OpenVPN Integration

OpenVPN is a widely‑used SSL/TLS VPN solution that supports a built‑in management interface and periodic status logfile exports. Xitogent can consume either source to expose key metrics directly inside the Xitoring app.

1. Prepare OpenVPN for metrics collection

Choose one of the following methods and reload OpenVPN before proceeding.

1.1 Method A: Enable the management plugin

Add a management directive to your server configuration file (e.g. /etc/openvpn/server.conf). You may expose the interface via TCP/IP or a UNIX domain socket.

TCP example

# Listen only on localhost, TCP port 7505
management 127.0.0.1 7505

UNIX socket example

# Create a local socket at /run/openvpn/server.mgmt
management /run/openvpn/server.mgmt unix

Security tip: Restrict access with the optional management-client-user directive or file‑based ACLs on the socket.

1.2 Method B: Enable the rotating status logfile

Add or modify the status directive:

# Export status every 30 seconds
status /var/log/openvpn/server-status.log 30

Ensure the logfile is readable by the xitogent user (e.g. via group membership or ACL).

1.3 Reload OpenVPN

sudo systemctl reload openvpn-server@server.service

Verify the chosen endpoint:

# TCP method
nc -z localhost 7505 && echo "Management port responsive"
# UNIX method
test -S /run/openvpn/server.mgmt && echo "Socket present"
# Logfile method
head /var/log/openvpn/server-status.log

2. Enable OpenVPN integration in Xitogent

Run:

xitogent integrate

Select OpenVPN. Xitogent will create /etc/xitogent/integrations/openvpn_integration.conf.

3. Metrics collected

Metric	Type	Description
connected_clients	Gauge	Current number of established VPN sessions.
total_rx_bytes	Counter	Aggregate bytes received by the OpenVPN server since start.
total_tx_bytes	Counter	Aggregate bytes transmitted by the OpenVPN server since start.
rx_bytes_per_sec	Gauge	Instantaneous receive throughput (bytes/s).
tx_bytes_per_sec	Gauge	Instantaneous transmit throughput (bytes/s).
clients.*.bytes_received	Counter	Per‑client total bytes pulled from server.
clients.*.bytes_sent	Counter	Per‑client total bytes pushed to server.
clients.*.rx_bytes_per_sec	Gauge	Per‑client receive rate.
clients.*.tx_bytes_per_sec	Gauge	Per‑client transmit rate.

Note Counters reset when the OpenVPN daemon restarts.

4. Setup Triggers for OpenVPN integration

Use‑case	Condition	Severity
Client surge	`connected_clients > 200` for 5 min	WARNING
High bandwidth	`rx_bytes_per_sec > 50 MB/s` for 2 min	MAJOR

5. Troubleshooting

Symptom	Resolution
No metrics	Confirm the `mode` and endpoint in `openvpn_integration.conf` match your OpenVPN configuration. Tail `/var/log/xitogent/xitogent.log` for parsing or connection errors.
Permission denied to UNIX socket	Adjust socket permissions (e.g., `chmod 660`).
Stale logfile data	Ensure the `status` interval is ≤ 60 seconds and that log rotation doesn’t purge the file prematurely.

6. Next steps

Combine OpenVPN metrics with PING/TCP checks to monitor uplink quality.
Build dashboards that chart bandwidth trends against connected client counts during peak hours.