Setting up VPN tunneling for remote NAS access

Hey there,

I’ve got a bit of a challenge, and I’m hoping someone here can help. I want to create a way to access files on my NAS from anywhere, whether I’m at home or on the go.

My initial thought was to set up a VPN tunnel that connects me to my home network. This way, I can access all my files no matter where I am and even upload or download them as needed, something like Netmaker or Wireguard?

I’m not exactly a tech whiz, so I’m looking for some guidance from those who might have tackled a similar project. Are there any services or tips you could share to help me achieve this?

Your assistance is greatly appreciated!

most nas and most routers are too weak to remote stream
so you may need to buy a $200 mini-pc to do the actual
vps hosting from your lan once you open a router port.

Tailscale uses Wireguard and is super easy to set up. Depending on what kind of NAS you have, Synology for example, has a native app for it that gives you full access to NAS features remotely.

I second Tailscale. I haven’t used it but have seen it used. It’s the perfect solution that has all the nice advantages of Wireguard with none of the technical overhead.

Now it also supports hosting your own authentication server so if you are security-conscious you can do that too.

Tailscale is likely the best option for you. You haven’t said what NAS you have, but a number of them like Synology have packages available by default, so installing it is literally two clicks. They have packages available for most OSs, so it’s easy to get connectivity going between your NAS, computers and mobile devices.

You have terminal access on the NAS right? Install openVPN server and set up a VPN host on the NAS.
https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/howto-setup-openvpn-server-on-ubuntu-linux-14-04-or-16-04-lts/

Assign a dynamic DNS to your public IP, create connection files for each client for openVPN and connect using openVPN connect using the config files.

You may need to make changes to the firewall on the NAS and the instructions may be slightly different for your OS.

I’ve done this for a server in the cloud for SMB access and it works perfectly.