I use an RBK23 configuration in my house (RBR20 router + 2 satellites). I want to be able to control a device (furnace) which is connected to one of the satellites through an RJ45 cable. This device needs to have an externally accessible IP. How can I configure this?
“Externally accessible IP” can mean many things. How do you want to access the device from Internet? There are few ways to do this. The most secure way is using VPN.
Thanks ! Sorry for the lack of details. The goal is to access a webpage put up by the furnace. The manual does not say anything useful about this unfortunately.
Thanks ! Sorry for the lack of details. The goal is to access a webpage put up by the furnace.
There are two methods to access a web page hosted on a device on the local network (LAN):
Connect to the LAN using OpenVPN and then open the web page using the IP address of the furnace device.
Forward port 80 (http) through the router to the IP address of the furnace device.
Both of these methods require:
That the furnace device have a predictable IP address on the LAN. This is usually accomplished by reserving the IP address to the MAC address of the furnace Ethernet adapter in the Advanced Tab, LAN Setup Table.
That the Orbi router is not "behind" another router. i.e. the internet IP address of the Orbi router must be a public IP address.
Setting up OpenVPN is a bit complicated. See page 122 of the User Manual.
Forwarding port 80 to the furnace device is done on the Advanced Tab, Advanced Menu, Port Forwarding.
Instructions for port forwarding are on page 112 of the RBR20 user manual:
You should be aware that forwarding a port through the router to a local device will result in constant attempts to connect to the device from people on the internet who discover that the port is open. This is an unfortunate consequence of "opening the door". For example, when I get a phone number, there is nothing I can do to prevent people from calling it. ("To see if your home is qualified for upgrades, press 1. If you are already qualified, press 9." -- 20 times every day!) Once you forward a port, it is up to the furnace device to recognize allowed connections and reject unallowed connections.)
Thank you for your detailed answer. I am worried about this point : "That the Orbi router is not "behind" another router. i.e. the internet IP address of the Orbi router must be a public IP address."
It means that for Orbi to provide VPN service, it has to be the main router. If you have an ISP router in front of Orbi it has to be set to bridged or passthrough modes or use dmz forwarding. What is the model of the ISP modem/router that you have?
