How to choose, use and configure a VPN in Diskless Remote Boot in Linux (DRBL) Live (Tutorial)

Optimal VPN Choices for DRBL Live

Running a diskless environment like DRBL Live means you’re booting clients entirely into RAM via PXE, usually with lightweight desktops such as LXDE or Xfce, or even purely CLI. The distro inherits Debian’s apt package manager and caters to sysadmins and educators who need a consistent, ephemeral OS image for imaging clusters or computer labs.

Because the root filesystem is a read-only SquashFS image loaded at boot, any VPN client must either be baked into your custom DRBL ISO or installed on each boot via an overlay. You’ll want a VPN that:

Installs cleanly from Debian repos or via a small external repo
Operates purely in the shell (no heavy GUI dependencies)
Starts up quickly and handles network namespaces gracefully
Is lightweight enough to run in RAM without affecting imaging performance

Based on these criteria, the top picks for DRBL Live are:

WireGuard – extremely fast, minimal footprint, built into recent kernels
OpenVPN – rock-solid, widely supported and battle-tested
ProtonVPN (CLI) – user-friendly command-line client with strong privacy defaults

Comparison Table

VPN	Protocol Type	Repo Availability	CLI-Only	Kernel Module	Pros	Cons
WireGuard	WireGuard	Debian main (>=5.6)	Yes	Yes (in-kernel)	Blazing fast minimal config low memory	Requires recent kernel key distribution manual
OpenVPN	OpenVPN (TLS/SSL)	Debian main	Yes (easy to omit GUI)	No (user-space)	Very stable enterprise support many tutorials	Heavier more dependencies slightly slower
ProtonVPN CLI	WireGuard / OpenVPN	Official Proton repo	Yes	No	Built-in auto-connect profile management easy login	Requires adding external repo Python dependency

Installation and Configuration Guides

1. WireGuard

WireGuard is perfect if you’re running a DRBL server on Linux ≥5.6. To bake it into your live image or install at runtime:

# Update package lists
apt update

# Install WireGuard tools and kernel module
apt install -y wireguard

# Generate local keypair
wg genkey  tee /etc/wireguard/privatekey  wg pubkey > /etc/wireguard/publickey

# Create basic config
cat gt /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf ltltEOF
[Interface]
PrivateKey = (cat /etc/wireguard/privatekey)
Address = 10.0.0.2/24
DNS = 8.8.8.8

[Peer]
PublicKey = 
Endpoint = vpn.example.com:51820
AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0
PersistentKeepalive = 25
EOF

# Bring up the tunnel
wg-quick up wg0

# To enable at boot (in live-ISO, use overlay scripts)
systemctl enable wg-quick@wg0

2. OpenVPN

OpenVPN is ubiquitous and can be pre-installed in your custom DRBL profile:

# Refresh repos and install
apt update
apt install -y openvpn

# Place your .ovpn profile in /etc/openvpn/client/
# Example: /etc/openvpn/client/myvpn.ovpn

# Start the tunnel
systemctl start openvpn-client@myvpn

# Check status
systemctl status openvpn-client@myvpn

# To autostart, enable the service
systemctl enable openvpn-client@myvpn

3. ProtonVPN CLI

ProtonVPN’s CLI client supports both WireGuard and OpenVPN. You’ll need to add their official repo:

# Install prerequisites
apt update
apt install -y wget gnupg lsb-release

# Add ProtonVPN repo key and source
wget -q -O /usr/share/keyrings/protonvpn-archive-keyring.gpg https://repo.protonvpn.com/debian/public_key.asc
echo deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/protonvpn-archive-keyring.gpg] 
https://repo.protonvpn.com/debian stable main 
 tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/protonvpn.list

# Install the CLI
apt update
apt install -y protonvpn-cli

# Log in (interactive you need ProtonVPN credentials)
protonvpn-cli login your_username

# Connect (choose a profile by name or quick connect)
protonvpn-cli c --fastest

# For WireGuard mode:
protonvpn-cli c --protocol wireguard

# To auto-connect on boot, add to your DRBL init scripts or rc.local
protonvpn-cli connect --protocol wireguard

Each of these VPNs can be seamlessly integrated into a DRBL Live build or scripted to install on each session’s overlay. For most DRBL scenarios—imaging sessions, classroom labs or remote maintenance—WireGuard and OpenVPN remain the go-to, with ProtonVPN CLI offering extra convenience for dynamic profile management.

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