How to set up my networks to access my NAS with ReadyCloud

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warren18 wrote:

 

I guess what I'm asking is  - if I can't use pass-thru on the modem - how can I maintain two routers on the network (one for my OpenVPN; one for all my other connectivity)?

 

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The pass-thru question is the easiest to answer.  If you can't (or would rather not) use pass-thru, then you simply need to duplicate any forwarding rules.  For instance, if your DD-WRT router forwards port 54321 to a client device, then the spectrum router has to forward 54321 to the DD-WRT's "Wan" address. 

You also can't use uPNP to open ports in the firewall, as the uPNP requests won't reach the spectrum router.  While uPNP is convenient, it has security risks, so not being able to use it isn't a bad thing.

The subnets don't matter much, as long as they are all different (I agree with schumaku - you don't want to use the same subnet range for the DD-WRT network and the Orbi Network).  I do have to double-NAT - my outer router is 192.168.1.x, and my Orbi is 10.0.x.x.  But I just as easily could have chosen 192.168.200.x for the Orbi.  You do need to stick with private network addresses - which are

• 192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255 (65,536 IP addresses)
• 172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255 (1,048,576 IP addresses)
• 10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255 (16,777,216 IP addresses)

If pass-thru isn't an option, you might consider switching the Orbi to AP mode - though that depends on exactly what services are available in the spectrum router (and what Orbi features you use).  But it would take one router/subnet out of the equation.

The other part of this (which you didn't ask) is how you'd set this up with pass-thru.  The spectrum gateway would only provide one IP address in that mode, so you'd need to either put the DD-WRT router behind the Orbi, or you'd need to put the Orbi behind the DD-WRT router.  If the DD-WRT router is exclusively for ExpressVPN, then you'd need to put the DD-WRT behind the Orbi.

Given that you will need to double-NAT no matter how you do this, you could just leave the Spectrum router as it is.

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warren18 wrote:

Here is what I am trying to accomplish.

 

I am in Europe (The Spectrum is actually a Vodaphone Cable Modem now) - no idea how to set it up in pass-thru mode.  It doesn't allow me access to the same level of features that the Spectrum did in the US - which I did have set to pass-thru.

 

I have one router connected to the modem which is running DD-WRT and OpenVPN with ExpressVPN to provide a US IP so I can maintain my US Netflix, Prime, Hulu etc.

 

I have my orbi router connected to the modem which provides ALL my normal connectivity in the house (that dosn't require a US IP) - both WiFi and Ethernet through the satellites (the NAS for instance is connected to the Orbi network through ethernet and a satellite.

 

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This bigger goal can get really messy.  What you ultimately want is for some connections to be always routed through the VPN, and the other connections to be not routed through the VPN. 

Some folks have attempted to set up domain-specific routing (for example, anything going to netflix.com goes through the ExpressVPN).  I've never tried that myself - based on stuff I've read, you can get it to "kind of work" if you set up your own local DNS server.  But it's not very robust, and it would be complicated to set up.

ExpressVPN has a concept of app-specific routing (where traffic from specific apps goes through the VPN, but other traffic doesn't).  But to use that, you'd need to install the ExpressVPN client on your devices (not in the router) - and I think it only is available for Windows and MacOS.

The simpler (and most reliable) way to do this - apparently what you are doing - is to have some devices always go through ExpressVPN, and other devices never go through ExpressVPN - depending on what router they are connected to.  If both routers have WiFi enabled, you can switch your WiFi devices between networks easily.  

If you want to use the NAS on both networks simultaneously, you can.  But you'd need to connect one ethernet port to each router to do that.  If you (for some reason) can't put the NAS and the Orbi router (or a satellite) near the DD-WRT router or run a second ethernet cable from the DD-WRT router to the NAS, then you could look into powerline networking.  The NAS will sometimes use the ExpressVPN network to reach the internet (and sometimes not). I don't think that will create any problems for you though.

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warren18 wrote:

My cable modem is 192.168.0.1 (subnet 255.255.255.0) and my orbi router is connected via static IP at 192.168.0.2.  My Orbi Router LAN is set to 192.168.200.2 and up, and the ReadyNAS has a static IP of 192.168.0.152

 

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I agree with schumaku's comment on this also.  Personally I think it's best practice not to use static (client-configured) IP addresses.  You are better off reserving IP addresses for your devices in your routers (and most routers do have that feature).  FWIW, I'd also reserve the Orbi's "wan" address (and the DD-WRT router's "wan" address) in the spectrum router.  Reserving IP addresses ensures that you won't totally lose connectivity when you shift your devices to another network, and also makes it easier to manage your addresses (since they are all managed by the router, instead of being scattered around).

But no matter how you configure the address, anything connected to the Orbi LAN needs to use the Orbi's subnet.