LogMeIn Hamachi Getting Started Guide
What Is Hamachi?
Unlike traditional hardware and software based VPN systems, Hamachi is an on-demand virtual networking service that allows you to focus your time and energy on providing the remote connections your users and systems need, and not the technology or infrastructure you are using to support them.
What are the key features of Hamachi?
Hamachi is our VPN product, and will allow you to setup a Virtual Private Network that will allow you to share data between the computers in your network. Subscription Model:
- Free subscription allows you to have 5 members in a network
- Standard subscription allows you to have 32 members in a network
- Premium subscription or a Central subscription allows you to have 256 members in a network
- Multi-Network subscription allows you to have 256 members in a network and an unlimited number of networks
Features:
- Cloud-based virtual networking: Deliver virtual networking, over the web, without investing in costly hardware or additional IT infrastructure.
- Gateway virtual networking: Provide remote users with secure access to your private network/LAN, including the resources on it, from a centralized Hamachi gateway, without modifying firewalls or network routers.
- Hub-and-spoke virtual networking: Provide remote users with secure access to specific resources on your network, from any location, without modifying firewalls or network routers.
- Mesh networking: Connect all of your network clients to each other. Quickly and easily create a simple, virtual, mesh network that allows remote machines to directly connect to each other, thereby giving users basic network access to all the network resources they need.
- Centralized software deployment: Quickly and easily provision virtual network client software to new computers without having to go on-site. Simply send end-users a link to download and install the client to participate in a specific virtual network.
- Encryption and Security: Hamachi offers secure communications using AES 256-bit encryption, combined with user- and network-level security authentication and locking.
Hamachi Web Management Features
Any Hamachi user with an account can manage attached clients and networks using the web site (My Networks page).
- Create mesh, hub-and-spoke, and gateway networks
- Remotely manage client settings
- Manage the default settings to be applied to a new network
- Edit or delete existing networks
- Install the Hamachi client to the local computer
- Deploy the Hamachi client to a remote computer
- Manage requests to join Hamachi networks
Hamachi Client Management Features
Hamachi clients provide access to the following features:
- Create mesh networks
- Manage the default settings to be applied to a new network
- Edit or delete existing networks created on the client
- Install the Hamachi client to the local computer
- Deploy the Hamachi client to a remote computer (Not available on Linux)
- Manage requests to join Hamachi networks
Who Should Use LogMeIn Hamachi?
Here are a few examples of how you can take advantage of Hamachi.
- IT Support: Building a Mobile Office LAN
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Many mobile workers use their laptops in the office while connected to their company's shared resources (file servers, network printers, mail servers, etc.). But if a user moves away from the local network, he will no longer be able to access these resources. Software that is configured to work inside the office becomes useless outside the office.
Using Hamachi, mobile workers become members of a Hamachi network wherein all shared resources are also network members. As a result, network configurations can remain unchanged. Hamachi sets up exactly the same networking environment for the mobile user no matter where he is.
Tip: Hub-and-spoke and gateway are the best networking modes for this scenario. - IT Support: Setting Up Network Access for Home Workers
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Home workers can be more productive when they have secure access to shared IT resources. Using the Hamachi client, home workers gain a secure tunnel directly into their company's network. They can work from home and still access the resources they need.
Tip: Hub-and-spoke and gateway are the best networking modes for this scenario. - Outsourced IT: Managing Multiple Networks
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A service provider with a number of administrators on his team wants to set up and maintain multiple Hamachi networks for multiple customers. He uses LogMeIn Hamachi to create Hamachi networks, deploy Hamachi clients, and apply default and custom settings for each customer. He can also manage other administrators in his organization, generate client activity reports, and manage network activity.
- Small to Medium Sized Organizations: Virtual LAN
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Organizations without a physical LAN can use the mesh network type to set up a virtual corporate LAN.
Free versus Paid Subscriptions
Hamachi is free for users if they have no more than five computers per network. The paid version offers fast relays and is subject to an annual subscription fee.
For information about subscription types, see Subscription Types.
LogMeIn Hamachi Security
The Hamachi Client
The LogMeIn Hamachi client for Windows
The LogMeIn Hamachi client for Mac
A command-line version of LogMeIn Hamachi is also available for Linux and officially supported on the following distributions:
- Ubuntu 16.04 LTS or newer LTS
- CentOS 7.2 or newer
About the Relationship Between the Client and Your Account
The Hamachi client can only be used with a LogMeIn ID, as an attached member of an account.
About the Hamachi Virtual IP Address
Every Hamachi client has one virtual IPv4 (IP) address in the 25.x.x.x range and one IPv6 address. The virtual IP address is globally unique and is used to access the client from any other Hamachi network with at least one common mesh or hub-and-spoke network.
Hamachi Network Types
For information about subscription types, see Subscription Types.
