i can telnet to the box and get replies when i ping 8.8.8.8 with openvpn stopped.
with openvpn running and i telnet to the box firstly it takes about 10 seconds to allow me to login then when i ping 8.8.8.8 i still get replies though thetimes are 123ms as opposed to 22ms with openvpn stopped.
when i run openvpn and use ssh wget -qO- http://ipecho.net/plain;echo i do not get an ip returned in the command window.
when i stop openvpn and try it reads the vm ip address which leads me to conclude that it isnt connecting through the remote server though i have to admit that i have a very limited knowledge of all this and am grateful for all your assistance.