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Did you know AWS Client VPN now has a CLI? v6.0 brings better management and faster connections too

AWS What's New ★★★★ View Markdown
#aws#security#devops

Hi everyone, Shiichan is back! Here's news any engineer running VPNs will want to see!

AWS What's New aws.amazon.com

What was announced?

AWS News announced a new client for AWS Client VPN: the rebuilt "AWS VPN Client v6.0.x"! It brings three upgrades at once — CLI (command-line interface) support, enterprise administrative controls, and faster connection establishment.

The story so far

Until now, integrating VPN connectivity into automation workflows or Infrastructure as Code (IaC) deployments meant relying on third-party tooling or manual work. And distributing VPN profiles across an organization meant any user could manage them, with no permission controls to enforce policy.

What changes

The new AWS VPN Client CLI has full feature parity with the GUI, so you can script VPN connections directly into your automation workflows and IaC deployments. It also supports background CLI operations, so you don't need to open the GUI just to connect.

On the administration side, you can now:

  • Distribute profiles scoped to specific users
  • Manage global profiles available to every user on a device
  • Centrally enforce approved VPN configurations across your organization

The GUI and CLI run concurrently, and VPN connections persist independently of either interface.

Dive Deep

The client has been rebuilt on OpenVPN3, delivering faster connection establishment across every supported OS. Starting with v6.0, it also maintains full backward compatibility with existing AWS Client VPN endpoints, so no endpoint changes are needed. You can download the latest AWS VPN Client from the release notes page.

Wrap-up

  • AWS Client VPN's client was rebuilt as v6.0.x with CLI support, stronger admin controls, and faster connections
  • The CLI has full GUI feature parity, so you can wire VPN into automation and IaC workflows
  • New admin features include per-user profile scoping and global profiles
  • Rebuilt on OpenVPN3 for faster connections, with full backward compatibility for existing endpoints

If you want to bake VPN connectivity into your infrastructure automation, or centrally manage VPN across your org, this update is for you!

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