconnected, a SIGTERM
+ signal will be generated causing OpenVPN to quit.
+
+--management-client-auth
+ Gives management interface client the responsibility to authenticate
+ clients after their client certificate has been verified. See
+ :code:`management-notes.txt` in OpenVPN distribution for detailed notes.
+
+--management-client-group g
+ When the management interface is listening on a unix domain socket, only
+ allow connections from group ``g``.
+
+--management-client-pf
+ Management interface clients must specify a packet filter file for each
+ connecting client. See :code:`management-notes.txt` in OpenVPN
+ distribution for detailed notes.
+
+--management-client-user u
+ When the management interface is listening on a unix domain socket, only
+ allow connections from user ``u``.
+
+--management-external-cert certificate-hint
+ Allows usage for external certificate instead of ``--cert`` option
+ (client-only). ``certificate-hint`` is an arbitrary string which is
+ passed to a management interface client as an argument of
+ *NEED-CERTIFICATE* notification. Requires ``--management-external-key``.
+
+--management-external-key args
+ Allows usage for external private key file instead of ``--key`` option
+ (client-only).
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ management-external-key
+ management-external-key nopadding
+ management-external-key pkcs1
+ management-external-key nopadding pkcs1
+
+ The optional parameters :code:`nopadding` and :code:`pkcs1` signal
+ support for different padding algorithms. See
+ :code:`doc/mangement-notes.txt` for a complete description of this
+ feature.
+
+--management-forget-disconnect
+ Make OpenVPN forget passwords when management session disconnects.
+
+ This directive does not affect the ``--http-proxy`` username/password.
+ It is always cached.
+
+--management-hold
+ Start OpenVPN in a hibernating state, until a client of the management
+ interface explicitly starts it with the :code:`hold release` command.
+
+--management-log-cache n
+ Cache the most recent ``n`` lines of log file history for usage by the
+ management channel.
+
+--management-query-passwords
+ Query management channel for private key password and
+ ``--auth-user-pass`` username/password. Only query the management
+ channel for inputs which ordinarily would have been queried from the
+ console.
+
+--management-query-proxy
+ Query management channel for proxy server information for a specific
+ ``--remote`` (client-only).
+
+--management-query-remote
+ Allow management interface to override ``--remote`` directives
+ (client-only).
+
+--management-signal
+ Send SIGUSR1 signal to OpenVPN if management session disconnects. This
+ is useful when you wish to disconnect an OpenVPN session on user logoff.
+ For ``--management-client`` this option is not needed since a disconnect
+ will always generate a :code:`SIGTERM`.
+
+--management-up-down
+ Report tunnel up/down events to management interface.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/network-config.rst b/doc/man-sections/network-config.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..04b30aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/network-config.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+NETWORK CONFIGURATION
+=====================
+
+OpenVPN consists of two sides of network configuration. One side is the
+*link* between the local and remote side, the other side is the *virtual
+network adapter* (tun/tap device).
+
+.. include:: link-options.rst
+.. include:: vpn-network-options.rst
+.. include:: virtual-routing-and-forwarding.rst
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/pkcs11-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/pkcs11-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c064aca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/pkcs11-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+PKCS#11 / SmartCard options
+---------------------------
+
+--pkcs11-cert-private args
+ Set if access to certificate object should be performed after login.
+ Every provider has its own setting.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ pkcs11-cert-private 0
+ pkcs11-cert-private 1
+
+--pkcs11-id name
+ Specify the serialized certificate id to be used. The id can be gotten
+ by the standalone ``--show-pkcs11-ids`` option.
+
+--pkcs11-id-management
+ Acquire PKCS#11 id from management interface. In this case a
+ :code:`NEED-STR 'pkcs11-id-request'` real-time message will be triggered,
+ application may use pkcs11-id-count command to retrieve available number of
+ certificates, and pkcs11-id-get command to retrieve certificate id and
+ certificate body.
+
+--pkcs11-pin-cache seconds
+ Specify how many seconds the PIN can be cached, the default is until the
+ token is removed.
+
+--pkcs11-private-mode mode
+ Specify which method to use in order to perform private key operations.
+ A different mode can be specified for each provider. Mode is encoded as
+ hex number, and can be a mask one of the following:
+
+ :code:`0` (default) Try to determine automatically.
+
+ :code:`1` Use sign.
+
+ :code:`2` Use sign recover.
+
+ :code:`4` Use decrypt.
+
+ :code:`8` Use unwrap.
+
+--pkcs11-protected-authentication args
+ Use PKCS#11 protected authentication path, useful for biometric and
+ external keypad devices. Every provider has its own setting.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ pkcs11-protected-authentication 0
+ pkcs11-protected-authentication 1
+
+--pkcs11-providers provider
+ Specify an RSA Security Inc. PKCS #11 Cryptographic Token Interface
+ (Cryptoki) providers to load. This option can be used instead of
+ ``--cert``, ``--key`` and ``--pkcs12``.
+
+ If p11-kit is present on the system, its :code:`p11-kit-proxy.so` module
+ will be loaded by default if either the ``--pkcs11-id`` or
+ ``--pkcs11-id-management`` options are specified without
+ ``--pkcs11-provider`` being given.
+
+--show-pkcs11-ids args
+ (Standalone) Show PKCS#11 token object list.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ show-pkcs11 [provider] [cert_private]
+
+ Specify ``cert_private`` as :code:`1` if certificates are stored as
+ private objects.
+
+ If *p11-kit* is present on the system, the ``provider`` argument is
+ optional; if omitted the default :code:`p11-kit-proxy.so` module will be
+ queried.
+
+ ``--verb`` option can be used BEFORE this option to produce debugging
+ information.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/plugin-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/plugin-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..51c574f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/plugin-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+Plug-in Interface Options
+-------------------------
+
+OpenVPN can be extended by loading external plug-in modules at runtime. These
+plug-ins must be prebuilt and adhere to the OpenVPN Plug-In API.
+
+--plugin args
+ Loads an OpenVPN plug-in module.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ plugin module-name
+ plugin module-name "arguments"
+
+ The ``module-name`` needs to be the first
+ argument, indicating the plug-in to load. The second argument is an
+ optional init string which will be passed directly to the plug-in.
+ If the init consists of multiple arguments it must be enclosed in
+ double-quotes (\"). Multiple plugin modules may be loaded into one
+ OpenVPN process.
+
+ The ``module-name`` argument can be just a filename or a filename
+ with a relative or absolute path. The format of the filename and path
+ defines if the plug-in will be loaded from a default plug-in directory
+ or outside this directory.
+ ::
+
+ --plugin path Effective directory used
+ ===================== =============================
+ myplug.so DEFAULT_DIR/myplug.so
+ subdir/myplug.so DEFAULT_DIR/subdir/myplug.so
+ ./subdir/myplug.so CWD/subdir/myplug.so
+ /usr/lib/my/plug.so /usr/lib/my/plug.so
+
+
+ ``DEFAULT_DIR`` is replaced by the default plug-in directory, which is
+ configured at the build time of OpenVPN. ``CWD`` is the current directory
+ where OpenVPN was started or the directory OpenVPN have switched into
+ via the ``--cd`` option before the ``--plugin`` option.
+
+ For more information and examples on how to build OpenVPN plug-in
+ modules, see the README file in the ``plugin`` folder of the OpenVPN
+ source distribution.
+
+ If you are using an RPM install of OpenVPN, see
+ :code:`/usr/share/openvpn/plugin`. The documentation is in ``doc`` and
+ the actual plugin modules are in ``lib``.
+
+ Multiple plugin modules can be cascaded, and modules can be used in
+ tandem with scripts. The modules will be called by OpenVPN in the order
+ that they are declared in the config file. If both a plugin and script
+ are configured for the same callback, the script will be called last. If
+ the return code of the module/script controls an authentication function
+ (such as tls-verify, auth-user-pass-verify, or client-connect), then
+ every module and script must return success (:code:`0`) in order for the
+ connection to be authenticated.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/protocol-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/protocol-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e9d5d63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/protocol-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,281 @@
+Protocol options
+----------------
+Options in this section affect features available in the OpenVPN wire
+protocol. Many of these options also define the encryption options
+of the data channel in the OpenVPN wire protocol. These options must be
+configured in a compatible way between both the local and remote side.
+
+--allow-compression mode
+ As described in the ``--compress`` option, compression is a potentially
+ dangerous option. This option allows controlling the behaviour of
+ OpenVPN when compression is used and allowed.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ allow-compression
+ allow-compression mode
+
+ The ``mode`` argument can be one of the following values:
+
+ :code:`asym` (default)
+ OpenVPN will only *decompress downlink packets* but *not compress
+ uplink packets*. This also allows migrating to disable compression
+ when changing both server and client configurations to remove
+ compression at the same time is not a feasible option.
+
+ :code:`no`
+ OpenVPN will refuse any non-stub compression.
+
+ :code:`yes`
+ OpenVPN will send and receive compressed packets.
+
+--auth alg
+ Authenticate data channel packets and (if enabled) ``tls-auth`` control
+ channel packets with HMAC using message digest algorithm ``alg``. (The
+ default is ``SHA1`` ). HMAC is a commonly used message authentication
+ algorithm (MAC) that uses a data string, a secure hash algorithm and a
+ key to produce a digital signature.
+
+ The OpenVPN data channel protocol uses encrypt-then-mac (i.e. first
+ encrypt a packet then HMAC the resulting ciphertext), which prevents
+ padding oracle attacks.
+
+ If an AEAD cipher mode (e.g. GCM) is chosen then the specified ``--auth``
+ algorithm is ignored for the data channel and the authentication method
+ of the AEAD cipher is used instead. Note that ``alg`` still specifies
+ the digest used for ``tls-auth``.
+
+ In static-key encryption mode, the HMAC key is included in the key file
+ generated by ``--genkey``. In TLS mode, the HMAC key is dynamically
+ generated and shared between peers via the TLS control channel. If
+ OpenVPN receives a packet with a bad HMAC it will drop the packet. HMAC
+ usually adds 16 or 20 bytes per packet. Set ``alg=none`` to disable
+ authentication.
+
+ For more information on HMAC see
+ http://www.cs.ucsd.edu/users/mihir/papers/hmac.html
+
+--cipher alg
+ This option is deprecated for server-client mode. ``--data-ciphers``
+ or possibly `--data-ciphers-fallback`` should be used instead.
+
+ Encrypt data channel packets with cipher algorithm ``alg``.
+
+ The default is :code:`BF-CBC`, an abbreviation for Blowfish in Cipher
+ Block Chaining mode. When cipher negotiation (NCP) is allowed,
+ OpenVPN 2.4 and newer on both client and server side will automatically
+ upgrade to :code:`AES-256-GCM`. See ``--data-ciphers`` and
+ ``--ncp-disable`` for more details on NCP.
+
+ Using :code:`BF-CBC` is no longer recommended, because of its 64-bit
+ block size. This small block size allows attacks based on collisions, as
+ demonstrated by SWEET32. See
+ https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/wiki/SWEET32
+ for details. Due to this, support for :code:`BF-CBC`, :code:`DES`,
+ :code:`CAST5`, :code:`IDEA` and :code:`RC2` ciphers will be removed in
+ OpenVPN 2.6.
+
+ To see other ciphers that are available with OpenVPN, use the
+ ``--show-ciphers`` option.
+
+ Set ``alg`` to :code:`none` to disable encryption.
+
+--compress algorithm
+ **DEPRECATED** Enable a compression algorithm. Compression is generally
+ not recommended. VPN tunnels which use compression are susceptible to
+ the VORALCE attack vector.
+
+ The ``algorithm`` parameter may be :code:`lzo`, :code:`lz4`,
+ :code:`lz4-v2`, :code:`stub`, :code:`stub-v2` or empty.
+ LZO and LZ4 are different compression algorithms, with LZ4 generally
+ offering the best performance with least CPU usage.
+
+ The :code:`lz4-v2` and :code:`stub-v2` variants implement a better
+ framing that does not add overhead when packets cannot be compressed. All
+ other variants always add one extra framing byte compared to no
+ compression framing.
+
+ If the ``algorithm`` parameter is :code:`stub`, :code:`stub-v2` or empty,
+ compression will be turned off, but the packet framing for compression
+ will still be enabled, allowing a different setting to be pushed later.
+ Additionally, :code:`stub` and :code:`stub-v2` wil disable announcing
+ ``lzo`` and ``lz4`` compression support via *IV_* variables to the
+ server.
+
+ Note: the :code:`stub` (or empty) option is NOT compatible with the older
+ option ``--comp-lzo no``.
+
+ ***Security Considerations***
+
+ Compression and encryption is a tricky combination. If an attacker knows
+ or is able to control (parts of) the plain-text of packets that contain
+ secrets, the attacker might be able to extract the secret if compression
+ is enabled. See e.g. the *CRIME* and *BREACH* attacks on TLS and
+ *VORACLE* on VPNs which also leverage to break encryption. If you are not
+ entirely sure that the above does not apply to your traffic, you are
+ advised to *not* enable compression.
+
+--comp-lzo mode
+ **DEPRECATED** Enable LZO compression algorithm. Compression is
+ generally not recommended. VPN tunnels which uses compression are
+ suspectible to the VORALCE attack vector.
+
+ Use LZO compression -- may add up to 1 byte per packet for incompressible
+ data. ``mode`` may be :code:`yes`, :code:`no`, or :code:`adaptive`
+ (default).
+
+ In a server mode setup, it is possible to selectively turn compression
+ on or off for individual clients.
+
+ First, make sure the client-side config file enables selective
+ compression by having at least one ``--comp-lzo`` directive, such as
+ ``--comp-lzo no``. This will turn off compression by default, but allow
+ a future directive push from the server to dynamically change the
+ :code:`on`/:code:`off`/:code:`adaptive` setting.
+
+ Next in a ``--client-config-dir`` file, specify the compression setting
+ for the client, for example:
+ ::
+
+ comp-lzo yes
+ push "comp-lzo yes"
+
+ The first line sets the ``comp-lzo`` setting for the server side of the
+ link, the second sets the client side.
+
+--comp-noadapt
+ **DEPRECATED** When used in conjunction with ``--comp-lzo``, this option
+ will disable OpenVPN's adaptive compression algorithm. Normally, adaptive
+ compression is enabled with ``--comp-lzo``.
+
+ Adaptive compression tries to optimize the case where you have
+ compression enabled, but you are sending predominantly incompressible
+ (or pre-compressed) packets over the tunnel, such as an FTP or rsync
+ transfer of a large, compressed file. With adaptive compression, OpenVPN
+ will periodically sample the compression process to measure its
+ efficiency. If the data being sent over the tunnel is already
+ compressed, the compression efficiency will be very low, triggering
+ openvpn to disable compression for a period of time until the next
+ re-sample test.
+
+--key-direction
+ Alternative way of specifying the optional direction parameter for the
+ ``--tls-auth`` and ``--secret`` options. Useful when using inline files
+ (See section on inline files).
+
+--keysize n
+ **DEPRECATED** This option will be removed in OpenVPN 2.6.
+
+ Size of cipher key in bits (optional). If unspecified, defaults to
+ cipher-specific default. The ``--show-ciphers`` option (see below) shows
+ all available OpenSSL ciphers, their default key sizes, and whether the
+ key size can be changed. Use care in changing a cipher's default key
+ size. Many ciphers have not been extensively cryptanalyzed with
+ non-standard key lengths, and a larger key may offer no real guarantee
+ of greater security, or may even reduce security.
+
+--data-ciphers cipher-list
+ Restrict the allowed ciphers to be negotiated to the ciphers in
+ ``cipher-list``. ``cipher-list`` is a colon-separated list of ciphers,
+ and defaults to :code:`AES-256-GCM:AES-128-GCM`.
+
+ For servers, the first cipher from ``cipher-list`` that is also
+ supported by the client will be pushed to clients that support cipher
+ negotiation.
+
+ Cipher negotiation is enabled in client-server mode only. I.e. if
+ ``--mode`` is set to 'server' (server-side, implied by setting
+ ``--server`` ), or if ``--pull`` is specified (client-side, implied by
+ setting --client).
+
+ If no common cipher is found during cipher negotiation, the connection
+ is terminated. To support old clients/old servers that do not provide any
+ cipher negotiation support see ``--data-ciphers-fallback``.
+
+ Additionally, to allow for more smooth transition, if NCP is enabled,
+ OpenVPN will inherit the cipher of the peer if that cipher is different
+ from the local ``--cipher`` setting, but the peer cipher is one of the
+ ciphers specified in ``--data-ciphers``. E.g. a non-NCP client (<=v2.3,
+ or with --ncp-disabled set) connecting to a NCP server (v2.4+) with
+ ``--cipher BF-CBC`` and ``--data-ciphers AES-256-GCM:AES-256-CBC`` set can
+ either specify ``--cipher BF-CBC`` or ``--cipher AES-256-CBC`` and both
+ will work.
+
+ Note for using NCP with an OpenVPN 2.4 peer: This list must include the
+ :code:`AES-256-GCM` and :code:`AES-128-GCM` ciphers.
+
+ This list is restricted to be 127 chars long after conversion to OpenVPN
+ ciphers.
+
+ This option was called ``--ncp-ciphers`` in OpenVPN 2.4 but has been renamed
+ to ``--data-ciphers`` in OpenVPN 2.5 to more accurately reflect its meaning.
+
+--data-ciphers-fallback alg
+
+ Configure a cipher that is used to fall back to if we could not determine
+ which cipher the peer is willing to use.
+
+ This option should only be needed to
+ connect to peers that are running OpenVPN 2.3 and older version, and
+ have been configured with `--enable-small`
+ (typically used on routers or other embedded devices).
+
+--ncp-disable
+ **DEPRECATED** Disable "Negotiable Crypto Parameters". This completely
+ disables cipher negotiation.
+
+--secret args
+ Enable Static Key encryption mode (non-TLS). Use pre-shared secret
+ ``file`` which was generated with ``--genkey``.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ secret file
+ secret file direction
+
+ The optional ``direction`` parameter enables the use of 4 distinct keys
+ (HMAC-send, cipher-encrypt, HMAC-receive, cipher-decrypt), so that each
+ data flow direction has a different set of HMAC and cipher keys. This
+ has a number of desirable security properties including eliminating
+ certain kinds of DoS and message replay attacks.
+
+ When the ``direction`` parameter is omitted, 2 keys are used
+ bidirectionally, one for HMAC and the other for encryption/decryption.
+
+ The ``direction`` parameter should always be complementary on either
+ side of the connection, i.e. one side should use :code:`0` and the other
+ should use :code:`1`, or both sides should omit it altogether.
+
+ The ``direction`` parameter requires that ``file`` contains a 2048 bit
+ key. While pre-1.5 versions of OpenVPN generate 1024 bit key files, any
+ version of OpenVPN which supports the ``direction`` parameter, will also
+ support 2048 bit key file generation using the ``--genkey`` option.
