{"id":144983,"date":"2025-04-15T00:01:47","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T04:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/?p=144983"},"modified":"2025-04-22T00:30:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T04:30:06","slug":"adding-a-vpn-to-a-home-network-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/adding-a-vpn-to-a-home-network-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Adding A VPN To A Home Network &#8211; Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"daves-2532196294\" class=\"daves-single-post-before-content daves-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\r\n<p>In Parts 1 and 2 of this article, I explained what a VPN is, the reasons to put one on a router, equipment concerns, how to add a VPN client to a router, and what modifications to make to the default settings. In this part of the series, I will cover how to create rules to get traffic to the VPN client and how to manually assign an address to a device on the network.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Assigning Traffic<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The VPN client has been set up and is connected to the VPN server, but I have not assigned any traffic to go through the VPN. To do this, I need to set up a rule. The first rule will assign all data to go through the VPN client. My network is on 192.168.81.1. Every device on my network will have an address between 192.168.81.0 and 192.168.81.255. I could set 256 rules, one for each device, but that would be tedious. Also, my router only has room for 199 rules.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">CIDR<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Instead of creating rules for every IP address, I will be using <strong>Classless Inter-Domain Routing<\/strong>\u00a0(<strong>CIDR<\/strong>) notation. CIDR is a method for allocating IP addresses for IP routing. In CIDR notation, I assign an IP prefix and follow it with a length. It works backwards from what you would expect, where the smaller the number, the larger the range.\u00a0 I can go to a <a href=\"https:\/\/account.arin.net\/public\/cidrCalculator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CIDR calculator<\/a> and see that the range for everything in my subnet would be CIDR <strong>192.168.81.0\/24.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CIDR_1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"397\" class=\"wp-image-145006\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CIDR_1-640x397.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CIDR_1-640x397.jpg 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CIDR_1-350x217.jpg 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CIDR_1-150x93.jpg 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CIDR_1-768x477.jpg 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CIDR_1-1536x954.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CIDR_1-1320x820.jpg 1320w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CIDR_1.jpg 1562w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Create A Rule For All Traffic<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>To enter a rule, I need to go to the <strong>VPN Director<\/strong> by selecting its tab. To add a new rule, I will go to the <strong>Add new rule<\/strong> area of the page and select the <strong>+ <\/strong>(plus) button.<\/p><div id=\"daves-189734142\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content daves-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/VPN-Director_1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"531\" class=\"wp-image-145007\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/VPN-Director_1-640x531.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/VPN-Director_1-640x531.jpg 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/VPN-Director_1-350x290.jpg 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/VPN-Director_1-150x124.jpg 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/VPN-Director_1-768x637.jpg 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/VPN-Director_1.jpg 1116w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The rule <strong>Custom Configuration<\/strong> page will open. In the <strong>Interface<\/strong> field, use the drop-down to select the VPN client. I will select <strong>OpenVPN 5<\/strong>, which is the VPN client I created. In the <strong>Local IP<\/strong> field, I will enter <strong>192.168.81.0\/24, <\/strong>which is the CIDR notation for all devices on the 192.168.81.1 subnet. In the <strong>Description<\/strong> field, assign a descriptor. In the <strong>Enable<\/strong> field, click the checkbox. Now click <strong>OK<\/strong> to create the rule. Finally, click the <strong>Apply<\/strong> button to save the rule to the VPN Director.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Rule_1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"328\" class=\"wp-image-145008\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Rule_1-640x328.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Rule_1-640x328.jpg 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Rule_1-350x179.jpg 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Rule_1-150x77.jpg 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Rule_1-768x394.jpg 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Rule_1.jpg 1108w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>All internet traffic will now flow through the VPN client.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Create DHCP Addresses<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Before I can create rules for devices, I need to know the device\u2019s IP address. However, when I first connect a device to my network, the router assigns that device an IP address. This address is not permanent but can change over time. I need to assign a static address to any device for which I am creating a rule. I do this using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) in the router&#8217;s DHCP server. On my network, every device has a manually assigned IP address &#8211; it is best practice. Although it is not necessary, I also assign similar device types to a range (for example, all streaming devices get assigned an IP address between 192.168.81.160 &#8211; 192.168.81.169). It simplifies administrative tasks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Assigning IP addresses is easy. Go to the <strong>DHCP Server<\/strong> under the <strong>LAN<\/strong> section on the router. On my router, I select <strong>LAN<\/strong> from the main menu and then select the <strong>DHCP Server<\/strong> tab. I then go to the <strong>Manually Assigned IP addresses in the DHCP scope<\/strong> area of the page. To assign an address, use the dropdown to select a device (in the example, I\u2019m selecting a Firestick) in the <strong>IP Address<\/strong> field, enter the desired IP address, in the <strong>Hostname<\/strong> field, assign a descriptor, and click the <strong>+ <\/strong>(plus) button to create the manually assigned address. Click the <strong>Apply<\/strong> button to save the address.<\/p><div id=\"daves-333361401\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content-2 daves-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DHCP_1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"434\" height=\"694\" class=\"wp-image-145009\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DHCP_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DHCP_1.jpg 434w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DHCP_1-250x400.jpg 250w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DHCP_1-94x150.jpg 94w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 434px) 100vw, 434px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DHCP_2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"98\" class=\"wp-image-145010\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DHCP_2-640x98.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DHCP_2-640x98.jpg 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DHCP_2-350x54.jpg 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DHCP_2-150x23.jpg 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DHCP_2-768x118.jpg 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DHCP_2.jpg 1306w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>How do you create rules to bypass the VPN client based on devices or websites? I\u2019ll explain these concepts in Part 4 of this article. Stay tuned!<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/adding-a-vpn-to-a-home-network-part-1\/\">Adding A VPN To A Home Network \u2013 Part 1<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/adding-a-vpn-to-a-home-network-part-2\/\">Adding A VPN To A Home Network \u2013 Part 2<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<li>Adding A VPN To A Home Network \u2013 Part 3 \u2b05 <span style=\"color: #339966;\">You are here<\/span><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/adding-a-vpn-to-a-home-network-part-4\/\">Adding A VPN To A Home Network \u2013 Part 4<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"daves-4250080969\" class=\"daves-after-content daves-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"3225321574\" \ndata-ad-format=\"autorelaxed\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Parts 1 and 2 of this article, I explained what a VPN is, the reasons to put one on a router, equipment concerns, how to add a VPN client to a router, and what modifications to make to the default settings. In this part [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4183,"featured_media":144976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,28,13],"tags":[14249],"class_list":["post-144983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how","category-internet","category-security","tag-router-vpn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4183"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}