OpenVPN Access Server Reviews

Encrypted connections are, in all situations, better than unencrypted. So, security is much better with OpenVPN.

The ability to run in almost any conditions, and the flexibility that comes with that.

No issues with stability, at least not recently.

No issues with scalability.

We didn't use any paid support. This software is fairly industry-standard and you can find all kinds of help in the online community.

We switched from IPSec and switched because of NAT issues.

This product was used with AWS. The installation and configuration is pretty straightforward.

Begin with the community version and upgrade to paid one if the need arises.

I'd rate it at nine out of 10, just because the product has to grow.

Carefully consider what do you want to get out of it, same as with the other software.

Interoffice connections. We had offices in India and the US. To connect both of them to the same environment, we were using OpenVPN for that. It was so we could maintain a file store, exchange files and documents securely through our own proprietary mechanism, instead of having to rely on Dropbox and the like. 

Interoperability between different offices. We didn't have to keep exchanging documents via email and other tech. We were able to maintain a common file store because of the complete VPN setup we had using OpenVPN.

The compatibility with almost any Linux operating system, and how easy it is to write scripts and generate keys for people to use and log in. I found it easy to deploy quickly.

Some of the issues we faced were things like, if someone's key is not working, or if we had to remove someone's permission from it, or maybe an employee left the company and we had to take their key out. That seemed a little bit more complicated than it had to be.

Also, I think right now the GUI part of it is locked out behind the pay wall. It could use something that gives it a very basic, minimal, graphic interface for logging in, for the community version. That would probably be a good step forward.

We did not encounter any stability issues in our scope.

Our use case was less complex than most. We did not come across any issues with scalability.

I usually found support online, so I didn't have to use tech support.

We started off with OpenVPN when we were evaluating what we could use for our needs and we ended up with OpenVPN. I have used other VPN solutions at other offices, but in the cases that I've dealt with, OpenVPN was the choice.

If we had to create something for someone who was not necessarily tech savvy, I had to set that up on their computer, I had to write "read me's" and other things so that they could install their client and then connect to the VPN by themselves. So it was hard to set up for people who are not tech savvy. I had to actively provide assistance and walk them through the whole process.

The product's pricing is good value, definitely. It is one of the best features, I would say.

Evaluate the product before seeing which type of licensing is good for you. I think there is a good evaluation method available for OpenVPN, so you can just evaluate if it meets your needs. Then go forward with the right licensing policy.

OpenVPN is a good option for kick-starting any kind of interoperability between offices. It doesn't have a huge setup time, so it's a quick way to start experimenting with how the organization would work with its VPN requirements. Even if your requirements are very small, it's a very convenient to start off with this solution.

I rate it at eight out of 10 because it gives value for what it provides. You need technical know-how to get started on it, but it is also very swift. It has all the right features but it's technically challenging if you're not tech savvy. Providing clients with keys is not that straightforward.

This was a test bed in which to use a virtualized Citrix server to be connected with the downtown Tacoma site. We needed that to be able to not only access the local network over there, but also to use thin clients there to virtualize the work stations on our test location.

It allows us to actually use the Citrix server, just that simple.

A valuable feature for us is its ability to see the new Citrix server as a local server within the company.

And it allows us to test abroad. We have a couple other sites that we want to try to get people to remote into. Having that feature really helped.

The user interface that we had to implement. I would like to see a simpler interface, so that we can make the connection between the local network using the LAN IP.

Also, I would be more happy with the idea of licensing to have a reduced price with longer, grouped, annual fees. We have a lot of other software that does the same thing. It's a little higher price if you're going with a shorter stint, but there's a reduction in price for three- and five-year contracts.

It's been more of a hardware issue with us. The VPN has been working fine, but on our side, where our test bed is, we've just been trying to get it fine-tuned. But, no, OpenVPN hasn't had any problems.

Not yet. 

It's been pretty good. We only had one question when we were first implementing it. My crew and I were answered very quickly. The technical support was responsive.

We didn't have a previous solution. We had done a little research and we went with OpenVPN as the first option. It wasn't that we went through several before it.

It was pretty straightforward. We've seen terrible things with Citrix, so nothing compared to that.

I would say the product's pricing is a good value. I would recommend to other companies to implement it. I've seen other software, in tandem with the service, to be very expensive.

We were attempting to do a closed VPN between the two sites, but it really doesn't work with the local IPs that we wanted people's Citrix agents to be able to get in. We wanted it to emulate the IP of it being local because eventually we were going to move the Citrix server to the Tacoma site.

Do your homework, and make sure that your test site where you're going to be setting this up has a good, solid connection with your ISP. That was the issue we ran into. We actually had to get our ISP out here to fix the modem that we were having issues with.

We have multiple clients on our VPN, and we do logon for support, backup, and product updates.

It can securely do remote product updates, push out product updates; just like on our LAN, it's a virtual private network and we just push across our updates.

