44Net Connect/Routed Subnet/Debian based distributions - Revision history

KN6DWI: Pasted in troubleshooting section

2026-06-30T23:08:33Z

Pasted in troubleshooting section

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:08, 30 June 2026
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	[Install]		[Install]
	WantedBy=multi-user.target</nowiki>		WantedBy=multi-user.target</nowiki>

			== Troubleshooting ==
			=== Devices connected to the Pi are not receiving DHCP addresses ===
			Verify that the Kea DHCP server is running:

			<code>systemctl status kea-dhcp4-server</code>

			If it's not running, read its logs on the status screen to see if there were any errors in the configuration file.
			Forgetting to delete the default DHCP reservation examples will cause errors, because those are not in your subnet.

			If the DHCP server has started properly, check your <code>kea</code> configuration in <code>/etc/kea/kea-dhcp4.conf</code> and ensure that your interface, router IP, and IP ranges are set properly. Check the logs in <code>systemctl status kea-dhcp4-server</code> for warnings that <code>kea</code> failed to bind to an interface.

			=== Clients cannot find route to hosts ===
			Run <code>ip rule show</code> and ensure that:
			# The rule directing your routed subnet to the 51820 table exists
			# That rule's priority is a lower number (and thus higher priority) than any other rules that would override it, such as the default rule <code>from all lookup main</code>

			Next, inspect the table using <code>ip route show table 51820</code> and ensure that its default route is through the WireGuard interface.

KN6DWI: Filled out the section on setting up routing

2026-06-30T23:06:34Z

Filled out the section on setting up routing

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	// The rest of this config is omitted for brevity.		// The rest of this config is omitted for brevity.
	}</nowiki>		}</nowiki>

			== Setting up Routing ==
			=== Enable IP Forwarding ===
			To allow packets to be forwarded between different network interfaces on your Pi, we must enable IP forwarding in the kernel. Do this by adding the line <code>net.ipv4.ip_forward=1</code> to one of the drop-in files in <code>/etc/sysctl.d/</code>, or create one and add this line. It's customary to prefix drop-in file names with a number indicating their priority.
			Editing or creating the drop-in file will require superuser privileges. For example:

			<code>sudo nano /etc/sysctl.d/98-ipforward.conf</code>

			Next, reload your system configuration from config files by running <code>sudo sysctl --system</code>. Verify that IP forwarding has been successfully enabled
			by running <code>sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward</code>, which should print <code>net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1</code>. If the number is 0 instead of 1, IP forwarding has not been properly enabled, and you should check your drop-in file for typos.

			=== Add the routing rule ===
			Next, we need to add a routing rule to allow the clients on the routed subnet to exit via the WireGuard tunnel. The setup steps for creating the tunnel should have created the routing table <code>51820</code> where the default route is via the WireGuard interface, whatever you've named it. Verify that it exists by running the command <code>ip route show table 51820</code>. It should have a single line that says something like <code>default dev wg0 scope link</code>. In this case, <code>wg0</code> is the example WireGuard interface name. Yours may be different.

			Run the command <code>sudo ip rule add from <subnet> table 51820</code>. Replace <code><subnet></code> with your routed subnet in CIDR notation.

			Verify that your routing is working correctly by running the following command:

			<code>ip route get 1.1.1.1 from <address> iif <subnet interface></code>

			<code><address></code> should be replaced by an address in your subnet, and <code><subnet interface></code> with the interface your routed subnet clients are connected to. This command will attempt to find the route to 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare's DNS server, an arbitrary test IP) from an IP in the routed subnet. The output should look like this:

			<code>1.1.1.1 from <address> dev wg0 table 51820</code>

			If the output indicates that there is no route to host, or that your route does not proceed via the WireGuard interface, you may have an issue with your routing configuration.

