Help with new ISP router

[pjpjpjpj]

I switched from old DSL to cable modem last week. The old DSL modem was also my router and handled all of the IP address labeling, security, port forwarding, etc. Now with cable I have the modem which is just a modem, passing to my router (hardwired to an unmanaged 24-port switch) to handle the LAN. I'm new at this configuration. Years ago when I was asking questions here about my DSL modem, most folks couldn't help because they all had cable so hopefully y'all can help me here...

I'm trying to figure out how to get the SageTV webserver configured with my new network. The router homepage has "uPnP" which automatically picked up PlayOn and Plex, and I feel like I need to have Sage showing here for the webserver to work (is that right?) but there is no spot to add items.

There is "NAT Triggering" which allows adding ports, but I'm not sure that's what I need. Is it? I added port 8080 there but it doesn't seem to be doing anything.

Do I need to get into the actual cable modem (rather than the router)? I don't know that it's doing any controlling of security, I suspect I'm getting stuck at the router. I will be happy to share pics of the options in the modem, it's the latest version of the TP-Link "Archer A6".

[JustFred]

I'm assuming that you actually do have a modem, as opposed to a ISP-provided gateway (which is a combo modem+router). There's no need to get into a modem; there's nothing a customer can configure in a modem, anyway.

It's not clear what's trying to be accomplished. The router is where incoming ports would be opened. But in general, it shouldn't be necessary to open up any *incoming* ports unless you have some remote device outside the LAN (i.e., Placeshifter to the Sage server) that needs access to some device/service on the LAN. Example: accessing Sage's webserver from a PC within your LAN wouldn't require opening ports on the router.

I don't use PlayOn and don't recall if requires any incoming ports to be opened. Refer to their docs.

That said, turning on uPnP is highly discouraged. uPnP creates a huge security hole. Leave it OFF. Instead, manually configure port-forwarding for the specific services/devices as needed.

[pjpjpjpj]

I have PlayOn and Plex on the same server with Sage. Both PlayOn and Plex create an open uPnP port because they are accessible from outside your LAN. Both regardless of those...

I was trying to get the Sage webserver/mobile web working so I can access my Sage remotely (to set programs to record, check what is recording, etc.). But now that I think about it... has that whole batch of plugins become obsolete in lieu of the miniclient? Basically they did the same thing as the miniclient, just without the actual Sage interface, so maybe this isn't even necessary.

So next question... getting the miniclient to work outside my LAN; what do I need to use for that? I have not tried to do that in years.

[wayner]

Personally I think you are better off using the webserver from outside of your LAN to be able to do things like schedule recordings, check status of the server, etc. I have always found it tricky to try to use miniclient from outside of my LAN. If I remember correctly, entering the password from outside the LAN is kind of difficult for the Android client. I have found that Plex or AirVideoHD work better for that, at least in the iOS world. But it may be worthwhile if you have an Android phone.

This might be going a bit beyond of the scope that you are talking about but I find it useful to run OpenVPN server to allow me access to pretty much everything on my LAN. One of the great things about running SageTV in a docker on unRAID is that you can also run Plex, AirVideoHD, OpenVPN server, etc on the unRAID server. Then you don't actually have to worry about opening ports for most things as you just create a VPN connection and you are essentially on your LAN, no matter where you are. If you use a third party router you may also be able to run OpenVPN server on your router.

[JustFred]

Setting up a VPN avoids opening ports on the router. Be aware that a VPN requires a substantial amount of CPU horsepower to encrypt the data stream. One downside to running the VPN on the average consumer-grade router: remotely streaming a video via Placeshifter/miniclient can run that poor little CPU into the ground. Lesser tasks such as occasional web access to the Sage server aren't likely to be a problem.

[pjpjpjpj]

Yeah, you guys are speaking Greek to a non-programmer like me. I don't know (much of) anything about unRAID dockers and setting up a VPN.

I just want to know what to do on my new router so I can somehow get into Sage remotely and set a show to record or check on what is happening. I had it working years ago on my old DSL. Then it broke at some point (though I admittedly was not keeping up with goings-on here) and I found myself occasionally missing it, so now that I have a new ISP, I would like to get it set back up again.

Originally Posted by wayner

I have always found it tricky to try to use miniclient from outside of my LAN. If I remember correctly, entering the password from outside the LAN is kind of difficult for the Android client.

Yeah, I remember that as well. I didn't ever try too hard because my old DSL upload speed was so bad that I couldn't use it remotely anyway, but now I could, so....

[wnjj]

When you talk to your home from outside, you use the WAN IP address of your router that is the external IP for your network. When you do that, you request a specific port. When the router receives this request, it needs to know what machine on your LAN is responsible for processing that request.

You want to enable "port forwarding" for the incoming ports you want your SageTV sever to respond to. In your router config, there should be a place to define the port and which local IP (i.e. your SageTV server IP) the router should forward that port request to.

You'll need to add the specific port numbers for the services you are hosting. In the case of the webserver, I think 8080 is the default port. I see others mentioning port 31099 for the miniclient.

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by wnjj

When you talk to your home from outside, you use the WAN IP address of your router that is the external IP for your network. When you do that, you request a specific port. When the router receives this request, it needs to know what machine on your LAN is responsible for processing that request.

You want to enable "port forwarding" for the incoming ports you want your SageTV sever to respond to. In your router config, there should be a place to define the port and which local IP (i.e. your SageTV server IP) the router should forward that port request to.

You'll need to add the specific port numbers for the services you are hosting. In the case of the webserver, I think 8080 is the default port. I see others mentioning port 31099 for the miniclient.

Port forwarding is exactly what I recall. However, there is no "port forwarding" anywhere in my router setup. As mentioned in the OP, there is something called "NAT forwarding" and I added 8080 there, but it's not working. I have tried accessing via the IP address of my server (WAN IP) and the port (xx.xx.xxx.xxx:8080) and it doesn't work either.

[wnjj]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

Port forwarding is exactly what I recall. However, there is no "port forwarding" anywhere in my router setup. As mentioned in the OP, there is something called "NAT forwarding" and I added 8080 there, but it's not working. I have tried accessing via the IP address of my server (WAN IP) and the port (xx.xx.xxx.xxx:8080) and it doesn't work either.

Looks like you need to set up a “Virtual Server”. https://www.tp-link.com/us/user-guid...ug-sub-title-1

Refer to section 1 which shows how to set up a web server.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by JustFred

Setting up a VPN avoids opening ports on the router. Be aware that a VPN requires a substantial amount of CPU horsepower to encrypt the data stream. One downside to running the VPN on the average consumer-grade router: remotely streaming a video via Placeshifter/miniclient can run that poor little CPU into the ground. Lesser tasks such as occasional web access to the Sage server aren't likely to be a problem.

True, that is one of the reasons that I now run OpenVPN server on my unRAID server. But you can run it on any PC, you would just want it to be on 24x7, or at least when you are likely to be accessing it. Another way to do it would be to use a RPi, assuming that they have enough horsepower.