OpenVPN 2.4.3 offers a nice price to potential users, beginning at just $15 per client connection per year.
For this you get the option of two different business VPN clients.
The Connect Client, is downloadable from the OpenVPN open source access server once that's been installed.
The other, known as the Community Client, can be downloaded from the OpenVPN site as an installer file.
This one provides the option to install either the VPN server or the Community Client – just pick the installer that corresponds to your operating system (OS), and you can install either the client, the server, or both.
The Connect Client is a virtual private network (VPN) client designed to connect to the OpenVPN Access Server, and doesn't support other connections.
Once the server is installed, the user navigates to the web site and downloads the Connect Client for their operating system.
The Community Client is an all-purpose VPN client that can attach to a variety of VPN servers in addition to the OpenVPN server.
But, while that's a nice degree of flexibility and the OpenVPN solution is solid overall, we still felt it came in behind our Editors' Choice winner, NCP Secure Entry for Win32/64 ($144.00 at NCP) , on ease of use and management tools.
Setup and Connections
OpenVPN is available as a software package for Microsoft Windows XP and later editions of that operating system.
There are also versions for a variety of Linux packages as well as virtual appliances for the Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware ESXi virtualization environments.
Finally, there are packages available for use as virtual cloud instances for infrastructure as a service (IaaS) providers, like Amazon Web Services ($6,415.00 at Amazon) (AWS) and CloudSigma.
Installation is very straightforward, though it should be done by an experienced IT administrator rather than an end user.
This is simply due to the plethora of configuration options.
As is typical of Linux packages, the GUI isn't necessary.
The server can be controlled from the command line, enabling scripting of the configuration and remote control via an SSH connection.
During installation, the password must be set through the command line before the user can access the GUI.
If you need it, the GUI is well done and the options will be familiar to experienced VPN administrators.
The Windows version of either the Community Client or the server runs as a service by default, which means that it doesn't need to be started by the user, and can re-start automatically after a crash.
Similar Products
NCP Secure Entry Client for Win32/64
TheGreenBow IPSec VPN Client
Microsoft VPN Client for Windows
The installation process is the same for the Community Client and for the server.
There's not even a choice to install one or the other.
The rest of the choices that determine whether it's a client or server are made after installation.
The documentation is explicit on all of the installation choices, and while the documentation is geared towards the administrator, the tools for automatic configuration will often remove the necessity for the user to do much in the way of installation.
The Community client uses the NDIS6 network driver and the TAP network driver.
The administrator can and should pre-configure the client by creating an OpenVPN (.opvn) configuration file.
Once the client is installed, the user can double-click the configuration file, and the settings will be used to create the VPN connection.
The Connect Client is a simpler experience for the end user, and makes management easier for the administrator, too.
The user simply navigates to the OpenVPN server URL and clicks the link, and all the necessary keys and certificates are installed along with the client.
The OpenVPN server is licensed by many hardware firewalls and routers.
This makes setting up a server-to-server connection as well as client connections very simple.
The process of configuring a server through the firewall interface or on the OpenVPN software running on a Linux system is very similar.
The router or firewall vendor may change the look of the interface, but the options and available features will be the same.
One advantage to using the OpenVPN server on a Linux system rather than using one of the routers or firewalls with the server pre-installed is that updates can be done directly through OpenVPN, rather than requiring an update from the hardware vendor.
Features and Support
OpenVPN has a number of advantages over other VPN servers.
Since it is an open source solution, there are a great many contributors working on it looking for bugs or exploits, and these tend to be found and corrected quickly.
In addition to well-done manuals and other documents on the OpenVPN site, there are many, many resources on the web available to help an administrator set up and run an OpenVPN server.
In addition, there are many programmers and administrators available who are intimately familiar with the software who can help a company set things up with any sort of custom touches they want.
The Community Client offers all the usual VPN key, protocol and client connection options, and can connect to a directory server such as RADIUS or LDAP (Active Directory) to keep authentication information for a large group of users.
The OpenVPN server includes tools for managing and distributing keys and certificates for client systems.