+
+ Static key encryption mode has certain advantages, the primary being
+ ease of configuration.
+
+ There are no certificates or certificate authorities or complicated
+ negotiation handshakes and protocols. The only requirement is that you
+ have a pre-existing secure channel with your peer (such as ``ssh``) to
+ initially copy the key. This requirement, along with the fact that your
+ key never changes unless you manually generate a new one, makes it
+ somewhat less secure than TLS mode (see below). If an attacker manages
+ to steal your key, everything that was ever encrypted with it is
+ compromised. Contrast that to the perfect forward secrecy features of
+ TLS mode (using Diffie Hellman key exchange), where even if an attacker
+ was able to steal your private key, he would gain no information to help
+ him decrypt past sessions.
+
+ Another advantageous aspect of Static Key encryption mode is that it is
+ a handshake-free protocol without any distinguishing signature or
+ feature (such as a header or protocol handshake sequence) that would
+ mark the ciphertext packets as being generated by OpenVPN. Anyone
+ eavesdropping on the wire would see nothing but random-looking data.
+
+--tran-window n
+ Transition window -- our old key can live this many seconds after a new
+ a key renegotiation begins (default :code:`3600` seconds). This feature
+ allows for a graceful transition from old to new key, and removes the key
+ renegotiation sequence from the critical path of tunnel data forwarding.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/proxy-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/proxy-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..465bea0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/proxy-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+--show-proxy-settings
+ Show sensed HTTP or SOCKS proxy settings. Currently, only Windows
+ clients support this option.
+
+--http-proxy args
+ Connect to remote host through an HTTP proxy. This requires at least an
+ address ``server`` and ``port`` argument. If HTTP Proxy-Authenticate
+ is required, a file name to an ``authfile`` file containing a username
+ and password on 2 lines can be given, or :code:`stdin` to prompt from
+ console. Its content can also be specified in the config file with the
+ ``--http-proxy-user-pass`` option. (See section on inline files)
+
+ The last optional argument is an ``auth-method`` which should be one
+ of :code:`none`, :code:`basic`, or :code:`ntlm`.
+
+ HTTP Digest authentication is supported as well, but only via the
+ :code:`auto` or :code:`auto-nct` flags (below). This must replace
+ the ``authfile`` argument.
+
+ The :code:`auto` flag causes OpenVPN to automatically determine the
+ ``auth-method`` and query stdin or the management interface for
+ username/password credentials, if required. This flag exists on OpenVPN
+ 2.1 or higher.
+
+ The ``auto-nct`` flag (no clear-text auth) instructs OpenVPN to
+ automatically determine the authentication method, but to reject weak
+ authentication protocols such as HTTP Basic Authentication.
+
+ Examples:
+ ::
+
+ http-proxy proxy.example.net 3128
+ http-proxy proxy.example.net 3128 authfile.txt
+ http-proxy proxy.example.net 3128 stdin
+ http-proxy proxy.example.net 3128 auto basic
+ http-proxy proxy.example.net 3128 auto-nct ntlm
+
+--http-proxy-option args
+ Set extended HTTP proxy options. Requires an option ``type`` as argument
+ and an optional ``parameter`` to the type. Repeat to set multiple
+ options.
+
+ :code:`VERSION` ``version``
+ Set HTTP version number to ``version`` (default :code:`1.0`).
+
+ :code:`AGENT` ``user-agent``
+ Set HTTP "User-Agent" string to ``user-agent``.
+
+ :code:`CUSTOM-HEADER` ``name`` ``content``
+ Adds the custom Header with ``name`` as name and ``content`` as
+ the content of the custom HTTP header.
+
+ Examples:
+ ::
+
+ http-proxy-option VERSION 1.1
+ http-proxy-option AGENT OpenVPN/2.4
+ http-proxy-option X-Proxy-Flag some-flags
+
+--socks-proxy args
+ Connect to remote host through a Socks5 proxy. A required ``server``
+ argument is needed. Optionally a ``port`` (default :code:`1080`) and
+ ``authfile`` can be given. The ``authfile`` is a file containing a
+ username and password on 2 lines, or :code:`stdin` can be used to
+ prompt from console.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/renegotiation.rst b/doc/man-sections/renegotiation.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b817cfa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/renegotiation.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+Data Channel Renegotiation
+--------------------------
+
+When running OpenVPN in client/server mode, the data channel will use a
+separate ephemeral encryption key which is rotated at regular intervals.
+
+--reneg-bytes n
+ Renegotiate data channel key after ``n`` bytes sent or received
+ (disabled by default with an exception, see below). OpenVPN allows the
+ lifetime of a key to be expressed as a number of bytes
+ encrypted/decrypted, a number of packets, or a number of seconds. A key
+ renegotiation will be forced if any of these three criteria are met by
+ either peer.
+
+ If using ciphers with cipher block sizes less than 128-bits,
+ ``--reneg-bytes`` is set to 64MB by default, unless it is explicitly
+ disabled by setting the value to :code:`0`, but this is
+ **HIGHLY DISCOURAGED** as this is designed to add some protection against
+ the SWEET32 attack vector. For more information see the ``--cipher``
+ option.
+
+--reneg-pkts n
+ Renegotiate data channel key after **n** packets sent and received
+ (disabled by default).
+
+--reneg-sec args
+ Renegotiate data channel key after at most ``max`` seconds
+ (default :code:`3600`) and at least ``min`` seconds (default is 90% of
+ ``max`` for servers, and equal to ``max`` for clients).
+ ::
+
+ reneg-sec max [min]
+
+ The effective ``--reneg-sec`` value used is per session
+ pseudo-uniform-randomized between ``min`` and ``max``.
+
+ With the default value of :code:`3600` this results in an effective per
+ session value in the range of :code:`3240`..:code:`3600` seconds for
+ servers, or just 3600 for clients.
+
+ When using dual-factor authentication, note that this default value may
+ cause the end user to be challenged to reauthorize once per hour.
+
+ Also, keep in mind that this option can be used on both the client and
+ server, and whichever uses the lower value will be the one to trigger
+ the renegotiation. A common mistake is to set ``--reneg-sec`` to a
+ higher value on either the client or server, while the other side of the
+ connection is still using the default value of :code:`3600` seconds,
+ meaning that the renegotiation will still occur once per :code:`3600`
+ seconds. The solution is to increase --reneg-sec on both the client and
+ server, or set it to :code:`0` on one side of the connection (to
+ disable), and to your chosen value on the other side.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/script-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/script-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b4bbf52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/script-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,842 @@
+SCRIPTING INTEGRATION
+=====================
+
+OpenVPN can execute external scripts in various phases of the lifetime of
+the OpenVPN process.
+
+
+Script Order of Execution
+-------------------------
+
+#. ``--up``
+
+ Executed after TCP/UDP socket bind and TUN/TAP open.
+
+#. ``--tls-verify``
+
+ Executed when we have a still untrusted remote peer.
+
+#. ``--ipchange``
+
+ Executed after connection authentication, or remote IP address change.
+
+#. ``--client-connect``
+
+ Executed in **--mode server** mode immediately after client
+ authentication.
+
+#. ``--route-up``
+
+ Executed after connection authentication, either immediately after, or
+ some number of seconds after as defined by the **--route-delay** option.
+
+#. ``--route-pre-down``
+
+ Executed right before the routes are removed.
+
+#. ``--client-disconnect``
+
+ Executed in ``--mode server`` mode on client instance shutdown.
+
+#. ``--down``
+
+ Executed after TCP/UDP and TUN/TAP close.
+
+#. ``--learn-address``
+
+ Executed in ``--mode server`` mode whenever an IPv4 address/route or MAC
+ address is added to OpenVPN's internal routing table.
+
+#. ``--auth-user-pass-verify``
+
+ Executed in ``--mode server`` mode on new client connections, when the
+ client is still untrusted.
+
+SCRIPT HOOKS
+------------
+
+--auth-user-pass-verify args
+ Require the client to provide a username/password (possibly in addition
+ to a client certificate) for authentication.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ auth-user-pass-verify cmd method
+
+ OpenVPN will run command ``cmd`` to validate the username/password
+ provided by the client.
+
+ ``cmd`` consists of a path to a script (or executable program), optionally
+ followed by arguments. The path and arguments may be single- or
+ double-quoted and/or escaped using a backslash, and should be separated
+ by one or more spaces.
+
+ If ``method`` is set to :code:`via-env`, OpenVPN will call ``script``
+ with the environmental variables :code:`username` and :code:`password`
+ set to the username/password strings provided by the client. *Beware*
+ that this method is insecure on some platforms which make the environment
+ of a process publicly visible to other unprivileged processes.
+
+ If ``method`` is set to :code:`via-file`, OpenVPN will write the username
+ and password to the first two lines of a temporary file. The filename
+ will be passed as an argument to ``script``, and the file will be
+ automatically deleted by OpenVPN after the script returns. The location
+ of the temporary file is controlled by the ``--tmp-dir`` option, and
+ will default to the current directory if unspecified. For security,
+ consider setting ``--tmp-dir`` to a volatile storage medium such as
+ :code:`/dev/shm` (if available) to prevent the username/password file
+ from touching the hard drive.
+
+ The script should examine the username and password, returning a success
+ exit code (:code:`0`) if the client's authentication request is to be
+ accepted, or a failure code (:code:`1`) to reject the client.
+
+ This directive is designed to enable a plugin-style interface for
+ extending OpenVPN's authentication capabilities.
+
+ To protect against a client passing a maliciously formed username or
+ password string, the username string must consist only of these
+ characters: alphanumeric, underbar (':code:`_`'), dash (':code:`-`'),
+ dot (':code:`.`'), or at (':code:`@`'). The password string can consist
+ of any printable characters except for CR or LF. Any illegal characters
+ in either the username or password string will be converted to
+ underbar (':code:`_`').
+
+ Care must be taken by any user-defined scripts to avoid creating a
+ security vulnerability in the way that these strings are handled. Never
+ use these strings in such a way that they might be escaped or evaluated
+ by a shell interpreter.
+
+ For a sample script that performs PAM authentication, see
+ :code:`sample-scripts/auth-pam.pl` in the OpenVPN source distribution.
+
+--client-connect cmd
+ Run command ``cmd`` on client connection.
+
+ ``cmd`` consists of a path to a script (or executable program), optionally
+ followed by arguments. The path and arguments may be single- or
+ double-quoted and/or escaped using a backslash, and should be separated
+ by one or more spaces.
+
+ The command is passed the common name and IP address of the
+ just-authenticated client as environmental variables (see environmental
+ variable section below). The command is also passed the pathname of a
+ freshly created temporary file as the last argument (after any arguments
+ specified in ``cmd`` ), to be used by the command to pass dynamically
+ generated config file directives back to OpenVPN.
+
+ If the script wants to generate a dynamic config file to be applied on
+ the server when the client connects, it should write it to the file
+ named by the last argument.
+
+ See the ``--client-config-dir`` option below for options which can be
+ legally used in a dynamically generated config file.
+
+ Note that the return value of ``script`` is significant. If ``script``
+ returns a non-zero error status, it will cause the client to be
+ disconnected.
+
+ If a ``--client-connect`` wants to defer the generating of the
+ configuration then the script needs to use the
+ :code:`client_connect_deferred_file` and
+ :code:`client_connect_config_file` environment variables, and write
+ status accordingly into these files. See the `Environmental Variables`_
+ section for more details.
+
+--client-disconnect cmd
+ Like ``--client-connect`` but called on client instance shutdown. Will
+ not be called unless the ``--client-connect`` script and plugins (if
+ defined) were previously called on this instance with successful (0)
+ status returns.
+
+ The exception to this rule is if the ``--client-disconnect`` command or
+ plugins are cascaded, and at least one client-connect function
+ succeeded, then ALL of the client-disconnect functions for scripts and
+ plugins will be called on client instance object deletion, even in cases
+ where some of the related client-connect functions returned an error
+ status.
+
+ The ``--client-disconnect`` command is passed the same pathname as the
+ corresponding ``--client-connect`` command as its last argument (after
+ any arguments specified in ``cmd``).
+
+--down cmd
+ Run command ``cmd`` after TUN/TAP device close (post ``--user`` UID
+ change and/or ``--chroot`` ). ``cmd`` consists of a path to script (or
+ executable program), optionally followed by arguments. The path and
+ arguments may be single- or double-quoted and/or escaped using a
+ backslash, and should be separated by one or more spaces.
+
+ Called with the same parameters and environmental variables as the
+ ``--up`` option above.
+
+ Note that if you reduce privileges by using ``--user`` and/or
+ ``--group``, your ``--down`` script will also run at reduced privilege.
+
+--down-pre
+ Call ``--down`` cmd/script before, rather than after, TUN/TAP close.
+
+--ipchange cmd
+ Run command ``cmd`` when our remote ip-address is initially
+ authenticated or changes.
+
+ ``cmd`` consists of a path to a script (or executable program), optionally
+ followed by arguments. The path and arguments may be single- or
+ double-quoted and/or escaped using a backslash, and should be separated
+ by one or more spaces.
+
+ When ``cmd`` is executed two arguments are appended after any arguments
+ specified in ``cmd`` , as follows:
+ ::
+
+ cmd ip address port number
+
+ Don't use ``--ipchange`` in ``--mode server`` mode. Use a
+ ``--client-connect`` script instead.
+
+ See the `Environmental Variables`_ section below for additional
+ parameters passed as environmental variables.
+
+ If you are running in a dynamic IP address environment where the IP
+ addresses of either peer could change without notice, you can use this
+ script, for example, to edit the :code:`/etc/hosts` file with the current
+ address of the peer. The script will be run every time the remote peer
+ changes its IP address.
+
+ Similarly if *our* IP address changes due to DHCP, we should configure
+ our IP address change script (see man page for ``dhcpcd``\(8)) to
+ deliver a ``SIGHUP`` or ``SIGUSR1`` signal to OpenVPN. OpenVPN will
+ then re-establish a connection with its most recently authenticated
+ peer on its new IP address.
+
+--learn-address cmd
+ Run command ``cmd`` to validate client virtual addresses or routes.
+
+ ``cmd`` consists of a path to a script (or executable program), optionally
+ followed by arguments. The path and arguments may be single- or
+ double-quoted and/or escaped using a backslash, and should be separated
+ by one or more spaces.
+
+ Three arguments will be appended to any arguments in ``cmd`` as follows:
+
+ :code:`$1` - [operation]
+ :code:`"add"`, :code:`"update"`, or :code:`"delete"` based on whether
+ or not the address is being added to, modified, or deleted from
+ OpenVPN's internal routing table.
+
+ :code:`$2` - [address]
+ The address being learned or unlearned. This can be an IPv4 address
+ such as :code:`"198.162.10.14"`, an IPv4 subnet such as
+ :code:`"198.162.10.0/24"`, or an ethernet MAC address (when
+ ``--dev tap`` is being used) such as :code:`"00:FF:01:02:03:04"`.
+
+ :code:`$3` - [common name]
+ The common name on the certificate associated with the client linked
+ to this address. Only present for :code:`"add"` or :code:`"update"`
+ operations, not :code:`"delete"`.
+
+ On :code:`"add"` or :code:`"update"` methods, if the script returns
+ a failure code (non-zero), OpenVPN will reject the address and will not
+ modify its internal routing table.
+
+ Normally, the ``cmd`` script will use the information provided above to
+ set appropriate firewall entries on the VPN TUN/TAP interface. Since
+ OpenVPN provides the association between virtual IP or MAC address and
+ the client's authenticated common name, it allows a user-defined script
+ to configure firewall access policies with regard to the client's
+ high-level common name, rather than the low level client virtual
+ addresses.
+
+--route-up cmd
+ Run command ``cmd`` after routes are added, subject to ``--route-delay``.
+
+ ``cmd`` consists of a path to a script (or executable program), optionally
+ followed by arguments. The path and arguments may be single- or
+ double-quoted and/or escaped using a backslash, and should be separated
+ by one or more spaces.
+
+ See the `Environmental Variables`_ section below for additional
+ parameters passed as environmental variables.
+
+--route-pre-down cmd
+ Run command ``cmd`` before routes are removed upon disconnection.
+
+ ``cmd`` consists of a path to a script (or executable program), optionally
+ followed by arguments. The path and arguments may be single- or
+ double-quoted and/or escaped using a backslash, and should be separated
+ by one or more spaces.
+
+ See the `Environmental Variables`_ section below for additional
+ parameters passed as environmental variables.
+
+--setenv args
+ Set a custom environmental variable :code:`name=value` to pass to script.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ setenv name value
+ setenv FORWARD_COMPATIBLE 1
+ setenv opt config_option
+
+ By setting :code:`FORWARD_COMPATIBLE` to :code:`1`, the config file
+ syntax checking is relaxed so that unknown directives will trigger a
+ warning but not a fatal error, on the assumption that a given unknown
+ directive might be valid in future OpenVPN versions.
+
+ This option should be used with caution, as there are good security
+ reasons for having OpenVPN fail if it detects problems in a config file.
+ Having said that, there are valid reasons for wanting new software
+ features to gracefully degrade when encountered by older software
+ versions.
+
+ It is also possible to tag a single directive so as not to trigger a
+ fatal error if the directive isn't recognized. To do this, prepend the
+ following before the directive: ``setenv opt``
+
+ Versions prior to OpenVPN 2.3.3 will always ignore options set with the
+ ``setenv opt`` directive.
+
+ See also ``--ignore-unknown-option``
+
+--setenv-safe args
+ Set a custom environmental variable :code:`OPENVPN_name` to :code:`value`
+ to pass to scripts.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ setenv-safe name value
+
+ This directive is designed to be pushed by the server to clients, and
+ the prepending of :code:`OPENVPN_` to the environmental variable is a
+ safety precaution to prevent a :code:`LD_PRELOAD` style attack from a
+ malicious or compromised server.
+
+--tls-verify cmd
+ Run command ``cmd`` to verify the X509 name of a pending TLS connection
+ that has otherwise passed all other tests of certification (except for
+ revocation via ``--crl-verify`` directive; the revocation test occurs
+ after the ``--tls-verify`` test).
+
+ ``cmd`` should return :code:`0` to allow the TLS handshake to proceed,
+ or :code:`1` to fail.
+
+ ``cmd`` consists of a path to a script (or executable program), optionally
+ followed by arguments. The path and arguments may be single- or
+ double-quoted and/or escaped using a backslash, and should be separated
+ by one or more spaces.
+
+ When ``cmd`` is executed two arguments are appended after any arguments
+ specified in ``cmd``, as follows:
+ ::
+
+ cmd certificate_depth subject
+
+ These arguments are, respectively, the current certificate depth and the
+ X509 subject distinguished name (dn) of the peer.
+
+ This feature is useful if the peer you want to trust has a certificate
+ which was signed by a certificate authority who also signed many other
+ certificates, where you don't necessarily want to trust all of them, but
+ rather be selective about which peer certificate you will accept. This
+ feature allows you to write a script which will test the X509 name on a
+ certificate and decide whether or not it should be accepted. For a
+ simple perl script which will test the common name field on the
+ certificate, see the file ``verify-cn`` in the OpenVPN distribution.