About Mesh Networks
Organizations without a physical LAN can use the mesh network type to set up a virtual corporate LAN.
Mesh is also the typical choice for gamers, because network games constantly have to broadcast their current status to all other participants in the game.
Mesh network
About Hub-and-Spoke Networks
Hub-and-spoke is typically used when a workstation (spoke) needs to connect only to servers (hubs). For example, in a library, the catalog is a hub while workstations accessing the catalog are spokes. Hub-and-spoke is ideal if you want strict control over connections between network members.
Hub-and-spoke network
About Gateway Networks
Gateway network
Characteristics
The gateway network type is a hybrid of the meshed and hub-and-spoke network types:
- As in a hub-and-spoke network, one computer acts as a hub (the gateway), while members act as spokes
- There can only be one gateway, which is typically a permanently online server connected to the LAN
- The number of members is virtually unlimited since even network devices that are not running the Hamachi client can be considered members
- Each member (Hamachi client) will see the gateway and the other members of the gateway's LAN
- Hamachi clients will not see each other in a gateway network
Restrictions
For technical and security reasons there are strict rules for both the gateway and members:
- The gateway cannot be a member of any other Hamachi network
- The gateway cannot be a workstation that is the member of a domain
- The gateway must not be a DNS and/or DHCP server since the Hamachi network bridge interferes with the DNS and DHCP services.
- Members can join more than one gateway network, but can only be online in one network at a time. Gateway members can also be members of multiple non-gateway networks
Role of the Hamachi Client in a Gateway Network
- Gateway network members and the gateway device itself must be running the Hamachi client
- Network devices that are physically connected to the LAN do not need to run the Hamachi client to be made accessible to gateway network members
Addressing
Gateway networks integrate smoothly into the LAN in terms of addressing. 25.x.x.x addresses are not available for a gateway network. Instead, the local address space is used.
Subscription Types
Free, Standard, and Premium subscriptions are available at the network level. You can have an unlimited number of Free, Standard, and Premium networks in your account, in any combination. Standard and Premium subscriptions are purchased for and applied to individual networks.
Regardless of the type and number of subscriptions you purchase, you can attach a maximum of 256 clients to your account; the number of clients is independent of the number of members per network.
Subscription type | Valid for this many networks | Members per network |
---|---|---|
Free | Unlimited | 5 |
Standard | 1 (purchased individually, per network) | 32 |
Premium | 1 (purchased individually, per network) | 256 |
The Multi-Network subscription option is applied across an entire account, allowing you an unlimited number of networks with up to 256 members per network. With Multi-Network you are still subject to the limit of 256 clients per account. The number of clients allowed at the account level is independent of the number of members per network. This means that you can have potentially far more members in your networks than clients attached to your account.
Subscription type | Valid for this many networks | Members per network |
---|---|---|
Multi-Network | Unlimited | 256 |
Frequently Asked Questions
- What if I do not want to renew my subscription?
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Standard, Premium, and Multi-network subscriptions are paid subscriptions that allow you to have more than five members in your network. If your network has more than five members, you should take the following into consideration before you cancel your subscription:
- Your network will not accept any new members.
- Only five members will be active. Other members will be disabled (offline) in your network until you resolve this issue by purchasing a subscription or evicting network members.
- Your network will still be fully functional but only for five randomly selected members.
- You can renew your expired subscription any time.
- What if I never had a paid subscription?
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For free networks, only five members remain active and you are unable to add new members. For example, a free network that was created with 14 members before introducing Standard, Premium, and Multi-network subscriptions will be functional for five random members and will not accept new members.
Important: If you have more than five members in a network and you choose to have a free subscription, you will not be able to add new members until you remove some of them from the network.
How to Change or Purchase Hamachi Subscriptions
How to Purchase Subscriptions from the LogMeIn.com Website
How to Purchase Subscriptions from the Hamachi Client
Install Hamachi
Hamachi System Requirements
LogMeIn Hamachi has been tested with the following operating systems:
- Windows 7 (All versions), Server 2008 r2 (All versions)
- Windows 8, 8.1 (Desktop UI only)
- Windows 10
- Windows 11 (version 21H2)
- Windows Server 2012 (All versions)
- Windows Server 2016 (All versions)
- Windows Server 2019 (All versions)
- Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or newer on Intel-based Macs
Note: Hamachi is not yet supported on macOS Big Sur, macOS Monterey, macOS Ventura, and macOS Sonoma.
- Linux distributions:
- Ubuntu 16.04 LTS or newer LTS
- CentOS 7.2 or newer
- Android 11 (no other versions are supported)
Gateway Node functionality is not available on the following platforms due to limitations within the operating systems themselves:
- Mac OS
- Windows Small Business Server editions
- Any operating system deployed on Microsoft Azure
With a paid subscription, you can run Hamachi in the background as a Windows service. For a powered-on computer, this means that you do not have to sign in to Windows to make your unattended device accessible (show online) in a Hamachi network.