The Connect Client is a much simpler installation from the client end, but requires the OpenVPN server (or a licensed version).
Since cloud versions of the server are available, you can set up a primary or backup data center in the cloud, allowing remote systems to authenticate and connect securely from anywhere.
The OpenVPN server can be pre-configured on a local system and then moved to the cloud.
In addition to running on a Linux installation in the cloud, virtual appliances and AWS support mean that connections to virtually any cloud vendor can be secured for both clients and other services or data centers, ensuring that the security framework is fully accessible to the administrator, which is not always a given when using the tools supplied by the cloud vendor.
How We Tested
The test network consisted of a two subnets connected by a VPN router and a Shunra WAN simulator.
In addition to the Linksys and Netgear routers used in the other tests, a Microsoft Windows 10 ($139.00 at Microsoft Store) system with the OpenVPN Server 2.4.3 software installed was used to test the Connect Client.
As with the other installs, there was minimal load on the system running the client, and throughput and response times were over 90% of speed of the WAN link.
Overall, the two options, the Connect Client and the Community client, offer support for a wide variety of platforms, lots of control over the installation and configuration, and plenty of capability.
The OpenVPN server is licensed by a large number of router and firewall vendors, and there is a huge amount of documentation available both on the OpenVPN site and on many others, from step-by-step videos to technical references on the various encryption schemes and certificate and key management.
The combination of the two clients and the server offer a flexible and very capable VPN system, though without the ease of use of some other products, such as NCP or the TheGreenBow (79.00 For 1-2 Licenses (for Universal VPN) at TheGreenBow) system.
Pros
Powerful and flexible.
Installs on a wide variety of Apple, Linux, and Windows operating systems.
Supports cloud instances and virtual appliances.
Supports mobile (Android, iOS) and even BSD.
View More
The Bottom Line
OpenVPN is something of a standard in the open source world, but OpenVPN 2.4.3 represents only the VPN client portion of that equation.
It's flexible and well managed and connects to a wide variety of servers, but connecting it to the rest of the OpenVPN solution will require IT-level knowledge.
OpenVPN 2.4.3 offers a nice price to potential users, beginning at just $15 per client connection per year.
For this you get the option of two different business VPN clients.
The Connect Client, is downloadable from the OpenVPN open source access server once that's been installed.
The other, known as the Community Client, can be downloaded from the OpenVPN site as an installer file.
This one provides the option to install either the VPN server or the Community Client – just pick the installer that corresponds to your operating system (OS), and you can install either the client, the server, or both.
The Connect Client is a virtual private network (VPN) client designed to connect to the OpenVPN Access Server, and doesn't support other connections.
Once the server is installed, the user navigates to the web site and downloads the Connect Client for their operating system.
The Community Client is an all-purpose VPN client that can attach to a variety of VPN servers in addition to the OpenVPN server.
But, while that's a nice degree of flexibility and the OpenVPN solution is solid overall, we still felt it came in behind our Editors' Choice winner, NCP Secure Entry for Win32/64 ($144.00 at NCP) , on ease of use and management tools.
Setup and Connections
OpenVPN is available as a software package for Microsoft Windows XP and later editions of that operating system.
There are also versions for a variety of Linux packages as well as virtual appliances for the Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware ESXi virtualization environments.
Finally, there are packages available for use as virtual cloud instances for infrastructure as a service (IaaS) providers, like Amazon Web Services ($6,415.00 at Amazon) (AWS) and CloudSigma.
Installation is very straightforward, though it should be done by an experienced IT administrator rather than an end user.
This is simply due to the plethora of configuration options.
As is typical of Linux packages, the GUI isn't necessary.
The server can be controlled from the command line, enabling scripting of the configuration and remote control via an SSH connection.
During installation, the password must be set through the command line before the user can access the GUI.
If you need it, the GUI is well done and the options will be familiar to experienced VPN administrators.
The Windows version of either the Community Client or the server runs as a service by default, which means that it doesn't need to be started by the user, and can re-start automatically after a crash.
