OpenVPN Access Server (10 Connected Devices) / Self-Hosted VPN & ZTNA

What do you like best about the product?

It's easy to set up the server and manage various aspects of the network connectivity, like access to certain internal domains and forcing those over the vpn.

What do you dislike about the product?

Managing the licensing is a bit disjointed from the server management which I don't like

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Access to internal resources securely.

What do you like best about the product?

It's suitable for SaaS application server administrative access.

What do you dislike about the product?

SAML authentication is supported for user access, but isn't supported for administrative access of OpenVPN itself.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Administrative access to Application servers running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, OCI Bastion function is not easy to use for application administrators.

What do you like best about the product?

I think what stands out the most is the ease of managing access to different servers, as the interface allows us to grant or restrict permissions to users in a very simple way.

Moreover, compared to other VPNs we have worked with, this one has offered us much more stable connectivity without impacting the performance of the user's equipment. This has also helped us alleviate the workload on their devices.

The price also seems like a better offer to us, and we can adjust it to our needs. Since we have a constant flow of users, both new and outgoing, we can manage the VPN's operating costs as needed.

What do you dislike about the product?

I think the only thing that might bother me is the "temporary" access to the administration portal. Since we have the Systems teams in custody and maintain a fairly strict security control, we sometimes need to make quick changes to resolve incidents. However, what delays us a bit is the access itself, as we would prefer to have a "Remember device" option, so it doesn't ask for a password every time we close and reopen the page.

Additionally, the downtime also bothers us a bit. Sometimes connectivity tests are carried out, and some parameters need to be modified, which take time to verify; therefore, being disconnected after a while can be quite annoying.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Connectivity security.

Previously, servers were accessed via SSH through the public IP, which posed a significant security breach. Thanks to this VPN, we were able to segment access and configure firewall rules so that each person could connect via SSH or RDP to the servers following only a private network segment, instead of keeping those services open globally.

Permission segmentation.

This has allowed us to have several users from different areas and still grant only the permissions they need, instead of opening access to the entire network. Before, with another licensing, having a VPN meant the networks were completely open to anyone with VPN access; today, having the VPN no longer means having global permissions.

What do you like best about the product?

It's easy to use and set up. It's very stable and consistent. You can set up access to both internal networks and force connections over the internal VPN endpoint where needed.

What do you dislike about the product?

The connection between the server itself and the licensing makes sense now but it's a little disjointed. It would be easier if it were easier to manage licensing overall.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Access to internal resources securely without public facing access to those resources. Assigning permissions variably to people based on roles or groups.

What do you like best about the product?

I really like how simple OpenVPN Access Server is. The admin page is pretty simple, and I don’t need a master’s degree to understand how to use it. I can keep track of all the users in my system and check for suspicious activity, which is really helpful. I also find full tunneling for specific users, websites, or endpoints useful. It lets me whitelist the VPN IP and easily access customer or internal endpoints that don’t connect to the VPN. I can connect to different company VPCs through one tunnel. I use AWS and Google Workspace SSO so users can get their profiles directly, and that has really helped adoption across the team. After the initial installation, it’s a great product.

What do you dislike about the product?

I find that applying changes can be a bit delayed. Installing OpenVPN Access Server also has a little bit of complexity.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

I use OpenVPN Access Server to connect to the different VPCs we have in the company through one tunnel.

What do you like best about the product?

I like the easy setup, reliable connectivity, and security. Installation and configuration are straightforward, and client setup is simple. Remote access is simple, and we can connect to our infrastructure from anywhere. I also appreciate the easier user management and cost-effectiveness, and that OpenVPN Access Server provides secure access to our internal infrastructure and cloud environment.

What do you dislike about the product?

I think the UI could be more intuitive, and troubleshooting connectivity issues could be simpler. I’d also like clearer error messages and more detailed connection logs.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

I use OpenVPN Access Server to securely access our internal infrastructure and cloud environment, protect sensitive resources, and control user access.

