Hello everyone:
I will try to write as comprehensive a first post as possible on this topic so that I don’t waste anybody’s time.
I am running a TrueNas server in my house to serve media files to PCs/screens in my house and all is going well. I built the system myself - as in ran the installer, configured the drives etc. However, whilst I am fairly technically savvy, I followed YouTube guides and didn’t deviate from defaults.
I live in Oman and have a fiber internet connection and associated ISP provided router. I have previously, when living in the UK, created a proof-of-concept port forward samba server. I know it is not safe to do this, it probably wasn’t safe to do it years ago when I did it and it certainly isn’t safe now
My issue is this, the technical understanding of the sales assistants/helpdesk people for my ISP specifically (in Oman) is not great. A vast majority do not know what port forwarding is. The stock router I have been supplied with doesn’t have the port forwarding option, this has probably been disabled in software. I have, however, been told that I can buy x router from them which will have port forwarding. However, given their aforementioned lack of understanding, I cannot guarantee this and nor can I guarantee that they will give me my money back if it doesn’t have this feature.
Right, now all the background is out of the way:
I want to access my media files from outside my house, when abroad etc. I have been told that by connecting to a specific VPN, Private Internet Access being one of them, I can do this, it is securer than port-forwarding etc.
Here are my questions:
- Does having a compatible VPN mean I do not need to port forward at all? I don’t think so as surely the router still needs to allow some-sort of inbound traffic.
- If I don’t need to port forward, could someone explain how I get this working?
- If I need a new router, could someone tell me if there are any routers I can just buy? It doesn’t seem that you can just buy fiber modems from the supermarkets/shops here…this might be because there is no such thing and this is not an evolution of ADSL/cable as per the UK - again my knowledge here is weak.
- If I cannot buy one here, could I get one in the UK, or can ISPs lock down which routers will work etc, thus forcing me to buy one from them?
Many thanks for your time.
Graham