Connect Using IKEv2 on Linux

Linux supports IKEv2 through the strongSwan package and NetworkManager plugin.

Install

Ubuntu / Debian:

sudo apt install strongswan libcharon-extra-plugins libstrongswan-extra-plugins

For NetworkManager GUI integration:

sudo apt install network-manager-strongswan

Fedora / RHEL:

sudo dnf install strongswan strongswan-charon-nm NetworkManager-strongswan-gnome

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S strongswan networkmanager-strongswan

Connect via NetworkManager (GUI)

1. Go to Settings → Network → VPN → +.
2. Select "IPsec/IKEv2 (strongswan)".
3. Configure:
   • Name: PremierVPN UK
   • Gateway: uk.premiervpn.net
   • Certificate: Select "None" or your system CA bundle
   • Authentication: EAP
   • Username: Your VPN username
   • Password: Your VPN password
   • Check "Request an inner IP address"
4. Click "Add".
5. Toggle the VPN on from the network menu.

Connect via Command Line

Create a configuration file at /etc/ipsec.conf:

conn premiervpn
    keyexchange=ikev2
    ike=aes256-sha256-modp2048
    esp=aes256-sha256
    dpdaction=restart
    dpddelay=30s
    dpdtimeout=120s
    left=%defaultroute
    leftsourceip=%config
    leftauth=eap-mschapv2
    leftid=YOUR_VPN_USERNAME
    right=uk.premiervpn.net
    rightid=uk.premiervpn.net
    rightsubnet=0.0.0.0/0
    rightauth=pubkey
    eap_identity=YOUR_VPN_USERNAME
    auto=start

Add your credentials to /etc/ipsec.secrets:

YOUR_VPN_USERNAME : EAP "YOUR_VPN_PASSWORD"

Set permissions and start:

sudo chmod 600 /etc/ipsec.secrets
sudo ipsec restart
sudo ipsec up premiervpn

Disconnect

sudo ipsec down premiervpn

Available Servers

Replace uk.premiervpn.net in both the configuration and rightid with:

Location	Hostname
United Kingdom	uk.premiervpn.net
Germany	de.premiervpn.net
Spain	sp.premiervpn.net
France	fr.premiervpn.net
Netherlands	nl.premiervpn.net
Sweden	sw.premiervpn.net
United States (Kansas)	ks.premiervpn.net
United States (New York)	ny.premiervpn.net
United States (Los Angeles)	la.premiervpn.net
Canada	ca.premiervpn.net
Australia	au.premiervpn.net
Japan	jp.premiervpn.net
Singapore	sg.premiervpn.net

FAQs

I get "no proposal chosen" or "authentication failed".

Ensure your ike= and esp= lines match the server configuration. The settings above work with PremierVPN's StrongSwan servers.

Do I need to install the Let's Encrypt CA certificate?

No. Modern Linux distributions include the Let's Encrypt root certificate in their system trust store. If you have issues, update your CA certificates: sudo apt update && sudo apt install ca-certificates.