How to Sign up for a LogMeIn ID
- (client and host)
- Central
- join.me
What is the difference between an account and a subscription?
When you register your email address at LogMeIn.com, you create an account. Your email and password together make up your LogMeIn ID, which you use to log in at LogMeIn.com. Your LogMeIn ID is not valid for a host.
To use certain services, you will be required to purchase a subscription. A subscription can expire. An account does not expire.
How to Install the Hamachi Client to a Local Computer
On Windows or Mac
Results: The client is installed on the local computer as an attached member of the active account. You will be able to manage this client in LogMeIn Hamachi or using the LogMeIn.com website.
On CentOS (Linux)
Install Hamachi via the command line.
- Execute sudo hamachi login to log in.
The login command establishes a link between your computer and the Hamachi server. After your first login, the Hamachi client running on your computer will remember your details and whenever your restart your computer, it will automatically log you in to the Hamachi server.
- Execute sudo hamachi attach [email@example.com] using your LogMeIn ID (email address) to attach the client running on your computer.
Attaching your LogMeIn Hamachi client to an existing LogMeIn Hamachi account is optional and has the following advantages:
- You can manage your networks from the LogMeIn.com website.
- With the attach-net command, you can attach those networks that you have created on your client to a LogMeIn Hamachi account. This way, ownership of those networks will be transferred from the client (that created the networks) to the LogMeIn Hamachi account. This also means that you can manage these networks from the LogMeIn.com website.
On Ubuntu (Linux)
- Execute sudo hamachi login to log in.
The login command establishes a link between your computer and the Hamachi server. After your first login, the Hamachi client running on your computer will remember your details and whenever your restart your computer, it will automatically log you in to the Hamachi server.
- Execute sudo hamachi attach [email@example.com] using your LogMeIn ID (email address) to attach the client running on your computer.
Attaching your LogMeIn Hamachi client to an existing LogMeIn Hamachi account is optional and has the following advantages:
- You can manage your networks from the LogMeIn.com website.
- With the attach-net command, you can attach those networks that you have created on your client to a LogMeIn Hamachi account. This way, ownership of those networks will be transferred from the client (that created the networks) to the LogMeIn Hamachi account. This also means that you can manage these networks from the LogMeIn.com website.
How to Deploy the Hamachi Client to a Remote Computer
All defaults set under
will be applied to the new client(s).Results: The recipient must click the installation link to actually install the client on the selected computer. Once the installation is complete, the client can be used to create and connect to Hamachi networks.
How to Install a Hamachi Client in Client-Only mode
Manage Clients and Networks from the Website
How to Add a Hamachi Network
How to Approve or Reject Join Requests
How to Set the Default Response to Network Join/Exit Requests
- On the LogMeIn.com web site, go to the page.
- Select the Network Defaults tab.
- Select a Network type.
- Select the default response to join requests.
Option Description Accept automatically All requests to join the network will be accepted automatically. We recommend that you require a network password when using this option. Must be approved All requests to join the network must be approved on the web. Members can be added on the web only Clients will not be able to join the network from the client. Clients can be added to the network on the web only. - Under Network Member Permissions, select Can leave network at will to allow members to leave the network at any time. By disabling this option, you can prevent clients from leaving a network accidentally or upon connection failure.
- Click Save.
How to Delete a Network from the website
How to Add/Remove a Client to/from a Network
How to Change the Client Interface
How to Detach (Delete) a Client from Your Account
Results: Even if you detach all your clients, your subscription will not end. To cancel your subscription, see How to modify or cancel your subscription.
Manage Clients and Networks from the Client
How to Join an Existing Network
This procedure must be executed on the client.
On Windows and Mac
- Select .
- Type the network ID and password of the network.
- Click Join.
Where do I find my network ID?
If you created a network on the client, your network ID and network name are the same. You find your network ID by hovering the mouse over the network's name.
If you created a network on the web, you find your nine-digit network ID by clicking Edit next to the network's name.
On Linux
How to Add a Hamachi Network from the Client
You can add a network from either from the client or from the website.
On Windows or Mac
This procedure must be executed on the client.
- Click .
- Type the network ID and password of the network.
- Click Create.
On Linux
How to Leave a Network
How to Delete an Unattached Network
On Windows or Mac
This procedure must be executed on the client.
On Linux
How to Chat in a Network
This procedure must be executed on the client.
Results: What else can I do during chat?
