Problem :
Let’s say I have 2 servers
Server A and Server B
I want all traffic from server B to pass through Server A (like a proxy for the whole system), I understand one way to do this is by using a VPN server on Server A. But as far as I know there is a way to do this by using iptables or ip route which will be very reliable.
How can this be achieved? both machines are running Debian Linux.
Each server is hosted at a different ISP
Solution :
This cannot be achieved unless both computers are in the same subnet.
If they are, then you’d first configure server A as the “default gateway” for B – and similarly the real gateway needs the opposite route towards B via A:
- on server B:
to 0.0.0.0/0 via <A's IP> - on real gateway:
to <B's IP>/32 via <A's IP>
But if they’re on different networks at all (as you said “hosted at a different ISP”), the only way you could use A as the gateway would be to set up a virtual layer-2 network – which is, yes, a VPN.
(This excludes IP “source routing”, which has been removed with fire from most modern network stacks due to security issues.)
If you’re concerned about privacy (traffic “leaks”), configure server B such that the only default route it has is via the VPN – if it only talks with server A, then it only needs a specific “host route” (a /32 or a /128) towards A. For example:
to ::/0 via <A's internal IP>to <A's external IP>/128 via <real default gateway>
using iptables:
try this:
obviously change the interface according to your setup.
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -i eth0 -j DNAT –to-destination 192.168.3.2