			This routing rule will not persist between reboots. To make it persist, we can add it to the <code>systemd</code> unit created for the tunnel. After the existing <code>ExecStart</code> line, add another that executes the rule we just added. Immediately after that one, before the existing <code>ExecStop</code> line, add an
			<code>ExecStop</code> line that deletes the rule. This is done by running <code>ip rule del</code> rather than <code>ip rule add</code>. Your unit should look something like this:

			<nowiki>
			[Unit]
			Description=WireGuard single device 44Net Connect tunnel
			Requires=network-online.target

			[Service]
			Type=oneshot
			RemainAfterExit=true

			# Edit these lines if your config file is named differently.
			ExecStart=wg-quick up /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf
			ExecStart=ip rule add from 44.27.45.129/29 lookup 51820
			ExecStop=ip rule del from 44.27.45.129/29 lookup 51820
			ExecStop=wg-quick down /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf

			[Install]
			WantedBy=multi-user.target</nowiki>

KN6DWI: Pasted in section on configuring DHCP

2026-06-30T18:47:56Z

Pasted in section on configuring DHCP

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:47, 30 June 2026
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	Next, enable your new connection by running <code>sudo nmcli conn up <name of connection></code>		Next, enable your new connection by running <code>sudo nmcli conn up <name of connection></code>

			== Setting up DHCP ==
			[https://www.isc.org/kea/ Kea] is the recommended DHCP server for setting up a routed subnet. <code>dhcpd</code> is deprecated as of 2022.

			Install <code>kea</code> by running

			<code>sudo apt install kea</code>.

			After installing, configure its settings by editing <code>/etc/kea/kea-dhcp4.conf</code>. This file uses an extended JSON syntax that supports shell style comments using <code>#</code>, C style single line comments with <code>//</code>, and C style multi-line comments with <code>/* */</code>.

			=== Configure Interface ===
			Inside the <code>Dhcp4</code> struct, under <code>interfaces-config</code>, add the interface you want your DHCP server to operate on to the <code>interfaces</code> list. For example, in a setup using 2 ethernet interfaces, you might have <code>eth0</code> connected to your LAN and <code>eth1</code> connected to your client devices. In this case, you would use <code>eth1</code>. If you're using the built-in wireless card to broadcast an access point, use <code>wlan0</code>.

			<nowiki>
			"Dhcp4": {
			"interfaces-config": {
			"interfaces": [ "eth1" ]
			}
			}
			</nowiki>

			=== Configure DNS ===
			Inside the <code>Dhcp4</code> struct, under <code>option-data</code> set at least one DNS server. Cloudflare's DNS servers are <code>1.1.1.1</code> and <code>1.0.0.1</code>. Google's DNS servers are <code>8.8.8.8</code> and <code>8.8.4.4</code>.

			<nowiki>
			"Dhcp4": {
			"option-data": [
			{
			"name": "domain-name-servers",
			"data": "1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1, 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4"
			},
			],
			}
			</nowiki>

			=== Configure your subnet ===
			<code>subnet4</code> is a list (denoted with brackets) of structures (denoted with curly brackets) where each structure is one subnet. Inside each subnet structure, set the client IP range(s) in <code>pools</code>, and define at least one router in the <code>option-data</code> field. Comment out or delete the example DHCP reservations in the <code>reservations</code> field, since they're for the wrong subnet.

			<nowiki>
			"subnet4": [
			// Put your subnet here in CIDR notation.
			"subnet": "44.27.45.128/29",

			// Define the range of client IP addresses here.
			"pools": [ { "pool": "44.27.45.129 - 44.27.45.133" } ],

			// These options are subnet specific. You must configure at least one router.
			"option-data": [
			{
			"name": "routers",
			"data": "44.27.45.129"
			}
			],
			"reservations": [
			// Comment out or delete the examples in this list, since they are for the wrong subnet.
			]
			]
			</nowiki>

			=== Ethernet Hot Plugging Workaround ===
			At present, <code>kea</code> does not support hot plugging interfaces. This means that ethernet devices must have at least one client at the time the DHCP server starts, otherwise it will not properly bind to the interface. If you plan on hot plugging ethernet devices on your Pi, this can be worked around by configuring <code>service-sockets-max-retries</code> to an extremely large number such as 9223372036854775807, the upper limit of a signed 64-bit integer. You may also wish to increase <code>service-sockets-retry-wait-time</code>, which specifies the retry time in milliseconds, though the default time of 5000 ms is typically fine. These options should go in the <code>interfaces-config</code> section at the top of your <code>Dhcp4</code> section in <code>/etc/kea/kea-dhcp4.conf</code>. Here is an example:

			<nowiki>
			"Dhcp4": {
			// Add names of your network interfaces to listen on.
			"interfaces-config": {
			// See section 8.2.4 for more details. You probably want to add just
			// interface name (e.g. "eth0" or specific IPv4 address on that
			// interface name (e.g. "eth0/192.0.2.1").
			"interfaces": ["eth1" ],

