The Self-Hosted VPN You Should Be Using!

There are plenty of ways to get secure remote access into your homelab or business network, but a lot of modern VPN and ZTNA-style tools rely on someone else’s coordination servers, control plane, or relay infrastructure to make those connections happen. That tradeoff is fine for a lot of people. But for privacy-focused homelabbers, self-hosters, IT pros, and businesses that care about end-to-end ownership, it can also be a deal-breaker. In this video, we’re taking a deep dive into OpenVPN Access Server, a self-hosted VPN platform built on top of the OpenVPN protocol. Unlike managed mesh VPN services, Access Server lets you run the VPN server yourself, control the keys, manage your own users, define access policies, audit your own logs, and keep the control plane under your ownership. This video is #sponsored by #OpenVPN, but as always, this is a practical look at where the product fits, where it makes sense, and what tradeoffs come with owning more of the stack yourself. We’ll cover what OpenVPN Access Server is, how it compares conceptually to managed mesh VPN providers, when you’d self-host it at home, when you’d deploy it in the cloud, and what you need to know about public IPs, CGNAT, DynamicDNS, firewall port forwarding, and client access. Then we’ll deploy Access Server in a Proxmox homelab using an Ubuntu 24.04 LTS VM, walk through the initial installation, configure the admin UI, create a VPN user, review the main settings sections, open the required ports, and connect a mobile client using the OpenVPN Connect app. If you want remote access that you actually own, this is worth looking at. OpenVPN Access Server: https://openvpn.net/access-server/ **Use code 2GuysTek for 20% off additional OpenVPN Access Server connections.** OpenVPN Access Server Documentation: https://openvpn.net/as-docs/v3/ Let’s Encrypt / Certbot documentation for Access Server: https://support.openvpn.com/hc/en-us/articles/6144075032987-Access-Server-Install-Let-s-Encrypt-SSL-Certificates-and-Automate-it-via-CertBot What We Cover: * What OpenVPN Access Server is * The difference between OpenVPN, the protocol, and OpenVPN the company * Why self-hosted VPN control still matters * Access Server vs managed mesh VPN services * ZTNA-style access control without handing off the control plane * Homelab deployment vs cloud VM deployment * CGNAT, Starlink, public IPs, and DynamicDNS considerations * Installing Access Server on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS * Running Access Server inside Proxmox * Reviewing the Admin Web UI * Configuring the server address * Checking VPN subnets * Creating your first VPN user * Required firewall ports * Connecting an iPhone with OpenVPN Connect * Licensing and the free two-connection tier * Final thoughts for homelab and business users Example VM Used For this demo, I deployed OpenVPN Access Server on: * Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS * 2 vCPUs * 4GB RAM * 25GB disk * Proxmox VE homelab environment That’s plenty for a small-to-medium deployment, especially if you’re just getting started with secure remote access into your own network. For a typical OpenVPN Access Server deployment, you’ll need to forward: * UDP 1194 for VPN traffic * TCP 443 for the client web portal Your exact firewall configuration will depend on your network gear, ISP, public IP situation, and whether you’re using a hostname or DynamicDNS. **GET SOCIAL AND MORE WITH US HERE!** Get help with your Homelab, ask questions, and chat with us! 🎮 https://discord.gg/5TcfBWBB7S **Check out HomeLab Gear for all your homelab needs!** 💿 https://homelabgear.shop/ Subscribe and follow us on all the socials, would ya? 📸 https://instagram.com/2guystek 💻 https://facebook.com/2guystek Find all things 2GT on our website! 🌍 https://2guystek.tv/ More of a podcast kinda person? Check out our Podcast here: 🎙️ https://www.buzzsprout.com/1852562 **TIME STAMPS!** 0:00 | Intro 1:57 | Who is OpenVPN? 2:50 | What is OpenVPN Access Server? 4:50 | Access Server Deployment Options. 6:02 | How to deploy Access Server. 7:50 | Overview of Access Server UI. 10:48 | Minimum Config for Access Server. 12:51 | Connecting a Mobile Client. 13:59 | How Much Does it Cost? 14:24 | My Thoughts on Access Server. 16:22 | Closing! Thanks for Watching!