OpenVPN on OS X

For some reason, most VPNs are approached from a user-level rather than a machine-level point of view. That is, most end-user VPN software assumes that a user has their own authentication mechanism (key, token, etc) and that they establish the virtual network over some other possibly untrusted network when they want to "connect".

But what about the concept of a machine that connects over a VPN? One that either connects on startup or when required and then all users have access to the VPN for certain traffic. It strikes me as odd that this isn't a more common requirement, as I think it has lots of uses, even to the end user. So it's a little disappointing that while you currently can set up machine-level VPNs it normally requires quite a bit of low level buggering around and tinkering. Just because I'm capable of it doesn't mean that I want to do it all the time...

Anyway, I've worked out some hacks that suit my purpose under OS X. They are available here for the enjoyment of all. Please let me know if you've got any feedback, improvements, etc. I'd love to hear from you.