Similar Products
NCP Secure Entry Client for Win32/64
TheGreenBow IPSec VPN Client
Microsoft VPN Client for Windows
The installation process is the same for the Community Client and for the server.
There's not even a choice to install one or the other.
The rest of the choices that determine whether it's a client or server are made after installation.
The documentation is explicit on all of the installation choices, and while the documentation is geared towards the administrator, the tools for automatic configuration will often remove the necessity for the user to do much in the way of installation.
The Community client uses the NDIS6 network driver and the TAP network driver.
The administrator can and should pre-configure the client by creating an OpenVPN (.opvn) configuration file.
Once the client is installed, the user can double-click the configuration file, and the settings will be used to create the VPN connection.
The Connect Client is a simpler experience for the end user, and makes management easier for the administrator, too.
The user simply navigates to the OpenVPN server URL and clicks the link, and all the necessary keys and certificates are installed along with the client.
The OpenVPN server is licensed by many hardware firewalls and routers.
This makes setting up a server-to-server connection as well as client connections very simple.
The process of configuring a server through the firewall interface or on the OpenVPN software running on a Linux system is very similar.
The router or firewall vendor may change the look of the interface, but the options and available features will be the same.
One advantage to using the OpenVPN server on a Linux system rather than using one of the routers or firewalls with the server pre-installed is that updates can be done directly through OpenVPN, rather than requiring an update from the hardware vendor.
Features and Support
OpenVPN has a number of advantages over other VPN servers.
Since it is an open source solution, there are a great many contributors working on it looking for bugs or exploits, and these tend to be found and corrected quickly.
In addition to well-done manuals and other documents on the OpenVPN site, there are many, many resources on the web available to help an administrator set up and run an OpenVPN server.
In addition, there are many programmers and administrators available who are intimately familiar with the software who can help a company set things up with any sort of custom touches they want.
The Community Client offers all the usual VPN key, protocol and client connection options, and can connect to a directory server such as RADIUS or LDAP (Active Directory) to keep authentication information for a large group of users.
The OpenVPN server includes tools for managing and distributing keys and certificates for client systems.
The Connect Client is a much simpler installation from the client end, but requires the OpenVPN server (or a licensed version).
Since cloud versions of the server are available, you can set up a primary or backup data center in the cloud, allowing remote systems to authenticate and connect securely from anywhere.
The OpenVPN server can be pre-configured on a local system and then moved to the cloud.
In addition to running on a Linux installation in the cloud, virtual appliances and AWS support mean that connections to virtually any cloud vendor can be secured for both clients and other services or data centers, ensuring that the security framework is fully accessible to the administrator, which is not always a given when using the tools supplied by the cloud vendor.
How We Tested
The test network consisted of a two subnets connected by a VPN router and a Shunra WAN simulator.
In addition to the Linksys and Netgear routers used in the other tests, a Microsoft Windows 10 ($139.00 at Microsoft Store) system with the OpenVPN Server 2.4.3 software installed was used to test the Connect Client.
As with the other installs, there was minimal load on the system running the client, and throughput and response times were over 90% of speed of the WAN link.
Overall, the two options, the Connect Client and the Community client, offer support for a wide variety of platforms, lots of control over the installation and configuration, and plenty of capability.
The OpenVPN server is licensed by a large number of router and firewall vendors, and there is a huge amount of documentation available both on the OpenVPN site and on many others, from step-by-step videos to technical references on the various encryption schemes and certificate and key management.
The combination of the two clients and the server offer a flexible and very capable VPN system, though without the ease of use of some other products, such as NCP or the TheGreenBow (79.00 For 1-2 Licenses (for Universal VPN) at TheGreenBow) system.
Pros
Powerful and flexible.
Installs on a wide variety of Apple, Linux, and Windows operating systems.
Supports cloud instances and virtual appliances.
Supports mobile (Android, iOS) and even BSD.
View More
The Bottom Line
OpenVPN is something of a standard in the open source world, but OpenVPN 2.4.3 represents only the VPN client portion of that equation.
It's flexible and well managed and connects to a wide variety of servers, but connecting it to the rest of the OpenVPN solution will require IT-level knowledge.
