index.md 4.0 KB
title: Routers x-toc-enable: true ...
Routing freedom is a big deal. We don't yet have it in every country, but did you know? So long as you have an internet connection, you can always tunnel static IPv4 and IPv6 subnets to your own home. You could even do this on your mobile phone, running a USB tether sharing 4G LTE, to say, a Raspberry Pi; that Raspberry Pi would then be a gateway router for ethernet, running NAT and DHCP, for you to then plug in an L2TP/VPN tunnel router, static route connecting to your tunnel provider via that gateway, routing static IPs through the tunnel, and the default route set to that tunnel when it's online.
The focus here will be on custom routers running your own configuration of a Linux or BSD system, but off the shelf solutions like pfSense and OpenWRT could also be covered in the future, as these do offer some port forwarding and tunnel capabilities.
Much more information is needed, written as tutorials here. One of the most common hurdles people face for self-hosting is static IP subnets, or lack thereof. We should cover every ISP in the world, here, where ISP-specific guides are desirable; in other cases, we can tell people how to tunnel around their main ISP, to some other ISP that grants more freedoms.
NOTE: TCP only.
- TODO: SSH port forwarding guide.
These guides will teach you how to host services behind static IP addresses, anywhere in the world, even if your ISP doesn't assign static IPs. This is similar to a typical VPN service.
Debian (probably works on Devuan):
This can apply to many different physical internet setups, e.g. ADSL, VDSL, FTTP. In this setup, the ISP typically provides you with a physical link, and some sort of modem or ONT doing signal conversions, terminating in RJ-45 and ethernet where you plug in a router that does PPPoE.
In some cases, your ISP may assign a router+modem combined in one unit, but that device may support a bridge mode where it acts only as a modem.
PPPoE is a common method by which subscribers connect to their ISP. Some ISPs provide static IPv4 and/or IPv6 addresses natively, with the intent to let their customers run servers. If your ISP allows this, whenever you are in the world, please consider writing a guide and submitting it to Fedfree.
We will cover here, only those ISPs worth covering. Specifically, this means those ISPs that provide static IPv4 and IPv6 subnets, permitting you to run internet-facing servers directly. This is rare, especially for home internet services, but some very good ISPs do exist in the world.
If you're in the UK, Andrews & Arnold is one of the best ISPs available. They provide unfiltered, unshaped service, with static IPv4 and IPv6 subnets available. They've provided IPv6 to customers since year 2002, the same year the Spiderman movie starring Tobias McGuire came out.
Guides:
- TODO: PPPoE VDSL/ADSL guide for Andrews & Arnold Ltd
NOTE: A&A also provide L2TP service, so that you can tunnel traffic via them from another ISP.
TODO
Word of caution with Docsis: higher latency and lower MTU with these types of services, but in some cases they may be the best in terms of speed. Most of these cable providers don't let you run servers, but you can always just make a tunnel router.
Fun fact: in the UK, Virgin Media Business provides static IPv4 addresses on request, but it's crap; they simply configure a GRE tunnel for you to use, thus lowering your MTU for all internet access. It's better on that ISP, in the UK, to use A&A's L2TP tunnel service, via dynamic IP allocation from VMB.
Here's another fun fact about VM: https://jamesmacwhite.medium.com/have-virgin-media-enabled-ipv6-sort-of-9443e5e855d