As someone who’s spent more hours than I care to admit tinkering with RPM-based distributions in a cosy London office, I can honestly say that Asianux presents its own set of requirements when it comes to VPN software. Built on the stable foundations of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Asianux uses YUM (or on newer releases, DNF) to manage .rpm packages. Its typical user is often an IT administrator or enterprise power user, running GNOME or KDE Plasma in multi-user environments, with SELinux policies sometimes active by default. Compatibility with systemd, network-manager integration and respect for SELinux contexts are therefore key factors when choosing a VPN client for this distro.
Below you’ll find which VPN providers I believe are most suitable for Asianux and why:
- ProtonVPN – Offers an official RPM repository, command-line tools, strong security defaults and seamless integration with systemd.
- NordVPN – Provides its own RPM package and a NetworkManager plugin that plays nicely with SELinux and KDE/GNOME network applets.
- Mullvad – Distributes an RPM, supports OpenVPN and WireGuard out of the box, and can be easily scripted for configuration management.
- ExpressVPN – Has a generic Linux tarball rather than an RPM, requiring a few more manual steps (not my first pick here).
- Private Internet Access (PIA) – Offers an RPM but package stability can lag slightly behind the others.
Given Asianux’s package manager and usual technical constraints, the top three that stand out are:
- ProtonVPN – Native RPM, signed repository, SELinux-friendly.
- NordVPN – Official YUM support, desktop app for GNOME/KDE.
- Mullvad – Official RPM, excellent scripting support, WireGuard integration.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the leading candidates. Note that pricing details have been omitted for clarity.
| Feature | ProtonVPN | NordVPN | Mullvad | ExpressVPN | PIA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official RPM Repo | Yes | Yes | Yes | No (tarball) | Yes |
| CLI GUI | CLI only (GUI in development) | CLI GNOME/KDE applet | CLI only | CLI only | CLI GTK GUI |
| WireGuard Support | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| NetworkManager Plugin | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Kill Switch | Yes | Yes | No (scriptable) | Yes | Yes |
| SELinux Compatibility | Confirmed | Confirmed | Community-tested | Manual policy tweaks | Confirmed |
| Learn More | ProtonVPN Linux Client | NordVPN Linux Installer | Mullvad RPM Download | ExpressVPN Linux App | PIA Linux Client |
Below are step-by-step guides for installing and configuring the top three picks on an Asianux system.
ProtonVPN Installation Configuration
ProtonVPN provides an officially signed repository for RPM-based distros. These instructions assume you have sudo privileges.
1. Add the ProtonVPN repo and install the client:
# sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/protonvpn.repo ltlt EOF [protonvpn] name=ProtonVPN Stable baseurl=https://repo.protonvpn.com/yum/stable/14/ enabled=1 gpgcheck=1 gpgkey=https://repo.protonvpn.com/public_key.asc EOF # sudo dnf update # sudo dnf install protonvpn-cli
2. Initialize and log in:
# protonvpn-cli login your_protonvpn_username # protonvpn-cli connect --fastest
3. Enable auto‐connect on boot (systemd):
# sudo systemctl enable protonvpn # sudo systemctl start protonvpn
NordVPN Installation Configuration
NordVPN’s installer script works well on Asianux. It will set up the repo and install both CLI and GUI plugin for NetworkManager.
1. Download and install the RPM:
# wget -qO nordvpn-release-1.0.0-1.noarch.rpm
https://repo.nordvpn.com/yum/nordvpn-release-latest.noarch.rpm
# sudo dnf install ./nordvpn-release-1.0.0-1.noarch.rpm
# sudo dnf update
# sudo dnf install nordvpn
2. Log in and connect:
# nordvpn login # nordvpn set technology wireguard # nordvpn connect
3. Enable automatic connection:
# nordvpn set autoconnect on # systemctl enable nordvpnd
Mullvad Installation Configuration
Mullvad’s RPM works out of the box, but relies on OpenVPN or WireGuard. For WireGuard, ensure your kernel and kernel-headers are up to date.
1. Download and install the RPM:
# wget -O mullvad.rpm https://mullvad.net/download/app/rpm/latest # sudo dnf install ./mullvad.rpm
2. Log in with your account number and connect:
# mullvad account status # mullvad account login YOUR_ACCOUNT_NUMBER # mullvad connect wireguard
3. (Optional) Create a systemd service for auto‐connect:
# sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/mullvad.service ltlt EOF [Unit] Description=Mullvad VPN After=network-online.target [Service] Type=simple ExecStart=/usr/bin/mullvad connect wireguard Restart=on-failure [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target EOF # sudo systemctl enable mullvad # sudo systemctl start mullvad
With these options, your Asianux setup will benefit from secure, enterprise-grade VPN connections that respect the distro’s package management, SELinux policies and service supervision via systemd. Cheers to a safer, more private network experience!
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