VPN Primer for Noobs

[Parley]

By the way, I have not seen nayr around for a number of years now. He is the OP and used to be on the forum quite often.

 

[truglo]

If I have OpenVPN server running at home on an Asus router, and a remote client connected. Is it possible (within the VPN framework) to view the client device from the home network... or would this require the server/client roles to be reversed?

I have set up a remote site with a few cams and was hoping to be able to tunnel into the site. I can access my home network from the remote site, but can't seem to "look the other way". Is my realisation that this is due to the server/client relationship correct?

The current network devices at the remote site do not have OpenVPN server capabilities.
The 5G modem is Android based, and apparently Android requires Root to perform as server. The POE switch is dumb. I'm curious if anyone has any alternative (secure) solutions for me to consider.

AFAIK there's no way to "invert" the server/client as you mention using openvpn. You would need a server at your remote site as well if you want to access using a client from home. I'm not familiar with 5G modems, or what options you have to get this working. I know asus routers do have the capability to run a 5g modem as a "backup connection". Not sure if it's possible to get that working with your 5G modem for openvpn.

 

[staind204]

Alright so I am about ready to put this WW-DRT Netgear in my network. Since I currently have a mesh network I need to put the Netgear/OpenVPN in front of my topology.

Current:
Modem -> Main Mesh Router/AP -> Switch -> Additional Mesh Routers/APs

New:
Modem -> Netgear/OpenVPN -> Mesh Router/AP -> Switch -> Additional Mesh Routers/APs

Do I need to put the Netgear into bridge mode?

Now that it's warmer I've started mounting my cams and using them in BI. However I need my VPN set up to access away from home. Is the "new" topology I mentioned above the correct way to wire my netgear OpenVPN router? Thank you.

 

[flynreelow]

Now that it's warmer I've started mounting my cams and using them in BI. However I need my VPN set up to access away from home. Is the "new" topology I mentioned above the correct way to wire my Asus OpenVPN router? Thank you.

no .

duckdns and rasberri pi with PiVPN and wireguard

just set this up today. had never uses a pi before but i was up and running in about an hr.

works great, and a lot faster than open vpn I used to use running on my router

 

[staind204]

no .

duckdns and rasberri pi with PiVPN and wireguard

just set this up today. had never uses a pi before but i was up and running in about an hr.

works great, and a lot faster than open vpn I used to use running on my router

Edit: figured out the physical wiring.

 

[agarb]

Was going to setup OpenVPN on my Asus router tonight. But I get this message... am I out of luck?

I'm in a rural area and my internet is provided wirelessly by a local company who installed Ubiquiti equipment in my yard pointing at a farmer's grain leg several miles away. My current WAN address is 10.115.214.208

 

[fenderman]

Was going to setup OpenVPN on my Asus router tonight. But I get this message... am I out of luck?

I'm in a rural area and my internet is provided wirelessly by a local company who installed Ubiquiti equipment in my yard pointing at a farmer's grain leg several miles away. My current WAN address is 10.115.214.208

View attachment 161737

use zerotier or tailscale - there are many threads on how to set them up

 

[agarb]

So I tried zerotier and failed. It was odd because from the Blue Iris PC to my phone or the Blue Iris PC to a 2nd PC, the pings would fail about 25% of the time. But when I tried the 2nd PC to my phone, it never failed to ping.

My experience with tailscale, however, was flawless. Connected right away with no issue.

 

[Ollie]

Hi,
I would like to concatenate two routers.
An ISP (fyber) router to my vpn router.
The isp router has also wifi connectivity.
The ISP router is the first in order and will have the wan input. The vpn router will be connected to one of its ports.
Does my vpn network becomes vulnerable to traffic that arrives from other ports of the ISP router (or from wifi traffic, assuming that wifi is vulnerable by itself)?
Thanks.

 

[bp2008]

Hi,
I would like to concatenate two routers.
An ISP (fyber) router to my vpn router.
The isp router has also wifi connectivity.
The ISP router is the first in order and will have the wan input. The vpn router will be connected to one of its ports.
Does my vpn network becomes vulnerable to traffic that arrives from other ports of the ISP router (or from wifi traffic, assuming that wifi is vulnerable by itself)?
Thanks.

That depends on how you set it up. Any consumer router has a built in firewall and IPv4 NAT which together should prevent unauthorized traffic from coming into the "LAN" from the "WAN". But that requires the untrusted network to be plugged into the router's WAN port. There are many other considerations of course, because computer networking is complex.

 

[Ollie]

That depends on how you set it up. Any consumer router has a built in firewall and IPv4 NAT which together should prevent unauthorized traffic from coming into the "LAN" from the "WAN". But that requires the untrusted network to be plugged into the router's WAN port. There are many other considerations of course, because computer networking is complex.
[

That depends on how you set it up. Any consumer router has a built in firewall and IPv4 NAT which together should prevent unauthorized traffic from coming into the "LAN" from the "WAN". But that requires the untrusted network to be plugged into the router's WAN port. There are many other considerations of course, because computer networking is complex.

I'm not sure, that i've described the issue correctly.
My configuration should look like that:

Wan -> (in) router1
Router1 (port1) -> vpn-router

Now, if there are other devices which are connected to the other ports of router.
Can their traffic go through the vpn tunnel (at the vpn router), though they don't have the vpn password?
Does traffic that reach from the other router1 ports consider as coming from outside and will be filtered by the vpn at the way as traffic that reaches from the wan?
I want the traffic which comes from the other router1 ports will be blocked by the thr vpn router and won't reach its network.

 

[bp2008]

Can their traffic go through the vpn tunnel (at the vpn router), though they don't have the vpn password?

If you connect WAN port of vpn-router to Router1 (port1), then the answer is NO.

Does traffic that reach from the other router1 ports consider as coming from outside and will be filtered by the vpn at the way as traffic that reaches from the wan?

If you connect WAN port of vpn-router to Router1 (port1), then ... YES. But the traffic will be blocked regardless of whether you run a VPN or not.

 

[Ollie]

If you connect WAN port of vpn-router to Router1 (port1), then the answer is NO.



If you connect WAN port of vpn-router to Router1 (port1), then ... YES. But the traffic will be blocked regardless of whether you run a VPN or not.

but traffic can go between different ports of the home router as it functions as a switch.

 

[biggen]

but traffic can go between different ports of the home router as it functions as a switch.

You will have to use VLANS and firewall rules if you want to prevent traffic from traversing one port to another.

 

[TwoDollarBlue]

Is there a recommended router for setting up a VPN that is compatible with OpenVPN and doesn't require Omada SDN Controller? Prefer wired only as BI machine will be the only item on the VPN. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

 

[Ollie]

Is there a recommended router for setting up a VPN that is compatible with OpenVPN and doesn't require Omada SDN Controller? Prefer wired only as BI machine will be the only item on the VPN. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

I'm using a Tp-Link Omada ER605 V2 router.
I've defined there a vpn and I don't use a controller.

 

[SodFather09]

By the way, I have not seen nayr around for a number of years now. He is the OP and used to be on the forum quite often.

Same here wonder what happen to him ?

 

[TonyR]

Same here wonder what happen to him ?

I've thought about him also, off and on since last year. His last visit was May of 2017!

 

[Jim I.]

I've thought about him also, off and on since last year. His last visit was May of 2017!

I stumbled on a post on a different forum a few months ago where he stated he was a former member of IPCamtalk. He said he had his reasons but didn't elaborate.

 

[wpiman]

Wireguard is the current way to go...