One of the new features of it is you can change the default port. Instead of 1194, like everybody expects, you can change it to whichever port you want to use. 

Another thing is that you can do local subnet blocking.

They may have this already, but it would be nice to be able to get more notifications if a site drops unexpectedly.

It would be nice with all these features, if they could send some examples of each one; just small sample scripts to look at and say, "Oh okay, I could expand on this." That would help us a lot.

No real issues with stability, but it could be a little faster at times, though there are tweaks for that.

Also, I don't think it's really their issue, but sometimes I think that our sites - our IT departments - might do something to disconnect the connection. We can't always prove that but I think that's what happens. I have developed some scripts that detect that and will re-trigger the service. So that's not really an issue any more.

We had some scalability issues at first but it was our own lack of understanding. We had created just the limited set of clients, before we expanded on that to maximize it to 1000-plus clients on one subnet. That was all our own research and fixing that.

Tech support is very good. They've got such a good product that I've only had to use them once or twice. The other times I have done an internet search and was able to find something that I needed.

It was a little bit complex but now that I've done it a couple times it's pretty straightforward. Looking at everything to begin with was a little bit complex, building the certificates, etc. Since then, we've scripted everything and that makes it much easier.

I think it's an exceptional value.

I think the pricing is an exceptional value. I didn't really deal with the licensing issue, but I have heard that if you know that you're going be doing it for at least five years, they do offer a 20% discount.

I don't recall any other options at that time. Somebody else in our office suggested OpenVPN and we went that route and it worked for us.

If you will be creating several client configurations, create a script or some kind of automation for the steps of calling into the template where you can plug in parameters such as the key names and the actual subnet of the address that will be used. Then, in part of the script, do all the packaging of it because it will prevent errors and typos and save lots of time too.

Also, expand on the number of connections right away, and have some reset scripts for each phase, if it goes down, to be able to restart it. It can be difficult to connect to a remote machine if you've lost your connection.

I would rate it a 10 because I don't know of any other features that we're missing and it's so simple and flexible, customizable, that it's a really great product.

My entire engineering team can access our infrastructure from anywhere in the world, securely.

Privacy and cryptography for my network communication.

Maybe provide a GUI or Web UI to manage users. Today these features are in the Pro Edition or are done by scripts.

No issues with scalability.

No issues with scalability.

The community is great. We are able to find a lot of documentation on the Web.

Cisco VPN, L2TP/IPsec. OpenVPN is easier to maintain and use, save us time.

Straightforward, a server is installed in a few minutes.

The Pro Edition has a reasonable price per user.

Cisco VPN.

I use it as server and client in AWS. The first reason is to provide a kind of crypted VLAN.

No real advice to give, except to be careful with the traffic in/out on extensive usage.

I rate it 10 out of 10. Simple to install and maintain, easy to find documentation or help in Google.

Try it. It's really fast to PoC and validate this solution.

It allows our employees to work remotely across Mac, Windows, and Linux platforms.

Highly configurable. You can create your own custom client installer and can rebrand the server-side program.

Better GUI.

Also, we switched more to Cisco AnyConnect due to the Win 10 stability issues.

There were some issues when Windows 10 initially came out. However, after some OpenVPN and Windows 10 patches, it stabilized.

No issues with scalability.

I have never used their technical support.

Relatively straightforward. We just needed to insert the configuration file on each workstation.

It's open-source.

I would rate it eight out of 10 because of its multi-platform capability and stability. It's a solid, free VPN option that fits any platform environment.

It was required for a secure network connection.

It is open source and therefore affordable for small projects.

It could include a configuration wizard so that users who do not follow instructions well can configure a connection.

No issues with stability.

We have not scaled service yet.

We did not use support.

This was our first solution.

It was fine, as long as you followed instructions, but it can seem complex if you do not know what you are doing.

It is free, you buy support.

We don't this use solution on AWS. Used it with a different cloud service company. We had to use the standard VPN ports in order for it to work through our cloud service’s firewall.

My advice would be, understand networking and your requirements first.

It allows us to give access to our office network in a safe and secure way to users, no matter which computing platform they use. 

1. Easy to set up.
2. Clients for multiple platforms
3. It runs on Linux.
4. It allows for two-factor authentication. 

This makes it very easy to administer if it is running on a Linux server where you can do everything over CLI or a web-based interface. Some software only has clients for MAC and Windows, which is annoying. Two-factor authentication allows us to not force frequent password changes.

There was one annoying feature where we had to disable and enable the user. I cannot remember what it was exactly, but I think it was for a password lockout. It would be nice if there was a checkbox, or something, in the web interface to allow you to unlock a user whose password was locked. 

No issues. It is solid as a rock.

Never.

I do not think we ever had to use technical support. I mainly found answers on the web forums.

No.

It was already set up when I got there. 

However, I have set up OpenVPN elsewhere. The initial setup is very straightforward as long as you understand something about the way the OS works, and how the networking and certificates work.

Not applicable.

It is good stuff.