1st ethernet for Internet access other ethernet for local

[bazzar1206]

Like the header says, is it possible to use one of the ethernet ports for access to the Internet only and the 2nd port forl Lan access only?

Thanks in advance. 

[StephenB]

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@bazzar1206 wrote:

is it possible to use one of the ethernet ports for access to the Internet only and the 2nd port forl Lan access only?

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Not really, unless the LAN doesn't have internet access.

What are you trying to accomplish?  FWIW, the RN104's performance is limited by it's CPU, so there would be no performance benefit.

[bazzar1206]

Thanks for your reply. I was thinking of running the nas through a vpn router (100mbs) but still wanted access to the network through the gigaport.

[StephenB]

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@bazzar1206 wrote:
Thanks for your reply. I was thinking of running the nas through a vpn router (100mbs) but still wanted access to the network through the gigaport.

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You can connect the NAS to two networks, as long as the VPN router uses a different address range from your main router.   Local LAN traffic would have to go through the gigabit connection, since that is the only route that would connect.

Forcing the internet traffic to go through the VPN is more challenging.  Possibly setting up static routes in the NAS could solve that. For instance, you could try setting a route on the local NIC that is limited to your local subnet, and a 0.0.0.0 route that uses the VPN NIC.  You could also set a bogus gateway on the local lan connection in the NAS to ensure that internet connections would fail if they used that interface.  This isn't something I've tried though.

What VPN router model are you considering?

[bazzar1206]

Some good thinking there. Cheers.

I was going to get an Asus rt-ac51u if it was possible as it was a cheaper option but only 100mbs. The download speed for the vpn wasn't a deal breaker so the cheaper option was the favourite. If it wasn't possible, then I'd just pay the extra for a gigabit and just have it plugged solely into that.

[StephenB]

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@bazzar1206 wrote:
If it wasn't possible, then I'd just pay the extra for a gigabit and just have it plugged solely into that.

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The issue isn't just the speed, as you really don't want all (or really any) of the traffic between the NAS and your local clients to go through the VPN and then be routed back through your main internet connection.

Just to clarify - you are wanting to use the VPN client facility in the Asus only with the NAS, correct?  Using your ISP connection for the other devices on your network?   

[bazzar1206]

That is correct.

The vpn router will go in between the switch and the NAS. This is the only path to the Internet.

The other ethernet connects direct to the switch allowing access by the computers in the LAN. Internet access should not be allowed via this route.

[StephenB]

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@bazzar1206 wrote:

The vpn router will go in between the switch and the NAS. This is the only path to the Internet.
The other ethernet connects direct to the switch allowing access by the computers in the LAN. Internet access should not be allowed via this route.

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Ok, that's I thought from your original description.

The challenge is that the VPN router isn't the only path to the internet unless you deliberately misconfigure the gateway address on the NIC.  Note you will also want to configure the appropriate DNS server (not your normal router, and not your ISP's DNS).

Anyway, as I said earlier, I think static routes in the NAS might work - though the order you add the routes probably matters, since the NAS configuration doesn't let you specifiy a metric for the route.  My guess is that the first route wins out, so the you'd want to add the local LAN static route first.