+
+ See the `Environmental Variables`_ section below for additional
+ parameters passed as environmental variables.
+
+--up cmd
+ Run command ``cmd`` after successful TUN/TAP device open (pre ``--user``
+ UID change).
+
+ ``cmd`` consists of a path to a script (or executable program), optionally
+ followed by arguments. The path and arguments may be single- or
+ double-quoted and/or escaped using a backslash, and should be separated
+ by one or more spaces.
+
+ The up command is useful for specifying route commands which route IP
+ traffic destined for private subnets which exist at the other end of the
+ VPN connection into the tunnel.
+
+ For ``--dev tun`` execute as:
+ ::
+
+ cmd tun_dev tun_mtu link_mtu ifconfig_local_ip ifconfig_remote_ip [init | restart]
+
+ For ``--dev tap`` execute as:
+ ::
+
+ cmd tap_dev tap_mtu link_mtu ifconfig_local_ip ifconfig_netmask [init | restart]
+
+ See the `Environmental Variables`_ section below for additional
+ parameters passed as environmental variables.
+
+ Note that if ``cmd`` includes arguments, all OpenVPN-generated arguments
+ will be appended to them to build an argument list with which the
+ executable will be called.
+
+ Typically, ``cmd`` will run a script to add routes to the tunnel.
+
+ Normally the up script is called after the TUN/TAP device is opened. In
+ this context, the last command line parameter passed to the script will
+ be *init.* If the ``--up-restart`` option is also used, the up script
+ will be called for restarts as well. A restart is considered to be a
+ partial reinitialization of OpenVPN where the TUN/TAP instance is
+ preserved (the ``--persist-tun`` option will enable such preservation).
+ A restart can be generated by a SIGUSR1 signal, a ``--ping-restart``
+ timeout, or a connection reset when the TCP protocol is enabled with the
+ ``--proto`` option. If a restart occurs, and ``--up-restart`` has been
+ specified, the up script will be called with *restart* as the last
+ parameter.
+
+ *NOTE:*
+ On restart, OpenVPN will not pass the full set of environment
+ variables to the script. Namely, everything related to routing and
+ gateways will not be passed, as nothing needs to be done anyway - all
+ the routing setup is already in place. Additionally, the up-restart
+ script will run with the downgraded UID/GID settings (if configured).
+
+ The following standalone example shows how the ``--up`` script can be
+ called in both an initialization and restart context. (*NOTE:* for
+ security reasons, don't run the following example unless UDP port 9999
+ is blocked by your firewall. Also, the example will run indefinitely, so
+ you should abort with control-c).
+
+ ::
+
+ openvpn --dev tun --port 9999 --verb 4 --ping-restart 10 \
+ --up 'echo up' --down 'echo down' --persist-tun \
+ --up-restart
+
+ Note that OpenVPN also provides the ``--ifconfig`` option to
+ automatically ifconfig the TUN device, eliminating the need to define an
+ ``--up`` script, unless you also want to configure routes in the
+ ``--up`` script.
+
+ If ``--ifconfig`` is also specified, OpenVPN will pass the ifconfig
+ local and remote endpoints on the command line to the ``--up`` script so
+ that they can be used to configure routes such as:
+
+ ::
+
+ route add -net 10.0.0.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 gw $5
+
+--up-delay
+ Delay TUN/TAP open and possible ``--up`` script execution until after
+ TCP/UDP connection establishment with peer.
+
+ In ``--proto udp`` mode, this option normally requires the use of
+ ``--ping`` to allow connection initiation to be sensed in the absence of
+ tunnel data, since UDP is a "connectionless" protocol.
+
+ On Windows, this option will delay the TAP-Win32 media state
+ transitioning to "connected" until connection establishment, i.e. the
+ receipt of the first authenticated packet from the peer.
+
+--up-restart
+ Enable the ``--up`` and ``--down`` scripts to be called for restarts as
+ well as initial program start. This option is described more fully above
+ in the ``--up`` option documentation.
+
+String Types and Remapping
+--------------------------
+
+In certain cases, OpenVPN will perform remapping of characters in
+strings. Essentially, any characters outside the set of permitted
+characters for each string type will be converted to underbar ('\_').
+
+*Q: Why is string remapping necessary?*
+ It's an important security feature to prevent the malicious
+ coding of strings from untrusted sources to be passed as parameters to
+ scripts, saved in the environment, used as a common name, translated to
+ a filename, etc.
+
+*Q: Can string remapping be disabled?*
+ Yes, by using the ``--no-name-remapping`` option, however this
+ should be considered an advanced option.
+
+Here is a brief rundown of OpenVPN's current string types and the
+permitted character class for each string:
+
+*X509 Names*
+ Alphanumeric, underbar ('\_'), dash ('-'), dot ('.'), at
+ ('@'), colon (':'), slash ('/'), and equal ('='). Alphanumeric is
+ defined as a character which will cause the C library isalnum() function
+ to return true.
+
+*Common Names*
+ Alphanumeric, underbar ('\_'), dash ('-'), dot ('.'), and at ('@').
+
+*--auth-user-pass username*
+ Same as Common Name, with one exception:
+ starting with OpenVPN 2.0.1, the username is passed to the
+ :code:`OPENVPN_PLUGIN_AUTH_USER_PASS_VERIFY` plugin in its raw form,
+ without string remapping.
+
+*--auth-user-pass password*
+ Any "printable" character except CR or LF. Printable is defined to be
+ a character which will cause the C library isprint() function to
+ return true.
+
+*--client-config-dir filename as derived from common name or`username*
+ Alphanumeric, underbar ('\_'), dash ('-'), and dot ('.') except for "."
+ or ".." as standalone strings. As of v2.0.1-rc6, the at ('@') character
+ has been added as well for compatibility with the common name character
+ class.
+
+*Environmental variable names*
+ Alphanumeric or underbar ('\_').
+
+*Environmental variable values*
+ Any printable character.
+
+For all cases, characters in a string which are not members of the legal
+character class for that string type will be remapped to underbar
+('\_').  
+
+
+Environmental Variables
+-----------------------
+
+Once set, a variable is persisted indefinitely until it is reset by a
+new value or a restart,
+
+As of OpenVPN 2.0-beta12, in server mode, environmental variables set by
+OpenVPN are scoped according to the client objects they are associated
+with, so there should not be any issues with scripts having access to
+stale, previously set variables which refer to different client
+instances.
+
+:code:`bytes_received`
+ Total number of bytes received from client during VPN session. Set prior
+ to execution of the ``--client-disconnect`` script.
+
+:code:`bytes_sent`
+ Total number of bytes sent to client during VPN session. Set prior to
+ execution of the ``--client-disconnect`` script.
+
+:code:`client_connect_config_file`
+ The path to the configuration file that should be written to by the
+ ``--client-connect`` script (optional, if per-session configuration
+ is desired). This is the same file name as passed via command line
+ argument on the call to the ``--client-connect`` script.
+
+:code:`client_connect_deferred_file`
+ This file can be optionally written to in order to to communicate a
+ status code of the ``--client-connect`` script or plgin. Only the
+ first character in the file is relevant. It must be either :code:`1`
+ to indicate normal script execution, :code:`0` indicates an error (in
+ the same way that a non zero exit status does) or :code:`2` to indicate
+ that the script deferred returning the config file.
+
+ For deferred (background) handling, the script or plugin MUST write
+ :code:`2` to the file to indicate the deferral and then return with
+ exit code :code:`0` to signal ``deferred handler started OK``.
+
+ A background process or similar must then take care of writing the
+ configuration to the file indicated by the
+ :code:`client_connect_config_file` environment variable and when
+ finished, write the a :code:`1` to this file (or :code:`0` in case of
+ an error).
+
+ The absence of any character in the file when the script finishes
+ executing is interpreted the same as :code:`1`. This allows scripts
+ that are not written to support the defer mechanism to be used
+ unmodified.
+
+:code:`common_name`
+ The X509 common name of an authenticated client. Set prior to execution
+ of ``--client-connect``, ``--client-disconnect`` and
+ ``--auth-user-pass-verify`` scripts.
+
+:code:`config`
+ Name of first ``--config`` file. Set on program initiation and reset on
+ SIGHUP.
+
+:code:`daemon`
+ Set to "1" if the ``--daemon`` directive is specified, or "0" otherwise.
+ Set on program initiation and reset on SIGHUP.
+
+:code:`daemon_log_redirect`
+ Set to "1" if the ``--log`` or ``--log-append`` directives are
+ specified, or "0" otherwise. Set on program initiation and reset on
+ SIGHUP.
+
+:code:`dev`
+ The actual name of the TUN/TAP device, including a unit number if it
+ exists. Set prior to ``--up`` or ``--down`` script execution.
+
+:code:`dev_idx`
+ On Windows, the device index of the TUN/TAP adapter (to be used in
+ netsh.exe calls which sometimes just do not work right with interface
+ names). Set prior to ``--up`` or ``--down`` script execution.
+
+:code:`foreign_option_{n}`
+ An option pushed via ``--push`` to a client which does not natively
+ support it, such as ``--dhcp-option`` on a non-Windows system, will be
+ recorded to this environmental variable sequence prior to ``--up``
+ script execution.
+
+:code:`ifconfig_broadcast`
+ The broadcast address for the virtual ethernet segment which is derived
+ from the ``--ifconfig`` option when ``--dev tap`` is used. Set prior to
+ OpenVPN calling the :code:`ifconfig` or :code:`netsh` (windows version
+ of ifconfig) commands which normally occurs prior to ``--up`` script
+ execution.
+
+:code:`ifconfig_ipv6_local`
+ The local VPN endpoint IPv6 address specified in the
+ ``--ifconfig-ipv6`` option (first parameter). Set prior to OpenVPN
+ calling the :code:`ifconfig` or code:`netsh` (windows version of
+ ifconfig) commands which normally occurs prior to ``--up`` script
+ execution.
+
+:code:`ifconfig_ipv6_netbits`
+ The prefix length of the IPv6 network on the VPN interface. Derived
+ from the /nnn parameter of the IPv6 address in the ``--ifconfig-ipv6``
+ option (first parameter). Set prior to OpenVPN calling the
+ :code:`ifconfig` or :code:`netsh` (windows version of ifconfig)
+ commands which normally occurs prior to ``--up`` script execution.
+
+:code:`ifconfig_ipv6_remote`
+ The remote VPN endpoint IPv6 address specified in the
+ ``--ifconfig-ipv6`` option (second parameter). Set prior to OpenVPN
+ calling the :code:`ifconfig` or :code:`netsh` (windows version of
+ ifconfig) commands which normally occurs prior to ``--up`` script
+ execution.
+
+:code:`ifconfig_local`
+ The local VPN endpoint IP address specified in the ``--ifconfig``
+ option (first parameter). Set prior to OpenVPN calling the
+ :code:`ifconfig` or :code:`netsh` (windows version of ifconfig)
+ commands which normally occurs prior to ``--up`` script execution.
+
+:code:`ifconfig_remote`
+ The remote VPN endpoint IP address specified in the ``--ifconfig``
+ option (second parameter) when ``--dev tun`` is used. Set prior to
+ OpenVPN calling the :code:`ifconfig` or :code:`netsh` (windows version
+ of ifconfig) commands which normally occurs prior to ``--up`` script
+ execution.
+
+:code:`ifconfig_netmask`
+ The subnet mask of the virtual ethernet segment that is specified as
+ the second parameter to ``--ifconfig`` when ``--dev tap`` is being
+ used. Set prior to OpenVPN calling the :code:`ifconfig` or
+ :code:`netsh` (windows version of ifconfig) commands which normally
+ occurs prior to ``--up`` script execution.
+
+:code:`ifconfig_pool_local_ip`
+ The local virtual IP address for the TUN/TAP tunnel taken from an
+ ``--ifconfig-push`` directive if specified, or otherwise from the
+ ifconfig pool (controlled by the ``--ifconfig-pool`` config file
+ directive). Only set for ``--dev tun`` tunnels. This option is set on
+ the server prior to execution of the ``--client-connect`` and
+ ``--client-disconnect`` scripts.
+
+:code:`ifconfig_pool_netmask`
+ The virtual IP netmask for the TUN/TAP tunnel taken from an
+ ``--ifconfig-push`` directive if specified, or otherwise from the
+ ifconfig pool (controlled by the ``--ifconfig-pool`` config file
+ directive). Only set for ``--dev tap`` tunnels. This option is set on
+ the server prior to execution of the ``--client-connect`` and
+ ``--client-disconnect`` scripts.
+
+:code:`ifconfig_pool_remote_ip`
+ The remote virtual IP address for the TUN/TAP tunnel taken from an
+ ``--ifconfig-push`` directive if specified, or otherwise from the
+ ifconfig pool (controlled by the ``--ifconfig-pool`` config file
+ directive). This option is set on the server prior to execution of the
+ ``--client-connect`` and ``--client-disconnect`` scripts.
+
+:code:`link_mtu`
+ The maximum packet size (not including the IP header) of tunnel data in
+ UDP tunnel transport mode. Set prior to ``--up`` or ``--down`` script
+ execution.
+
+:code:`local`
+ The ``--local`` parameter. Set on program initiation and reset on
+ SIGHUP.
+
+:code:`local_port`
+ The local port number or name, specified by ``--port`` or ``--lport``.
+ Set on program initiation and reset on SIGHUP.
+
+:code:`password`
+ The password provided by a connecting client. Set prior to
+ ``--auth-user-pass-verify`` script execution only when the ``via-env``
+ modifier is specified, and deleted from the environment after the script
+ returns.
+
+:code:`proto`
+ The ``--proto`` parameter. Set on program initiation and reset on
+ SIGHUP.
+
+:code:`remote_{n}`
+ The ``--remote`` parameter. Set on program initiation and reset on
+ SIGHUP.
+
+:code:`remote_port_{n}`
+ The remote port number, specified by ``--port`` or ``--rport``. Set on
+ program initiation and reset on SIGHUP.
+
+:code:`route_net_gateway`
+ The pre-existing default IP gateway in the system routing table. Set
+ prior to ``--up`` script execution.
+
+:code:`route_vpn_gateway`
+ The default gateway used by ``--route`` options, as specified in either
+ the ``--route-gateway`` option or the second parameter to
+ ``--ifconfig`` when ``--dev tun`` is specified. Set prior to ``--up``
+ script execution.
+
+:code:`route_{parm}_{n}`
+ A set of variables which define each route to be added, and are set
+ prior to ``--up`` script execution.
+
+ ``parm`` will be one of :code:`network`, :code:`netmask"`,
+ :code:`gateway`, or :code:`metric`.
+
+ ``n`` is the OpenVPN route number, starting from 1.
+
+ If the network or gateway are resolvable DNS names, their IP address
+ translations will be recorded rather than their names as denoted on the
+ command line or configuration file.
+
+:code:`route_ipv6_{parm}_{n}`
+ A set of variables which define each IPv6 route to be added, and are
+ set prior to **--up** script execution.
+
+ ``parm`` will be one of :code:`network` or :code:`gateway`
+ (:code:`netmask` is contained as :code:`/nnn` in the
+ ``route_ipv6_network_{n}``, unlike IPv4 where it is passed in a
+ separate environment variable).
+
+ ``n`` is the OpenVPN route number, starting from 1.
+
+ If the network or gateway are resolvable DNS names, their IP address
+ translations will be recorded rather than their names as denoted on the
+ command line or configuration file.
+
+:code:`peer_cert`
+ Temporary file name containing the client certificate upon connection.
+ Useful in conjunction with ``--tls-verify``.
+
+:code:`script_context`
+ Set to "init" or "restart" prior to up/down script execution. For more
+ information, see documentation for ``--up``.
+
+:code:`script_type`
+ Prior to execution of any script, this variable is set to the type of
+ script being run. It can be one of the following: :code:`up`,
+ :code:`down`, :code:`ipchange`, :code:`route-up`, :code:`tls-verify`,
+ :code:`auth-user-pass-verify`, :code:`client-connect`,
+ :code:`client-disconnect` or :code:`learn-address`. Set prior to
+ execution of any script.
+
+:code:`signal`
+ The reason for exit or restart. Can be one of :code:`sigusr1`,
+ :code:`sighup`, :code:`sigterm`, :code:`sigint`, :code:`inactive`
+ (controlled by ``--inactive`` option), :code:`ping-exit` (controlled
+ by ``--ping-exit`` option), :code:`ping-restart` (controlled by
+ ``--ping-restart`` option), :code:`connection-reset` (triggered on TCP
+ connection reset), :code:`error` or :code:`unknown` (unknown signal).
+ This variable is set just prior to down script execution.
+
+:code:`time_ascii`
+ Client connection timestamp, formatted as a human-readable time string.
+ Set prior to execution of the ``--client-connect`` script.
+
+:code:`time_duration`
+ The duration (in seconds) of the client session which is now
+ disconnecting. Set prior to execution of the ``--client-disconnect``
+ script.
+
+:code:`time_unix`
+ Client connection timestamp, formatted as a unix integer date/time
+ value. Set prior to execution of the ``--client-connect`` script.
+
+:code:`tls_digest_{n}` / :code:`tls_digest_sha256_{n}`
+ Contains the certificate SHA1 / SHA256 fingerprint, where ``n`` is the
+ verification level. Only set for TLS connections. Set prior to execution
+ of ``--tls-verify`` script.
+
+:code:`tls_id_{n}`
+ A series of certificate fields from the remote peer, where ``n`` is the
+ verification level. Only set for TLS connections. Set prior to execution
+ of ``--tls-verify`` script.
+
+:code:`tls_serial_{n}`
+ The serial number of the certificate from the remote peer, where ``n``
+ is the verification level. Only set for TLS connections. Set prior to
+ execution of ``--tls-verify`` script. This is in the form of a decimal
+ string like "933971680", which is suitable for doing serial-based OCSP
+ queries (with OpenSSL, do not prepend "0x" to the string) If something
+ goes wrong while reading the value from the certificate it will be an
+ empty string, so your code should check that. See the
+ :code:`contrib/OCSP_check/OCSP_check.sh` script for an example.
+
+:code:`tls_serial_hex_{n}`
+ Like :code:`tls_serial_{n}`, but in hex form (e.g.
+ :code:`12:34:56:78:9A`).
+
+:code:`tun_mtu`
+ The MTU of the TUN/TAP device. Set prior to ``--up`` or ``--down``
+ script execution.
+
+:code:`trusted_ip` / :code:`trusted_ip6`)
+ Actual IP address of connecting client or peer which has been
+ authenticated. Set prior to execution of ``--ipchange``,
+ ``--client-connect`` and ``--client-disconnect`` scripts. If using ipv6
+ endpoints (udp6, tcp6), :code:`trusted_ip6` will be set instead.
