Choosing the Right VPN for XigmaNAS

XigmaNAS (formerly NAS4Free) is a turnkey Network Attached Storage solution built atop FreeBSD. Unlike desktop‐oriented Linux distros, it exposes a web GUI for administration rather than a full graphical desktop environment. Its package management is handled by pkg, and any advanced services often run inside FreeBSD jails to keep the base system immutable and secure. Typical users are home or small‐business sysadmins who want a lightweight, reliable NAS with plugin and jail support.

When selecting a VPN for XigmaNAS, you’ll want a solution that:

• Installs cleanly via pkg or in a jail.
• Requires minimal dependencies on a headless appliance.
• Offers solid performance on FreeBSD’s kernel.
• Integrates well with jails or the web GUI for automated start/stop.

Comparison of Top VPN Solutions

1. Setting Up OpenVPN on XigmaNAS

OpenVPN is battle-tested and available directly through FreeBSD’s pkg system. You can run it on the host or in a dedicated jail.

Installation

# pkg update
# pkg install openvpn

Basic Configuration

Create a directory for your keys and configs:

# mkdir -p /usr/local/etc/openvpn/keys
# cd /usr/local/etc/openvpn
# openvpn --genkey --secret keys/ta.key

Place your server.conf under /usr/local/etc/openvpn/server.conf. Example:

port 1194
proto udp
dev tun
ca keys/ca.crt
cert keys/server.crt
key keys/server.key
tls-auth keys/ta.key 0
cipher AES-256-CBC
keepalive 10 120
persist-key
persist-tun
user nobody
group nobody
status openvpn-status.log
verb 3

Enabling at Boot

# sysrc openvpn_enable=YES
# sysrc openvpn_configfile=/usr/local/etc/openvpn/server.conf
# service openvpn start

2. Deploying WireGuard

WireGuard offers minimal code, high performance and is now included in the FreeBSD ports tree.

Installation

# pkg update
# pkg install wireguard
# kldload if_wg
# sysrc kld_list = if_wg 

Basic Configuration

Create interface and keypair:

# mkdir -p /usr/local/etc/wireguard
# cd /usr/local/etc/wireguard
# wg genkey  tee privatekey  wg pubkey > publickey

Sample wg0.conf:

[Interface]
Address = 10.0.0.1/24
PrivateKey = (contents of privatekey)
ListenPort = 51820

[Peer]
PublicKey = (peer-public-key)
AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.2/32
Endpoint = vpn.example.com:51820
PersistentKeepalive = 25

Bringing Up the Interface

# sysrc wireguard_enable=YES
# sysrc wireguard_interfaces=wg0
# service wireguard start wg0

3. Getting Started with Tailscale

Tailscale wraps WireGuard in a mesh network managed by a central control plane. Great for quickly connecting multiple NAS nodes.

Installation

# pkg update
# pkg install tailscale

Authentication Launch

# sysrc tailscaled_enable=YES
# service tailscaled start
# tailscale up --hostname XigmaNAS --authkey tskey-yourAuthKeyHere

Once authenticated, your NAS will appear on your Tailscale network and you can SSH or manage shares over the encrypted link.

Conclusion

For XigmaNAS, OpenVPN and WireGuard remain the go-to choices when you want full control, while Tailscale excels at rapid deployment and peer-to-peer simplicity. Each integrates smoothly with FreeBSD’s pkg system and can run securely inside jails or on the host. Pick the one that best matches your need for control versus ease of use, and you’ll have a robust, encrypted tunnel to your NAS in no time.