Windows HTTP server behind VPN

[Yah]

Hi All,
I have a windows machine configured to access internet thru VPN with a killswitch.
Would want to have IIS or some other http server running there and accessible thru port forwarding.
Is that posible or I have to install a virtual machine on that box?
I have lighttpd on the router, but considering another backup plan.
Thanks.

 

[eibgrad]

Is the VPN client running on the Windows machine itself or the router? Your description doesn't make that clear.

 

[Yah]

VPN is on the router and my windows machine IP configured in VPN director thru OVPN1.

 

[eibgrad]

If that LAN machine is bound to the router's OpenVPN client, whether through the VPN Director, or simply because ALL traffic is being routed through the VPN by default, you can't split tunnel its traffic within the same IP address. Any inbound traffic through the WAN will have its replies routed back through the VPN (i.e., WAN in, VPN out), and reverse-path filtering on the router will block it!

One approach is to port forward over the VPN, provided the VPN provider supports it (i.e., VPN in, VPN out). The other option (as you suggest) is to use a VM. This creates a completely different machine (albeit virtual), w/ its own NIC, ip address, etc., and can be configured to bypass the OpenVPN client of the router using the VPN Director.

 

[eibgrad]

P.S. You mentioned lighttpd running on the router. I suppose if you could configure that webserver on the router as a reverse proxy to the LAN machine's webserver, that would work, as long as the VPN Director was active. When the VPN Director is active, the router's own services are NOT bound to the local OpenVPN client. It always routes its own internal traffic over the WAN. IOW, at least wrt the webserver, the LAN machine will always respond to the router's LAN ip due to the proxy, NOT the public IP of the webserver's client. And once handled by the router's webserver, routed over the WAN.

At least it would appear to work. I haven't tried it personally.

 

[Yah]

Thanks for the answers, will try to setup ArchLinux or similar VM