			// max retries is set to int64 max as a workaround for kea not supporting
			// hot plugging of interfaces.
			"service-sockets-max-retries": 9223372036854775807,
			"service-sockets-retry-wait-time": 2000
			},

			// The rest of this config is omitted for brevity.
			}</nowiki>

KN6DWI: Filled out section on configuring WiFi interface for access point mode

2026-06-30T18:45:55Z

Filled out section on configuring WiFi interface for access point mode

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:45, 30 June 2026
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	<code>sudo nmcli con up <name of new connection></code>		<code>sudo nmcli con up <name of new connection></code>

			== Optional: Setting Up A Wireless Access Point ==

			If you have wireless only clients, or wish to utilize an existing WiFi interface in lieu of an additional ethernet interface, you can configure the interface as an access point.

			After your subnet is approved, you must attach it to your tunnel. Go to your Tunnels tab on 44Net Connect, and click Edit on the tunnel for your routing device. Go to the "Route additional Networks Through This Tunnel" section, and check the box for the subnet you want to use for this tunnel.

			=== Step 1: Set your wireless regulatory domain ===
			Different countries have different rules about which frequencies and bandwidths devices are allowed to use for WiFi.
			Setting the regulatory domain ensures that your device will use the right ones, making it work best with nearby devices and ensuring regulatory compliance.

			Your regulatory domain may have already been set during OS installation. Run
			<code>sudo iw reg get</code> to check whether it's been set. Look at the country set under <code>global</code>. If it says <code>unset</code>, you have not set the regulatory domain.

			If your regulatory domain has not been set, set it with <code>sudo iw reg set <country code></code> where the country code is your [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-2 two letter ISO country code].

			=== Step 2: Configure WiFi settings for your nmcli connection ===
			Set the access point security and password. First, we set the <code>wifi-sec.key-mgmt</code> parameter to <code>wpa-psk</code> to disable the older insecure WEP encryption method. At this point, you will also need to set a password.

			<code>sudo nmcli con modify <connection name> wifi-sec.key-mgmt wpa-psk</code>

			<code>sudo nmcli con modify <connection name> wifi-sec.psk <password> </code>

			For security, leave only WPA2 enabled. By default, the older WPA protocol is enabled for compatibility, but it only supports the less secure TKIP encryption algorithm. Disable it by setting <code>wifi-sec.proto</code> to <code>rsn</code>.

			<code>sudo nmcli con modify <connection name> wifi-sec.proto rsn</code>

			Even after disabling the older WPA protocol, WPA2 supports TKIP for compatibility. As an additional security measure, enable only the CCMP encryption algorithm, disabling TKIP.

			<code>sudo nmcli con modify <connection name> wifi-sec.pairwise ccmp</code>

			Finally, set the connection to access point mode and configure it to use your subnet assignment.

			<code>sudo nmcli con modify <connection name> 802-11-wireless.mode ap 802-11-wireless.band <band> ipv4.method manual ipv4.addr <subnet in CIDR notation></code>

			For the <code>802-11-wireless.band</code> setting, choose either <code>bg</code> for 2.4 GHz or <code>a</code> for 5 GHz.

			Now we need to disable the current <code>nmcli</code> connection and enable our new one. Current connections can be viewed by running <code>nmcli connection</code>. If your device is currently connected to a WiFi network, you'll see something like <code>netplan-wlan0-<name of your wifi network></code>. Disable that connection by running the following command:

			<code>sudo nmcli conn down netplan-wlan0-<name of your wifi network></code>

			Next, enable your new connection by running <code>sudo nmcli conn up <name of connection></code>

KN6DWI: Removed extra new line

2026-06-30T18:28:04Z

Removed extra new line

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	== Setting Up The Network Interface ==		== Setting Up The Network Interface ==
	The recommended way to set up the router for your subnet is with two ethernet interfaces. The second can be provided by a USB ethernet adapter if necessary. This section has the steps that are required regardless of whether you're using ethernet or WiFi. If you're using WiFi, you'll also need the steps in the following section. Otherwise, you can skip them.		The recommended way to set up the router for your subnet is with two ethernet interfaces. The second can be provided by a USB ethernet adapter if necessary. This section has the steps that are required regardless of whether you're using ethernet or WiFi. If you're using WiFi, you'll also need the steps in the following section. Otherwise, you can skip them.


