So I’ve got a small customer base I do some IT work for. Probably all in all including employees of them etc it’s just under 1,000 people. They all ask about security, and VPNs are expensive for them because they all try charge for remote logins, trying to sell them this that and the other etc, but they just want them for security, not for remote log in etc and for staff to be responsible for their own logins. So a few asked me could i just make them one (I know, it’s kinda the I work in IT, oh so you can fix my printer), but I found it an interesting little project that’s not gonna be big business but could be some extra recurring revenue.
I won’t be giving out 1,000 logins they’ll pay for how many they want, and they’ll be given a discount code for whatever number they bought and the employees go on and order themselves with the discount code.
So typically what kinda server specs are needed for something like this? Other than unmetered bandwidth.
And I know smarters has a platform that does all the set up etc for you but I’ve heard some bad stuff about them, so if you knew of any others like them that are good, that’d be great. Otherwise I’ll just try figure radius and openvpn.
But really it’s the servers spec I’m looking for and how many IPs etc? Not too many servers but enough in spread out locations. Couple in Asia couple in Europe and so on
Any help greatly appreciated
Sounds like a lot of work with little payback. I don’t mean to be a nay-sayer but do you think you can do it cheaper with a smaller customer base than the industry leaders?
If you wanted to carry this further, I would approach the “bigs” in the industry and see if they will sell you their excess capacity. Let them handle the backend stuff like maintain servers and you can do the front end ie marketing, sales, financials.
I run a few vpns for a few hundred customers on Linode nanodes (1 CPU, 1GB ram) and they barely break a sweat resource-wise running native Wireguard and a few lightweight docker apps.
Openvpn would be far more resource intensive and slower.
Bandwidth is what will get pricey. That, and ensuring none of your users are doing “bad things” like torrenting which will have Linode (or your ISP) getting notices quickly and get you shut down after a few violations.
You could probably rent a vps and do it. This is not something I’d host out of my house if you don’t want the FBI knocking on your door at 3am.
We operate around 700 servers, but we are not in the VPN business. Typically, VPN companies partner with specialized VPN hosting providers who offer VPN expertise and reasonably unmetered bandwidth. They usually do not cater to smaller clients, as even small VPN providers are part of a larger network of VPNs controlled by one company.
VPN companies may use proprietary VPN software. For the average user, there is OpenVPN, which charges on a per-seat basis. You can also opt for Wireguard or utilize software such as V2Ray and Outline. However, it is important to note that no company technically provides unmetered bandwidth.
When looking for providers in Asia, I recommend searching around Singapore and Tokyo. In Europe, consider Amsterdam and Paris. For North America, you can find inexpensive servers in New York. Getting a low-cost server will not be a challenge. The main cost will come from bandwidth unless you set user bandwidth limits.
I did find someone who gives sdks and access per user for $2 per month unlimited. Minimum of something like $280 a month and have api’s too. Sounds pretty decent but id like to test them first.
Ideally id rather have my own platform to work off of, which would handle the backend and I buy the servers and all that
Oh absolutely no way am I hosting it I’ll be renting the servers