Hello,
I’m trying to set up Wireguard (preferably, OR OpenVPN) server on my router (Slate Plus).
I could do it at home as my internet provider assigned a public IP to me. So, I didn’t need to do any port forwarding, etc. and the server was set up easily.
However, I was thinking about moving the router to the company I’m working at. Clearly, I don’t have access to the modem to do port forwarding, etc. I’m not assigned an IP so my public and private (router) IPs are not the same so I cannot set up the server. Now, my question is that whether there is ANY way to resolve such issues? Like even maybe subscribing to a third-party service or any other solutions? Or because I don’t have access to the modem, etc., there’s literally no way to make this work?
There are several solutions, but most IT departments would probably object, and it could be a firing offense to do this. One method is to get a cheap cloud VPS, with a static IP4 address, which can be found for less than a $1/month or free on the Oracle cloud platform, and have your Slate setup a VPN link between the VPS and itself. On the VPS, port forward one or more ports to the Slate. Your client would use the VPS IP address and whatever port you selected to forward, and that would connect you to your Slate. I am using this method to have a VPN router behind a NAT gateway that I cannot setup port forwarding on.
The second method is to setup tailscale on the Slate and use tailscale. It should work around your company’s firewall and NAT.
Thanks a lot for your response, eric. Happy to see that there are at least some solutions.
I will search and try to check both solutions in more detail. But do you maybe readily have some links for more information about any of these methods available that you can share?
Just search this forum for info on tailscale, and go to their site. I have not used it, but I have researched it. Looks good, and has a free tier, but I don’t like to depend on someone else directing my connections.
I don’t have any links on how to setup the second method. Port forwarding between systems is just something I learn to do years ago. I’m sure with some google searching, you can find examples of it.
You can use a third-party service like a VPN provider that supports WireGuard or OpenVPN protocol. This way, you can establish a secure connection from your device to the VPN provider’s server, and from there to the internet. The provider will assign you a public IP and take care of the network configuration. Another option is to use a reverse SSH tunnel to connect to your home network and access the WireGuard or OpenVPN server there. However, this solution may not be feasible in all situations, as it depends on having a stable and fast connection from your work location to your home network. If it’s still unclear you can check out this useful guide on how to port forward on your router.