VPN on Synology

[oRBIT]

I've been playing with the idea of using an external VPN-service/connection for my DS918+ so it's external IP gets "changed". My question is, how does this affect my NAS on local network? Can I still access the NAS using the local IP-number or how does it work?

 

[Rusty]

Yes you can still use it locally. Guessing you want to connect your nas to a 3rd party vpn provider? Local configuration will remain the same.

 

[oRBIT]

Yes. Thanks.
How does this work if I've got a webserver running and some other stuff aswell that requires portforwarding?

 

[Rusty]

Yes. Thanks.
How does this work if I've got a webserver running and some other stuff aswell that requires portforwarding?

Then you get into trouble. I wouldn't suggest running it like that. Depending on your VPN needs and other services on the NAS, I would recommend separating the two.

You can still run both operations on the same unit if you do not have another device that will do the VPN role by putting VPN needs inside a VPN docker container or as a separate VDSM (virtual DSM) using the VMM package and then put that VDSM under a VPN. After that use that VDSM as a "gateway" to get outside under VPN protection. In this case, you will still have your "bare metal" layer of the NAS (the default DSM) open for hosting without any problems regarding port forward towards services that you want to host.

I run my LAN that way with 0 problems and even though I have options when it comes to VPN devices, running it this way is still stronger and better than running it on a router for example (for better performance while under VPN I mean).

 

[oRBIT]

The VPN-supplier I looked at actually supported some kind of portforwarding but only with a handful of ports... :/

 

[Rusty]

The VPN-supplier I looked at actually supported some kind of portforwarding but only with a handful of ports... :/

Few that do port forward indeed only a handful and that can change at any time. I would still suggest separating the vpn from none vpn element on your end.

 

[akahan]

You could run reverse proxy on another NAS on your local network, and have it forward to the target machine.
So for example, webserver.yourdomain.com on your machine that's open to the internet would forward to [targetmachinelanaddress]:80.
tautulli.yourdomain.com on the machine that's open to the internet would forward to [targetmachinelanaddress]:8181 , etc.

 

[saber]

Yes you can still use it locally. Guessing you want to connect your nas to a 3rd party vpn provider? Local configuration will remain the same.

What are your thoughts on using a Synology NAS as a VPN server? It would still sit behind a Firewall and NAT, but have port 1194 UDP forwarded to it. I just think it has a really clean integration with Active Directory, so users could use OpenVPN and authenticate with their AD credentials.

 

[Rusty]

What are your thoughts on using a Synology NAS as a VPN server?

I run like that as well, so I am all for it.

 

[Akira]

I do that as well, however am using wireguard as I've had no end of issues with OpenVPN and Wireguard has just worked flawlessly since I set it up. My firewall is configured to block all access to my NAS outside of my country except on the Wireguard port.