OpenVPN Cloud or Access Server
OpenVPN self-hosted or OpenVPN-as-a-Service, which solution is right for your business?
| Summary | A self-hosted software VPN server. | A networking service in the cloud that does not require infrastructure. |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | A software VPN server that is installed on a private network. OpenVPN clients on user devices such as computers and smartphones and other networks (for site-to-site) connect to the VPN server to become part of the VPN Server’s private network. | An OpenVPN networking service in the cloud with worldwide Regions. Private networks and servers are networked together just by connecting to one of the worldwide Regions. They connect using software VPN clients called Connectors. User on devices such as computers and smartphones use OpenVPN Connect Client to connect to the Region closest to them to get access to the private networks and services. |
| Server infrastructure required | Yes | No |
| Number of free connections offered | 2 | 3 (Use of Connector consumes one connection) |
| Built-in Authentication |
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| MFA | Google Authenticator is integrated by default while others like Duo and LastPass can be added with plugins | Uses email and Authenticator Application |
| Operating System Support |
Access Server can be installed on:
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Connector (client) can be installed on:
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| Cloud Marketplace Availability |
Quick Launch: AWS Cloud Marketplaces: AWS, Azure, GCP, Digital Ocean, Oracle |
Quick Launch: AWS, Azure |
| Responsible party for scaling and geographic reach | Customer | OpenVPN Inc |
| Joint responsibility for network operations | No | Yes (SLA available) |
| Must open ports in network firewall for incoming connections | Yes | No |
| Syslog | Yes | No |
| Works in air-gapped networks | Yes | No |
| Built-in DNS-based content filtering | No | Yes |
| Steering specific traffic within the VPN tunnel (per-domain VPN) | No | Yes |
| Private networks can have overlapping IP address ranges | No | Yes |
| Create Account for Two Free Connections | Get Started with OpenVPN Cloud |