Multiple clients, the purpose is?

[morthawt]

I have been using the community download that uses the OpenVPN GUI, the cheap and cheesey interface. However I found some guide that recommends getting one of the other clients from the site. It recommended the first one on the list "OpenVPN Connect Client Download for Windows" Well this is confusing because it says it is only compatible with "OpenVPN Access Server" which I don't think I use. I use what ever comes on linux using apt-get install and takes years to configure how you want with config files. If I am not mistaken, the access server is the nice fancey web based one. Again, I do not use that, I have the basic one.

But, given the fact that it doesn't say it is compatible with normal OpenVPN it connects to my server. Once I import the config into the program it connects just fine. Then the other confusing thing is the download says "Enabling users to securely connect using any Web Browser" web browser? It loads a program up on your computer, what does that have to do with a web browser?

Please, can someone explain this to me? Why is there a community client download when the main one works? etc.

[morthawt]

So both clients work for either service then it seems...? If I had known the new nice swanky interface client worked I would have been using that from the start lol.

[JoshC]

Please, can someone explain this to me? Why is there a community client download when the main one works? etc.

There is no "main" client. The one and only OpenVPN download is what the corporate team is calling the "community edition" which you can download on the official download page.

"OpenVPN Connect" is a non-free, non-open-source, and completely different codebase. While it does speak the OpenVPN "on-wire" protocol, this is not OpenVPN -- it is "OpenVPN Connect", a proprietary software client coded and supported by OpenVPN Technologies Inc. The open-source community cannot support this product as it is not an open-source or community-maintained product. Support for "Connect", "Access Server", and "PrivateTunnel" are strictly provided by the company that has designed/sold these solutions.

And yes, the naming scheme is highly confusing. The copyright to "OpenVPN" is owned by OpenVPN Technologies Inc, and they're obviously using this naming confusion to their advantage hoping people download, install, and possibly buy their non-free products. This is all fine, of course, assuming the user actually intended to be downloading, installing, and (in the case of "Access Server") paying licensing fees. Users that don't understand the difference are confused, and sometimes outright frustrated to find they've been "tricked" into downloading non-free software with a subtle name variation.

This is a somewhat unfortunate situation given the awful choice of product naming.