What do you like best about the product?

it is easy to set up and manage. It provides secure remote access to company resources and helps users connect to the network from anywhere. I also like its centralized management, user access control and reliable connection.

What do you dislike about the product?

setup and configuration can be a bit challenging for beginners, especially when managing certificates and network settings. and user interface could also be more modern and user-friendly. Apart from that, it works well for secure remote access.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

OpenVPN Access Server helps us securely access internal company resources from different locations. It makes remote work easier by providing a secure connection to the company network without exposing internal services to the public internet. It also helps manage user access nd maintain security which is useful for our daily work and infrastructure management.

What do you like best about the product?

OpenVPN Access Server has been a good fit for us because it sits in a nice middle ground between an overly simplified VPN product and a completely DIY OpenVPN deployment.

The UI is good for the day-to-day work, and most routine configuration can be handled without dropping to the command line. Once you get into more complicated configurations, however, you quickly find yourself working in Linux and troubleshooting services, certificates, packages, and configuration directly. I don't necessarily consider that a negative, but administrators should know that the friendly web UI doesn't eliminate the need to understand what's happening underneath it.

Integration and flexibility are probably the biggest strengths. It works well in an existing enterprise environment and gives an administrator quite a bit of control over how authentication, networking, certificates, and client access are handled.

Performance has been solid, and once the environment is configured correctly it mostly stays out of the way. High availability and failover are valuable features, but this is also where the complexity increases substantially. I would like to see the product give administrators better visibility into node health, replication/state, failover problems, and configuration inconsistencies.

From a pricing and ROI perspective, I think Access Server makes sense when you want a purpose-built remote-access VPN without buying an entire firewall/security platform just for VPN connectivity. The ability to run it on standard infrastructure is also valuable.

Support and onboarding are decent, particularly for a basic deployment. Documentation covers most common tasks, but troubleshooting unusual problems can send you down some fairly deep rabbit holes. Better diagnostic tooling would go a long way.

As for AI, it isn't something I currently associate strongly with the product, and that's fine. I would much rather see OpenVPN invest in useful operational intelligence than bolt on a generic chatbot. Give me automated log analysis, certificate-expiration warnings, configuration drift detection, authentication failure correlation, and actionable HA/failover diagnostics. Those are AI capabilities that would actually make an administrator's life easier.

Overall, I would recommend OpenVPN AS to organizations that want flexibility and don't mind having some Linux expertise available. It is easy to use when things are working, powerful when you need to customize it, but could be much better at telling you what is wrong when something isn't working.

What do you dislike about the product?

My biggest complaint is the gap between how simple the product looks in the web interface and how complicated it can become when something goes wrong. Troubleshooting failover, certificates, upgrades, or package compatibility can require digging through Linux services and logs, and the error messages don't always make the root cause obvious. Better built-in diagnostics and health reporting would make administration significantly easier.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

OpenVPN Access Server solves our need for secure remote access to internal resources while giving us direct control over the infrastructure. We can centrally manage authentication, VPN configuration, certificates, routing, and client connectivity instead of depending on individual devices or a more expensive all-in-one security platform.

For us, the main benefit is that it is flexible and largely stays out of the way once configured. We can host it ourselves, integrate it with our existing environment, and design for failover so VPN access isn't dependent on a single server. That gives us a good balance between security, availability, administrative control, and cost.

What do you like best about the product?

OpenVPN made easy. The full power of Open Source OpenVPN with the ease of a graphical UI.

Very responsive and high quality technical and sales support!

What do you dislike about the product?

High Availability setup takes some work and does not seamlessly fail over. Or maybe I need to spend some more time with the documentation, as this might already be solved in the many years we're running this setup now.

(Update: It has improved indeed, but for now we use the "If it works, don't fix it" strategy.)

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

We need a secure VPN setup that is easily manageable and not tied to manufacturer-specific client software. OpenVPN AS provides that for us at a reasonable price.

What do you like best about the product?

It was easy to set up and add users, and it’s also straightforward to manage.

What do you dislike about the product?

The pricing isn’t competitive compared with other VPN services.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

It gives access to people who are working remotely.