+
+:code:`trusted_port`
+ Actual port number of connecting client or peer which has been
+ authenticated. Set prior to execution of ``--ipchange``,
+ ``--client-connect`` and ``--client-disconnect`` scripts.
+
+:code:`untrusted_ip` / :code:`untrusted_ip6`
+ Actual IP address of connecting client or peer which has not been
+ authenticated yet. Sometimes used to *nmap* the connecting host in a
+ ``--tls-verify`` script to ensure it is firewalled properly. Set prior
+ to execution of ``--tls-verify`` and ``--auth-user-pass-verify``
+ scripts. If using ipv6 endpoints (udp6, tcp6), :code:`untrusted_ip6`
+ will be set instead.
+
+:code:`untrusted_port`
+ Actual port number of connecting client or peer which has not been
+ authenticated yet. Set prior to execution of ``--tls-verify`` and
+ ``--auth-user-pass-verify`` scripts.
+
+:code:`username`
+ The username provided by a connecting client. Set prior to
+ ``--auth-user-pass-verify`` script execution only when the
+ :code:`via-env` modifier is specified.
+
+:code:`X509_{n}_{subject_field}`
+ An X509 subject field from the remote peer certificate, where ``n`` is
+ the verification level. Only set for TLS connections. Set prior to
+ execution of ``--tls-verify`` script. This variable is similar to
+ :code:`tls_id_{n}` except the component X509 subject fields are broken
+ out, and no string remapping occurs on these field values (except for
+ remapping of control characters to ":code:`_`"). For example, the
+ following variables would be set on the OpenVPN server using the sample
+ client certificate in sample-keys (client.crt). Note that the
+ verification level is 0 for the client certificate and 1 for the CA
+ certificate.
+
+ ::
+
+ X509_0_emailAddress=me@myhost.mydomain
+ X509_0_CN=Test-Client
+ X509_0_O=OpenVPN-TEST
+ X509_0_ST=NA
+ X509_0_C=KG
+ X509_1_emailAddress=me@myhost.mydomain
+ X509_1_O=OpenVPN-TEST
+ X509_1_L=BISHKEK
+ X509_1_ST=NA
+ X509_1_C=KG
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/server-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/server-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f1f0667
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/server-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,774 @@
+Server Options
+--------------
+Starting with OpenVPN 2.0, a multi-client TCP/UDP server mode is
+supported, and can be enabled with the ``--mode server`` option. In
+server mode, OpenVPN will listen on a single port for incoming client
+connections. All client connections will be routed through a single tun
+or tap interface. This mode is designed for scalability and should be
+able to support hundreds or even thousands of clients on sufficiently
+fast hardware. SSL/TLS authentication must be used in this mode.
+
+--auth-gen-token args
+ Returns an authentication token to successfully authenticated clients.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ auth-gen-token [lifetime] [external-auth]
+
+ After successful user/password authentication, the OpenVPN server will
+ with this option generate a temporary authentication token and push that
+ to the client. On the following renegotiations, the OpenVPN client will pass
+ this token instead of the users password. On the server side the server
+ will do the token authentication internally and it will NOT do any
+ additional authentications against configured external user/password
+ authentication mechanisms.
+
+ The tokens implemented by this mechanism include an initial timestamp and
+ a renew timestamp and are secured by HMAC.
+
+ The ``lifetime`` argument defines how long the generated token is valid.
+ The lifetime is defined in seconds. If lifetime is not set or it is set
+ to :code:`0`, the token will never expire.
+
+ The token will expire either after the configured ``lifetime`` of the
+ token is reached or after not being renewed for more than 2 \*
+ ``reneg-sec`` seconds. Clients will be sent renewed tokens on every TLS
+ renogiation to keep the client's token updated. This is done to
+ invalidate a token if a client is disconnected for a sufficently long
+ time, while at the same time permitting much longer token lifetimes for
+ active clients.
+
+ This feature is useful for environments which are configured to use One
+ Time Passwords (OTP) as part of the user/password authentications and
+ that authentication mechanism does not implement any auth-token support.
+
+ When the :code:`external-auth` keyword is present the normal
+ authentication method will always be called even if auth-token succeeds.
+ Normally other authentications method are skipped if auth-token
+ verification suceeds or fails.
+
+ This option postpones this decision to the external authentication
+ methods and checks the validity of the account and do other checks.
+
+ In this mode the environment will have a ``session_id`` variable that
+ holds the session id from auth-gen-token. Also an environment variable
+ ``session_state`` is present. This variable indicates whether the
+ auth-token has succeeded or not. It can have the following values:
+
+ :code:`Initial`
+ No token from client.
+
+ :code:`Authenticated`
+ Token is valid and not expired.
+
+ :code:`Expired`
+ Token is valid but has expired.
+
+ :code:`Invalid`
+ Token is invalid (failed HMAC or wrong length)
+
+ :code:`AuthenticatedEmptyUser` / :code:`ExpiredEmptyUser`
+ The token is not valid with the username sent from the client but
+ would be valid (or expired) if we assume an empty username was
+ used instead. These two cases are a workaround for behaviour in
+ OpenVPN 3. If this workaround is not needed these two cases should
+ be handled in the same way as :code:`Invalid`.
+
+ **Warning:** Use this feature only if you want your authentication
+ method called on every verification. Since the external authentication
+ is called it needs to also indicate a success or failure of the
+ authentication. It is strongly recommended to return an authentication
+ failure in the case of the Invalid/Expired auth-token with the
+ external-auth option unless the client could authenticate in another
+ acceptable way (e.g. client certificate), otherwise returning success
+ will lead to authentication bypass (as does returning success on a wrong
+ password from a script).
+
+--auth-gen-token-secret file
+ Specifies a file that holds a secret for the HMAC used in
+ ``--auth-gen-token`` If ``file`` is not present OpenVPN will generate a
+ random secret on startup. This file should be used if auth-token should
+ validate after restarting a server or if client should be able to roam
+ between multiple OpenVPN servers with their auth-token.
+
+--auth-user-pass-optional
+ Allow connections by clients that do not specify a username/password.
+ Normally, when ``--auth-user-pass-verify`` or
+ ``--management-client-auth`` are specified (or an authentication plugin
+ module), the OpenVPN server daemon will require connecting clients to
+ specify a username and password. This option makes the submission of a
+ username/password by clients optional, passing the responsibility to the
+ user-defined authentication module/script to accept or deny the client
+ based on other factors (such as the setting of X509 certificate fields).
+ When this option is used, and a connecting client does not submit a
+ username/password, the user-defined authentication module/script will
+ see the username and password as being set to empty strings (""). The
+ authentication module/script MUST have logic to detect this condition
+ and respond accordingly.
+
+--ccd-exclusive
+ Require, as a condition of authentication, that a connecting client has
+ a ``--client-config-dir`` file.
+
+--client-config-dir dir
+ Specify a directory ``dir`` for custom client config files. After a
+ connecting client has been authenticated, OpenVPN will look in this
+ directory for a file having the same name as the client's X509 common
+ name. If a matching file exists, it will be opened and parsed for
+ client-specific configuration options. If no matching file is found,
+ OpenVPN will instead try to open and parse a default file called
+ "DEFAULT", which may be provided but is not required. Note that the
+ configuration files must be readable by the OpenVPN process after it has
+ dropped it's root privileges.
+
+ This file can specify a fixed IP address for a given client using
+ ``--ifconfig-push``, as well as fixed subnets owned by the client using
+ ``--iroute``.
+
+ One of the useful properties of this option is that it allows client
+ configuration files to be conveniently created, edited, or removed while
+ the server is live, without needing to restart the server.
+
+ The following options are legal in a client-specific context: ``--push``,
+ ``--push-reset``, ``--push-remove``, ``--iroute``, ``--ifconfig-push``,
+ ``--vlan-pvid`` and ``--config``.
+
+--client-to-client
+ Because the OpenVPN server mode handles multiple clients through a
+ single tun or tap interface, it is effectively a router. The
+ ``--client-to-client`` flag tells OpenVPN to internally route
+ client-to-client traffic rather than pushing all client-originating
+ traffic to the TUN/TAP interface.
+
+ When this option is used, each client will "see" the other clients which
+ are currently connected. Otherwise, each client will only see the
+ server. Don't use this option if you want to firewall tunnel traffic
+ using custom, per-client rules.
+
+--disable
+ Disable a particular client (based on the common name) from connecting.
+ Don't use this option to disable a client due to key or password
+ compromise. Use a CRL (certificate revocation list) instead (see the
+ ``--crl-verify`` option).
+
+ This option must be associated with a specific client instance, which
+ means that it must be specified either in a client instance config file
+ using ``--client-config-dir`` or dynamically generated using a
+ ``--client-connect`` script.
+
+--connect-freq args
+ Allow a maximum of ``n`` new connections per ``sec`` seconds from
+ clients.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ connect-freq n sec
+
+ This is designed to contain DoS attacks which flood the server
+ with connection requests using certificates which will ultimately fail
+ to authenticate.
+
+ This is an imperfect solution however, because in a real DoS scenario,
+ legitimate connections might also be refused.
+
+ For the best protection against DoS attacks in server mode, use
+ ``--proto udp`` and either ``--tls-auth`` or ``--tls-crypt``.
+
+--duplicate-cn
+ Allow multiple clients with the same common name to concurrently
+ connect. In the absence of this option, OpenVPN will disconnect a client
+ instance upon connection of a new client having the same common name.
+
+--ifconfig-pool args
+ Set aside a pool of subnets to be dynamically allocated to connecting
+ clients, similar to a DHCP server.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ ifconfig-pool start-IP end-IP [netmask]
+
+ For tun-style tunnels, each client
+ will be given a /30 subnet (for interoperability with Windows clients).
+ For tap-style tunnels, individual addresses will be allocated, and the
+ optional ``netmask`` parameter will also be pushed to clients.
+
+--ifconfig-ipv6-pool args
+ Specify an IPv6 address pool for dynamic assignment to clients.
+
+ Valid args:
+ ::
+
+ ifconfig-ipv6-pool ipv6addr/bits
+
+ The pool starts at ``ipv6addr`` and matches the offset determined from
+ the start of the IPv4 pool.
+
+--ifconfig-pool-persist args
+ Persist/unpersist ifconfig-pool data to ``file``, at ``seconds``
+ intervals (default :code:`600`), as well as on program startup and shutdown.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ ifconfig-pool-persist file [seconds]
+
+ The goal of this option is to provide a long-term association between
+ clients (denoted by their common name) and the virtual IP address
+ assigned to them from the ifconfig-pool. Maintaining a long-term
+ association is good for clients because it allows them to effectively
+ use the ``--persist-tun`` option.
+
+ ``file`` is a comma-delimited ASCII file, formatted as
+ :code:`<Common-Name>,<IP-address>`.
+
+ If ``seconds`` = :code:`0`, ``file`` will be treated as read-only. This
+ is useful if you would like to treat ``file`` as a configuration file.
+
+ Note that the entries in this file are treated by OpenVPN as
+ *suggestions* only, based on past associations between a common name and
+ IP address. They do not guarantee that the given common name will always
+ receive the given IP address. If you want guaranteed assignment, use
+ ``--ifconfig-push``
+
+--ifconfig-push args
+ Push virtual IP endpoints for client tunnel, overriding the
+ ``--ifconfig-pool`` dynamic allocation.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ ifconfig-push local remote-netmask [alias]
+
+ The parameters ``local`` and ``remote-netmask`` are set according to the
+ ``--ifconfig`` directive which you want to execute on the client machine
+ to configure the remote end of the tunnel. Note that the parameters
+ ``local`` and ``remote-netmask`` are from the perspective of the client,
+ not the server. They may be DNS names rather than IP addresses, in which
+ case they will be resolved on the server at the time of client
+ connection.
+
+ The optional ``alias`` parameter may be used in cases where NAT causes
+ the client view of its local endpoint to differ from the server view. In
+ this case ``local/remote-netmask`` will refer to the server view while
+ ``alias/remote-netmask`` will refer to the client view.
+
+ This option must be associated with a specific client instance, which
+ means that it must be specified either in a client instance config file
+ using ``--client-config-dir`` or dynamically generated using a
+ ``--client-connect`` script.
+
+ Remember also to include a ``--route`` directive in the main OpenVPN
+ config file which encloses ``local``, so that the kernel will know to
+ route it to the server's TUN/TAP interface.
+
+ OpenVPN's internal client IP address selection algorithm works as
+ follows:
+
+ 1. Use ``--client-connect script`` generated file for static IP
+ (first choice).
+
+ 2. Use ``--client-config-dir`` file for static IP (next choice).
+
+ 3. Use ``--ifconfig-pool`` allocation for dynamic IP (last
+ choice).
+
+--ifconfig-ipv6-push args
+ for ``--client-config-dir`` per-client static IPv6 interface
+ configuration, see ``--client-config-dir`` and ``--ifconfig-push`` for
+ more details.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ ifconfig-ipv6-push ipv6addr/bits ipv6remote
+
+--inetd args
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ inetd
+ inetd wait
+ inetd nowait
+ inetd wait progname
+
+ Use this option when OpenVPN is being run from the inetd or ``xinetd``\(8)
+ server.
+
+ The :code:`wait` and :code:`nowait` option must match what is specified
+ in the inetd/xinetd config file. The :code:`nowait` mode can only be used
+ with ``--proto tcp-server`` The default is :code:`wait`. The
+ :code:`nowait` mode can be used to instantiate the OpenVPN daemon as a
+ classic TCP server, where client connection requests are serviced on a
+ single port number. For additional information on this kind of
+ configuration, see the OpenVPN FAQ:
+ https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/wiki/325-openvpn-as-a--forking-tcp-server-which-can-service-multiple-clients-over-a-single-tcp-port
+
+ This option precludes the use of ``--daemon``, ``--local`` or
+ ``--remote``. Note that this option causes message and error output to
+ be handled in the same way as the ``--daemon`` option. The optional
+ ``progname`` parameter is also handled exactly as in ``--daemon``.
+
+ Also note that in ``wait`` mode, each OpenVPN tunnel requires a separate
+ TCP/UDP port and a separate inetd or xinetd entry. See the OpenVPN 1.x
+ HOWTO for an example on using OpenVPN with xinetd:
+ https://openvpn.net/community-resources/1xhowto/
+
+--multihome
+ Configure a multi-homed UDP server. This option needs to be used when a
+ server has more than one IP address (e.g. multiple interfaces, or
+ secondary IP addresses), and is not using ``--local`` to force binding
+ to one specific address only. This option will add some extra lookups to
+ the packet path to ensure that the UDP reply packets are always sent
+ from the address that the client is talking to. This is not supported on
+ all platforms, and it adds more processing, so it's not enabled by
+ default.
+
+ *Notes:*
+ - This option is only relevant for UDP servers.
+ - If you do an IPv6+IPv4 dual-stack bind on a Linux machine with
+ multiple IPv4 address, connections to IPv4 addresses will not
+ work right on kernels before 3.15, due to missing kernel
+ support for the IPv4-mapped case (some distributions have
+ ported this to earlier kernel versions, though).
+
+--iroute args
+ Generate an internal route to a specific client. The ``netmask``
+ parameter, if omitted, defaults to :code:`255.255.255.255`.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ iroute network [netmask]
+
+ This directive can be used to route a fixed subnet from the server to a
+ particular client, regardless of where the client is connecting from.
+ Remember that you must also add the route to the system routing table as
+ well (such as by using the ``--route`` directive). The reason why two
+ routes are needed is that the ``--route`` directive routes the packet
+ from the kernel to OpenVPN. Once in OpenVPN, the ``--iroute`` directive
+ routes to the specific client.
+
+ This option must be specified either in a client instance config file
+ using ``--client-config-dir`` or dynamically generated using a
+ ``--client-connect`` script.
+
+ The ``--iroute`` directive also has an important interaction with
+ ``--push "route ..."``. ``--iroute`` essentially defines a subnet which
+ is owned by a particular client (we will call this client *A*). If you
+ would like other clients to be able to reach *A*'s subnet, you can use
+ ``--push "route ..."`` together with ``--client-to-client`` to effect
+ this. In order for all clients to see *A*'s subnet, OpenVPN must push
+ this route to all clients EXCEPT for *A*, since the subnet is already
+ owned by *A*. OpenVPN accomplishes this by not not pushing a route to
+ a client if it matches one of the client's iroutes.
+
+--iroute-ipv6 args
+ for ``--client-config-dir`` per-client static IPv6 route configuration,
+ see ``--iroute`` for more details how to setup and use this, and how
+ ``--iroute`` and ``--route`` interact.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ iroute-ipv6 ipv6addr/bits
+
+--max-clients n
+ Limit server to a maximum of ``n`` concurrent clients.
+
+--max-routes-per-client n
+ Allow a maximum of ``n`` internal routes per client (default
+ :code:`256`). This is designed to help contain DoS attacks where an
+ authenticated client floods the server with packets appearing to come
+ from many unique MAC addresses, forcing the server to deplete virtual
+ memory as its internal routing table expands. This directive can be used
+ in a ``--client-config-dir`` file or auto-generated by a
+ ``--client-connect`` script to override the global value for a particular
+ client.
+
+ Note that this directive affects OpenVPN's internal routing table, not
+ the kernel routing table.
+
+--opt-verify
+ Clients that connect with options that are incompatible with those of the
+ server will be disconnected.
+
+ Options that will be compared for compatibility include ``dev-type``,
+ ``link-mtu``, ``tun-mtu``, ``proto``, ``ifconfig``,
+ ``comp-lzo``, ``fragment``, ``keydir``, ``cipher``,
+ ``auth``, ``keysize``, ``secret``, ``no-replay``,
+ ``tls-auth``, ``key-method``, ``tls-server``
+ and ``tls-client``.
+
+ This option requires that ``--disable-occ`` NOT be used.
+
+--port-share args
+ Share OpenVPN TCP with another service
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ port-share host port [dir]
+
+ When run in TCP server mode, share the OpenVPN port with another
+ application, such as an HTTPS server. If OpenVPN senses a connection to
+ its port which is using a non-OpenVPN protocol, it will proxy the
+ connection to the server at ``host``:``port``. Currently only designed to
+ work with HTTP/HTTPS, though it would be theoretically possible to
+ extend to other protocols such as ssh.
+
+ ``dir`` specifies an optional directory where a temporary file with name
+ N containing content C will be dynamically generated for each proxy
+ connection, where N is the source IP:port of the client connection and C
+ is the source IP:port of the connection to the proxy receiver. This
+ directory can be used as a dictionary by the proxy receiver to determine
+ the origin of the connection. Each generated file will be automatically
+ deleted when the proxied connection is torn down.
+
+ Not implemented on Windows.
