How to configure NAT in OpenVPN?

I have a client, connected to a server on my LAN.

How can I connect a local client with an IP in the same LAN and have it use that IP to talk to the VPN server? I need this to happen before the connection is completed and I need all traffic to be routed through the VPN tunnel. How do I do this?

This question came from our site for computer enthusiasts and everyday people who wanted to know which one they should choose. You might want to try NAT on the external side of the VPN, but if you have some reason you don't want to change the routing of packets, here is how you would do it: 1) Create a new internal network subnet for your VPN (like, 10.1)0/24).2) Set up routing for this subnet3) Do the NATing, on the external side of the VPN, on the internal network's gateway4) Create a routing rule that will redirect all traffic from the VPN subnet to the NATed internal IP5) Leave the NAT on the internal side alone (no need to change anything there, because that NAT's only purpose is to hide internal IPs)

I think that if you have a router that supports configuring both static routes and routing tables, it's easier than creating an entire VPN subnet just for that purpose. Here is what I had to do this. I used the NAT as a test and it was working fine. To make the change permanent I removed the old NAT entries and then added a new one. If I remember right, this configuration is the exact opposite of what you suggested, but that's OK. Since I don't use this VPN, I didn't really worry about it. But it would be helpful if you also gave me the link to your guide.

I've been trying to figure this out too. I was able to get it working with my Asus RT-N66U on an OpenVPN client and WAN connection but I didn't want to change any settings that might make it break.

My VPN provider requires that I use private IP addresses, and I'm getting those. They're using one NAT'd address per client, so I think I have a way forward.

What is the difference between use NAT and use routing in OpenVPN?

I have been trying to figure out the difference between NAT and routing. So far, I understand that NAT is applied on the VPN client while routing is applied on the VPN server. Both of them are supposed to provide security and privacy, but what is the difference between the two?

I've been trying to find an explanation online, but I'm not having any luck. EDIT: I'm still not sure what the difference is. I know NAT is for allowing multiple machines to access a single machine (example: a laptop is behind a router and shares internet with other computers), while routing is for allowing multiple computers to share a single IP address (example: laptop needs to access the internet via VPN server and other computers). Is this correct?

Re: What is the difference between use NAT and use routing in OpenVPN? I think you are making it more complicated than necessary. When we talk about NAT, we are talking about a VPN client (client1) being one side of a NAT box, and the NAT box adding an internal IP address to the outbound connections to forward them to the VPN server (server1). The VPN server would then add an IP address to its inbound connection to forward it back to the client1.

Now, if the NAT box does not have any local IP address (and thus no one else can connect to it), this configuration gives you a simple way to route all clients to server1. But if you want to route only certain clients to server1, you would need to create a sub-routing for that purpose.

What about when we use NAT from the server to the clients? Shouldn't it be the opposite where the server will add an internal IP address to the NAT and then forward the traffic to the clients? This way we wouldn't have any external IP addresses but just internal ones that the clients would use to communicate with server1? The key is that the NAT box will be your OpenVPN server. It will NAT incoming connections to clients on the VPN to your server's private IP address.