OpenVPN - StartMyVPN

Overview

OpenVPN servers use username and password authentication. When a user connects, the OpenVPN server calls back to StartMyVPN to verify the credentials in real time.

How authentication works

User connects with OpenVPN client
           │
           ▼
OpenVPN server sends auth request
to StartMyVPN via standalone script server
           │
           ▼
StartMyVPN verifies username + password
and checks if the user has an active service
with access to that server
           │
     ┌─────┴─────┐
  Allowed      Denied
     │            │
  Connection   Connection
  accepted     rejected

The authentication endpoint is part of the standalone script server — a lightweight HTTP server running on the VPN server that handles auth callbacks securely.

Downloading OpenVPN config

Users download a .ovpn config file from their dashboard:

Web dashboard: /vpn/download/{server}
API: GET /v1/servers/{server}/openvpn

The config file contains:

Server IP and port
Protocol (UDP/TCP) and port
TLS/CA certificates
auth-user-pass directive (prompts for username/password on connect)

Connection logging

Every successful OpenVPN authentication is logged in the database with:

User ID
Server ID
Connection timestamp
Bytes received and transmitted

This data feeds the bandwidth usage tracking system.

Bandwidth enforcement

When a user attempts to connect and their bandwidth limit is exceeded (if the plan has a limit), the authentication request is rejected and the connection is denied.

Manual installation

If you’re adding an existing server manually, install OpenVPN using the bundled script:

# On the VPN server
bash /path/to/openvpn-install.sh

The installation script handles:

OpenVPN installation
Certificate generation
auth-user-pass-verify hook pointing to StartMyVPN’s script server
Firewall rules

OpenVPN config stored

The openvpn_configs table stores one config record per server containing:

The client .ovpn template
CA certificate
Server certificate
TLS auth key

​Overview

​How authentication works

​Downloading OpenVPN config

​Connection logging

​Bandwidth enforcement

​Manual installation

​OpenVPN config stored