Client VPN — L2TP/IPsec, SSTP, SSL (Legacy)

Legacy Client VPN setup covering SoftEther on Windows, plus L2TP/IPsec on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, and SSTP/SSL options.

VPN Updated August 21, 2025

Use the OpenVPN MFA guide for new deployments. This article covers the legacy protocols (L2TP/IPsec, SSTP, SSL). For new sites or anything requiring MFA, follow Client VPN — OpenVPN with TOTP MFA instead.

Paid feature. Client VPN is a flat-rate add-on; there is no per-account charge. Each MSP can create one management Client VPN account per customer at no charge.

Enable Client VPN and create users

  1. Sign in to the Uplevel Portal.
  2. From the customer’s configuration page, choose VPN.
  3. Tick Enable VPN.
  4. Click Click here to add a VPN user.
  5. Enter Username, Password, and the Security Group the user belongs to.

When creating accounts for users outside the Employees group, enter the username as username@group — e.g. manager@boss for a user in the Boss VLAN. Every other setting stays the same.

Install SoftEther VPN Client (Windows 10 / 11)

Download the latest SoftEther VPN Client for Windows (x64.exe) from the GitHub releases page: https://github.com/SoftEtherVPN/SoftEtherVPN/releases.

Run the installer and step through the SoftEther setup. Once installed, double-click the connection profile you created — the status changes to connected when the tunnel is up.

L2TP/IPsec — Windows 10 / 11

Standard L2TP/IPsec configuration through the Windows VPN settings. Use the server address, pre-shared key, and the username/password issued from the Portal.

L2TP/IPsec — macOS

Configure the VPN under System Settings › Network › VPN › L2TP over IPsec. Same server address, PSK, and credentials.

L2TP/IPsec — iOS / iPhone

Settings › General › VPN & Device Management › Add VPN Configuration › L2TP, supply the server, PSK, and credentials.

L2TP/IPsec — Android

Available in the system VPN settings. Same parameters as above.

SSTP — Windows 10 / 11

Configure as a Windows VPN profile using Automatic type with SSTP fallback, then supply the server hostname and the credentials issued from the Portal.

SSTP MFA — Windows 10 / 11 (certificate-based)

Certificate-based MFA over SSTP is supported on Windows 10/11. This is a multi-step flow involving certificate enrolment on the client; treat this as an advanced setup and contact support if you’re standing it up for the first time on a site.

Linux

For Linux clients, follow Adrian Maret’s well-written guide: https://gist.github.com/Aschen/93af73ff49980636320d.

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