Web server behind a NAT server?

[jahlmer]

Using a NAT server to share a resource, yet placing a web server behind it on the private network.

NAT Server: Internal 192.168.1.1 / 24
2nd IP 185.0.0.1

Nat mapping 80 to 185.0.0.2

Web Server: Internal 192.168.1.2 / 24
2nd IP 185.0.0.2

If the web server can ping other servers on the 'internet' and the internet can see the web server (on port 80, it opens up

http://www.whaterver.com

and whaterver.com

However, the NAT server cannot resolve back to it, and neither can itself using

http://www.whatever.com

or

http://www.whatever.com

, because the NAT server is not mapping that port from internal requests

The DNS server is 185.0.0.100
It's entries are

whatever.com
- ns 185.0.0.100 (itself)
- soa 185.0.0.100 (itself
- A (host) -whatever 185.0.0.1
- CNAME (alias) -

http://www whatever

the IIS website on 185.0.0.2 is bound to 'all unassigned' IP addresses , and default website is stopped.

FROM THE INTERNET, it all works flawlessly
FROM THE INTERNAL NETWORK (NAT server, WEB server, and CLIENTS), the domain resolves to the NAT server's IP.

There are NO static routes set up,

Any suggestions, ideas, inklings, questions, everything is welcome to solve this.

Thank you!

 

[jjgraf]

First NAT servers will ignore the DNS entries if the Request sends the IP address which is what happens on the OUTSIDE.

the internet client already has the IP address to the NAT server from another DNS server, so when the request to browse your website comes in the NAT does it thing and sends the request onward to the IP address not the Domain Name.



Now on your internal network your clients can not find the pointing record to the

http://WWW.whaterver.com

from your DNS server because looking at what you posted Those records don't exsit.

Create the pointing records on the DNS to

http://www.whatever.com

pointing to 185.0.0.2 that should fix your problem. Because looking at what you posted you never created the Entries for your network.

hope this helps

 

[yizhar]

HI.

The internal web-server should have only the local IP address configured.
It does not have to know about the "outside" IP 185.0.0.2, since the NAT server translates it.
This will not solve your problem but make your configuration "cleaner".

You may work-around the name resolution problem in several ways.

* If using internal DNS server that is used by internal clients only, configure a mapping to 192.168.1.2 instead of the external IP .
If not using an internal DNS - It is time to think about it for solving this and also for better performance.

* You can instruct internal clients to browse to the short NETBIOS web server name.

* You can implement a HOSTS file on local clients to map to the internal web-server address.

There might be a solution in the NAT server - but currently I don't know of a specific one.

Bye

Yizhar Hurwitz

http://come.to/yizhar

http://teachers.sivan.co.il/yizhar