Using a SSH tunnel/ port forward to connect a TV? (lemmy.zip)

submitted 9 hours ago by eyesaremosaics@lemmy.zip to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world

7 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I wanted to improve the security of a TV connecting to a server on a different LAN, and one approach I thought of is to use a RPi on the network to look after the secure connection.

So the pi could connect to the remove server through SSH, and forward the port locally. I thought this port could then be opened, and the TV can then be pointed at the pi on the local network.

Port forwarding to the pi works but I can't connect to it from another device, even after setting firewall settings.

Basically the firewall rule is ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 port 1234

Does this idea work, or is there a better approach? Am I missing something in the setup?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] eksb@programming.dev 2 points 9 hours ago

Can you provide more detail? What are the networks/routers/vlans? Which network is the RPi on? What is your ssh command? Is that ufw command on the RPi or the router?

[-] eyesaremosaics@lemmy.zip 1 points 9 hours ago

Ok there is a TV and a pi on network 1 and a server on network 2, the pi can connect to the server through SSH or VPN or whatever is needed. The TV would like to connect to the server, however it can't run a VPN or anything like that so exposing the server would be a risk.

The SSH command on the pi is SSH -L 1234:localhost1234 remote_server

The ufw command was run on the pi, with the intention to allow the TV to access the forwarded port on the pi

[-] eksb@programming.dev 4 points 9 hours ago

ssh -L 1234:localhost:1234 remote_server binds the RPi's localhost:1234 to remote_server's localhost:1234. You want to bind the port to something on the RPi that the TV can hit, so something like ssh -L 192.168.1.5:1234:localhost:1234 remote_server, where 192.168.1.5 is the RPi's address.

I think you also want -N on the ssh command.

[-] eyesaremosaics@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 hour ago

That worked thanks, I didn't know you could put an address like that in the -L command, and the -N is correct here too

this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2026

17 points (100.0% liked)

Selfhosted

59923 readers

535 users here now

A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.

Rules:

Be civil: we're here to support and learn from one another. Insults won't be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.
No spam.
Posts here are to be centered around self-hosting. Please ensure it is clear in your post how it relates to self-hosting.
Don't duplicate the full text of your blog or git here. Just post the link for folks to click.
Submission headline should match the article title.
No trolling.

Resources:

selfh.st Newsletter and index of selfhosted software and apps
awesome-selfhosted software
awesome-sysadmin resources
Self-Hosted Podcast from Jupiter Broadcasting

Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.

Questions? DM the mods!

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

curbstickle@anarchist.nexus

curbstickle_lw@lemmy.world