	=== Step 1: Create a new connection in nmcli ===		=== Step 1: Create a new connection in nmcli ===

KN6DWI: Copied in prerequisite section through network interface setup

2026-06-30T18:27:39Z

Copied in prerequisite section through network interface setup

New page

== Prerequisites ==
Set up a [[44Net_Connect/Quick_Start/Debian_based_distributions | single-device tunnel to your machine]].
Note the IP and name of your WireGuard interface. The name of your WireGuard interface is the same as the name
of your config file. For example, if your config file is <code>/etc/wireguard/wg0.conf</code>, then your
interface name is <code>wg0</code>. The IP of your WireGuard interface can be obtained from running <code>ifconfig <interface></code> and finding the IP listed under the interface in the <code>inet</code> field.

Below is some example output of <code>ifconfig wg0</code>.

<nowiki>
wg0: flags=209<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,NOARP> mtu 1380
inet 44.27.133.190 netmask 255.255.255.255 destination 44.27.133.190
inet6 fe80::f728:a0b0:3af5:b5c6 prefixlen 128 scopeid 0x20<link>
unspec 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00 txqueuelen 1000 (UNSPEC)
RX packets 17331 bytes 5865364 (5.5 MiB)
RX errors 0 dropped 0 overruns 0 frame 0
TX packets 13389 bytes 2146828 (2.0 MiB)
TX errors 0 dropped 1 overruns 0 carrier 0 collisions 0</nowiki>

== Request a Subnet ==
Go to the [https://connect.44net.cloud/networks Network tab] of 44Net Connect, and request a network. Requests up to a /28 (16 IPs) are automatically approved. It's recommended to request at least a /29 (8 IPs), since at least 2 of your IPs must be set aside for network and broadcast addresses. That way, you have at least 6 usable addresses for your hosts.

== Setting Up The Network Interface ==
The recommended way to set up the router for your subnet is with two ethernet interfaces. The second can be provided by a USB ethernet adapter if necessary. This section has the steps that are required regardless of whether you're using ethernet or WiFi. If you're using WiFi, you'll also need the steps in the following section. Otherwise, you can skip them.

=== Step 1: Create a new connection in nmcli ===
<code>nmcli</code> is the CLI interface for NetworkManager, which is the high level network configuration tool included in most Debian-based distributions by default. These configuration steps can be completed using the NetworkManager GUI, but many people operate a "headless" machine (without a screen or keyboard) and use SSH to remotely configure it. Thus, this tutorial uses a CLI tool to accommodate that use case.
An <code>nmcli</code> "connection" is an abstraction representing a network configuration attached to a device. Create a new connection by running

<code>sudo nmcli con add conn-name <name> ifname <interface name> type <type></code>.

You can name the connection whatever you like, but it's recommended to name it something descriptive. For example, if you're configuring a 44net routed subnet for <code>eth1</code>, you might name it <code>44net-eth1</code>. The interface name is the name of the interface you're using, as described by <code>ifconfig</code>. The type is either <code>wifi</code> or <code>ethernet</code>. For a WiFi interface, you must also specify the BSSID (network name) by adding the parameter <code>ssid <BSSID></code> at the end.

=== Step 2: Configure the IP ===
Set the IPv4 method to manual using the following command:

<code>sudo nmcli con modify <name> ipv4.method manual</code>

Next, set the IP range for this interface.

<code>sudo nmcli con modify <name> ipv4.address <subnet></code>

Your subnet should be specified in CIDR notation. At this point, if you're configuring an ethernet interface, you're ready to start it up. If you're configuring a WiFi interface, don't start your interface yet, and move on to the next section for additional configuration.

=== Step 3: Starting the Interface ===
First, disable the existing connection, which is likely named <code>netplan-<interface></code>. If you're using <code>eth1</code> for your 44net clients, it may look like <code>netplan-eth1</code>. If you are configuring your Debian machine over SSH, be careful not to deactivate the connection over which your SSH is traveling.

<code>sudo nmcli con down <name of existing connection></code>

After deactivating the regular connection, activate your new connection. If this succeeds, you're good to go.

<code>sudo nmcli con up <name of new connection></code>