+
+--push option
+ Push a config file option back to the client for remote execution. Note
+ that ``option`` must be enclosed in double quotes (:code:`""`). The
+ client must specify ``--pull`` in its config file. The set of options
+ which can be pushed is limited by both feasibility and security. Some
+ options such as those which would execute scripts are banned, since they
+ would effectively allow a compromised server to execute arbitrary code
+ on the client. Other options such as TLS or MTU parameters cannot be
+ pushed because the client needs to know them before the connection to the
+ server can be initiated.
+
+ This is a partial list of options which can currently be pushed:
+ ``--route``, ``--route-gateway``, ``--route-delay``,
+ ``--redirect-gateway``, ``--ip-win32``, ``--dhcp-option``,
+ ``--inactive``, ``--ping``, ``--ping-exit``, ``--ping-restart``,
+ ``--setenv``, ``--auth-token``, ``--persist-key``, ``--persist-tun``,
+ ``--echo``, ``--comp-lzo``, ``--socket-flags``, ``--sndbuf``,
+ ``--rcvbuf``
+
+--push-peer-info
+ Push additional information about the client to server. The following
+ data is always pushed to the server:
+
+ :code:`IV_VER=<version>`
+ The client OpenVPN version
+
+ :code:`IV_PLAT=[linux|solaris|openbsd|mac|netbsd|freebsd|win]`
+ The client OS platform
+
+ :code:`IV_LZO_STUB=1`
+ If client was built with LZO stub capability
+
+ :code:`IV_LZ4=1`
+ If the client supports LZ4 compressions.
+
+ :code:`IV_PROTO`
+ Details about protocol extensions that the peer supports. The
+ variable is a bitfield and the bits are defined as follows
+ (starting a bit 0 for the first (unused) bit:
+
+ - bit 1: The peer supports peer-id floating mechanism
+ - bit 2: The client expects a push-reply and the server may
+ send this reply without waiting for a push-request first.
+
+ :code:`IV_NCP=2`
+ Negotiable ciphers, client supports ``--cipher`` pushed by
+ the server, a value of 2 or greater indicates client supports
+ *AES-GCM-128* and *AES-GCM-256*.
+
+ :code:`IV_CIPHERS=<ncp-ciphers>`
+ The client announces the list of supported ciphers configured with the
+ ``--data-ciphers`` option to the server.
+
+ :code:`IV_GUI_VER=<gui_id> <version>`
+ The UI version of a UI if one is running, for example
+ :code:`de.blinkt.openvpn 0.5.47` for the Android app.
+
+ When ``--push-peer-info`` is enabled the additional information consists
+ of the following data:
+
+ :code:`IV_HWADDR=<mac address>`
+ The MAC address of clients default gateway
+
+ :code:`IV_SSL=<version string>`
+ The ssl version used by the client, e.g.
+ :code:`OpenSSL 1.0.2f 28 Jan 2016`.
+
+ :code:`IV_PLAT_VER=x.y`
+ The version of the operating system, e.g. 6.1 for Windows 7.
+
+ :code:`UV_<name>=<value>`
+ Client environment variables whose names start with
+ :code:`UV_`
+
+--push-remove opt
+ Selectively remove all ``--push`` options matching "opt" from the option
+ list for a client. ``opt`` is matched as a substring against the whole
+ option string to-be-pushed to the client, so ``--push-remove route``
+ would remove all ``--push route ...`` and ``--push route-ipv6 ...``
+ statements, while ``--push-remove "route-ipv6 2001:"`` would only remove
+ IPv6 routes for :code:`2001:...` networks.
+
+ ``--push-remove`` can only be used in a client-specific context, like in
+ a ``--client-config-dir`` file, or ``--client-connect`` script or plugin
+ -- similar to ``--push-reset``, just more selective.
+
+ *NOTE*: to *change* an option, ``--push-remove`` can be used to first
+ remove the old value, and then add a new ``--push`` option with the new
+ value.
+
+ *NOTE 2*: due to implementation details, 'ifconfig' and 'ifconfig-ipv6'
+ can only be removed with an exact match on the option (
+ :code:`push-remove ifconfig`), no substring matching and no matching on
+ the IPv4/IPv6 address argument is possible.
+
+--push-reset
+ Don't inherit the global push list for a specific client instance.
+ Specify this option in a client-specific context such as with a
+ ``--client-config-dir`` configuration file. This option will ignore
+ ``--push`` options at the global config file level.
+
+--server args
+ A helper directive designed to simplify the configuration of OpenVPN's
+ server mode. This directive will set up an OpenVPN server which will
+ allocate addresses to clients out of the given network/netmask. The
+ server itself will take the :code:`.1` address of the given network for
+ use as the server-side endpoint of the local TUN/TAP interface. If the
+ optional :code:`nopool` flag is given, no dynamic IP address pool will
+ prepared for VPN clients.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ server network netmask [nopool]
+
+ For example, ``--server 10.8.0.0 255.255.255.0`` expands as follows:
+ ::
+
+ mode server
+ tls-server
+ push "topology [topology]"
+
+ if dev tun AND (topology == net30 OR topology == p2p):
+ ifconfig 10.8.0.1 10.8.0.2
+ if !nopool:
+ ifconfig-pool 10.8.0.4 10.8.0.251
+ route 10.8.0.0 255.255.255.0
+ if client-to-client:
+ push "route 10.8.0.0 255.255.255.0"
+ else if topology == net30:
+ push "route 10.8.0.1"
+
+ if dev tap OR (dev tun AND topology == subnet):
+ ifconfig 10.8.0.1 255.255.255.0
+ if !nopool:
+ ifconfig-pool 10.8.0.2 10.8.0.253 255.255.255.0
+ push "route-gateway 10.8.0.1"
+ if route-gateway unset:
+ route-gateway 10.8.0.2
+
+ Don't use ``--server`` if you are ethernet bridging. Use
+ ``--server-bridge`` instead.
+
+--server-bridge args
+ A helper directive similar to ``--server`` which is designed to simplify
+ the configuration of OpenVPN's server mode in ethernet bridging
+ configurations.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ server-bridge gateway netmask pool-start-IP pool-end-IP
+ server-bridge [nogw]
+
+ If ``--server-bridge`` is used without any parameters, it will enable a
+ DHCP-proxy mode, where connecting OpenVPN clients will receive an IP
+ address for their TAP adapter from the DHCP server running on the
+ OpenVPN server-side LAN. Note that only clients that support the binding
+ of a DHCP client with the TAP adapter (such as Windows) can support this
+ mode. The optional :code:`nogw` flag (advanced) indicates that gateway
+ information should not be pushed to the client.
+
+ To configure ethernet bridging, you must first use your OS's bridging
+ capability to bridge the TAP interface with the ethernet NIC interface.
+ For example, on Linux this is done with the :code:`brctl` tool, and with
+ Windows XP it is done in the Network Connections Panel by selecting the
+ ethernet and TAP adapters and right-clicking on "Bridge Connections".
+
+ Next you you must manually set the IP/netmask on the bridge interface.
+ The ``gateway`` and ``netmask`` parameters to ``--server-bridge`` can be
+ set to either the IP/netmask of the bridge interface, or the IP/netmask
+ of the default gateway/router on the bridged subnet.
+
+ Finally, set aside a IP range in the bridged subnet, denoted by
+ ``pool-start-IP`` and ``pool-end-IP``, for OpenVPN to allocate to
+ connecting clients.
+
+ For example, ``server-bridge 10.8.0.4 255.255.255.0 10.8.0.128
+ 10.8.0.254`` expands as follows:
+ ::
+
+ mode server
+ tls-server
+
+ ifconfig-pool 10.8.0.128 10.8.0.254 255.255.255.0
+ push "route-gateway 10.8.0.4"
+
+ In another example, ``--server-bridge`` (without parameters) expands as
+ follows:
+ ::
+
+ mode server
+ tls-server
+
+ push "route-gateway dhcp"
+
+ Or ``--server-bridge nogw`` expands as follows:
+ ::
+
+ mode server
+ tls-server
+
+--stale-routes-check args
+ Remove routes which haven't had activity for ``n`` seconds (i.e. the ageing
+ time). This check is run every ``t`` seconds (i.e. check interval).
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ stale-routes-check n [t]
+
+ If ``t`` is not present it defaults to ``n``.
+
+ This option helps to keep the dynamic routing table small. See also
+ ``--max-routes-per-client``
+
+--username-as-common-name
+ For ``--auth-user-pass-verify`` authentication, use the authenticated
+ username as the common name, rather than the common name from the client
+ cert.
+
+--verify-client-cert mode
+ Specify whether the client is required to supply a valid certificate.
+
+ Possible ``mode`` options are:
+
+ :code:`none`
+ A client certificate is not required. the client needs to
+ authenticate using username/password only. Be aware that using this
+ directive is less secure than requiring certificates from all
+ clients.
+
+ If you use this directive, the entire responsibility of authentication
+ will rest on your ``--auth-user-pass-verify`` script, so keep in mind
+ that bugs in your script could potentially compromise the security of
+ your VPN.
+
+ ``--verify-client-cert none`` is functionally equivalent to
+ ``--client-cert-not-required``.
+
+ :code:`optional`
+ A client may present a certificate but it is not required to do so.
+ When using this directive, you should also use a
+ ``--auth-user-pass-verify`` script to ensure that clients are
+ authenticated using a certificate, a username and password, or
+ possibly even both.
+
+ Again, the entire responsibility of authentication will rest on your
+ ``--auth-user-pass-verify`` script, so keep in mind that bugs in your
+ script could potentially compromise the security of your VPN.
+
+ :code:`require`
+ This is the default option. A client is required to present a
+ certificate, otherwise VPN access is refused.
+
+ If you don't use this directive (or use ``--verify-client-cert require``)
+ but you also specify an ``--auth-user-pass-verify`` script, then OpenVPN
+ will perform double authentication. The client certificate verification
+ AND the ``--auth-user-pass-verify`` script will need to succeed in order
+ for a client to be authenticated and accepted onto the VPN.
+
+--vlan-tagging
+ Server-only option. Turns the OpenVPN server instance into a switch that
+ understands VLAN-tagging, based on IEEE 802.1Q.
+
+ The server TAP device and each of the connecting clients is seen as a
+ port of the switch. All client ports are in untagged mode and the server
+ TAP device is VLAN-tagged, untagged or accepts both, depending on the
+ ``--vlan-accept`` setting.
+
+ Ethernet frames with a prepended 802.1Q tag are called "tagged". If the
+ VLAN Identifier (VID) field in such a tag is non-zero, the frame is
+ called "VLAN-tagged". If the VID is zero, but the Priority Control Point
+ (PCP) field is non-zero, the frame is called "prio-tagged". If there is
+ no 802.1Q tag, the frame is "untagged".
+
+ Using the ``--vlan-pvid v`` option once per client (see
+ --client-config-dir), each port can be associated with a certain VID.
+ Packets can only be forwarded between ports having the same VID.
+ Therefore, clients with differing VIDs are completely separated from
+ one-another, even if ``--client-to-client`` is activated.
+
+ The packet filtering takes place in the OpenVPN server. Clients should
+ not have any VLAN tagging configuration applied.
+
+ The ``--vlan-tagging`` option is off by default. While turned off,
+ OpenVPN accepts any Ethernet frame and does not perform any special
+ processing for VLAN-tagged packets.
+
+ This option can only be activated in ``--dev tap mode``.
+
+--vlan-accept args
+ Configure the VLAN tagging policy for the server TAP device.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ vlan-accept all|tagged|untagged
+
+ The following modes are available:
+
+ :code:`tagged`
+ Admit only VLAN-tagged frames. Only VLAN-tagged packets are accepted,
+ while untagged or priority-tagged packets are dropped when entering
+ the server TAP device.
+
+ :code:`untagged`
+ Admit only untagged and prio-tagged frames. VLAN-tagged packets are
+ not accepted, while untagged or priority-tagged packets entering the
+ server TAP device are tagged with the value configured for the global
+ ``--vlan-pvid`` setting.
+
+ :code:`all` (default)
+ Admit all frames. All packets are admitted and then treated like
+ untagged or tagged mode respectively.
+
+ *Note*:
+ Some vendors refer to switch ports running in :code:`tagged` mode
+ as "trunk ports" and switch ports running in :code:`untagged` mode
+ as "access ports".
+
+ Packets forwarded from clients to the server are VLAN-tagged with the
+ originating client's PVID, unless the VID matches the global
+ ``--vlan-pvid``, in which case the tag is removed.
+
+ If no *PVID* is configured for a given client (see --vlan-pvid) packets
+ are tagged with 1 by default.
+
+--vlan-pvid v
+ Specifies which VLAN identifier a "port" is associated with. Only valid
+ when ``--vlan-tagging`` is speficied.
+
+ In the client context, the setting specifies which VLAN ID a client is
+ associated with. In the global context, the VLAN ID of the server TAP
+ device is set. The latter only makes sense for ``--vlan-accept
+ untagged`` and ``--vlan-accept all`` modes.
+
+ Valid values for ``v`` go from :code:`1` through to :code:`4094`. The
+ global value defaults to :code:`1`. If no ``--vlan-pvid`` is specified in
+ the client context, the global value is inherited.
+
+ In some switch implementations, the *PVID* is also referred to as "Native
+ VLAN".
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/signals.rst b/doc/man-sections/signals.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63611b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/signals.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+SIGNALS
+=======
+
+:code:`SIGHUP`
+ Cause OpenVPN to close all TUN/TAP and network connections, restart,
+ re-read the configuration file (if any), and reopen TUN/TAP and network
+ connections.
+
+:code:`SIGUSR1`
+ Like :code:`SIGHUP``, except don't re-read configuration file, and
+ possibly don't close and reopen TUN/TAP device, re-read key files,
+ preserve local IP address/port, or preserve most recently authenticated
+ remote IP address/port based on ``--persist-tun``, ``--persist-key``,
+ ``--persist-local-ip`` and ``--persist-remote-ip`` options respectively
+ (see above).
+
+ This signal may also be internally generated by a timeout condition,
+ governed by the ``--ping-restart`` option.
+
+ This signal, when combined with ``--persist-remote-ip``, may be sent
+ when the underlying parameters of the host's network interface change
+ such as when the host is a DHCP client and is assigned a new IP address.
+ See ``--ipchange`` for more information.
+
+:code:`SIGUSR2`
+ Causes OpenVPN to display its current statistics (to the syslog file if
+ ``--daemon`` is used, or stdout otherwise).
+
+:code:`SIGINT`, :code:`SIGTERM`
+ Causes OpenVPN to exit gracefully.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/tls-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/tls-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c2db7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/tls-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,668 @@
+TLS Mode Options
+----------------
+
+TLS mode is the most powerful crypto mode of OpenVPN in both security
+and flexibility. TLS mode works by establishing control and data
+channels which are multiplexed over a single TCP/UDP port. OpenVPN
+initiates a TLS session over the control channel and uses it to exchange
+cipher and HMAC keys to protect the data channel. TLS mode uses a robust
+reliability layer over the UDP connection for all control channel
+communication, while the data channel, over which encrypted tunnel data
+passes, is forwarded without any mediation. The result is the best of
+both worlds: a fast data channel that forwards over UDP with only the
+overhead of encrypt, decrypt, and HMAC functions, and a control channel
+that provides all of the security features of TLS, including
+certificate-based authentication and Diffie Hellman forward secrecy.
+
+To use TLS mode, each peer that runs OpenVPN should have its own local
+certificate/key pair (``--cert`` and ``--key``), signed by the root
+certificate which is specified in ``--ca``.
+
+When two OpenVPN peers connect, each presents its local certificate to
+the other. Each peer will then check that its partner peer presented a
+certificate which was signed by the master root certificate as specified
+in ``--ca``.
+
+If that check on both peers succeeds, then the TLS negotiation will
+succeed, both OpenVPN peers will exchange temporary session keys, and
+the tunnel will begin passing data.
+
+The OpenVPN project provides a set of scripts for managing RSA
+certificates and keys: https://github.com/OpenVPN/easy-rsa
+
+--askpass file
+ Get certificate password from console or ``file`` before we daemonize.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ askpass
+ askpass file
+
+ For the extremely security conscious, it is possible to protect your
+ private key with a password. Of course this means that every time the
+ OpenVPN daemon is started you must be there to type the password. The
+ ``--askpass`` option allows you to start OpenVPN from the command line.
+ It will query you for a password before it daemonizes. To protect a
+ private key with a password you should omit the ``-nodes`` option when
+ you use the ``openssl`` command line tool to manage certificates and
+ private keys.
+
+ If ``file`` is specified, read the password from the first line of
+ ``file``. Keep in mind that storing your password in a file to a certain
+ extent invalidates the extra security provided by using an encrypted
+ key.
+
+--ca file
+ Certificate authority (CA) file in .pem format, also referred to as the
+ *root* certificate. This file can have multiple certificates in .pem
+ format, concatenated together. You can construct your own certificate
+ authority certificate and private key by using a command such as:
+ ::
+
+ openssl req -nodes -new -x509 -keyout ca.key -out ca.crt
+
+ Then edit your openssl.cnf file and edit the ``certificate`` variable to
+ point to your new root certificate ``ca.crt``.
+
+ For testing purposes only, the OpenVPN distribution includes a sample CA
+ certificate (ca.crt). Of course you should never use the test
+ certificates and test keys distributed with OpenVPN in a production
+ environment, since by virtue of the fact that they are distributed with
+ OpenVPN, they are totally insecure.
+
+--capath dir
+ Directory containing trusted certificates (CAs and CRLs). Not available
+ with mbed TLS.
+
+ CAs in the capath directory are expected to be named <hash>.<n>. CRLs
+ are expected to be named <hash>.r<n>. See the ``-CApath`` option of
+ ``openssl verify``, and the ``-hash`` option of ``openssl x509``,
+ ``openssl crl`` and ``X509_LOOKUP_hash_dir()``\(3)
+ for more information.
+
+ Similar to the ``--crl-verify`` option, CRLs are not mandatory -
+ OpenVPN will log the usual warning in the logs if the relevant CRL is
+ missing, but the connection will be allowed.
+
+--cert file
+ Local peer's signed certificate in .pem format -- must be signed by a
+ certificate authority whose certificate is in ``--ca file``. Each peer
+ in an OpenVPN link running in TLS mode should have its own certificate
+ and private key file. In addition, each certificate should have been
+ signed by the key of a certificate authority whose public key resides in
+ the ``--ca`` certificate authority file. You can easily make your own
+ certificate authority (see above) or pay money to use a commercial
+ service such as thawte.com (in which case you will be helping to finance
+ the world's second space tourist :). To generate a certificate, you can
+ use a command such as:
+ ::
+
+ openssl req -nodes -new -keyout mycert.key -out mycert.csr
+
+ If your certificate authority private key lives on another machine, copy
+ the certificate signing request (mycert.csr) to this other machine (this
+ can be done over an insecure channel such as email). Now sign the
+ certificate with a command such as:
+ ::
+
+ openssl ca -out mycert.crt -in mycert.csr
+
+ Now copy the certificate (mycert.crt) back to the peer which initially
+ generated the .csr file (this can be over a public medium). Note that
+ the ``openssl ca`` command reads the location of the certificate
+ authority key from its configuration file such as
+ :code:`/usr/share/ssl/openssl.cnf` -- note also that for certificate
+ authority functions, you must set up the files :code:`index.txt` (may be
+ empty) and :code:`serial` (initialize to :code:`01`).
