Look for a router compatible with macOS Monterey and built-in VPN features.
Look for a router compatible with macOS Monterey and built-in VPN features.
I need a budget-friendly gigabit router that works wirelessly and can handle IKEv2, Cisco IPSec, or L2TP over IPSec. My current router only supports OpenVPN and PPTP VPN, and I can’t use those natively on macOS. After trying everything, I’m stuck because this setup is blocking the next step in my office network.
I would contact your IT team. If it's required for work, they should be able to assist you.
Your router doesn’t require VPN features if you’re running the VPN on a client device. Just make sure the necessary ports are open on the router. If the router manages the VPN, clients won’t notice its presence. Also, consider why you needed a static IP—Cloudflare or a dynamic DNS service could work instead, offering free services and automatically updating your domain when the IP changes.
I'm the IT team, right? We're a small two-person agency, so it's mostly up to me since I'm more familiar with the tech side. I've been focusing on remote access for some time, and I didn't realize the router protocols were outdated compared to modern operating systems.
I see the confusion. You're not trying to configure a site-to-site VPN across several routers, but rather setting up remote access from laptops to the office using VPN credentials. Would you like to deploy a Raspberry Pi running WireGuard or create a VM/container for WireGuard within your network? Alternatively, installing a PF-Sense router/firewall and using WireGuard on it would be a solid option.
This involves accessing remote files on our server. A lot of this requires skills I don’t possess. I could try it myself, but it would need a more powerful setup to run the virtual machine for PFsense and manage our files. It seems like a more costly solution than just using a router for this purpose.
The OpenVPN client isn’t compatible with MacOS because it requires native integration for full functionality. Features like deep packet inspection bypass, advanced routing, and certain encryption optimizations only work when the client is installed directly on the device. Without native support, you can’t leverage these capabilities through the app.
I prefer not to handle access accounts on an external platform. I also used OpenVPN before on a different configuration, which caused inconsistent authentication and connection issues. Additionally, there were concerns about third-party tools redirecting internet traffic through the VPN, so I want to focus solely on file access.
In that scenario, UniFi's equipment can handle it. I’d prefer a Dream Machine Pro paired with a Unifi access point, though a Dream Router is also an option.