Trading in Old Port-Forwarding for New VPN

[DLONG2]

I got the VPN working on my home network, and with the iPhone it is quick to turn it up or down. But what are the next steps to forego the current WAN IP/Port Forward structure to one where I can view the BI through VPN?

The BI Server has both a local and an external server address. Do I just erase the external server settings?

Another consideration is that the cameras are shared with a neighbor who currently uses a PC browser to view my cameras, based on the user permissions within BI. Would anyone have a recommendation for Windows 10 VPN software?

 

[NoloC]

So I'm probably not the best guy to answer this but it may spur others on to correct or complete my answer, so here's what (little) I know!

I have only set up openvpn on my ASUS RT-AC68U. Pretty straight forward on this router but some of the fundamnetals apply in any vpn setup.
So first you have to choose a vpn solution. Openvpn generally one of the better choices for security. You will need to run the openvpn server somewhere on your network. In my case it is being done by the ASUS router but this could be another device on the network. It will generate a "key" as an .ovpn file that will need to be installed on each client along with a user name and password. Each client will need to be added to the sever so it can be authenticated for log on. Software exists for many different devices including Android, ios, Win10 etc. (So your neighbor can get the Windows client, for example.) I'd suggest some reading on the openvpn site if you choose that solution.

Once a remote device logs on it appears as if it is inside the network and it can access other devices such as your BI machine. I use Android so I start the openvpn app on my phone to log on and then open the BI app. Pretty quick to do.

You no longer need or want any ports forwarded. The external ip address in the BI webserver will no longer be used.

maybe this helps a bit?

 

[DLONG2]

Thanks NoloC!