Edit: Big thanks to everybody who shared their advice! :) I’m very pleasantly surprised and will definitely explore all the options you guys provided, such as getting an additional router or configuring Tailscale. Again, big thanks to everyone!
Hi all, I’ve recently moved and now my ISP doesn’t allow port forwarding for wired connections (wifi only), and my landlord does not allow changing ISPs. Now my home server is practically useless which makes me very sad.
Is there any easy way to still access device ports without port forwarding or buying a wifi card/dongle is my safest bet?
I’m surprised how many people suggest using a Cloudflare tunnel given one of the main points of self-hosting is to avoid using centralized systems.
If it’s for your own personal use and regular internet users don’t need to be able to access it, just use a VPN. Way more secure. Wireguard is great. I like Tailscale, which uses Wireguard but makes it very easy to configure a mesh network with it.
You should be able to place the Xfinity modem into bridge mode and use your own router. Alternatively you can buy your own cable modem and return the rented one to Xfinity. Just make sure the modem you buy is DOCSIS 3.1 or 4.0 since some stores are still selling older DOCSIS 3.0 modems at full price.
Cloudflare Tunnels also work really well and turnkey for CGNAT restricted networks though. I used to have and love a simple WireGuard setup but one day the ISP can just change their structure and then you need some kind of end run around those. Tailscale works but it’s also not really a pure selfhosted solution either. Eventually you need some kind of offsite relationship afaik whether it’s a VPS or cloudflare. And cloudflare Just Works.
Decent ISPs that use CGNAT should also have IPv6 available, which doesn’t use NAT at all. In the case of CGNAT, I’d really recommend using IPv6 rather than hacking around CGNAT.
You can self-host Tailscale by using the open-source Headscale project.
I’m behind CGNAT with months between IPv6 prefix changes. Having a separate publicly routable IP for each host is awesome.
Tailscale causes heavy battery drain on my phone (Pixel 4a GrapheneOS) so I’m now on always on plain Wireguard, which only needs 1% of my battery.
Sadly my mother doesn’t have IPv6, so accessing e.g. Jellyfin is not possible.