I'm trying to set up a VPN to connect to my home network from outside. My main router is behind a shared router that connects to the internet for the whole building, and I'm running an OpenVPN server on an old laptop connected to my home network. I set up a Dynu account to assign a hostname to my VPN server, but I'm not sure if I can use DDNS without the ability to create port forwarding on the shared router. Am I going to hit a dead end here? For context, my router is a generic repeater with OpenWrt installed, and all devices I want to connect are running Linux Mint.
4 Answers
You can run DDNS on your PC, but it won’t help without port forwarding. An alternative is to look into Cloudflare's free VPN service. You can set up a client on your home PC to initiate connections outward, allowing remote access without needing to modify the shared router.
Just keep in mind that DDNS would only give you the IP of the shared router. If you don’t control it, you'll still be stuck. You might want to consider options like renting a VPS or using services like Tailscale or Zerotier for easier remote access. They can manage peer-to-peer connections without needing admin access to the router.
You definitely can't use DDNS effectively without port forwarding on the shared router. It's crucial for making connections to your VPN. However, if the shared router supports IPv6, there might be a chance to bypass the port forwarding issue. You could explore that option!
In most cases, you need admin access to configure port forwarding. But here's a tip: check if the shared router has UPnP enabled. If it does, your devices may automatically set up their own port forwarding, which could solve the problem without needing to involve management.
Related Questions
How to Build a Custom GPT Journalist That Posts Directly to WordPress
Cloudflare Origin SSL Certificate Setup Guide
How To Effectively Monetize A Site With Ads