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RT-AC66U WPN server in access point mode?

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WherEmEweeD

Occasional Visitor
Can i setup my RT-AC66U as a VPN server while it is in access point mode.

so I just use my Asus as a repeater as my internet is essentially IR beamed to my house and the modem router is in another house inaccessible. I was wondering could I set up my Asus to work as an access point while also utilising the VPN server tools?
or is there a more manual way of allowing the router to act as an AP but not in the AP mode there fore enabling the VPN server tools?

I'm open to suggestions of custom firmware as long as it is sure they allow for this. The only reason iam wary of the custom fw's is the stock fw is very recent and fixed a power issue i was having on an old stock fm.
 
Cheers for prompt reply.
I'm ready to press buy on a rasp pi.
So I have to use router mode instead of AP or repeater mode, what are the downsides of having the router on router mode and just using it as an access point?
 
So I have to use router mode instead of AP or repeater mode, what are the downsides of having the router on router mode and just using it as an access point?
I do not understand your setup. You mention Access Point mode and Repeater mode but they are two different things. What mode are you currently using?

How is your RT-AC66U currently connected to the internet? What is this "IR beamed" thing you're talking about?

P.S. The RT-AC66U is a very old obsolete router. Do you really have that or is it the more modern RT-AC66U_B1?
 
So is there any rules of thumb when setting up a router within an already routed network?
my RT-AC66U is connected to the internet with a wan connection from the ISP router. when i put it like that the whole story of the IR is irrelevant lol im a noob sorry.

Edit- the ISP router is the DHCP server over the whole network. which consists of three houses all spread out with AP's.
 
So is there any rules of thumb when setting up a router within an already routed network?
my RT-AC66U is connected to the internet with a wan connection from the ISP router. when i put it like that the whole story of the IR is irrelevant lol im a noob sorry.

Edit- the ISP router is the DHCP server over the whole network. which consists of three houses all spread out with AP's.

OK that makes more sense now. So presumably each of the APs is connected directly to the ISP router via Ethernet?

Ideally you would remove the ISP router completely and replace it with your own router. Your APs would then connect to this new router. If you can't remove the ISP router (perhaps because it contains a modem) you can leave it in place and connect the new router to it. The ISP router would then be used merely as a pass through device with its WiFi turned off.
 
beamed to my house and the modem router is in another house inaccessible

You can run your AC66U router in Router mode with VPN server* enabled, but someone has to forward the server port on the ISP modem/router. If this router is inaccessible, this is an issue. Is this single ISP connection shared between few households?

* - It will be slow, limited to about 10Mbps. This is what AC66U can do. Also limited by the upload speed of your ISP connection.
 
OK that makes more sense now. So presumably each of the APs is connected directly to the ISP router via Ethernet?

Ideally you would remove the ISP router completely and replace it with your own router. Your APs would then connect to this new router. If you can't remove the ISP router (perhaps because it contains a modem) you can leave it in place and connect the new router to it. The ISP router would then be used merely as a pass through device with its WiFi turned off.

Yes all AP's are directly connected to the ISP router.

The ISP router is being used as a modem and a router including wifi and unfortunately I have no access to it.

I wanna set up one of my AP's the RT-AC66U as a router mode instead of AP mode so that I can utilise the VPN server tool. I'm just curious how would this affect the routing of the network as the ISP router does all the communicating and by taking my RT-AC66U off AP mode it will want to route its own network? im trying to avoid the conflicts lol

I'm sorry if this is confusing because this networking stuff is really hard for the layman's poor brain lol
 
You can run your AC66U router in Router mode with VPN server* enabled, but someone has to forward the server port on the ISP modem/router. If this router is inaccessible, this is an issue. Is this single ISP connection shared between few households?

* - It will be slow, limited to about 10Mbps. This is what AC66U can do. Also limited by the upload speed of your ISP connection.
10mbps well thats enough to buy a raspberry pi lol Yes its a single ISP connection shared between few households.

I never knew these AC66U routers where so old. I live in the sticks and my brother has managed to get us 100mbps down 40mbps up from his place 1 mile away with some Infrared extenders. then the next door neighbour got in on the deal with a similar IR extender. surprisingly reliable these IR extenders.

I was running the router in router mode no probs there and still am but to prevent any issues I will be returning to AP mode as I dont trust my networking skills for something not to go wrong eventually. as for VPN mode its not worth the hassle for 10 mbps I will just set up a raspberry pi with a vpn.

