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VPN tunnels

VPN tunnels are where you record the encrypted links between sites or peers — the tunnel itself, the groups that organize tunnels, and reusable crypto profiles you can share across many tunnels.

You build it in three layers: tunnel groups (how you organize tunnels), IPSec profiles (reusable crypto settings), and the tunnels themselves.

Add a tunnel group

A group bundles related tunnels together — for example by region, customer, or purpose.

  1. Open VPN → Tunnel groups in the sidebar and click Add group.
  2. Give it a name and a slug (a short URL-friendly identifier).
  3. Optionally add a description.
  4. Save.

Add an IPSec profile

An IPSec profile captures a set of crypto settings once so you can reuse it on every tunnel that shares that policy — no retyping the same parameters.

  1. Open VPN → IPSec profiles and click Add IPSec profile.
  2. Give it a name.
  3. Fill in the crypto parameters:
Field What it records
IKE version 1 or 2.
Encryption the encryption algorithm.
Authentication the authentication/hashing algorithm.
DH group the Diffie-Hellman group for key exchange.
PFS group the Perfect Forward Secrecy group (optional).
SA lifetime how long a security association stays valid.
  1. Save.

Nothing is pre-filled

Danbyte ships no sample groups, profiles, or tunnels — you create exactly the ones your network uses.

Add a tunnel

  1. Open VPN → Tunnels and click Add tunnel.
  2. Give it a name (must be unique).
  3. Pick the encapsulation — IPSec (tunnel or transport), GRE, IP-in-IP, or WireGuard.
  4. Set a status and, optionally, a tunnel ID.
  5. Optionally put it in a group. For IPSec encapsulations, you can also pick an IPSec profile — that field only appears when the encapsulation is IPSec.
  6. Save.

Terminate a tunnel

A tunnel is inert until its ends are bound. Each termination attaches one end of the tunnel to a device interface or a VM interface (exactly one), with:

  • a role — peer (point-to-point), or hub / spoke for hub-and-spoke topologies;

  • an optional outside IP — the underlay / public address the tunnel rides on. The tunnel's inside addresses attach to the terminating interface the normal way.

  • Open the tunnel's detail page → Terminations tab.

  • Add termination, pick the device (or VM) and its interface, set the role, and optionally the outside IP.

A point-to-point tunnel has two peer terminations; a hub-and-spoke design has one hub and many spokes.

Tunnel status

Status Meaning
Planned Designed but not yet built.
Active Up and carrying traffic.
Disabled Configured but turned off.

Groups and profiles in use can't be deleted

If a group or IPSec profile still has tunnels attached, Danbyte blocks the delete. Reassign or remove those tunnels first.

L2VPN overlays

Alongside point-to-point tunnels, Danbyte models L2VPNs — layer-2 overlay services such as EVPN, VXLAN, VPWS, and VPLS. An L2VPN records the overlay itself; terminations attach it to the VLANs and interfaces that carry it.

Add an L2VPN

  1. Open VPN → L2VPNs and click Add L2VPN.
  2. Fill in the form:
Field What it records
Name and slug A label and a URL-friendly identifier (slug unique per tenant).
Type The overlay technology — VXLAN, VXLAN-EVPN, MPLS-EVPN, PBB-EVPN, VPWS, VPLS, EPL, EVPL, SPB, or TRILL.
Identifier The overlay identifier — a VNI or VC-ID (optional).
Status Your own status catalog, same as elsewhere.
Import / export route targets BGP route targets, picked from your existing route targets.
  1. Save.

Terminate an L2VPN

Like a tunnel, an L2VPN is inert until it's attached to something. Each termination binds it to exactly one endpoint — a VLAN, a device interface, or a VM interface — from the L2VPN's detail page.

  • An endpoint can terminate at most one L2VPN — Danbyte blocks a second.
  • Point-to-point types (VPWS, EPL, EVPL) typically get two terminations; multipoint types (VPLS, the EVPN family) get as many as the overlay spans.

Tags & custom fields

Need to track something extra — a peer IP, a pre-shared-key reference, a contract ID? Add a custom field for tunnels (or L2VPNs) and it appears on every form. See Tags & custom fields.