How to start openvpn or ssh server under Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04

Last modified on July 24, 2026 • 1 min read • 78 words OpenVPNsudo systemctl start openvpn@clientThe “client” is derived from the configuration file name (/etc/openvpn/client.conf). If your configuration file is server.conf, the command needs to besudo systemctl start openvpn@serverWhen you want the service to start up automatically during system boot, you issue:sudo systemctl enable openvpn@serverTemplated versus non-templated servicesOpenVPN is a so-called “templated” service (it needs a configuration file when being invoked). In contrast to this, the ssh server is a non-templated service. Hence the command is simpler:sudo systemctl start sshd