Acccess lan hosts from wan port

[bonneyt214]

Is it possible to access a specific host (ip address) on the LAN from the WAN port? I know that port forwarding will do some of that, but you can only forward to one fixed host. I have an older netgear router with openwrt installed. With that, I can set up a static route in the router to forward all packets from the WAN port to the LAN subnet. But I can't seem to do that with this netgear's stock firmware. With wireshark set up to monitor the WAN port, I see packets arrive, but no response, like an ICMP reply.

Is this by design?

FWIW: I cannot set up a VPN in the router - as per the instructions. I see basically the same thing as above: SSH request sent to the WAN port, but no response from the router.  

Any help or info about this is appreciated,

TIA

ken

(NOTE: I contacted tech support about this - the  vpn problem -  and opened a support ticket, but have not heard back from anyone for two weeks. Not unexpected, since the tech support person didn't seem to understand the problem. But I will send my gripes directely to netgear, not spew them out here.)

[antinode]

> Model: R7000P|Nighthawk AC2300 Smart WiFi Dual Band Gigabit Router

   Firmware version?  Connected to what?

> [...] I know that port forwarding will do some of that, but you can
> only forward to one fixed host. [...]

   Eh?  Rather than asserting what you "know" about some
proposed/rejected "solution" to your problem, it might help if described
the actual problem which you are trying to solve.

   What, exactly, are you trying to do?  Port forwarding can forward any
specific port(s) to only one LAN destination, but different ports can be
forwarded to different LAN destinations.

> [...] I have an older netgear router [...]

   Thanks for that detailed description.

> [...] with openwrt installed.

   Any particular version?

> [...] With that, I can set up a static route in the router to forward
> all packets from the WAN port to the LAN subnet. [...]

   _How_, exactly?  I don't think that "to the LAN subnet" makes any
sense.  "To a LAN IP address" might make some sense.

> [...] But I can't seem to do that with this netgear's stock firmware.
> [...]

   I don't know what "that" really means, but...

   Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look
for Documentation.  Get the User Manual (at least).  Read.  Look for
"Set Up a Default DMZ Server".

> [...] With wireshark set up to monitor the WAN port, [...]

   Wireshark running where?  How does it get access to the WAN/Internet
port on the R7000P?

> [...] the tech support person didn't seem to understand the problem.
> [...]

   Same here, but I'm always willing to admit when I'm bewildered.

[bonneyt214]

In response to @antinode 

• Version: does it matter for the original question? If one version works, but another doesn't, please say so.
• "Connected to"... means a typical setup for a generic router.
• The question: "Is it possible to access a specific host (ip address) on the LAN from the WAN port? " Yes, this is somewhat vague. Here is a more detailed explanation:  2 routers connected to one main subnet (x.x.0.0/24). WAN port of router1 is x.x.0.10; for router2 x.x.0.20. Router1 internal LAN set to x.x.1.0/24; for router2, x.x.2.0/24. Router1 is the Nighthawk router updated with the latest version of its firwmware, and router2 is any generic router with OpenWrt firmware (any version). A host on router1 LAN, wishes to connect to a host on router2 LAN, using any service (port) I have configured router2 to allow this : x.x.1.y : ssss --> x.x.2.z : pppp) using a static route to LAN on router1, specifically x.x.1.1 via the WAN address x.x.0.10 to do the above.
• Problem: How do I configure the Nighthawk router, router1, to do the reverse, specifically: x.x.2.y : ssss --> x.x.1.z : pppp ?
  
• I have been to http://netgear.com/support and read all documentation for the Nighthawk R7000 router. It does not explain how to do this. Using the DMZ would simply NAT the DMZ ip address onto the main subnet (x.x.0.0/24), thus bypassing the Nighthawk router's getway and firewall. This is not a solution to the problem (see above).
• Wireshark: how I connected it to the Nighthawk router is not relevant to the issue at hand. The details would only add confusion to understanding and resolving my issue. For details on how this could be done, google is your friend. It can find several methods to do this.
• (NOTE: the "hidden" admin debug page can allow capturing the traffic into/out from  the WAN port. It should also allow you to have LAN port 1  mirror the traffic on the WAN port. Thus, by connecting a PC running wireshark on that port would  allow capturing WAN traffic.)

Need I say more?