Adding VPN access to my Homelab

Today I wanted to connect my home network to a VPN network so I can access my homelab servers from abroad.

You can do this with an oldskool VPN but choosing for a VPN tunneling software is way easier and more flexible.

Why I did not choose Tailscale

Tailscale is the most famous brand in this field, based in Canada.

But starting to create an account with Tailscale became already a problem for me.

You cannot simply create an account on the Tailscale website, they outsource this to external login services like Google, Microsoft, Github, Apple, etc.

Because I do not want to rely on Big Tech companies for my Tailscale account this is not an option.

I tried OIDC (OpenID Connect) with my codeberg.org account but could not get it to work.

The only European option seems to be to host your own OpenID service, I did not want to setup my own OpenID Connect server just to create a Tailscale account.

Tailscale alternatives

So I had to look for Tailscale alternatives:

• NetBird (Open-source, built in Europe)
• Headscale (Open-source, self-hosted, Tailscale clients compatible)
• Twingate (USA)
• Netmaker (USA)
• ZeroTier (USA)

Choosing NetBird over Tailscale

The choice for NetBird was easy: build in Europe, open-source and a free cloud option.

1. Create NetBird account

Go to app.netbird.io and create your NetBird account using your email address (do not sign up using third party services).

2. Install NetBird client app

Go to the app store (Android, IOS) of your phone and install the NetBird app, login with your NetBird account and your first device is connected!

3. Install NetBird on my Proxmox

Then the more complicated stuff.

Prepare NetBird container

• Login Proxmox
• Create CT
• I chose default options, debian 13 container with static IP address.

My container ID = 108

Now go to the Shell of the server and to this:

# Edit configuration of container
nano /etc/pve/lxc/108.conf

# Add these two lines at the bottom:
lxc.cgroup2.devices.allow: c 10:200 rwm
lxc.mount.entry: /dev/net dev/net none bind,create=dir

# Start container
pct start 108

# Login container
pct enter 108

# Inside container
apt update && apt upgrade -y && apt install curl -y

Connect Server to NetBird cloud

Follow the instructions from NetBird to install and add your server:

• Login to Netbird
• Peers > Server > Add Peer
• Install software:

curl -fsSL https://pkgs.netbird.io/install.sh | sh

• Click “Generate Key”
• Copy link to server: netbird up –setup-key SETUP_KEY

Make your home network available for clients

• Login to NetBird
• Network Routing > Networks > Add Network
• Follow the Wizard add your Home network subnet (for example 192.168.1.0/24)
• Create a policy which devices can connect
• Add Routing Peer = server

4. Try it out

Now disable your WiFi on your phone and try to access your proxmox webinterface in the browser of your phone.

It works! Amazing! :)