How to install a Mysterium VPN Node on Digital Ocean(Tutorial)
According to Coin Market Cap, Mysterium Network is, "an open-source ecosystem of protocols, tools, and Web3 infrastructure making the internet borderless and accessible for all."
The Mysterium Network provides decentralized VPN nodes for users to connect to hide their IP address while serving the web. Mysterium uses MYST tokens as a peer to peer micropayments within the network. This tutorial will help you set up a data center VPN node using Digital Ocean VPS. You will learn to set up an OpenVPN node and a Mysterium Node.
There are pros and cons to running a data center node versus a residential node. The cons of running a data center node are monthly recurring fees, less desired by VPN users, being more centralized, and possibly less privacy. The pros of running a data center node are no requirement of running your own server, you can earn MYST tokens monthly, and the recurring fee of operating a VPS is relatively the same as paying for a standard VPN service, and it’s your very own VPN node that you can connect to.
The primary focus of this tutorial, however, is to install a OpenVPN node and a Mysterium VPN data center node.
Step 1: How to set up your account on Digital Ocean
You can set up an account on Digital Ocean using a Google account, GitHub account, or just an email. Click here to go to Digital Ocean. Just FYI, I am not paid by Digital Ocean or Mysterium Network to create this blog.
Step 2: How to create a Droplet using OpenVPN Access Server
Click on Create and select Droplets.
Click Marketplace and type “OpenVPN”. Then select OpenVPN Access Server
Next, choose your plan. Shared CPU and Regular with SSD would be fine. Select $6/month or whatever the lowest available option. Generally, 1GB RAM with 25GB SSD and 1000 GB Transfer should be enough.
Leave the Add block storage alone. Then select the data center region that you prefer.
Authentication: you can go with SSH keys if you want. Basically, you would create a new SSH Key. Follow the instruction that pops up to create SSH Key. This will require you to open up a terminal using the command line to generate an SSH Key on your computer. Then you will copy the key and enter it in the box provided.
But for this tutorial, you can go with just the password. Make sure all the green checkmarks are checked before continuing. READ THE CAUTION below. Save your password before continuing on.
Unless you want additional options, just leave them alone.
A generic hostname will be provided to you. You can change it to something you would recognize better if you want. At this point, if everything has been completed correctly then you can click on Create Droplet.
Once you have created a Droplet, you can click on the Droplet once it’s ready. If for some reason you’re not seeing it, under the Manage tab on the left, click on Droplet. You can move the mouse cursor over the IP Address and copy it. Then move on to the next step!
Step 3: Connecting to your Droplet using Putty
With Windows, you will need to download Putty. Click here to download and then install Putty.
With MacOS, you will need to open the Terminal app.
Once you have putty or Terminal opened, type in the following:
ssh root@150.39.230.112 ←This is the IP Address from your Droplet
On Putty, you may need to Accept the term and condition. Then you will be asked:
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? Type yes. This typically only comes up when you first logging into root.
Then enter the password for your Droplet that you have created on Digital Ocean. Remember the password will not show on Putty or Terminal. Just type in the password then click Enter.
If your login was successful, you will be shown below.
Type yes to agree to OpenVPN Access Server End User License Agreement. Then you will be greeted with several questions. For most of them, you just click Enter. Then click yes where it gives you that option.
Once you’ve answered the questions, OpenVPN will initialize.
You can screenshot the below screen on your Putty or Terminal for later. Or just write it down.
Once you see, root@your_droplet_host name: ~# ←Then you have successfully initialized your OpenVPN. The next step is to follow the script to set it up.
Step 4: Install OpenVPN(As an option)
So here’s the script for installing OpenVPN:
apt update && apt -y install ca-certificates wget net-tools gnupg
wget -qO - https://as-repository.openvpn.net/as-repo-public.gpg | apt-key add -
echo "deb http://as-repository.openvpn.net/as/debian bionic main">/etc/apt/sources.list.d/openvpn-as-repo.list
apt update && apt -y install openvpn-asapt update && apt -y install ca-certificates wget net-tools gnupg
wget -qO - https://as-repository.openvpn.net/as-repo-public.gpg | apt-key add -
echo "deb http://as-repository.openvpn.net/as/debian jammy main">/etc/apt/sources.list.d/openvpn-as-repo.list
apt update && apt -y install openvpn-as
One last thing you can do is to check the status of your OpenVPN node. Type the following command into the terminal and press Enter.
service openvpnas status
Press Control + C to go back to root.
Step 5: Log in to Web Admin UI
Once you have installed your OpenVPN Node. The next step is to access the Web Admin UI.
Open a Chrome Browser and type your Droplet_IP_Address:943/admin
150.39.230.112:943/admin
Click on Advanced then start typing: thisisunsafe
Type in your username and password.
Once you’ve accessed the OpenVPN Admin UI, you can take a look around and get yourself familiar with the dashboard. Do consider adding a User in the User Management tab in case you would want to share your VPN node.
To access the OpenVPN User UI, type in the Chrome browser, your Droplet_IP_Address:943
150.39.230.112:943
Here you can download the OpenVPN app onto your device(s) to start connecting to your very own data center VPN node.
Step 6: Setting up a Myst Node
So now you have a data center node on OpenVPN set up and you can start using it right away. Now it’s time to set it up on Mysterium Network to start earning MYST tokens.
Go to mystnodes.com. Set up an account with them using an email address.
Once you’ve set up your account, click on Onboarding.
Select Data center
Now using your Putty or Terminal, follow the script provided:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mysteriumnetwork/node
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt install myst
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mysteriumnetwork/node
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt install myst
Type y then press Enter.
Press tab then <ok> will be highlighted in red, then press Enter.
Press Enter again to agree to Mysterium Network Terms and Conditions.
At this point, you have installed a Mysterium Node onto your Droplet. Now it’s time to check the status of your mysterium node:
sudo systemctl status mysterium-node.service
Control + C to go back to root
Step 7: Go to Node UI via API Key
Open a Chrome browser and go to your Droplet_IP_Address:4449
150.39.230.112:4449
Click on Start Node Setup
Create your mystnode.com password.
Copy and paste the API key from the Onboarding Data Center then click Set Password.
Here you have the option of either Deposit 0.15 Myst token, Pay $1 USD via Paypal or $1 USD via a Credit or Debit card.
Once you’ve select your payment method, a new tab will pop up with either a QR code to scan for depositing MYST or to enter your payment information. Once you’re done, you should see this.
You can close that tab. Then go back to the previous tab.
You can download the invoice if you choose, otherwise click Next.
Here you can enter your wallet address. If you use Metamask, you will need to switch your Network to Matic Mainnet to see the tokens once you start earning them.
Make sure withdrawal address is from ERC-20 Polygon compatible wallet
Click Finish when done.
Once your Mysterium Node is set up, you will see the Mysterium 2.0.6 UI Dashboard. Your node status should be showing online. There are different tabs that you can play around with. Obviously, you won’t see any traffic right away. It will take sometime for your mystnode.com dashboard to reflect the node to show online. Best way to check it is to download the Mysterium VPN app on MacOS, Windows or Android and connect to it.
Step 8: Please don’t forget to subscribe if you find this article helpful!
I hope this article makes it a bit easier in setting up your very own OpenVPN node as well as a Mysterium VPN node. I would love to get your feedback through the comments. Please share this article if you find it helpful. Thank you for your time.
-Monivong