Activating a license on Access Server

Overview

Access Server subscription licenses manage your VPN connections with the flexibility to change them up or down as you need. This page steps you through purchasing and activating a subscription license key on our site. We strive to support you with the benefits offered through our pricing model:

  • Subscription license keys support the Elastic Computing model of IaaS Cloud operations.
  • We retain our economical and meaningful charging model based on the needed number of simultaneous VPN connections.
  • While other business VPNs may charge based on the number of CPU cores or the bandwidth of the server, our model focuses on actual VPN connections consumed.
  • Subscriptions are cloud-friendly and streamlined, support automated renewals, and maximize your VPN usage.

Prerequisites

  • Access Server 2.8.1 and newer (for subscription licenses).
  • An OpenVPN.net account.

Activate a subscription license

  1. Sign in (or create an account) on openvpn.net for Access Server.
  2. Click Purchase a Subscription or Activation Keys.
  3. Select your number of connections and billing cycle.
  4. Click Purchase.
  5. Review your order and checkout.
    1. After purchasing your subscription, the message displays, "The subscription has been successfully created."
  6. Copy the activation key.
  7. Sign in to the Admin Web UI for your Access Server.
    1. If you haven't installed Access Server, refer to the Quick Start section of the portal to do that.
    2. To navigate to your Admin Web UI, open a web browser and enter your server's IP address or DNS address as the URL, with /admin at the end. For example, https://123.45.67.89/admin.
  8. Click Configuration > Activation.
  9. Paste the activation key and click Activate.

Access Server Fixed Licenses

If you prefer to continue using fixed license keys, Access Server supports those. We recommend running the latest version as good security etiquette.

You will see an error message if you try to activate a new license key or a renewal license key on an outdated and unpatched OpenVPN Access Server. To resolve that, follow the instructions to upgrade your Access Server to the latest version or apply a licensing patch.

See this security advisory for more information about the licensing system changes:

Note: You don't keep the two free connections you start with when you activate a license key. Upon activation, the stated connections from your license become the supported amount. For example, if you are testing the Access Server without a license key, you can connect two devices simultaneously to it. You then activate a purchased license key for ten connections and connect up to ten devices to the Access Server, not 12.

Important: When you activate a fixed license key, it then becomes non-refundable as per our license agreement you accepted upon purchase and installation. Take every opportunity to test your Access Server before purchasing and activating a key.

Activate a fixed license key using the Admin Web UI

It’s simple to activate a key using the Admin Web UI:

  1. Sign in to the Admin Web UI for your Access Server.
    1. If you haven't installed Access Server, refer to the Quick Start section of the portal to do that.
    2. To navigate to your Admin Web UI, open a web browser and enter your server's IP address or DNS address as the URL, with /admin at the end. For example, https://123.45.67.89/admin.
  2. Click Configuration > Activation.
  3. Enter your license key into the field and click Activate.
  4. Your license key should now be activated.

Activating a fixed license key on the command line

You can activate a license key on the command line. Sign in to your Access Server’s operating system on the console or through SSH with root permissions, then follow the commands below. 

  1. Navigate to the Access Server scripts directory:
    cd /usr/local/openvpn_as/scripts/
  2. Activate a new license key:
    ./liman Activate "LICE-NSEK-EYIN-HERE"
  3. Show the current licensing state and any possible problems with license keys:
    ./liman info

Troubleshooting subscription or fixed license problems

If you have any problems activating a license key, we advise you to consult the licensing troubleshooting page, as we address most problems there.