+
+--crl-verify args
+ Check peer certificate against a Certificate Revocation List.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ crl-verify file/directory flag
+
+ Examples:
+ ::
+
+ crl-verify crl-file.pem
+ crl-verify /etc/openvpn/crls dir
+
+ A CRL (certificate revocation list) is used when a particular key is
+ compromised but when the overall PKI is still intact.
+
+ Suppose you had a PKI consisting of a CA, root certificate, and a number
+ of client certificates. Suppose a laptop computer containing a client
+ key and certificate was stolen. By adding the stolen certificate to the
+ CRL file, you could reject any connection which attempts to use it,
+ while preserving the overall integrity of the PKI.
+
+ The only time when it would be necessary to rebuild the entire PKI from
+ scratch would be if the root certificate key itself was compromised.
+
+ The option is not mandatory - if the relevant CRL is missing, OpenVPN
+ will log a warning in the logs - e.g.
+ ::
+
+ VERIFY WARNING: depth=0, unable to get certificate CRL
+
+ but the connection will be allowed. If the optional :code:`dir` flag
+ is specified, enable a different mode where the ``crl-verify`` is
+ pointed at a directory containing files named as revoked serial numbers
+ (the files may be empty, the contents are never read). If a client
+ requests a connection, where the client certificate serial number
+ (decimal string) is the name of a file present in the directory, it will
+ be rejected.
+
+ *Note:*
+ As the crl file (or directory) is read every time a peer
+ connects, if you are dropping root privileges with
+ ``--user``, make sure that this user has sufficient
+ privileges to read the file.
+
+
+--dh file
+ File containing Diffie Hellman parameters in .pem format (required for
+ ``--tls-server`` only).
+
+ Set ``file`` to :code:`none` to disable Diffie Hellman key exchange (and
+ use ECDH only). Note that this requires peers to be using an SSL library
+ that supports ECDH TLS cipher suites (e.g. OpenSSL 1.0.1+, or
+ mbed TLS 2.0+).
+
+ Use ``openssl dhparam -out dh2048.pem 2048`` to generate 2048-bit DH
+ parameters. Diffie Hellman parameters may be considered public.
+
+--ecdh-curve name
+ Specify the curve to use for elliptic curve Diffie Hellman. Available
+ curves can be listed with ``--show-curves``. The specified curve will
+ only be used for ECDH TLS-ciphers.
+
+ This option is not supported in mbed TLS builds of OpenVPN.
+
+--extra-certs file
+ Specify a ``file`` containing one or more PEM certs (concatenated
+ together) that complete the local certificate chain.
+
+ This option is useful for "split" CAs, where the CA for server certs is
+ different than the CA for client certs. Putting certs in this file
+ allows them to be used to complete the local certificate chain without
+ trusting them to verify the peer-submitted certificate, as would be the
+ case if the certs were placed in the ``ca`` file.
+
+--hand-window n
+ Handshake Window -- the TLS-based key exchange must finalize within
+ ``n`` seconds of handshake initiation by any peer (default :code:`60`
+ seconds). If the handshake fails we will attempt to reset our connection
+ with our peer and try again. Even in the event of handshake failure we
+ will still use our expiring key for up to ``--tran-window`` seconds to
+ maintain continuity of transmission of tunnel data.
+
+--key file
+ Local peer's private key in .pem format. Use the private key which was
+ generated when you built your peer's certificate (see ``--cert file``
+ above).
+
+--pkcs12 file
+ Specify a PKCS #12 file containing local private key, local certificate,
+ and root CA certificate. This option can be used instead of ``--ca``,
+ ``--cert``, and ``--key``. Not available with mbed TLS.
+
+--remote-cert-eku oid
+ Require that peer certificate was signed with an explicit *extended key
+ usage*.
+
+ This is a useful security option for clients, to ensure that the host
+ they connect to is a designated server.
+
+ The extended key usage should be encoded in *oid notation*, or *OpenSSL
+ symbolic representation*.
+
+--remote-cert-ku key-usage
+ Require that peer certificate was signed with an explicit
+ ``key-usage``.
+
+ If present in the certificate, the :code:`keyUsage` value is validated by
+ the TLS library during the TLS handshake. Specifying this option without
+ arguments requires this extension to be present (so the TLS library will
+ verify it).
+
+ If ``key-usage`` is a list of usage bits, the :code:`keyUsage` field
+ must have *at least* the same bits set as the bits in *one of* the values
+ supplied in the ``key-usage`` list.
+
+ The ``key-usage`` values in the list must be encoded in hex, e.g.
+ ::
+
+ remote-cert-ku a0
+
+--remote-cert-tls type
+ Require that peer certificate was signed with an explicit *key usage*
+ and *extended key usage* based on RFC3280 TLS rules.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ remote-cert-tls server
+ remote-cert-tls client
+
+ This is a useful security option for clients, to ensure that the host
+ they connect to is a designated server. Or the other way around; for a
+ server to verify that only hosts with a client certificate can connect.
+
+ The ``--remote-cert-tls client`` option is equivalent to
+ ::
+
+ remote-cert-ku
+ remote-cert-eku "TLS Web Client Authentication"
+
+ The ``--remote-cert-tls server`` option is equivalent to
+ ::
+
+ remote-cert-ku
+ remote-cert-eku "TLS Web Server Authentication"
+
+ This is an important security precaution to protect against a
+ man-in-the-middle attack where an authorized client attempts to connect
+ to another client by impersonating the server. The attack is easily
+ prevented by having clients verify the server certificate using any one
+ of ``--remote-cert-tls``, ``--verify-x509-name``, or ``--tls-verify``.
+
+--tls-auth args
+ Add an additional layer of HMAC authentication on top of the TLS control
+ channel to mitigate DoS attacks and attacks on the TLS stack.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ tls-auth file
+ tls-auth file 0
+ tls-auth file 1
+
+ In a nutshell, ``--tls-auth`` enables a kind of "HMAC firewall" on
+ OpenVPN's TCP/UDP port, where TLS control channel packets bearing an
+ incorrect HMAC signature can be dropped immediately without response.
+
+ ``file`` (required) is a file in OpenVPN static key format which can be
+ generated by ``--genkey``.
+
+ Older versions (up to OpenVPN 2.3) supported a freeform passphrase file.
+ This is no longer supported in newer versions (v2.4+).
+
+ See the ``--secret`` option for more information on the optional
+ ``direction`` parameter.
+
+ ``--tls-auth`` is recommended when you are running OpenVPN in a mode
+ where it is listening for packets from any IP address, such as when
+ ``--remote`` is not specified, or ``--remote`` is specified with
+ ``--float``.
+
+ The rationale for this feature is as follows. TLS requires a
+ multi-packet exchange before it is able to authenticate a peer. During
+ this time before authentication, OpenVPN is allocating resources (memory
+ and CPU) to this potential peer. The potential peer is also exposing
+ many parts of OpenVPN and the OpenSSL library to the packets it is
+ sending. Most successful network attacks today seek to either exploit
+ bugs in programs (such as buffer overflow attacks) or force a program to
+ consume so many resources that it becomes unusable. Of course the first
+ line of defense is always to produce clean, well-audited code. OpenVPN
+ has been written with buffer overflow attack prevention as a top
+ priority. But as history has shown, many of the most widely used network
+ applications have, from time to time, fallen to buffer overflow attacks.
+
+ So as a second line of defense, OpenVPN offers this special layer of
+ authentication on top of the TLS control channel so that every packet on
+ the control channel is authenticated by an HMAC signature and a unique
+ ID for replay protection. This signature will also help protect against
+ DoS (Denial of Service) attacks. An important rule of thumb in reducing
+ vulnerability to DoS attacks is to minimize the amount of resources a
+ potential, but as yet unauthenticated, client is able to consume.
+
+ ``--tls-auth`` does this by signing every TLS control channel packet
+ with an HMAC signature, including packets which are sent before the TLS
+ level has had a chance to authenticate the peer. The result is that
+ packets without the correct signature can be dropped immediately upon
+ reception, before they have a chance to consume additional system
+ resources such as by initiating a TLS handshake. ``--tls-auth`` can be
+ strengthened by adding the ``--replay-persist`` option which will keep
+ OpenVPN's replay protection state in a file so that it is not lost
+ across restarts.
+
+ It should be emphasized that this feature is optional and that the key
+ file used with ``--tls-auth`` gives a peer nothing more than the power
+ to initiate a TLS handshake. It is not used to encrypt or authenticate
+ any tunnel data.
+
+ Use ``--tls-crypt`` instead if you want to use the key file to not only
+ authenticate, but also encrypt the TLS control channel.
+
+--tls-groups list
+ A list of allowable groups/curves in order of preference.
+
+ Set the allowed elliptic curves/groups for the TLS session.
+ These groups are allowed to be used in signatures and key exchange.
+
+ mbedTLS currently allows all known curves per default.
+
+ OpenSSL 1.1+ restricts the list per default to
+ ::
+
+ "X25519:secp256r1:X448:secp521r1:secp384r1".
+
+ If you use certificates that use non-standard curves, you
+ might need to add them here. If you do not force the ecdh curve
+ by using ``--ecdh-curve``, the groups for ecdh will also be picked
+ from this list.
+
+ OpenVPN maps the curve name `secp256r1` to `prime256v1` to allow
+ specifying the same tls-groups option for mbedTLS and OpenSSL.
+
+ Warning: this option not only affects elliptic curve certificates
+ but also the key exchange in TLS 1.3 and using this option improperly
+ will disable TLS 1.3.
+
+--tls-cert-profile profile
+ Set the allowed cryptographic algorithms for certificates according to
+ ``profile``.
+
+ The following profiles are supported:
+
+ :code:`legacy` (default)
+ SHA1 and newer, RSA 2048-bit+, any elliptic curve.
+
+ :code:`preferred`
+ SHA2 and newer, RSA 2048-bit+, any elliptic curve.
+
+ :code:`suiteb`
+ SHA256/SHA384, ECDSA with P-256 or P-384.
+
+ This option is only fully supported for mbed TLS builds. OpenSSL builds
+ use the following approximation:
+
+ :code:`legacy` (default)
+ sets "security level 1"
+
+ :code:`preferred`
+ sets "security level 2"
+
+ :code:`suiteb`
+ sets "security level 3" and ``--tls-cipher "SUITEB128"``.
+
+ OpenVPN will migrate to 'preferred' as default in the future. Please
+ ensure that your keys already comply.
+
+*WARNING:* ``--tls-ciphers``, ``--tls-ciphersuites`` and ``tls-groups``
+ These options are expert features, which - if used correctly - can
+ improve the security of your VPN connection. But it is also easy to
+ unwittingly use them to carefully align a gun with your foot, or just
+ break your connection. Use with care!
+
+--tls-cipher l
+ A list ``l`` of allowable TLS ciphers delimited by a colon (":code:`:`").
+
+ These setting can be used to ensure that certain cipher suites are used
+ (or not used) for the TLS connection. OpenVPN uses TLS to secure the
+ control channel, over which the keys that are used to protect the actual
+ VPN traffic are exchanged.
+
+ The supplied list of ciphers is (after potential OpenSSL/IANA name
+ translation) simply supplied to the crypto library. Please see the
+ OpenSSL and/or mbed TLS documentation for details on the cipher list
+ interpretation.
+
+ For OpenSSL, the ``--tls-cipher`` is used for TLS 1.2 and below.
+
+ Use ``--show-tls`` to see a list of TLS ciphers supported by your crypto
+ library.
+
+ The default for ``--tls-cipher`` is to use mbed TLS's default cipher list
+ when using mbed TLS or
+ :code:`DEFAULT:!EXP:!LOW:!MEDIUM:!kDH:!kECDH:!DSS:!PSK:!SRP:!kRSA` when
+ using OpenSSL.
+
+ The default for `--tls-ciphersuites` is to use the crypto library's
+ default.
+
+--tls-ciphersuites l
+ Same as ``--tls-cipher`` but for TLS 1.3 and up. mbed TLS has no
+ TLS 1.3 support yet and only the ``--tls-cipher`` setting is used.
+
+--tls-client
+ Enable TLS and assume client role during TLS handshake.
+
+--tls-crypt keyfile
+ Encrypt and authenticate all control channel packets with the key from
+ ``keyfile``. (See ``--tls-auth`` for more background.)
+
+ Encrypting (and authenticating) control channel packets:
+
+ * provides more privacy by hiding the certificate used for the TLS
+ connection,
+
+ * makes it harder to identify OpenVPN traffic as such,
+
+ * provides "poor-man's" post-quantum security, against attackers who will
+ never know the pre-shared key (i.e. no forward secrecy).
+
+ In contrast to ``--tls-auth``, ``--tls-crypt`` does *not* require the
+ user to set ``--key-direction``.
+
+ **Security Considerations**
+
+ All peers use the same ``--tls-crypt`` pre-shared group key to
+ authenticate and encrypt control channel messages. To ensure that IV
+ collisions remain unlikely, this key should not be used to encrypt more
+ than 2^48 client-to-server or 2^48 server-to-client control channel
+ messages. A typical initial negotiation is about 10 packets in each
+ direction. Assuming both initial negotiation and renegotiations are at
+ most 2^16 (65536) packets (to be conservative), and (re)negotiations
+ happen each minute for each user (24/7), this limits the tls-crypt key
+ lifetime to 8171 years divided by the number of users. So a setup with
+ 1000 users should rotate the key at least once each eight years. (And a
+ setup with 8000 users each year.)
+
+ If IV collisions were to occur, this could result in the security of
+ ``--tls-crypt`` degrading to the same security as using ``--tls-auth``.
+ That is, the control channel still benefits from the extra protection
+ against active man-in-the-middle-attacks and DoS attacks, but may no
+ longer offer extra privacy and post-quantum security on top of what TLS
+ itself offers.
+
+ For large setups or setups where clients are not trusted, consider using
+ ``--tls-crypt-v2`` instead. That uses per-client unique keys, and
+ thereby improves the bounds to 'rotate a client key at least once per
+ 8000 years'.
+
+--tls-crypt-v2 keyfile
+ Use client-specific tls-crypt keys.
+
+ For clients, ``keyfile`` is a client-specific tls-crypt key. Such a key
+ can be generated using the :code:`--genkey tls-crypt-v2-client` option.
+
+ For servers, ``keyfile`` is used to unwrap client-specific keys supplied
+ by the client during connection setup. This key must be the same as the
+ key used to generate the client-specific key (see :code:`--genkey
+ tls-crypt-v2-client`).
+
+ On servers, this option can be used together with the ``--tls-auth`` or
+ ``--tls-crypt`` option. In that case, the server will detect whether the
+ client is using client-specific keys, and automatically select the right
+ mode.
+
+--tls-crypt-v2-verify cmd
+ Run command ``cmd`` to verify the metadata of the client-specific
+ tls-crypt-v2 key of a connecting client. This allows server
+ administrators to reject client connections, before exposing the TLS
+ stack (including the notoriously dangerous X.509 and ASN.1 stacks) to
+ the connecting client.
+
+ OpenVPN supplies the following environment variables to the command:
+
+ * :code:`script_type` is set to :code:`tls-crypt-v2-verify`
+
+ * :code:`metadata_type` is set to :code:`0` if the metadata was user
+ supplied, or :code:`1` if it's a 64-bit unix timestamp representing
+ the key creation time.
+
+ * :code:`metadata_file` contains the filename of a temporary file that
+ contains the client metadata.
+
+ The command can reject the connection by exiting with a non-zero exit
+ code.
+
+--tls-exit
+ Exit on TLS negotiation failure.
+
+--tls-export-cert directory
+ Store the certificates the clients use upon connection to this
+ directory. This will be done before ``--tls-verify`` is called. The
+ certificates will use a temporary name and will be deleted when the
+ tls-verify script returns. The file name used for the certificate is
+ available via the ``peer_cert`` environment variable.
+
+--tls-server
+ Enable TLS and assume server role during TLS handshake. Note that
+ OpenVPN is designed as a peer-to-peer application. The designation of
+ client or server is only for the purpose of negotiating the TLS control
+ channel.
+
+--tls-timeout n
+ Packet retransmit timeout on TLS control channel if no acknowledgment
+ from remote within ``n`` seconds (default :code:`2`). When OpenVPN sends
+ a control packet to its peer, it will expect to receive an
+ acknowledgement within ``n`` seconds or it will retransmit the packet,
+ subject to a TCP-like exponential backoff algorithm. This parameter only
+ applies to control channel packets. Data channel packets (which carry
+ encrypted tunnel data) are never acknowledged, sequenced, or
+ retransmitted by OpenVPN because the higher level network protocols
+ running on top of the tunnel such as TCP expect this role to be left to
+ them.
+
+--tls-version-min args
+ Sets the minimum TLS version we will accept from the peer (default is
+ "1.0").
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ tls-version-min version ['or-highest']
+
+ Examples for version include :code:`1.0`, :code:`1.1`, or :code:`1.2`. If
+ :code:`or-highest` is specified and version is not recognized, we will
+ only accept the highest TLS version supported by the local SSL
+ implementation.
+
+--tls-version-max version
+ Set the maximum TLS version we will use (default is the highest version
+ supported). Examples for version include :code:`1.0`, :code:`1.1`, or
+ :code:`1.2`.
+
+--verify-hash args
+ Specify SHA1 or SHA256 fingerprint for level-1 cert.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ verify-hash hash [algo]
+
+ The level-1 cert is the CA (or intermediate cert) that signs the leaf
+ certificate, and is one removed from the leaf certificate in the
+ direction of the root. When accepting a connection from a peer, the
+ level-1 cert fingerprint must match ``hash`` or certificate verification
+ will fail. Hash is specified as XX:XX:... For example:
+ ::
+
+ AD:B0:95:D8:09:C8:36:45:12:A9:89:C8:90:09:CB:13:72:A6:AD:16
+
+ The ``algo`` flag can be either :code:`SHA1` or :code:`SHA256`. If not
+ provided, it defaults to :code:`SHA1`.
+
+--verify-x509-name args
+ Accept connections only if a host's X.509 name is equal to **name.** The
+ remote host must also pass all other tests of verification.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ verify-x509 name type
+
+ Which X.509 name is compared to ``name`` depends on the setting of type.
+ ``type`` can be :code:`subject` to match the complete subject DN
+ (default), :code:`name` to match a subject RDN or :code:`name-prefix` to
+ match a subject RDN prefix. Which RDN is verified as name depends on the
+ ``--x509-username-field`` option. But it defaults to the common name
+ (CN), e.g. a certificate with a subject DN
+ ::
+
+ C=KG, ST=NA, L=Bishkek, CN=Server-1
+
+ would be matched by:
+ ::
+
+ verify-x509-name 'C=KG, ST=NA, L=Bishkek, CN=Server-1'
+ verify-x509-name Server-1 name
+ verify-x509-name Server- name-prefix
+
+ The last example is useful if you want a client to only accept
+ connections to :code:`Server-1`, :code:`Server-2`, etc.
