Any solution for connecting remotely behind CGNAT?

#1

I’m using fiber internet which happens to be behind a CGNAT, so opening an outside port to Channels is out of the question unless I spring for a fixed IP address which is hard to justify just so I can occasionally connect remotely to Channels. That said, coming from TiVo, I was able to connect remotely without any additional configuration. Is there another solution or a similar feature on the roadmap for Channels?

#2

A possible solution is a Raspberry PI running Remote.IT (https://support.remote.it/hc/en-us/articles/360044580831-remote-it-Overview).

#3

Set up a personal VPN on your network and remote in thru that.

#4

The problem with a VPN is that it requires a relay server to work. You could set up a relay server at some remote location that does not have CGNAT. But, if you have a friend that will let you do that, you could just move the Channels DVR server there too and eliminate the whole problem.

#5

I tried that, unfortunately that doesn’t work from the outside over WAN as I can’t open any ports from the outside without a static IP, so it’s a no go…

#6

go to https://ipv6-test.com/ from your LAN side and see if you have IPV6 connectivity. IPV6 (usually) bypasses CGNAT, if it is available.

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#7

This looks interesting. Is this a paid product or open source? Also, how complicated is it to set up?

#8

I think it is a commercial product, but it has a free tier. Remote.It Pricing

#9

Tailscale works well.

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#10

I'm not sure what you mean. With an outbound VPN service that supports inbound port forwarding such as Torguard, all you do is connect to the VPN from the inside of your network. Then set your channels DVR server so that it updates its dynamic DNS through that VPN. Once that is done, you DVR clients know how to connect back through the VPN. The configuration can be complicated. But, the setup is cheap. I have had this working for 18 months now.

If you don't want complexity and you don't mind making a client connection before you launch the remote Channels client, you can use Tailscale.

#11

It is the "making a client connection before you launch" that I was concerned with avoiding. You should also be able to use Teamviewer or Chrome Remote Desktop to get behind the CGNAT and set up an outbound VPN. These services work from inside out and don't require port forwarding at all. If you don't mind extra steps.

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#12

That worked great, thank you…:grinning:

#13

Thanks for the recommendation. Tailscale seems to work great. I’m assuming it can be trusted…