So I was looking into getting port forwarding set up and I realized just how closed-off the internet has gotten since the early days. It's concerning. It used to be you would buy your own router and connect it to the internet, and that router would control port-forwarding and what-have-you.
Now, your ISP provides your router, which runs their firmware, which (in my case) doesn't even have the option to enable port forwarding.
It gets worse - because ISPs are choosing NATs over IPv6, so even if you install a custom firmware on your router without it getting blacklisted by your ISP, you still can't expose your server to the internet because the NAT refuses to forward traffic your way. They even devise special NAT schemes like symmetric NAT to thwart hole punching.
Basically this all means that I have to purchase my web hosting separately. Or relay all the traffic through an unnecessary third party, introducing a point of failure.
It's frustrating.
I like to control my stuff. I don't like to depend on other people or be in a position where I have to trust someone not to fuck with my shit. Like, if the only thing outside my apartment that mattered to my website was a DNS record, I'd be really happy with that.
Edit: TIL ISPs in the US don't have NATs
Edit 2: OMG so much advice. My knowledge about computers is SO clearly outdated, I have a lot of things to read up on.
Edit 3: There's definitely a CGNAT involved since the WAN ip in the router config is not the same as the one I get when I use a website that echos my IP address. Far as I can tell ~~my devices don't get unique IPv6 addresses either~~. (funnily enough, if I check my IP address on my phone using roaming data, there's no IPv6 address at all). It's a router/modem combo, at least I think since there's only one device in my apartment (maybe there's a modem managing the whole complex or something?). And it doesn't have a bridge mode, except for OTT. Might try plugging my own router into it, but it feels like a waste of time and money from what I'm seeing. Probably best to just host services over a VPN or smth.
Edit 4: Devices do get unique IPv6 addresses, but it's moot since I can't do anything but ping them. I guess it wouldn't be port forwarding but something else that I would have to do that my router doesn't support
You can. But it then has to route through their modem+router single piece unit.
E.g. I have my own router which handles everything I need. But I switched ISPs recently to save 70$ per month, and the new company router has parts of its functionality, like turning off the wifi, built into their smartphone app and disabled in the admin panel.
Also the username and password for the unit is, by default, admin/admin. In 2023.
Don't know you exact situation, but you should be able to bring your own modem (or modem/router combo) or put their provided unit into bridge mode
Bridge mode still means you go through their hardware. I had issues with my ISP modem because even if it was in bridge mode I was basically ddos-ing it with my usage.
In the end I got an sfp module that mimick being the modem and plugged the ISP fiber right into my opnsense box where the CPU was plenty.
Yes, but if you can't get your own modem it'll at least stop you from having your traffic slowed down by the router side of their hardware
Even in bridge mode you can still be slowed down by the modem if its CPU can't handle your traffic. That's unless the isp modem offer a complete passthrough. That's what was happening to me even in bridge mode where I was getting my own IP through pppoe. The modem couldn't be made into full passthrough and was hitting 100% CPU.
Sounds like a (somehow even more) shit isp. I just tapped the "bring my own" when I signed up, and bought myself a modem/router combo at best buy.