+
+ ``--verify-x509-name`` is a useful replacement for the ``--tls-verify``
+ option to verify the remote host, because ``--verify-x509-name`` works
+ in a ``--chroot`` environment without any dependencies.
+
+ Using a name prefix is a useful alternative to managing a CRL
+ (Certificate Revocation List) on the client, since it allows the client
+ to refuse all certificates except for those associated with designated
+ servers.
+
+ *NOTE:*
+ Test against a name prefix only when you are using OpenVPN
+ with a custom CA certificate that is under your control. Never use
+ this option with type :code:`name-prefix` when your client
+ certificates are signed by a third party, such as a commercial
+ web CA.
+
+--x509-track attribute
+ Save peer X509 **attribute** value in environment for use by plugins and
+ management interface. Prepend a :code:`+` to ``attribute`` to save values
+ from full cert chain. Values will be encoded as
+ :code:`X509_<depth>_<attribute>=<value>`. Multiple ``--x509-track``
+ options can be defined to track multiple attributes.
+
+--x509-username-field args
+ Field in the X.509 certificate subject to be used as the username
+ (default :code:`CN`).
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ x509-username-field [ext:]fieldname
+
+ Typically, this option is specified with **fieldname** as
+ either of the following:
+ ::
+
+ x509-username-field emailAddress
+ x509-username-field ext:subjectAltName
+
+ The first example uses the value of the :code:`emailAddress` attribute
+ in the certificate's Subject field as the username. The second example
+ uses the :code:`ext:` prefix to signify that the X.509 extension
+ ``fieldname`` :code:`subjectAltName` be searched for an rfc822Name
+ (email) field to be used as the username. In cases where there are
+ multiple email addresses in :code:`ext:fieldname`, the last occurrence
+ is chosen.
+
+ When this option is used, the ``--verify-x509-name`` option will match
+ against the chosen ``fieldname`` instead of the Common Name.
+
+ Only the :code:`subjectAltName` and :code:`issuerAltName` X.509
+ extensions are supported.
+
+ **Please note:** This option has a feature which will convert an
+ all-lowercase ``fieldname`` to uppercase characters, e.g.,
+ :code:`ou` -> :code:`OU`. A mixed-case ``fieldname`` or one having the
+ :code:`ext:` prefix will be left as-is. This automatic upcasing feature is
+ deprecated and will be removed in a future release.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/unsupported-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/unsupported-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..05ba3ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/unsupported-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+
+UNSUPPORTED OPTIONS
+===================
+
+Options listed in this section have been removed from OpenVPN and are no
+longer supported
+
+--client-cert-not-required
+ Removed in OpenVPN 2.5. This should be replaxed with
+ ``--verify-client-cert none``.
+
+--ifconfig-pool-linear
+ Removed in OpenVPN 2.5. This should be replaced with ``--topology p2p``.
+
+--key-method
+ Removed in OpenVPN 2.5. This option should not be used, as using the old
+ ``key-method`` weakens the VPN tunnel security. The old ``key-method``
+ was also only needed when the remote side was older than OpenVPN 2.0.
+
+--no-iv
+ Removed in OpenVPN 2.5. This option should not be used as it weakens the
+ VPN tunnel security. This has been a NOOP option since OpenVPN 2.4.
+
+--no-replay
+ Removed in OpenVPN 2.5. This option should not be used as it weakens the
+ VPN tunnel security.
+
+--ns-cert-type
+ Removed in OpenVPN 2.5. The ``nsCertType`` field is no longer supported
+ in recent SSL/TLS libraries. If your certificates does not include *key
+ usage* and *extended key usage* fields, they must be upgraded and the
+ ``--remote-cert-tls`` option should be used instead.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/virtual-routing-and-forwarding.rst b/doc/man-sections/virtual-routing-and-forwarding.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..28c13ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/virtual-routing-and-forwarding.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+Virtual Routing and Forwarding
+------------------------------
+
+Options in this section relates to configuration of virtual routing and
+forwarding in combination with the underlying operating system.
+
+As of today this is only supported on Linux, a kernel >= 4.9 is
+recommended.
+
+This could come in handy when for example the external network should be
+only used as a means to connect to some VPN endpoints and all regular
+traffic should only be routed through any tunnel(s). This could be
+achieved by setting up a VRF and configuring the interface connected to
+the external network to be part of the VRF. The examples below will cover
+this setup.
+
+Another option would be to put the tun/tap interface into a VRF. This could
+be done by an up-script which uses the :code:`ip link set` command shown
+below.
+
+
+VRF setup with iproute2
+```````````````````````
+
+Create VRF :code:`vrf_external` and map it to routing table :code:`1023`
+::
+
+ ip link add vrf_external type vrf table 1023
+
+Move :code:`eth0` into :code:`vrf_external`
+::
+
+ ip link set master vrf_external dev eth0
+
+Any prefixes configured on :code:`eth0` will be moved from the :code`main`
+routing table into routing table `1023`
+
+
+VRF setup with ifupdown
+```````````````````````
+
+For Debian based Distributions :code:`ifupdown2` provides an almost drop-in
+replacement for :code:`ifupdown` including VRFs and other features.
+A configuration for an interface :code:`eth0` being part of VRF
+code:`vrf_external` could look like this:
+::
+
+ auto eth0
+ iface eth0
+ address 192.0.2.42/24
+ address 2001:db8:08:15::42/64
+ gateway 192.0.2.1
+ gateway 2001:db8:08:15::1
+ vrf vrf_external
+
+ auto vrf_external
+ iface vrf_external
+ vrf-table 1023
+
+
+OpenVPN configuration
+`````````````````````
+The OpenVPN configuration needs to contain this line:
+::
+
+ bind-dev vrf_external
+
+
+Further reading
+```````````````
+
+Wikipedia has nice page one VRFs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_routing_and_forwarding
+
+This talk from the Network Track of FrOSCon 2018 provides an overview about
+advanced layer 2 and layer 3 features of Linux
+
+ - Slides: https://www.slideshare.net/BarbarossaTM/l2l3-fr-fortgeschrittene-helle-und-dunkle-magie-im-linuxnetzwerkstack
+ - Video (german): https://media.ccc.de/v/froscon2018-2247-l2\_l3\_fur\_fortgeschrittene\_-\_helle\_und\_dunkle\_magie\_im\_linux-netzwerkstack
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/vpn-network-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/vpn-network-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7100c1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/vpn-network-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,534 @@
+Virtual Network Adapter (VPN interface)
+---------------------------------------
+
+Options in this section relates to configuration of the virtual tun/tap
+network interface, including setting the VPN IP address and network
+routing.
+
+--bind-dev device
+ (Linux only) Set ``device`` to bind the server socket to a
+ `Virtual Routing and Forwarding`_ device
+
+--block-ipv6
+ On the client, instead of sending IPv6 packets over the VPN tunnel, all
+ IPv6 packets are answered with an ICMPv6 no route host message. On the
+ server, all IPv6 packets from clients are answered with an ICMPv6 no
+ route to host message. This options is intended for cases when IPv6
+ should be blocked and other options are not available. ``--block-ipv6``
+ will use the remote IPv6 as source address of the ICMPv6 packets if set,
+ otherwise will use :code:`fe80::7` as source address.
+
+ For this option to make sense you actually have to route traffic to the
+ tun interface. The following example config block would send all IPv6
+ traffic to OpenVPN and answer all requests with no route to host,
+ effectively blocking IPv6.
+
+ **Client config**
+ ::
+
+ --ifconfig-ipv6 fd15:53b6:dead::2/64 fd15:53b6:dead::1
+ --redirect-gateway ipv6
+ --block-ipv6
+
+ **Server config**
+ Push a "valid" ipv6 config to the client and block on the server
+ ::
+
+ --push "ifconfig-ipv6 fd15:53b6:dead::2/64 fd15:53b6:dead::1"
+ --push "redirect-gateway ipv6"
+ --block-ipv6
+
+--dev device
+ TUN/TAP virtual network device which can be :code:`tunX`, :code:`tapX`,
+ :code:`null` or an arbitrary name string (:code:`X` can be omitted for
+ a dynamic device.)
+
+ See examples section below for an example on setting up a TUN device.
+
+ You must use either tun devices on both ends of the connection or tap
+ devices on both ends. You cannot mix them, as they represent different
+ underlying network layers:
+
+ :code:`tun`
+ devices encapsulate IPv4 or IPv6 (OSI Layer 3)
+
+ :code:`tap`
+ devices encapsulate Ethernet 802.3 (OSI Layer 2).
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ dev tun2
+ dev tap4
+ dev ovpn
+
+ When the device name starts with :code:`tun` or :code:`tap`, the device
+ type is extracted automatically. Otherwise the ``--dev-type`` option
+ needs to be added as well.
+
+--dev-node node
+ Explicitly set the device node rather than using :code:`/dev/net/tun`,
+ :code:`/dev/tun`, :code:`/dev/tap`, etc. If OpenVPN cannot figure out
+ whether ``node`` is a TUN or TAP device based on the name, you should
+ also specify ``--dev-type tun`` or ``--dev-type tap``.
+
+ Under Mac OS X this option can be used to specify the default tun
+ implementation. Using ``--dev-node utun`` forces usage of the native
+ Darwin tun kernel support. Use ``--dev-node utunN`` to select a specific
+ utun instance. To force using the :code:`tun.kext` (:code:`/dev/tunX`)
+ use ``--dev-node tun``. When not specifying a ``--dev-node`` option
+ openvpn will first try to open utun, and fall back to tun.kext.
+
+ On Windows systems, select the TAP-Win32 adapter which is named ``node``
+ in the Network Connections Control Panel or the raw GUID of the adapter
+ enclosed by braces. The ``--show-adapters`` option under Windows can
+ also be used to enumerate all available TAP-Win32 adapters and will show
+ both the network connections control panel name and the GUID for each
+ TAP-Win32 adapter.
+
+--dev-type device-type
+ Which device type are we using? ``device-type`` should be :code:`tun`
+ (OSI Layer 3) or :code:`tap` (OSI Layer 2). Use this option only if
+ the TUN/TAP device used with ``--dev`` does not begin with :code:`tun`
+ or :code:`tap`.
+
+--dhcp-option args
+ Set additional network settings via DHCP. On Windows, this is parsed by
+ the ``tap-windows6`` or ``wintun`` driver. On other platforms these
+ options can be picked up by an ``--up`` script or plug-in if it has been
+ pushed by the OpenVPN server. The option will then be saved in the
+ client's environment before the ``--up`` script is called, under the name
+ :code:`foreign_option_{n}`.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ dhcp-options type [parm]
+
+ :code:`DOMAIN` ``name``
+ Set Connection-specific DNS Suffix to :code:`name`.
+
+ :code:`DNS` ``address``
+ Set primary domain name server IPv4 or IPv6 address.
+ Repeat this option to set secondary DNS server addresses.
+
+ Note: DNS IPv6 servers are currently set using netsh (the existing
+ DHCP code can only do IPv4 DHCP, and that protocol only permits
+ IPv4 addresses anywhere). The option will be put into the
+ environment, so an ``--up`` script could act upon it if needed.
+
+ :code:`WINS` ``address``
+ Set primary WINS server address (NetBIOS over TCP/IP Name Server).
+ Repeat this option to set secondary WINS server addresses.
+
+ :code:`NBDD` ``address``
+ Set primary NBDD server address (NetBIOS over TCP/IP Datagram
+ Distribution Server). Repeat this option to set secondary NBDD
+ server addresses.
+
+ :code:`NTP` ``address``
+ Set primary NTP server address (Network Time Protocol).
+ Repeat this option to set secondary NTP server addresses.
+
+ :code:`NBT` ``type``
+ Set NetBIOS over TCP/IP Node type. Possible options:
+
+ :code:`1`
+ b-node (broadcasts)
+
+ :code:`2`
+ p-node (point-to-point name queries to a WINS server)
+
+ :code:`4`
+ m-node (broadcast then query name server)
+
+ :code:`8`
+ h-node (query name server, then broadcast).
+
+ :code:`NBS` ``scope-id``
+ Set NetBIOS over TCP/IP Scope. A NetBIOS Scope ID provides an
+ extended naming service for the NetBIOS over TCP/IP (Known as NBT)
+ module. The primary purpose of a NetBIOS scope ID is to isolate
+ NetBIOS traffic on a single network to only those nodes with the
+ same NetBIOS scope ID. The NetBIOS scope ID is a character string
+ that is appended to the NetBIOS name. The NetBIOS scope ID on two
+ hosts must match, or the two hosts will not be able to communicate.
+ The NetBIOS Scope ID also allows computers to use the same computer
+ name, as they have different scope IDs. The Scope ID becomes a part
+ of the NetBIOS name, making the name unique. (This description of
+ NetBIOS scopes courtesy of NeonSurge@abyss.com)
+
+ :code:`DISABLE-NBT`
+ Disable Netbios-over-TCP/IP.
+
+--ifconfig args
+ Set TUN/TAP adapter parameters. It requires the *IP address* of the local
+ VPN endpoint. For TUN devices in point-to-point mode, the next argument
+ must be the VPN IP address of the remote VPN endpoint. For TAP devices,
+ or TUN devices used with ``--topology subnet``, the second argument
+ is the subnet mask of the virtual network segment which is being created
+ or connected to.
+
+ For TUN devices, which facilitate virtual point-to-point IP connections
+ (when used in ``--topology net30`` or ``p2p`` mode), the proper usage of
+ ``--ifconfig`` is to use two private IP addresses which are not a member
+ of any existing subnet which is in use. The IP addresses may be
+ consecutive and should have their order reversed on the remote peer.
+ After the VPN is established, by pinging ``rn``, you will be pinging
+ across the VPN.
+
+ For TAP devices, which provide the ability to create virtual ethernet
+ segments, or TUN devices in ``--topology subnet`` mode (which create
+ virtual "multipoint networks"), ``--ifconfig`` is used to set an IP
+ address and subnet mask just as a physical ethernet adapter would be
+ similarly configured. If you are attempting to connect to a remote
+ ethernet bridge, the IP address and subnet should be set to values which
+ would be valid on the the bridged ethernet segment (note also that DHCP
+ can be used for the same purpose).
+
+ This option, while primarily a proxy for the ``ifconfig``\(8) command,
+ is designed to simplify TUN/TAP tunnel configuration by providing a
+ standard interface to the different ifconfig implementations on
+ different platforms.
+
+ ``--ifconfig`` parameters which are IP addresses can also be specified
+ as a DNS or /etc/hosts file resolvable name.
+
+ For TAP devices, ``--ifconfig`` should not be used if the TAP interface
+ will be getting an IP address lease from a DHCP server.
+
+ Examples:
+ ::
+
+ # tun device in net30/p2p mode
+ ifconfig 10.8.0.2 10.8.0.1
+
+ # tun/tap device in subnet mode
+ ifconfig 10.8.0.2 255.255.255.0
+
+--ifconfig-ipv6 args
+ Configure an IPv6 address on the *tun* device.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ ifconfig-ipv6 ipv6addr/bits [ipv6remote]
+
+ The ``ipv6addr/bits`` argument is the IPv6 address to use. The
+ second parameter is used as route target for ``--route-ipv6`` if no
+ gateway is specified.
+
+ The ``--topology`` option has no influence with ``--ifconfig-ipv6``
+
+--ifconfig-noexec
+ Don't actually execute ifconfig/netsh commands, instead pass
+ ``--ifconfig`` parameters to scripts using environmental variables.
+
+--ifconfig-nowarn
+ Don't output an options consistency check warning if the ``--ifconfig``
+ option on this side of the connection doesn't match the remote side.
+ This is useful when you want to retain the overall benefits of the
+ options consistency check (also see ``--disable-occ`` option) while only
+ disabling the ifconfig component of the check.
+
+ For example, if you have a configuration where the local host uses
+ ``--ifconfig`` but the remote host does not, use ``--ifconfig-nowarn``
+ on the local host.
+
+ This option will also silence warnings about potential address conflicts
+ which occasionally annoy more experienced users by triggering "false
+ positive" warnings.
+
+--lladdr address
+ Specify the link layer address, more commonly known as the MAC address.
+ Only applied to TAP devices.
+
+--persist-tun
+ Don't close and reopen TUN/TAP device or run up/down scripts across
+ :code:`SIGUSR1` or ``--ping-restart`` restarts.
+
+ :code:`SIGUSR1` is a restart signal similar to :code:`SIGHUP`, but which
+ offers finer-grained control over reset options.
+
+--redirect-gateway flags
+ Automatically execute routing commands to cause all outgoing IP traffic
+ to be redirected over the VPN. This is a client-side option.
+
+ This option performs three steps:
+
+ (1) Create a static route for the ``--remote`` address which
+ forwards to the pre-existing default gateway. This is done so that
+ ``(3)`` will not create a routing loop.
+
+ (2) Delete the default gateway route.
+
+ (3) Set the new default gateway to be the VPN endpoint address
+ (derived either from ``--route-gateway`` or the second parameter to
+ ``--ifconfig`` when ``--dev tun`` is specified).
+
+ When the tunnel is torn down, all of the above steps are reversed so
+ that the original default route is restored.
+
+ Option flags:
+
+ :code:`local`
+ Add the :code:`local` flag if both OpenVPN peers are directly
+ connected via a common subnet, such as with wireless. The
+ :code:`local` flag will cause step ``(1)`` above to be omitted.
+
+ :code:`autolocal`
+ Try to automatically determine whether to enable :code:`local`
+ flag above.
+
+ :code:`def1`
+ Use this flag to override the default gateway by using
+ :code:`0.0.0.0/1` and :code:`128.0.0.0/1` rather than
+ :code:`0.0.0.0/0`. This has the benefit of overriding but not
+ wiping out the original default gateway.
+
+ :code:`bypass-dhcp`
+ Add a direct route to the DHCP server (if it is non-local) which
+ bypasses the tunnel (Available on Windows clients, may not be
+ available on non-Windows clients).
+
+ :code:`bypass-dns`
+ Add a direct route to the DNS server(s) (if they are non-local)
+ which bypasses the tunnel (Available on Windows clients, may
+ not be available on non-Windows clients).
+
+ :code:`block-local`
+ Block access to local LAN when the tunnel is active, except for
+ the LAN gateway itself. This is accomplished by routing the local
+ LAN (except for the LAN gateway address) into the tunnel.
+
+ :code:`ipv6`
+ Redirect IPv6 routing into the tunnel. This works similar to
+ the :code:`def1` flag, that is, more specific IPv6 routes are added
+ (:code:`2000::/4`, :code:`3000::/4`), covering the whole IPv6
+ unicast space.
