Sending connections to virtual machines?
Sending connections to virtual machines?
You can configure the virtual machines to connect only to the internet while still allowing port forwarding for hosting game servers. Set up a virtual switch and share your internet connection from the host machine to the VMs. This setup isolates the VMs from the local network but enables external access to their ports, letting you manage game server traffic without exposing internal devices.
You must configure a static routing table on the router to send traffic intended for virtual machines through your server, ensuring it passes via the virtual switch. If your router lacks VLAN support, you'll likely lack the necessary features for this setup. Remember to also configure firewall rules on your server to block traffic from the virtual switch to your local network (except for the router itself), and ensure you can still reach your LAN by rejecting traffic from the virtual network to the router's management ports. Consider upgrading to a router with VLAN support, such as PF-Sense or Opnsense.
You can set up a virtual switch in Hyper-V to link the VM to the internet. You can also configure it to block certain traffic on your local network. This should work even if you're new to networking.
Only permitted ports should be allowed for forwarding, while blocking access to devices on his local network. A static route on his router can assist in managing this by directing traffic correctly. This approach is useful when additional gateway devices need to connect.
When VMs are on separate networks, the router must understand which server should act as the gateway for traffic meant for that network.
It really depends on the configuration of the second network. I think I would just install another router as a virtual machine, and then you wouldn't have to do anything else except set up port forwards on the main router.
This would only forward traffic through the virtual router, not to the virtual machines inside it. You’d have to configure port forwarding from the router to the VMs as well. Alternatively, you could implement a static route instead.
You can then redirect traffic through the virtual router so the network can reach the web. The static route router can assist with another virtual router if you need access to systems beyond the primary network, though this is typically required only for maintenance purposes.