Life Behind the Firewall Curtain?

beegle asks: "After a recent move, I discovered that my only broadband option is a cable company that puts all of its customers behind a NAT box. That means that my ISP gives me a 'private' 10.x.x.x address instead of a routable IP address. I'd like to connect to my machines remotely and use software that depends on a real address (P2P, games, etc.). The ISP doesn't prohibit this, but they're not willing to help, either. I've considered setting up a VPN to a friend's network, but that seems terribly inefficient. What hardware or software would you recommend for those of us who are stuck with 'fake' IP addresses?"

Comments

VPN or bust

[Fubar420]

Well, if you want them to be able to connect to you, you're gonna need a routable IP. Period.

Your choices then are VPN (pptp, etc) or pseudo VPN (ssh, et al.)

Unless you know someone on the same ISP, who has a RealIP(tm), who can dnat to you, you'd be pretty much hosed :-/

Bug the ISP

[JohnGalt00]

Bug the ISP. Call them often and either ask for a real IP address, or ask them how to get your favorite programs to work.

Oh yeah, and tell us who you're ISP is, so we know to avoid them.

Are you sure the NAT is to protect the customers, or are they being cheap by not shelling out for enough IP space?

Same thing happened (i thought)

[Anonymous Coward]

I got a cheap DSL connection, and declined the offer of a static IP ($15/month). When i checked my IP address, i was 192.168.2.79. GREAT, non routable, right?

WELL! it turns out the DSL Modem had a NAT router built in, and when i was able to configure it, i was able to get a REAL IP address. Of course it changes every few hours, but any Dynamic DNS server can help you there.

Try to point your browser at your "Gateway" and see if it is yours or if it is shared amongst everyone in your neighborhood. The ISPs like to default people to a "Browse Only" environment, but often real internet is only a few keystrokes away.

How did you confirm this information?

[cyber0ne]

I found myself in this exact situation once a while back. And when I'd call the ISP I'd usually be on the phone with "tech support" people who didn't even know what an IP was. After a lot of frusteration from not having a real IP, I later discovered that I actually _did_ but it was behind a 1:1 ratio NAT built into the ISP's modem device. I went to http://www.whatismyip.com to discover the public IP that my destinations _thought_ I had, tried to connect to it from an off-site host, and it worked. Maybe you've already tried this, but if you haven't it might be worth a shot.