Solution for Remote Administration using VPN Tunnel without activating Remote Management
Hello all,
I am using a VR2100v with OpenVPN to securely connect to my home network from external (internet). The setup of OpenVPN worked without any problems, but I could not connect to the router administration web page, because every time I got the error "Forbidden Access". A "fast" solution for this error is the activation of the "Remote Management" in the menu "Advanced -> System Tools -> Administration". However, it should be mentioned that this setting also allows an access to the router administration website via the WAN IP/DNS address. This may not be desirable for security reasons. A solution to access the router administration web page without activating the remote management but using VPN connection is to set a second IP address for the router under the menu "Advanced -> Network -> LAN Settings", whereby the second IP address should be within the IP range that the VPN server provides for the clients.
Example Configuration:
LAN Settings (Menu: Network)
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IP Address: 192.168.1.1
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Second IP: Checked
IP Address: 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
OpenVPN (Menu: VPN)
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Enable VPN Server: Checked
Service Port: Your Desired Protocol (For me TCP)
Service Port: Your Desired Port
VPN Subnet/Netmask: 192.168.0.0 / 255.255.255.0
Administration (Menu: System Tools)
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Remote Management: Unchecked
With these IP settings I am able to access on the Router-Administration Website using the VPN Connection only without having the Remote Management setting activated, and therefore without letting a WAN connection to the Remote-Adminsitration Website.
I would like to point out that I am not a network (security) specialist and I cannot ensure that this method is secure or not. I just wanted to offer a solution that worked for me.
With kind regards,
opcodex64