DEV Community

Mateo Rivera
Mateo Rivera

Posted on

How to Sell VPN as a SaaS Using VMmanager — Setup in 3 Steps

#saas #vpn #tutorial #howto

Image description

With VMmanager, you can quickly create a new service for your customers by selling VPN servers using the SaaS model. The platform includes ready-made templates and tools to help you launch this service.

This enables you to easily and cost-effectively offer a higher-value product compared to traditional VPS/VDS rentals.

For customers, this means getting a fully configured VPN without having to administer the guest OS of the virtual machine. Potential clients for this service include individuals and businesses willing to pay for a secure, anonymous VPN solution.

VMmanager offers two popular VPN server implementations: OpenVPN and WireGuard. Choose the one that best suits your needs. You can also customize your own software as a service (SaaS) based on the existing templates. Below, I’ll explain how to set up a VPN for your customers.

Setting Up a VPN Service — A Step-by-Step Guide

A SaaS-based VPN is a virtual machine (VM) with pre-deployed software, that is installed automatically using scripts.
To configure the VPN service following this guide, you’ll need:

  • A cluster of nodes in the desired geographic location
  • VMmanager 6
  • BILLmanager (for service billing and managing user access to the installation script) Let’s get started!

Step 1: Create a New VM Configuration

For example: VPN-server-WG1

This configuration will be used later in BILLmanager to set up billing. Additionally, the VPN server installation script will only be available for this configuration. More information is provided below.

Image description

Step 2: Configure the VPN Script

  1. Go to the "Scripts" section
  2. Choose the OpenVPN or WireGuard VPN script
  3. Click "Copy" to duplicate the script
  4. A new window will open where you can modify the parameters of the copied script:

Image description

  • Enter the name of the script
  • Set access to "All"
  • Check the "Hide script contents" box (recommended to avoid exposing unnecessary technical details to clients and simplify service usage)
  • Add a filter to restrict execution to the previously created configuration (VPN-server-WG1). This ensures the script will only be available to VMs with this configuration.

Step 3: Configure Email Notifications

Complete the HTML template with your custom message in the same section to set up an email notification.

<div>
<img src="https://www.ispsystem.com/pictures/icon_wireguard_1.jpg" alt="Wireguard" style="width:33px;padding-right:5px; vertical-align: middle;">
<h1 style="display:inline; vertical-align: middle;">Your WireGuard server is ready</h1>
</div>
<div style="width: 600px">
<p style="margin-top: 10px;">To start using it, please:</p>
<ol style="padding-left:20px;">
<li>Download and install the client on your device:</li>
<div class="download" style="margin:10px 0 10px -15px;">
<a href="https://www.wireguard.com/install/"><img src="https://www.ispsystem.com/pictures/download-windows-linux.jpg" alt="windows" class="windows" style="width:194px;"></a>
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wireguard.android&amp;hl=ru&amp;gl=US"><img src="https://www.ispsystem.com/pictures/download-android.jpg" alt="android" class="android" style="width:137px;"></a>
<a href="https://apps.apple.com/ru/app/wireguard/id1441195209"><img src="https://www.ispsystem.com/pictures/download-apple.jpg" alt="ios" class="ios" style="width:137px;"></a>
</div>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">Import the file attached to this email into WireGuard</li>
<li>Make a connection</li>
</ol>
</div>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Here’s how the WireGuard setup notification email will appear to your clients:

Image description

The BILLmanager integration uses the virtual machine template created in Step 1. This template is linked to a specific tariff plan that includes the service cost. You can configure the integration following the official documentation.

Customers who purchase this tariff can then run the VPN installation script on their virtual machine.

How Customers Order the VPN Service: WireGuard Example

The customer journey for ordering a VPN through BILLmanager is straightforward.

  1. Ordering the VM: First, the customer selects a tariff plan linked to the VPN-server-WG1 configuration.
  2. Script execution. After provisioning, the customer logs into VMmanager 6 and runs the pre-configured VPN installation script on their VM.
  3. Email. Once the script has finished running, the customer receives an email containing setup instructions and a VPN configuration file. The email also includes download links for client apps that are pre-configured for all major operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.

This workflow can be applied to other SaaS services. Just prepare an installation script for the additional software or use pre-built VMmanager templates.

Top comments (0)