Hey!

Defguard 2.0 is finally here!

🫡 Feature complete release with redesigned UI/UX, configuration wizards and High Availability among the others! All of that more secure than ever with complete Core isolation and easier to use.

What's new in Degfuard 2.0 Beta 1:

• Migration from 1.x to 2.0 -Upgrading from an earlier version is now fully guided. Defguard Core detects your existing setup and walks you through migration step by step - including certificate configuration for secure edge component communication.
• Certificate settings - A dedicated certificates section gives you clear visibility and control over your PKI setup, right from the core UI.
• Embedded video tutorials - Getting started just got easier. Video walkthroughs are now built directly into the interface, where you actually need them.
• OVA virtual images - Want to spin up a test environment or deploy individual components as VMs? We now ship OVA images for both all-in-one testing setups and component-based deployments.

Read the full release post →

We invite you to test it and would love to get your feedback!

• Share your feedback on GitHub Discussions
• Report a Bug

What 2.0 brings as a whole:

Security architecture

• Reversed gateway communication - Core now initiates connections to gateways, not the other way around, closing a key architectural security gap
• Built-in Certificate Authority - Core automatically issues and manages TLS certificates for all components, securing internal communication without manual CA setup
• High availability for Gateway and Edge components - deploy multiple gateways per location in an active-active configuration for resilient, uninterrupted VPN connectivity

Deployment & operations

• Automated component onboarding - point Core at a gateway or edge component's address and it handles discovery, certificate issuance, and configuration automatically
• UI-based configuration - all settings managed from the UI; environment variables supported only for initial import from 1.x
• Proper session management - a new session layer enabling future features like session termination and time-constrained access for external workers

UI & access control

• Completely redesigned UI/UX - rebuilt from the ground up by a professional designer
• Improved firewall management - more explicit configuration with clear toggles for addresses, ports, and protocols; aliases split into separate sections for clarity

⏭ What's Next

Over next couple 2-3 weeks we will be testing, making this release stable and planning the final 2.0 release.

If you're new to Defguard and would like to test every feature that 2.0 delivers including High Availability, Always-on/Pre-logon VPN - request a free 14-day enterprise evaluation license and enroll into PoC for support.

💬 Join the Community

Defguard is open source and trusted by teams across Europe. Join the discussion on GitHub:

• GitHub Discussions
• Report a Bug
• ⭐ Star us on GitHub — it helps more than you think.

Thanks for testing and sharing feedback — it directly shapes the final release.

— The Defguard Team