Using Openvpn Access Server to access your network from a remote location

In order to get Openvpn Access Server to allow ethernet bridging which will allow us to access our home network we must first install Openvpn Access Server. A tutorial by Digital Ocean is posted below that walks you through the Openvpn Access Server Setup. 

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/openvpn-access-server-centos

Once the server is installed we want to to enable ethernet bridging on the setup page.

NOTE: In this article we are using port 943, Openvpn Access Server's default port. If you changed your port post installation then adjust accordingly to access the admin panel. 

1. This can be done by logging into the admin side of the server using the domain/ip extension: mywebsite.com:943/admin
2. Next we want to change the vpn mode to ethernet bridging which can be done my going to mywebsite.com:943/admin/vpn_mode
3. The page should have two options, one for ethernet bridging and one for routing. We are going to choose the ethernet bridging option
4. Once the option is selected press the save settings button at the bottom of the page and your server should be ready to go. 
5. If your server's hostname is its ip address inside the network one may run into issues so it would probably be a good idea to check the server network settings available at: mywebsite.com:943/admin/server_network_settings
   1. ​For instance if your server's internal ip is 192.168.1.34 the vpn is going to have trouble connecting to it from outside the network. 
   2. Howerver, if your server's hostname/ip is something that is accessible from outside the network such as mywebsite.com or its external ip address the server should be good to go!

I hope this article helps you setup your Openvpn Access Server. If you have any question feel free to contact me at [email protected] or through the contact section of the website.