Setting up router VPN for remote desktop access troubles
reddit / selfhosted

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High_Sleep3694 · 2023-10-26 17:07

Hey, everyone! I've run into a bit of a hiccup and need some guidance.
Please bear with me; this might be a rookie question. I'm soon heading
out of town for a work assignment that will keep me away for a couple
of weeks, and I'd love to be able to access my computer, which serves
as a Plex Server, while I'm on the go.

After some research, it seems the most efficient way to achieve this
is by setting up my router's VPN server. The plan is to VPN into my
home network while I'm away and then use Windows Remote Desktop to
connect to my server.

I've followed the available guides to the best of my abilities. Here's
what I've done so far:

\- My router is an AX1500.

\- In the VPN Server tab, I've enabled OpenVPN, selected TCP, left
Service Port, VPN Subnet, and Netmask at their default settings, and
set Client Access to Internet and Home. I saved all the changes and
generated a certificate, then exported the Config file.

On the computer I'll be using while I'm away, I've installed the
OpenVPN GUI and uploaded the Config file to the correct folder. To
mimic my setup while I'm away, I've switched to my phone's hotspot.
When I run OpenVPN GUI, it connects properly. However, I can't seem to
connect to the other desktop remotely. I even tried installing OpenVPN
GUI on the server computer, ran the same Config file, but that didn't
work either.

I'm convinced I'm missing a crucial step somewhere. I've checked the
Windows settings on the other PC, and I can remotely access it just
fine when I'm on the same network. I'm hoping you can help me figure
out where I might be going wrong.

Also, is something like [Netmaker](https://www.netmaker.io/) or
[Tailscale ](https://github.com/Tailscale/)a suitable alternative to
this? I have read a lot of recommendations of these two and would like
to know you take on this as well.

Thank you all so much!

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brod33p · 2023-10-26 17:24

Windows firewall would be my first guess. See if you can ping the IP
over the VPN. You can also try temporarily disabling the firewall on
the Windows server to see if that helps. If it does, create a custom
rule allowing port tcp/3389 for all zones, turn on the firewall, and
try again.

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FibreTTPremises · 2023-10-27 03:34

I assume you followed this guide? https://www.tp-
link.com/au/support/faq/1239/

I would leave client access at `Home Network Only` unless you *do*
want all your non-local network traffic routing through your home
network (which - depending on where you're travelling, could increase
latency a ton). I would also set `UDP` as the protocol since it's
faster.

It also sounds like you're planning on watching media on Plex
*through* your Windows Server, which is going to be a bad experience.
You should be able to download a Plex client on your remote computer
and connect normally to your Plex server using its IP.

I don't think it's a Windows firewall issue since enabling remote
desktop automatically creates a firewall rule allowing access from any
remote address.

If you exhaust all common troubleshooting steps, I would give
Tailscale a try. It's perfect for non-permanent, device-to-device
setups like what you hope to achieve.

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reklis · 2023-10-28 19:23

\+1 for tailscale