+
+ :code:`!ipv4`
+ Do not redirect IPv4 traffic - typically used in the flag pair
+ :code:`ipv6 !ipv4` to redirect IPv6-only.
+
+--redirect-private flags
+ Like ``--redirect-gateway``, but omit actually changing the default gateway.
+ Useful when pushing private subnets.
+
+--route args
+ Add route to routing table after connection is established. Multiple
+ routes can be specified. Routes will be automatically torn down in
+ reverse order prior to TUN/TAP device close.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ route network/IP
+ route network/IP netmask
+ route network/IP netmask gateway
+ route network/IP netmask gateway metric
+
+ This option is intended as a convenience proxy for the ``route``\(8)
+ shell command, while at the same time providing portable semantics
+ across OpenVPN's platform space.
+
+ ``netmask``
+ defaults to :code:`255.255.255.255` when not given
+
+ ``gateway``
+ default taken from ``--route-gateway`` or the second
+ parameter to ``--ifconfig`` when ``--dev tun`` is specified.
+
+ ``metric``
+ default taken from ``--route-metric`` if set, otherwise :code:`0`.
+
+ The default can be specified by leaving an option blank or setting it to
+ :code:`default`.
+
+ The ``network`` and ``gateway`` parameters can also be specified as a
+ DNS or :code:`/etc/hosts` file resolvable name, or as one of three special
+ keywords:
+
+ :code:`vpn_gateway`
+ The remote VPN endpoint address (derived either from
+ ``--route-gateway`` or the second parameter to ``--ifconfig``
+ when ``--dev tun`` is specified).
+
+ :code:`net_gateway`
+ The pre-existing IP default gateway, read from the
+ routing table (not supported on all OSes).
+
+ :code:`remote_host`
+ The ``--remote`` address if OpenVPN is being run in
+ client mode, and is undefined in server mode.
+
+--route-delay args
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ route-delay
+ route-delay n
+ route-delay n m
+
+ Delay ``n`` seconds (default :code:`0`) after connection establishment,
+ before adding routes. If ``n`` is :code:`0`, routes will be added
+ immediately upon connection establishment. If ``--route-delay`` is
+ omitted, routes will be added immediately after TUN/TAP device open and
+ ``--up`` script execution, before any ``--user`` or ``--group`` privilege
+ downgrade (or ``--chroot`` execution.)
+
+ This option is designed to be useful in scenarios where DHCP is used to
+ set tap adapter addresses. The delay will give the DHCP handshake time
+ to complete before routes are added.
+
+ On Windows, ``--route-delay`` tries to be more intelligent by waiting
+ ``w`` seconds (default :code:`30` by default) for the TAP-Win32 adapter
+ to come up before adding routes.
+
+--route-ipv6 args
+ Setup IPv6 routing in the system to send the specified IPv6 network into
+ OpenVPN's *tun*.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ route-ipv6 ipv6addr/bits [gateway] [metric]
+
+ The gateway parameter is only used for IPv6 routes across *tap* devices,
+ and if missing, the ``ipv6remote`` field from ``--ifconfig-ipv6`` or
+ ``--route-ipv6-gateway`` is used.
+
+--route-gateway arg
+ Specify a default *gateway* for use with ``--route``.
+
+ If :code:`dhcp` is specified as the parameter, the gateway address will
+ be extracted from a DHCP negotiation with the OpenVPN server-side LAN.
+
+ Valid syntaxes:
+ ::
+
+ route-gateway gateway
+ route-gateway dhcp
+
+--route-ipv6-gateway gw
+ Specify a default gateway ``gw`` for use with ``--route-ipv6``.
+
+--route-metric m
+ Specify a default metric ``m`` for use with ``--route``.
+
+--route-noexec
+ Don't add or remove routes automatically. Instead pass routes to
+ ``--route-up`` script using environmental variables.
+
+--route-nopull
+ When used with ``--client`` or ``--pull``, accept options pushed by
+ server EXCEPT for routes, block-outside-dns and dhcp options like DNS
+ servers.
+
+ When used on the client, this option effectively bars the server from
+ adding routes to the client's routing table, however note that this
+ option still allows the server to set the TCP/IP properties of the
+ client's TUN/TAP interface.
+
+--topology mode
+ Configure virtual addressing topology when running in ``--dev tun``
+ mode. This directive has no meaning in ``--dev tap`` mode, which always
+ uses a :code:`subnet` topology.
+
+ If you set this directive on the server, the ``--server`` and
+ ``--server-bridge`` directives will automatically push your chosen
+ topology setting to clients as well. This directive can also be manually
+ pushed to clients. Like the ``--dev`` directive, this directive must
+ always be compatible between client and server.
+
+ ``mode`` can be one of:
+
+ :code:`net30`
+ Use a point-to-point topology, by allocating one /30 subnet
+ per client. This is designed to allow point-to-point semantics when some
+ or all of the connecting clients might be Windows systems. This is the
+ default on OpenVPN 2.0.
+
+ :code:`p2p`
+ Use a point-to-point topology where the remote endpoint of
+ the client's tun interface always points to the local endpoint of the
+ server's tun interface. This mode allocates a single IP address per
+ connecting client. Only use when none of the connecting clients are
+ Windows systems.
+
+ :code:`subnet`
+ Use a subnet rather than a point-to-point topology by
+ configuring the tun interface with a local IP address and subnet mask,
+ similar to the topology used in ``--dev tap`` and ethernet bridging
+ mode. This mode allocates a single IP address per connecting client and
+ works on Windows as well. Only available when server and clients are
+ OpenVPN 2.1 or higher, or OpenVPN 2.0.x which has been manually patched
+ with the ``--topology`` directive code. When used on Windows, requires
+ version 8.2 or higher of the TAP-Win32 driver. When used on \*nix,
+ requires that the tun driver supports an ``ifconfig``\(8) command which
+ sets a subnet instead of a remote endpoint IP address.
+
+ *Note:* Using ``--topology subnet`` changes the interpretation of the
+ arguments of ``--ifconfig`` to mean "address netmask", no longer "local
+ remote".
+
+--tun-mtu n
+ Take the TUN device MTU to be **n** and derive the link MTU from it
+ (default :code:`1500`). In most cases, you will probably want to leave
+ this parameter set to its default value.
+
+ The MTU (Maximum Transmission Units) is the maximum datagram size in
+ bytes that can be sent unfragmented over a particular network path.
+ OpenVPN requires that packets on the control and data channels be sent
+ unfragmented.
+
+ MTU problems often manifest themselves as connections which hang during
+ periods of active usage.
+
+ It's best to use the ``--fragment`` and/or ``--mssfix`` options to deal
+ with MTU sizing issues.
+
+--tun-mtu-extra n
+ Assume that the TUN/TAP device might return as many as ``n`` bytes more
+ than the ``--tun-mtu`` size on read. This parameter defaults to 0, which
+ is sufficient for most TUN devices. TAP devices may introduce additional
+ overhead in excess of the MTU size, and a setting of 32 is the default
+ when TAP devices are used. This parameter only controls internal OpenVPN
+ buffer sizing, so there is no transmission overhead associated with
+ using a larger value.
+
+
+TUN/TAP standalone operations
+-----------------------------
+These two standalone operations will require ``--dev`` and optionally
+``--user`` and/or ``--group``.
+
+--mktun
+ (Standalone) Create a persistent tunnel on platforms which support them
+ such as Linux. Normally TUN/TAP tunnels exist only for the period of
+ time that an application has them open. This option takes advantage of
+ the TUN/TAP driver's ability to build persistent tunnels that live
+ through multiple instantiations of OpenVPN and die only when they are
+ deleted or the machine is rebooted.
+
+ One of the advantages of persistent tunnels is that they eliminate the
+ need for separate ``--up`` and ``--down`` scripts to run the appropriate
+ ``ifconfig``\(8) and ``route``\(8) commands. These commands can be
+ placed in the the same shell script which starts or terminates an
+ OpenVPN session.
+
+ Another advantage is that open connections through the TUN/TAP-based
+ tunnel will not be reset if the OpenVPN peer restarts. This can be
+ useful to provide uninterrupted connectivity through the tunnel in the
+ event of a DHCP reset of the peer's public IP address (see the
+ ``--ipchange`` option above).
+
+ One disadvantage of persistent tunnels is that it is harder to
+ automatically configure their MTU value (see ``--link-mtu`` and
+ ``--tun-mtu`` above).
+
+ On some platforms such as Windows, TAP-Win32 tunnels are persistent by
+ default.
+
+--rmtun
+ (Standalone) Remove a persistent tunnel.
diff --git a/doc/man-sections/windows-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/windows-options.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eacb9af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man-sections/windows-options.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,244 @@
+Windows-Specific Options
+-------------------------
+
+--allow-nonadmin TAP-adapter
+ (Standalone) Set ``TAP-adapter`` to allow access from non-administrative
+ accounts. If ``TAP-adapter`` is omitted, all TAP adapters on the system
+ will be configured to allow non-admin access. The non-admin access
+ setting will only persist for the length of time that the TAP-Win32
+ device object and driver remain loaded, and will need to be re-enabled
+ after a reboot, or if the driver is unloaded and reloaded. This
+ directive can only be used by an administrator.
+
+--block-outside-dns
+ Block DNS servers on other network adapters to prevent DNS leaks. This
+ option prevents any application from accessing TCP or UDP port 53 except
+ one inside the tunnel. It uses Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) and
+ works on Windows Vista or later.
+
+ This option is considered unknown on non-Windows platforms and
+ unsupported on Windows XP, resulting in fatal error. You may want to use
+ ``--setenv opt`` or ``--ignore-unknown-option`` (not suitable for
+ Windows XP) to ignore said error. Note that pushing unknown options from
+ server does not trigger fatal errors.
+
+--cryptoapicert select-string
+ *(Windows/OpenSSL Only)* Load the certificate and private key from the
+ Windows Certificate System Store.
+
+ Use this option instead of ``--cert`` and ``--key``.
+
+ This makes it possible to use any smart card, supported by Windows, but
+ also any kind of certificate, residing in the Cert Store, where you have
+ access to the private key. This option has been tested with a couple of
+ different smart cards (GemSAFE, Cryptoflex, and Swedish Post Office eID)
+ on the client side, and also an imported PKCS12 software certificate on
+ the server side.
+
+ To select a certificate, based on a substring search in the
+ certificate's subject:
+ ::
+
+ cryptoapicert "SUBJ:Peter Runestig"
+
+ To select a certificate, based on certificate's thumbprint:
+ ::
+
+ cryptoapicert "THUMB:f6 49 24 41 01 b4 ..."
+
+ The thumbprint hex string can easily be copy-and-pasted from the Windows
+ Certificate Store GUI.
+
+--dhcp-release
+ Ask Windows to release the TAP adapter lease on shutdown. This option
+ has no effect now, as it is enabled by default starting with
+ OpenVPN 2.4.1.
+
+--dhcp-renew
+ Ask Windows to renew the TAP adapter lease on startup. This option is
+ normally unnecessary, as Windows automatically triggers a DHCP
+ renegotiation on the TAP adapter when it comes up, however if you set
+ the TAP-Win32 adapter Media Status property to "Always Connected", you
+ may need this flag.
+
+--ip-win32 method
+ When using ``--ifconfig`` on Windows, set the TAP-Win32 adapter IP
+ address and netmask using ``method``. Don't use this option unless you
+ are also using ``--ifconfig``.
+
+ :code:`manual`
+ Don't set the IP address or netmask automatically. Instead
+ output a message to the console telling the user to configure the
+ adapter manually and indicating the IP/netmask which OpenVPN
+ expects the adapter to be set to.
+
+ :code:`dynamic [offset] [lease-time]`
+ Automatically set the IP address and netmask by replying to DHCP
+ query messages generated by the kernel. This mode is probably the
+ "cleanest" solution for setting the TCP/IP properties since it
+ uses the well-known DHCP protocol. There are, however, two
+ prerequisites for using this mode:
+
+ (1) The TCP/IP properties for the TAP-Win32 adapter must be set
+ to "Obtain an IP address automatically", and
+
+ (2) OpenVPN needs to claim an IP address in the subnet for use
+ as the virtual DHCP server address.
+
+ By default in ``--dev tap`` mode, OpenVPN will take the normally
+ unused first address in the subnet. For example, if your subnet is
+ :code:`192.168.4.0 netmask 255.255.255.0`, then OpenVPN will take
+ the IP address :code:`192.168.4.0` to use as the virtual DHCP
+ server address. In ``--dev tun`` mode, OpenVPN will cause the DHCP
+ server to masquerade as if it were coming from the remote endpoint.
+
+ The optional offset parameter is an integer which is > :code:`-256`
+ and < :code:`256` and which defaults to -1. If offset is positive,
+ the DHCP server will masquerade as the IP address at network
+ address + offset. If offset is negative, the DHCP server will
+ masquerade as the IP address at broadcast address + offset.
+
+ The Windows :code:`ipconfig /all` command can be used to show what
+ Windows thinks the DHCP server address is. OpenVPN will "claim"
+ this address, so make sure to use a free address. Having said that,
+ different OpenVPN instantiations, including different ends of
+ the same connection, can share the same virtual DHCP server
+ address.
+
+ The ``lease-time`` parameter controls the lease time of the DHCP
+ assignment given to the TAP-Win32 adapter, and is denoted in
+ seconds. Normally a very long lease time is preferred because it
+ prevents routes involving the TAP-Win32 adapter from being lost
+ when the system goes to sleep. The default lease time is one year.
+
+ :code:`netsh`
+ Automatically set the IP address and netmask using the Windows
+ command-line "netsh" command. This method appears to work correctly
+ on Windows XP but not Windows 2000.
+
+ :code:`ipapi`
+ Automatically set the IP address and netmask using the Windows IP
+ Helper API. This approach does not have ideal semantics, though
+ testing has indicated that it works okay in practice. If you use
+ this option, it is best to leave the TCP/IP properties for the
+ TAP-Win32 adapter in their default state, i.e. "Obtain an IP
+ address automatically."
+
+ :code:`adaptive` (Default)
+ Try :code:`dynamic` method initially and fail over to :code:`netsh`
+ if the DHCP negotiation with the TAP-Win32 adapter does not succeed
+ in 20 seconds. Such failures have been known to occur when certain
+ third-party firewall packages installed on the client machine block
+ the DHCP negotiation used by the TAP-Win32 adapter. Note that if
+ the :code:`netsh` failover occurs, the TAP-Win32 adapter TCP/IP
+ properties will be reset from DHCP to static, and this will cause
+ future OpenVPN startups using the :code:`adaptive` mode to use
+ :code:`netsh` immediately, rather than trying :code:`dynamic` first.
+
+ To "unstick" the :code:`adaptive` mode from using :code:`netsh`,
+ run OpenVPN at least once using the :code:`dynamic` mode to restore
+ the TAP-Win32 adapter TCP/IP properties to a DHCP configuration.
+
+--pause-exit
+ Put up a "press any key to continue" message on the console prior to
+ OpenVPN program exit. This option is automatically used by the Windows
+ explorer when OpenVPN is run on a configuration file using the
+ right-click explorer menu.
+
+--register-dns
+ Run :code:`ipconfig /flushdns` and :code:`ipconfig /registerdns` on
+ connection initiation. This is known to kick Windows into recognizing
+ pushed DNS servers.
+
+--route-method m
+ Which method ``m`` to use for adding routes on Windows?
+
+ :code:`adaptive` (default)
+ Try IP helper API first. If that fails, fall back to the route.exe
+ shell command.
+
+ :code:`ipapi`
+ Use IP helper API.
+
+ :code:`exe`
+ Call the route.exe shell command.
+
+--service args
+ Should be used when OpenVPN is being automatically executed by another
+ program in such a context that no interaction with the user via display
+ or keyboard is possible.
+
+ Valid syntax:
+ ::
+
+ service exit-event [0|1]
+
+ In general, end-users should never need to explicitly use this option,
+ as it is automatically added by the OpenVPN service wrapper when a given
+ OpenVPN configuration is being run as a service.
+
+ ``exit-event`` is the name of a Windows global event object, and OpenVPN
+ will continuously monitor the state of this event object and exit when
+ it becomes signaled.
+
+ The second parameter indicates the initial state of ``exit-event`` and
+ normally defaults to 0.
+
+ Multiple OpenVPN processes can be simultaneously executed with the same
+ ``exit-event`` parameter. In any case, the controlling process can
+ signal ``exit-event``, causing all such OpenVPN processes to exit.
+
+ When executing an OpenVPN process using the ``--service`` directive,
+ OpenVPN will probably not have a console window to output status/error
+ messages, therefore it is useful to use ``--log`` or ``--log-append`` to
+ write these messages to a file.
+
+--show-adapters
+ (Standalone) Show available TAP-Win32 adapters which can be selected
+ using the ``--dev-node`` option. On non-Windows systems, the
+ ``ifconfig``\(8) command provides similar functionality.
+
+--show-net
+ (Standalone) Show OpenVPN's view of the system routing table and network
+ adapter list.
+
+--show-net-up
+ Output OpenVPN's view of the system routing table and network adapter
+ list to the syslog or log file after the TUN/TAP adapter has been
+ brought up and any routes have been added.
+
+--show-valid-subnets
+ (Standalone) Show valid subnets for ``--dev tun`` emulation. Since the
+ TAP-Win32 driver exports an ethernet interface to Windows, and since TUN
+ devices are point-to-point in nature, it is necessary for the TAP-Win32
+ driver to impose certain constraints on TUN endpoint address selection.
+
+ Namely, the point-to-point endpoints used in TUN device emulation must
+ be the middle two addresses of a /30 subnet (netmask 255.255.255.252).
+
+--tap-sleep n
+ Cause OpenVPN to sleep for ``n`` seconds immediately after the TAP-Win32
+ adapter state is set to "connected".
+
+ This option is intended to be used to troubleshoot problems with the
+ ``--ifconfig`` and ``--ip-win32`` options, and is used to give the
+ TAP-Win32 adapter time to come up before Windows IP Helper API
+ operations are applied to it.
+
+--win-sys path
+ Set the Windows system directory pathname to use when looking for system
+ executables such as ``route.exe`` and ``netsh.exe``. By default, if this
+ directive is not specified, OpenVPN will use the SystemRoot environment
+ variable.
+
+ This option has changed behaviour since OpenVPN 2.3. Earlier you had to
+ define ``--win-sys env`` to use the SystemRoot environment variable,
+ otherwise it defaulted to :code:`C:\\WINDOWS`. It is not needed to use
+ the ``env`` keyword any more, and it will just be ignored. A warning is
+ logged when this is found in the configuration file.
+
+--windows-driver drv
+ Specifies which tun driver to use. Values are :code:`tap-windows6`
+ (default) and :code:`wintun`. This is a Windows-only option.
+ :code:`wintun`" requires ``--dev tun`` and the OpenVPN process to run
+ elevated, or be invoked using the Interactive Service.