During a chat session, right-click on the chat window to access the following options:
Menu item | Description |
---|---|
Upper pane | |
Copy | Copies a selected text from the Chat window to the clipboard. |
Clear chat history | Clears the upper pane of the Chat window. |
Load chat history | Loads a previous chat session with the selected member of group. To enable chat history, see How to Change the Advanced Interface Settings. |
Lower pane | |
Paste | Inserts text from the clipboard to the lower pane of the Chat window. |
Paste and send (Windows only) | Inserts text from the clipboard and sends that text to the other parties of the chat session. |
Clear (Windows only) | Clears the lower pane of the Chat window. |
Cut (Mac only) | Copies text to the clipboard and removes it from the Chat. |
Copy (Mac only) | Copies a selected text from the Chat window to the clipboard. |
How to Appear Online or Offline to Other Network Members
On Windows and Mac
On Linux
- Open the terminal.
- Execute the following command:
Option Description Go online sudo hamachi go-online <network ID>
Go offline sudo hamachi go-offline <network ID>
Results: You go online/offline in the chosen network. Other network connections are not impacted.
How to Evict a Member of an Unattached Network
On Windows and Mac
This procedure must be executed on the client.
- On the client, right-click on the network member that you want to remove from the network.
- Click Evict.
- Confirm that you want to remove the selected network member.
On Linux
How do I assign an IP Range for Gateway Members?
How to Attach an Unattached Client to an Account
On Windows
This procedure must be executed on the client.
The Account Holder or administrator will see the attachment request on the Join Requests page for the specified account. The Account Holder or administrator must approve or deny the request.
On Mac
The Account Holder or administrator will see the attachment request on the Join Requests page for the specified account. The Account Holder or administrator must approve or deny the request.
On Linux
Before you can connect to a network, you must attach the client to your LogMeIn Hamachi account.
- Execute sudo hamachi login to log in.
The login command establishes a link between your computer and the Hamachi server. After your first login, the Hamachi client running on your computer will remember your details and whenever your restart your computer, it will automatically log you in to the Hamachi server.
- Execute sudo hamachi attach [email@example.com] using your LogMeIn ID (email address) to attach the client running on your computer.
Attaching your LogMeIn Hamachi client to an existing LogMeIn Hamachi account is optional and has the following advantages:
- You can manage your networks from the LogMeIn.com website.
- With the attach-net command, you can attach those networks that you have created on your client to a LogMeIn Hamachi account. This way, ownership of those networks will be transferred from the client (that created the networks) to the LogMeIn Hamachi account. This also means that you can manage these networks from the LogMeIn.com website.
What do the Different Color Indicators Mean in LogMeIn Hamachi?
The color of this indicator reflects the status of the connection between you and a peer.
Color | Description |
---|---|
grey | The peer is offline. |
blinking green | The client is trying to establish connection to the peer. |
solid green | There is a direct link between the client and the peer. |
blue | There is a relay tunnel between the client and the peer. You may have to set a static TCP or UDP port for Hamachi to use. This is generally necessary when you have a computer behind a router or NAT device and its support of NAT is poor. In this case, you should set up a static port forward on the router/NAT, and then fix a static port in Hamachi. For Port Forwarding, please note that every device is different, and very detailed info per device can be found on www.PortForward.com. If you are setting up port forwarding, it is recommended to set them up for both TCP and UDP protocols, and to keep them the same number.
Note: You do need to enter an IP Address if you have more than one active internet connection. Enter the IP Address of the Local adapter you wish Hamachi to connect through.
|
red | Traffic is blocked between the client and the peer. Right-click on the peer to find out why communication is blocked. |
LogMeIn Hamachi Glossary
- Gateway network
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Use the gateway network type to provide transparent access to your entire network from a centralized Hamachi gateway. Members of a gateway network, such as mobile workers, will see one computer acting as a gateway towards an entire LAN, thus making all network resources accessible.
Note: Gateway networks are not supported on Azure.
- Hamachi client
- The term Hamachi client refers to both the Hamachi software itself and any computer or smartphone with Hamachi client software installed. With proper permission from network owners, Hamachi clients can become members of any Hamachi network.
- Hamachi network
- For Hamachi, a network is not a physical network, but rather a group of users who want to use common resources or applications (two or more Hamachi clients interconnected by tunnels make up a Hamachi network). Hamachi offers three network types: meshed, hub-and-spoke, and gateway.
- Hub-and-spoke network
- In a hub-and-spoke network, one or more computers act as hubs, while other clients connect as spokes. Spokes connect to hubs, but never to each other.
- Mesh network
- In a mesh network, every member is connected to every other member.
- Peer
- A computer that is a member of a computer network.
- Peer Label
- The Peer Label is used to define your online presence to other Hamachi users. This is what other users see as your identification when you are in a Hamachi network.
- Unattached network
- The term Unattached network refers to any Hamachi network that was created on an unattached client. Unattached networks can only be mesh networks and they cannot be managed on the web using the My Networks page or Central.
- VPN
- Virtual Private Network