If you’re looking for a solid VPN service for remote workers, NordLayer VPN is an excellent option. Learn how to install and use the client on both Ubuntu Desktop and Fedora 36.
NordLayer VPN (formerly known as NordVPN Teams) is a VPN-based network security solution that can serve almost any business and allows administrators to manage connections from a remote, web-based dashboard. But on the user side, NordLayer is a VPN service with over 30+ global locations that offers strong AES-256 encryption, a kill switch, threat blocking, jailbroken/rooted device detection, and auto-connect.
SEE: Mobile Device Security Policy (Tech Republic Premium)
As a NordLayer VPN administrator, you have control over the types of login methods, security configurations, and more.
Understand that while the NordLayerclient application is free, the service is not. You can subscribe to different plans that start at $7/user/month and go up to $9/user/month. It should also be noted that NordLayer VPN is not a consumer tool. Instead, this VPN solution is all about business and makes it much easier for companies to remotely manage employees’ ability to use VPNs for their networks. So if you want to make sure your remote workforce is working from home (or pretty much anywhere) on a secure network, NordLayer might be just what you need.
What I want to do here is walk you through the NordLayer VPN client installation process on Linux. While the application can be installed on almost any platform (Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS), the steps for installing and using it on Linux are not nearly as simple as on the other platforms.
That said, let’s install.
What you need
All you let the client install is a running instance of Linux and a user with sudo privileges. I will demonstrate the installation on both Ubuntu Desktop 22.04 and Fedora 36.
How to Install NordLayer on Ubuntu Desktop
First, we run the installation on Ubuntu Desktop. Log in to your desktop, open your web browser to view the NordLayer download site and download the .deb file. Save that file in your ~/Downloads folder.
Then open a terminal window and issue the command:
sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/nordlayer*.deb
The above command doesn’t actually install the NordLayer client, but the repository that contains the necessary packages. After the installation is complete, update apt with:
sudo apt update
Finally, install NordLayer with:
sudo apt install nordlayer -y
Once the installation is complete, add your user to the nordlayer group with:
sudo usermod -aG nordlayer $USER
Notify the system of the changes with:
newgrp nordlayer
How to Install NordLayer on Fedora 36
The installation on Fedora 36 is somewhat similar. Download the .rpm file from the Downloads page and save it to your ~/Downloads file. Open a terminal window and install the repository with:
sudo rpm -i ~/Downloads/nordlayer*.rpm
Once that’s done, install NordLayer with:
sudo dnf install nordlayer -y
Add your user to the nordlayer group with:
sudo usermod -aG nordlayer $USER
Notify the system of the changes with:
newgrp nordlayer
How to use NordLayer
On Linux, everything is done through the command line. You can check the status of your NordLayer connection with:
nordlayer status
That command should report something like this:
Login: Not logged inVPN: Not ConnectedCurrent network: wired connection
When the administrator has set up NordLayer for your company, they have created an organization. If you run the command with the following command, you are first prompted for the name of the organization:
nordlayer login
After entering the organization name, you will be prompted to select which login method to use. The options depend on what your administrator has allowed. Let’s say your administrator has enabled email sign-in. To do this, type the email address associated with your NordLayer account, followed by the password associated with your email address.
SEE: 20 Good Habits Network Admins Need – And 10 Habits To Break (Free PDF) (TechRepublic)
After successful authentication, your system will be connected, but you will need to select a gateway to use. Give the command to list the available gateways:
nordlayer gateways
For example, let’s say you want to connect to the UK gateway. You would then issue the command:
nordlayer connect uk
At this point you are now connected to NordLayer’s UK gateway and all your network data is encrypted.
To disconnect from the gateway, issue the command:
nordlayer d
And that, my friends, is how to install and use the NordLayer VPN client on Linux.
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