Are Amazon charges separate from Access Server?
Amazon AWS charges for an Access Server instance vary by subscription type.
Question: Will my Amazon AWS charges be separate from Access Server billing?
Answer:
It depends on how you license Access Server on Amazon.
When you run Access Server on AWS, infrastructure costs are always billed by Amazon. How the Access Server license is billed depends on the licensing model you choose:
Licensing model | Where Access Server license is purchased | Who bills for the license | Who bills for infrastructure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PAYG License | AWS (Cloud provider) | AWS | AWS | Connections can be increased or decreased without redeploying the instance. |
Subscription License | OpenVPN | OpenVPN | AWS | Monthly or yearly subscription. Requires manual activation. |
Tiered AWS License | AWS Marketplace | AWS | AWS | Fixed connection sizes (5-500). Changing size requires launching a new instance. |
Fixed License | OpenVPN | OpenVPN | AWS | One-year license, single activation, starting at ten connections. Legacy license system. |
Unlicensed | N/A | N/A | AWS | Limited to two simultaneous connections. |
PAYG license (pay-as-you-go)
With the PAYG option:
The Access Server license is purchased and billed through AWS (or another supported cloud provider).
You can increase or decrease the number of connections without redeploying the instance.
Infrastructure costs are still billed separately by AWS.
In this model, both licensing and infrastructure are billed by AWS, but as separate line items.
Subscription or fixed license (bring your own license)
If you deployed Access Server on AWS using a standard image:
AWS bills you only for the infrastructure.
Access Server starts unlicensed (limited to two connections).
You purchase a subscription license directly from OpenVPN and activate it on the server.
The license cost is billed by OpenVPN, separate from AWS charges.
In this model, infrastructure is billed by AWS with licensing through OpenVPN.
Tiered AWS license (marketplace fixed-size licenses)
If you deploy an Access Server image from the AWS Marketplace that includes a fixed connection size (for example, 5, 10, 25, etc.):
The Access Server license cost is billed through AWS as part of the Marketplace software charge.
EC2 infrastructure costs (instance, storage, bandwidth) are also billed by AWS.
To change the connection size, you must launch a new instance with a different Marketplace listing.
In this model, all charges are billed by AWS.
Unlicensed
If you don't apply a license:
AWS bills you for infrastructure.
Access Server remains limited to two simultaneous connections.
No license charges are incurred.