[lpagross]

I've just purchased a LG-NAS which I've connected via ethernet to my Sky Netgear DG834GT Wi-fi router. Everything is working fine, up to a point. I can see the drive, upload, download files, still trying to figure out the iTunes Server and Time Machine parts.
What I want to do is log in to the NAS through VPN while I'm away from home. I've got a Netgear Prosafe VPN Firewall FVS318v3 and I was hoping I could place this between the NAS and the DG834GT to make this happen. Unfortunately my networking skills are now stretched beyond breaking point.
With the FVS318v3 in place I can no longer see the NAS on my home network. The FVS318v3 and the DG834GT appear to both be set to 192.168.0.1 so I can't see the VPN Firewall when I try to query it via Safari.
I'd be very grateful if someone could help me to set this up? Many thanks,
Gordon

[Squashman]

I am guessing that you are now double natted.

[lpagross]

Will turning on bridging mode on the Wi-fi modem allow me to get around this, or will that stop the computers that are connecting directly through it from working?

I guess that's the problem I'm double-natted when addressing the NAS as I have to also go through the VPN Firewall, but everything's still fine in terms of the Wi-fi computers connecting to internet.

Any ideas?

[Squashman]

I would using the Prosafe VPN as your main router. Then connect the Wireless router as an access point and switch. Basically disregarding its routing function.

[JohnWill]

As far as using the other router as the secondary, here's the "cookbook" to configure it.

Connecting two (or more) SOHO broadband routers together.

Note: The "primary" router can be an actual router, a software gateway like Microsoft Internet Connection Sharing, or a server connection that has the capability to supply more than one IP address using DHCP server capability. No changes are made to the primary "router" configuration.

Configure the IP address of the secondary router(s) to be in the same subnet as the primary router, but out of the range of the DHCP server in the primary router. For instance DHCP server addresses 192.168.0.2 through 192.168.0.100, I'd assign the secondary router 192.168.0.254 as it's IP address, 192.168.0.253 for another router, etc.

Note: Do this first, as you will have to reboot the computer to connect to the router again for the remaining changes.

Disable the DHCP server in the secondary router.

Setup the wireless section just the way you would if it was the primary router, channels, encryption, etc. Note that you should use the same SSID and encryption key for the secondary router but a non-conflicting channel. I recommend channels 1, 6, or 11 for use for the best results.

Connect from the primary router's LAN port to one of the LAN ports on the secondary router. If there is no uplink port and neither of the routers have auto-sensing ports, use a cross-over cable. Leave the WAN port unconnected!

This procedure bypasses the routing function (NAT layer) and configures the router as a switch (or wireless access point for wireless routers).

For reference, here's a link to a Typical example config using a Netgear router

[lpagross]

I'm getting a bit lost as to what you mean by "the other router" is that the DG834GT wi-fi modem or the FVS318v3 VPN Firewall?

Anyway, just to be clear, they can only be set up one way as the broadband connection is via a DSL phone line on an RJ11 (I think that's correct) connector and the FVS318v3 VPN Firewall only has ethernet input. Therefore the DSL phone line must connect first to the Netgear/Sky DG834GT wi-fi modem then into the FVS318v3 VPN Firewall.

I really appreciate your help, please be clear though as I'm not an expert in this field. Thanks,
Gordon

[Squashman]

You said it was a WiFi Router not a modem. If that is the case you will probably have to somehow setup a bridged mode between the two devices. Or just get a DSL modem that is just a modem and not a router/modem combo.

[lpagross]

Sorry my mistake it's a "Wireless Broadband Router" according to Netgear's description http://www.netgear.co.uk/wireless_br...er_dg834gt.php

It's this unit that allows all the computers to get wireless access to the internet so I don't want to lose this. I only want to connect the NAS to the wi-fi broadband router, which is cable only, in such a way that I can access the NAS via VPN when we're away from this location. The wi-fi broadband router has four ethernet ports and I'm currently using one of these to access the NAS when I'm here on the LAN. My understanding was that I would need the VPN Firewall to terminate the NAS so that I could access it when out of the office.

Is that not possible with this configuration of hardware?

Thanks for taking the time though. Best,

Gordon

[Squashman]

I personally don't think you need a dedicated VPN if you are the only one using it. Windows has the capability to work as a VPN server. If you have a spare machine you could turn it into a VPN and then just port forward on your main router to the computer running the VPN.

As far as the two routers go, you may be able to put the VPN router in the DMZ of the main router and get it to work correctly. Or maybe it is just a matter of forwarding the appropriate port on the main router to the VPN router.

You will just have to try stuff and see what works.

[lpagross]

Thanks for your advice, I don't think I'm up to setting up what you describe though. I don't have a spare computer to set up as a VPN server, I only have the Netgear VPN Firewall unit. Thanks for your advice though.

Gordon

[Squashman]

Could you give us the exact make and model of the NAS?

[lpagross]

No problem, it's the LG N2R1 http://www.lg.com/uk/it-products/net...ge-N2R1DB2.jsp

Best,

Gordon

[Squashman]

I was intrigued by the initial description of the product. "Accessible anywhere in the World"

So I had to delve into the product specifications.

This tells me you have access to your files through a web browser and even FTP.


CIFS/SMB
Yes
HTTP / HTTPs
Yes / Yes
FTP / FTPs
Yes / Yes
Print Server
Yes
iSCSI (ODD only)
Yes* *DHCP : Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

[lpagross]

That's true, the web browser works really well, very impressive. But it doesn't allow you to store you iPhoto library and your iTunes library on it and have access anywhere in the world. It is an interface that allows you to download and upload files to the NAS through a website. I was really hoping to have VPN access to the drive so that all these elements would be part of my laptop no matter where I was.
It's a very impressive NAS, with support for TimeMachine and iTunes Server (I haven't quite got that working how I hope it will) and I can keep my iPhoto library on there as long as I'm here, but not outside the office. At the price of around £150 for the 2TB model it's pretty cost effective too. Just wish I could use it via VPN :-)
Gordon

[JohnWill]

If you configure them properly, most any NAS has that capability.