Install PPTP VPN, CentOS 7

This is done by establishing a virtual point-to-point connection through the use of dedicated connections, encryption, or a combination of the two. Basically, if two computers are connected through a VPN, they can communicate directly the same way as if they were in the local network. Although the two computers could be physically very distant, the other computers on the internet are not able to intercept their communication.

First, install pptpd

yum install ppp iptables nano

cd /usr/local/src

For 64bit OS:

wget http://poptop.sourceforge.net/yum/stable/packages/pptpd-1.4.0-1.el6.x86_64.rpm

rpm -Uhvpptpd-1.4.0-1.el6.x86_64.rpm

For 32bit OS:

wget http://poptop.sourceforge.net/yum/stable/packages/pptpd-1.4.0-1.el6.i686.rpm

rpm -Uhv pptpd-1.4.0-1.el6.i686.rpm

Setup pptpd

Edit IP setttings in /etc/pptpd.conf:

nano /etc/pptpd.conf

localip 192.168.0.1 # your VPS/Dedicated Server IP address 
remoteip 192.168.0.101-200

And the following settings to /etc/ppp/options.pptpd:

ms-dns 8.8.8.8
ms-dns 4.4.4.4

Create a user to access the VPN server

Add user account in/etc/ppp/chap-secrets (assign username and password):

nano /etc/ppp/chap-secrets

vpn pptpd vpnpassword *

Enable network forwarding in /etc/sysctl.conf

nano /etc/sysctl.conf

net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1

To make the changes to sysctl.conf take effect, use the following command:

sysctl -p

Set up iptables

You need to add the following iptables rules in order to open the correct ports and properly forward the data packets:

iptables -A INPUT -i eth0 -p tcp --dport 1723 -j ACCEPT

iptables -A INPUT -i eth0 -p gre -j ACCEPT

iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE

Start PPTP VPN server

service pptpd restart

chkconfig pptpd on

Congratulations! You have successfully installed PPTP VPN on CentOS 7.