OpenVPN status log

Plugin: go.d.plugin Module: openvpn_status_log

Overview

This collector monitors OpenVPN server.

It parses server log files and provides summary and per user metrics.

This collector is supported on all platforms.

This collector supports collecting metrics from multiple instances of this integration, including remote instances.

Default Behavior

Auto-Detection

This integration doesn’t support auto-detection.

Limits

The default configuration for this integration does not impose any limits on data collection.

Performance Impact

The default configuration for this integration is not expected to impose a significant performance impact on the system.

Setup

You can configure the openvpn_status_log collector in two ways:

Method	Best for	How to
UI	Fast setup without editing files	Go to Nodes → Configure this node → Collectors → Jobs, search for openvpn_status_log, then click + to add a job.
File	If you prefer configuring via file, or need to automate deployments (e.g., with Ansible)	Edit `go.d/openvpn_status_log.conf` and add a job.

:::important

UI configuration requires paid Netdata Cloud plan.

:::

Prerequisites

No action required.

Configuration

Options

The following options can be defined globally: update_every, autodetection_retry.

Option	Description	Default	Required
update_every	Data collection frequency.	1	no
autodetection_retry	Recheck interval in seconds. Zero means no recheck will be scheduled.	0	no
log_path	Path to status log.	/var/log/openvpn/status.log	yes
per_user_stats	User selector. Determines which user metrics will be collected.		no

via UI

Configure the openvpn_status_log collector from the Netdata web interface:

Go to Nodes.
Select the node where you want the openvpn_status_log data-collection job to run and click the :gear: (Configure this node). That node will run the data collection.
The Collectors → Jobs view opens by default.
In the Search box, type openvpn_status_log (or scroll the list) to locate the openvpn_status_log collector.
Click the + next to the openvpn_status_log collector to add a new job.
Fill in the job fields, then click Test to verify the configuration and Submit to save.
- Test runs the job with the provided settings and shows whether data can be collected.
- If it fails, an error message appears with details (for example, connection refused, timeout, or command execution errors), so you can adjust and retest.

via File

The configuration file name for this integration is go.d/openvpn_status_log.conf.

The file format is YAML. Generally, the structure is:

update_every: 1
autodetection_retry: 0
jobs:
  - name: some_name1
  - name: some_name2

You can edit the configuration file using the edit-config script from the Netdata config directory.

cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config go.d/openvpn_status_log.conf

Examples

With user metrics

Collect metrics of all users.

jobs:
  - name: local
    per_user_stats:
      includes:
        - "* *"

Metrics

Metrics grouped by scope.

The scope defines the instance that the metric belongs to. An instance is uniquely identified by a set of labels.

Per OpenVPN status log instance

These metrics refer to the entire monitored application.

This scope has no labels.

Metrics:

Metric	Dimensions	Unit
openvpn.active_clients	clients	clients
openvpn.total_traffic	in, out	kilobits/s

Per user

These metrics refer to the VPN user.

Labels:

Label	Description
username	VPN username

Metrics:

Metric	Dimensions	Unit
openvpn.user_traffic	in, out	kilobits/s
openvpn.user_connection_time	time	seconds

Alerts

There are no alerts configured by default for this integration.

Troubleshooting

Debug Mode

Important: Debug mode is not supported for data collection jobs created via the UI using the Dyncfg feature.

To troubleshoot issues with the openvpn_status_log collector, run the go.d.plugin with the debug option enabled. The output should give you clues as to why the collector isn’t working.

Navigate to the plugins.d directory, usually at /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/. If that’s not the case on your system, open netdata.conf and look for the plugins setting under [directories].
```
cd /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/
```
Switch to the netdata user.
```
sudo -u netdata -s
```

Run the go.d.plugin to debug the collector:

./go.d.plugin -d -m openvpn_status_log

To debug a specific job:

./go.d.plugin -d -m openvpn_status_log -j jobName

Getting Logs

If you’re encountering problems with the openvpn_status_log collector, follow these steps to retrieve logs and identify potential issues:

Run the command specific to your system (systemd, non-systemd, or Docker container).
Examine the output for any warnings or error messages that might indicate issues. These messages should provide clues about the root cause of the problem.

System with systemd

Use the following command to view logs generated since the last Netdata service restart:

journalctl _SYSTEMD_INVOCATION_ID="$(systemctl show --value --property=InvocationID netdata)" --namespace=netdata --grep openvpn_status_log

System without systemd

Locate the collector log file, typically at /var/log/netdata/collector.log, and use grep to filter for collector’s name:

grep openvpn_status_log /var/log/netdata/collector.log

Note: This method shows logs from all restarts. Focus on the latest entries for troubleshooting current issues.

Docker Container

If your Netdata runs in a Docker container named “netdata” (replace if different), use this command:

docker logs netdata 2>&1 | grep openvpn_status_log

Industry

Technology

Use cases