If no license key is installed, the Access Server goes into a demonstration mode where all functions work without time limitations, but it will only allow 2 simultaneous VPN connections to be established. For more information see the troubleshooting page regarding Amazon AWS tiered instance software licensing. If you are using the Amazon AWS tiered instances licensing systemthen things are unfortunately not quite so easy, but still possible. Due to the way the licensing system works on Amazon AWS, the instance properties are very firmly tied to the amount of licensed connections. At this time you cannot click a button to switch from a 10 connected devices instance to a 25 connected devices instance.
A license key is meant for an OpenVPN Access Server installation on a server you provide and manage. Purchasing and having a license key does not mean that you can connect to openvpn.net with your OpenVPN client program. But if you want to set up your own OpenVPN server based on our OpenVPN Access Server product, and need more than 2 simultaneous connections, then purchasing a license for OpenVPN Access Server is the way to go.
As explained below this licensing model is also available on Amazon AWS if you choose the BYOL type OpenVPN Access Server instance from the AWS Marketplace. The instances that specifically mention the amount of “connected devices” do not work with the BYOL licensing model but are instead billed directly through Amazon. On Amazon AWS Marketplace you can look for “OpenVPN Access Server”. You’ll see a number of results. One of these will simply be titled “OpenVPN Access Server”. This Marketplace image is suitable for the BYOL licensing system as long as you do not use auto-scaling and do not change the instance type after activating a license key. If you do then the virtual hardware that the license key has locked to will change and the license key may become invalid.
However, you are limited to only 2 simultaneous active VPN tunnels to the Access Server. This allows for testing all the functions of the Access Server without having to pay a license key. So if you want to try out the Access Server, install Access Server on your Linux OS and you can start testing. Upon request we will also grant free temporary trial license keys for a larger number of connections if you require this for your testing purposes. With a license for the OpenVPN Access Server program you can unlock a certain amount of simultaneous VPN tunnel connections to your OpenVPN Access Server installation.
If the old system was configured to function on IP basis instead of an FQDN DNS address, then clients that were installed on the old Access Server instance will continue to attempt to reach the old IP address. If possible, move the IP address to the new instance so that clients can find the server again. But the best option is always to set up an FQDN DNS address, which we recommend for any Access Server installation.
In such a case you will have to contact us through the support ticket system to request a license key reissue. With this licensing model you pay for the AWS instance itself and any license keys that you purchase through us and activate on your Access Server installation.
So in other words, the licensing system does not look at how many user accounts you have, but how many VPN tunnel are connected at the same time. So if you have 500 user accounts but you anticipate that only about 90 of them will ever be online at the same time, then a license key for 100 is perfectly fine.
If you do not have a license key at all, and you do not work for an organization that has a license key, then you can still contact us. Refunds are not given for used licenses, or licenses already activated on a server! This is because we assume that you are fully satisfied with the product before purchasing and applying the license key to the server.
We have cancelled that system and instead when you install the OpenVPN Access Server product now, and do not provide a license key, it will automatically allow 2 simultaneous VPN tunnel connections. Therefore you do not need to contact us anymore to try the product out. You will very easily be able to confirm that your Access Server allows 2 simultaneous connections by logging in to the Admin UI and looking on the right hand side at how many connections your server is licensed for.
The BYOL model works on any OpenVPN Access Server, except the Amazon AWS tiered instance type that comes with a specification of the amount of connected devices allowed. With the BYOL model you can purchase a license key through our main website and activate it on your Access Server. These license keys are single-activation and lock to the system you activate it on, and unlock a certain amount of simultaneous VPN connections for the duration of the license key. When the license key expires, the license key disappears off the server.
If you are using license keys that you have purchased from our openvpn.net website and they have suddenly stopped functioning then check the troubleshooting page regarding OpenVPN Access Server license key issues. All license keys sold for OpenVPN Access Server are single-activation and lock to the hardware and software properties that you installed the license key on. If you want to move your license key to another installation, this is only ever possible when the license key is not expired.
