NAT Problem

I'm hosting a website at home on a Linux box behind a ZyXel Prestige
324 router using dynamic DNS. The webserver port 80 is made available
to the outside world via the routers "SUA Server" settings.

I can access the website fine if I'm away from home, but when I'm at
home (on another PC attached to the router) I find I can only reach
the website if I put the server's local 192.168.x.y address in my host
file.

This can't be the best way of doing it. Can anyone suggest what I am
doing wrong?



Ralph B

In article <(E-Mail Removed) om>, Ralph
B
(E-Mail Removed) says...
> I'm hosting a website at home on a Linux box behind a ZyXel Prestige
> 324 router using dynamic DNS. The webserver port 80 is made available
> to the outside world via the routers "SUA Server" settings.
>
> I can access the website fine if I'm away from home, but when I'm at
> home (on another PC attached to the router) I find I can only reach
> the website if I put the server's local 192.168.x.y address in my host
> file.
>
> This can't be the best way of doing it. Can anyone suggest what I am
> doing wrong?
>
>
If you want to see the site as the rest of the world does then you'll
need to browse via an external proxy.

"Ralph B" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ps.com...
> I'm hosting a website at home on a Linux box behind a ZyXel Prestige
> 324 router using dynamic DNS. The webserver port 80 is made available
> to the outside world via the routers "SUA Server" settings.
>
> I can access the website fine if I'm away from home, but when I'm at
> home (on another PC attached to the router) I find I can only reach
> the website if I put the server's local 192.168.x.y address in my host
> file.

It is normal that you can only reach it using the internal address. Putting
the address in the hosts file, as you have done, is the simplest workaround.
The only alternative is to run a local DNS server and set it up so that the
name resolves to the internal address - you might be able to do this with
your router.

Alex

Rob Morley wrote:
>> I'm hosting a website at home on a Linux box behind a ZyXel Prestige
>> 324 router using dynamic DNS. The webserver port 80 is made available
>> to the outside world via the routers "SUA Server" settings.
>>
>> I can access the website fine if I'm away from home, but when I'm at
>> home (on another PC attached to the router) I find I can only reach
>> the website if I put the server's local 192.168.x.y address in my host
>> file.
>>
>> This can't be the best way of doing it. Can anyone suggest what I am
>> doing wrong?
>>
> If you want to see the site as the rest of the world does then you'll
> need to browse via an external proxy.

Is this a limitation of the ZyXEL router?

I'm doing a similar thing to the OP, and can access my machine
internally and externally using the same DNS name... No messing about
with host files or proxies at all.

On Sep 11, 1:19 am, harry <dynas...@uni.com> wrote:
> Rob Morley wrote:
> >> I'm hosting a website at home on a Linux box behind a ZyXel Prestige
> >> 324 router using dynamic DNS. The webserver port 80 is made available
> >> to the outside world via the routers "SUA Server" settings.
>
> >> I can access the website fine if I'm away from home, but when I'm at
> >> home (on another PC attached to the router) I find I can only reach
> >> the website if I put the server's local 192.168.x.y address in my host
> >> file.
>
> >> This can't be the best way of doing it. Can anyone suggest what I am
> >> doing wrong?
>
> > If you want to see the site as the rest of the world does then you'll
> > need to browse via an external proxy.
>
> Is this a limitation of the ZyXEL router?
>
> I'm doing a similar thing to the OP, and can access my machine
> internally and externally using the same DNS name... No messing about
> with host files or proxies at all.

Thanks for replies everyone. Harry, you're right. It was the router
that needed fixing. After some googling I found the solution - to turn
on NAT loopback. After this the local server can be reached internally
and externally using the same external ip address. No need to mess
with host files (which is a disaster if you are trying to use a
wireless PC!)

Anyhow I'll include the instructions here in case it can be useful for
anyone else.

Connect to the router with telnet (the web interface doesn't include
this config item) and find the CLI - menu 24.8.

type "ip nat loopback on" <enter>

This will turn NAT loopback on but if you reboot the setting will go
back to default ie off.

To make the router keep the setting telnet to the CLI - menu 24 , 8

type "sys edit autoexec.net" <enter>
press "i", then type "ip nat loopback on" <enter>
press "x" to save the configuration.

(Credits to http://www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/t21433.html and
http://us.zyxel.com/support/knowledg...lag=1021682046)