Installing Tailscale on GL-SFT1200 Router Running OpenWRT: Tailscale Package Not Found
This article covers the process of installing Tailscale on a GL-SFT1200 router running OpenWRT, despite the absence of a Tailscale package in the router's repository. Tailscale is a popular remote access solution that simplifies secure connectivity between devices and networks.
Prerequisites
Before starting the installation process, make sure you have the following:
- A GL-SFT1200 router running OpenWRT
- SSH or physical access to the router
- A Tailscale account (create one at tailscale.com)
Installing Tailscale Manually
As Tailscale isn't available in the OpenWRT package repository for the GL-SFT1200 router, you'll need to install it manually.
First, log into your router using SSH or a terminal. Then, run the following commands to download and install Tailscale:
opkg update
opkg install luci-app-tailscale \
curl \
libssl1.1.0 \
libnghttp2-dev
curl -fsSL https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/tailscale_1.22.1_openwrt_21.02.3_x86_64.ipk -o /tmp/tailscale.ipk
opkg install /tmp/tailscale.ipk
Note that the version number in the URL (e.g., tailscale_1.22.1_openwrt_21.02.3_x86_64.ipk) should be updated to match the latest Tailscale version available (check the Tailscale packages page).
Configuring Tailscale
After installing Tailscale, the next step is configuring it for your network.
First, run the following command to authorize the router's Tailscale installation:
tailscale up --authkey
Replace <your_auth_key> with your Tailscale auth key, which you can find in the Tailscale admin console after logging in with your account.
To configure Tailscale to start automatically on boot and enable the admin UI in LuCI, run these commands:
tailscale admin-ui enable
/etc/init.d/tailscale enable
/etc/init.d/tailscale start
Admin UI Configuration
Now, you can log into your router's web interface (typically at http://192.168.1.1) and navigate to the Tailscale section.
Here, you can set a name for the router, add new users or ACLs, and adjust other options. Save your changes when you're done.
Troubleshooting
If you encounter any issues while installing or configuring Tailscale, refer to the following resources:
- Tailscale Troubleshooting Guide
- OpenWRT Forums (for community support)
- The UCI Configuration System documentation (for advanced users)
Even though the Tailscale package isn't available in the GL-SFT1200 router's OpenWRT package repository, the manual installation process outlined in this article allows you to install and configure Tailscale successfully.