One last thing if i set up a vpn server on a raspberry pi or pc would i still need to forward the server port on the ISP modem/router?

Cheers for the help guys
 
The ISP router is being used as a modem and a router including wifi and unfortunately I have no access to it.

Whoever owns/controls the ISP router can monitor/log all user activity, do you know? If you set your AP in Router Mode, it will create its own network in double NAT behind the ISP router. Without port forwarding on the ISP router though you can't run your own VPN server, no matter what device is running the server. At least you'll have a little more privacy on your own network.
 
I should reiterate I can access the the ISP router log in page I just don't like to bite the hand that feeds the internet lol I have a reputation for wrecking things also and nobody likes to have no internet.
 
Whoever owns/controls the ISP router can monitor/log all user activity, do you know? If you set your AP in Router Mode, it will create its own network in double NAT behind the ISP router. Without port forwarding on the ISP router though you can't run your own VPN server, no matter what device is running the server. At least you'll have a little more privacy on your own network.
That explains why my brother set up each household with its own router. ok I will stick to router mode. cheers for that. And as for VPN's im gonna have to get access to the ISP router to port forward the VPN server address.
 
Switching your router in Router Mode won't affect the rest of the network. If you have access to the ISP router settings, you just need to forward the server port. The default OpenVPN port is 1194. Change it to something different, download the ISP router User Manual and look for port forwarding. Or just ask the guy to do it for you, if he knows better how. All the changes won't disrupt anyone's Internet access.
 
Switching your router in Router Mode won't affect the rest of the network. If you have access to the ISP router settings, you just need to forward the server port. The default OpenVPN port is 1194. Change it to something different, download the ISP router User Manual and look for port forwarding. Or just ask the guy to do it for you, if he knows better how. All the changes won't disrupt anyone's Internet access.
Cheers that gives me peace of mind. Could I set my VPN server to use a port that would be open by default from the ISP router/modem?

Edit - Its only going to be turned on maybe once a month for 30 minutes which should prevent any hacks etc. its for my VOIP calling from abroad.
 
Could I set my VPN server to use a port that would be open by default from the ISP router/modem?

If no one did settings changes on this ISP router, all the ports must be closed by default.

Its only going to be turned on maybe once a month

If no one else around is using any services open to Internet, your friend may place your router's WAN IP* in DMZ.

* - do you know how to deal with the IP addresses?
 
If no one did settings changes on this ISP router, all the ports must be closed by default.



If no one else around is using any services open to Internet, your friend may place your router's WAN IP* in DMZ.

* - do you know how to deal with the IP addresses?
I'm drawing near and nearer to texting him for his router user and pass tomorrow lol

I know how to find the WAN and place it into the DMZ i believe i did this once for my xbox 360 way back in the day.

When it comes to ip addresses I can always learn more! To be honest I have dealt a lot with the LAN addresses not so much the WAN if you have something to teach I'm all ears.
 
You don't need to know much. Here is an example:

If the ISP router has LAN IP 192.168.144.1, your router's LAN IP has to be different - 192.168.172.1

Your router's WAN IP will be assigned by ISP router's DHCP - 192.168.144.100

You can see the WAN IP in Asuswrt main GUI page:

1668560357684.png


Get this IP and place it in ISP router's DMZ. It's called DMZ Host - means all ports will be forwarded to your router's WAN IP.

1668560985564.png


Not ideal, but saves you individual port forwarding. You can change your server port without the need to touch the ISP router again.
 
You don't need to know much. Here is an example:

If the ISP router has LAN IP 192.168.144.1, your router's LAN IP has to be different - 192.168.172.1

Your router's WAN IP will be assigned by ISP router's DHCP - 192.168.144.100

You can see the WAN IP in Asuswrt main GUI page:

View attachment 45519

Get this IP and place it in ISP router's DMZ. It's called DMZ Host - means all ports will be forwarded to your router's WAN IP.

View attachment 45520

Not ideal, but saves you individual port forwarding. You can change your server port without the need to touch the ISP router again.
Thanks for that now Iam wondering if I would run into any security issues with using WAN as the DMZ host?

Would it be better for me to forward the relevant ports of the VPN server address on the ISP router/modem?

Another question do you know what router would best suit my needs for a high speed capable vpn server, reliable, and be capable of simply routing a network?
I was thinking about setting a VPN up on a raspberry pi but for what i need I could do with a new router so setting up 2 in 1 seems the best route.
 

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