RBR750 port forwarding rule

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dbrb2 wrote:

But I don't seem to be able to be more restrictive, and say: 

Forward incoming connections on port 1234 from IP 1.2.3.4 ONLY to internal IP 5.6.7.8 port 5678 

 

This seems a very basic feature for a router....am I looking in the wrong place? 

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You are not finding it because Orbi does not provide the ability to restrict port forwarding by external IP address. I can see the appeal. (If a port is forwarded to an internal server, then the 'entire world' will soon discover the open port and begin attempting to access the internal server.)

There seem to be two alternatives:

Device Firewall.  The Windows Firewall, for example, allows incoming rules to be limited by external IP address.  Since the Windows Firewall will block connection attempts, then the port will not appear to be 'open'.  (The Orbi router never responds to connection attempts on forwarded ports.  The connection request gets passed to the internal LAN.  If the internal server does not respond, then the connection attempt just 'disappears'.)

OpenVPN.  If connections need to be restricted to a single IP address, that implies (to me) that there is some organizational relationship between exactly two computer networks which are not constantly changing.  Enabling the OpenVPN host on the Orbi allows a remote computer which has the required SSL certificates to connect to the local LAN - and thus to the internal server.  For example, if an FTP server is set up on the LAN, no one will ever see Port 21 open except someone who has opened a VPN connection to the Orbi.

There is an "Idea Exchange" where customers suggest new features.  The request could be posted there. (I have very low expectations that anything would come soon - if ever.)

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Idea-Exchange-For-Home/idb-p/idea-exchange-for-home