If your system is intentionally cut off from the Internet or if it is not possible to resolve this problem, request or perform an offline activation. In rare cases this error can also show up if the license key has already been used before for activation – all license keys are single-activation keys only. In the past, years ago, Access Server would not allow any connections at all if you didn’t have a license key. We would then issue free 2 user license keys for trial purposes upon request.
- The BYOL model works on any OpenVPN Access Server, except the Amazon AWS tiered instance type that comes with a specification of the amount of connected devices allowed.
Can you put a VPN on a router?
A virtual private network (VPN) lets you use the Internet to securely access your network remotely. You must install the Open VPN software on each Windows computer that you plan to use for VPN connections to your router. VPN uses a Dynamic DNS account to connect with your router.
We only provide support on license keys if the license key is not expired. So if you come to us with a request to move a license key from one Access Server to another, and the license key is expired, we cannot help you. If the license key is not expired, we will gladly help you to move the license key. When you purchase a license key for the BYOL licensing systemyou purchase it for a certain amount of time.
With that, you can simply update the DNS record to point it to the IP address of the new instance, and clients will then automatically find the correct instance. And finally of course, the old instance should be stopped to avoid continuing to incur costs on the old instance.
ExpressVPN
You also get access to our professional support via the support ticket system. This is where we take an existing already activated license key, and remove it from our system (revoke it) and replace it with a new license key that can be activated on an OpenVPN Access Server installation. For example when you reinstall your server or when you replace hardware on a server (new mainboard, new network card, that sort of thing).
In most cases this problem is caused by an inability of the OpenVPN Access Server installation to reach the Internet for an online activation. Please verify that Internet access is possible from this Access Server and that the DNS settings are correct. Verify on the command line that you can ping and reach Internet addresses from the operating system that the OpenVPN Access Server is installed on. Check that any firewalls or security groups are not blocking access.
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To clarify, 10 connections on a license key is the minimum for the BYOL licensing system. It’s important to note here that any value higher is possible, but lower is not.
Linksys WRT32X Gaming Router
What is OpenVPN router?
Simply put, OpenVPN is short for open-source VPN. A router running OpenVPN in client mode, for example, facilitates users within that network to access their VPN without having to install OpenVPN on each computer on that network.
This one is different from the others because it comes with a 7 day free trial for the licensing costs. This means that for the first 7 days of running this instance type you pay only the Amazon AWS costs for having the instance up and running, but no software licensing costs are added. If after 7 days you continue using the instance, software licensing costs are added. In this demonstration mode, all functions are available and there is no time limit.
Asus RT-AC86U router
The license key for 10 connections and the license key for 20 connections then are both active and are added up to a total of 30 connections. The caveat here is that the license start date and end date of the newly purchased license key will be different for these two license keys. However when you renew license keys on our website you do have the option to select both license keys and set a single future date for both of them. The renewal system calculates and adjusts the costs automatically in such a case. You can have 500 user accounts on your Access Server but only license it for 100 connections, and if 25 of those 500 users are connected then you can still connect 75 VPN tunnels with any of the 500 accounts.
At the end of that time, when the license key reaches it end date and expires, it will disappear off your server automatically. If the last license key on your Access Server expires, it reverts back to its demonstration mode where only 2 simultaneous connections are allowed. If you are using the BYOL licensing systemand have an existing license key active on your Access Server, it is not possible to change the licensed amount on the existing license key. But what you can do is purchase an additional license key and activate it on the same Access Server.
For example you can buy a license key licensed for 11 connections, or 35, or 524, and so on. But a value lower than 10 on an OpenVPN Access Server BYOL type license key is never possible. So if you intend to buy a license key for 10 connections and then ask us to split it up into 2 license keys of 5 connections each, that is not possible. Please also note that having a license does not mean you can connect to one of our servers.
It will say 2, unless you have activated a license key to change that amount. You may notice that different wording is used here and there in documentation and on the website. What the licensing system really counts is the amount of active VPN tunnels. For example, you can configure 1 user account on your OpenVPN Access Server and set it up so that with that same user name and password you can establish a VPN connection from multiple different devices at the same time. The third type is the OpenVPN Access Server for 5 connected devices.