Does anybody know how to setup the Drobo5N to connect via a VPN? To be clear, I don’t want it to act as a VPN server. Rather, I want all non-LAN outgoing traffic to go through a VPN tunnel. I have OpenVPN installed. Any help would be appreciated.
hi joe,
if youre looking for specific steps to do it, im not sure, but have a look at these threads meanwhile in case it helps:
http://www.drobospace.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=139963&highlight=vpn
http://www.drobospace.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=69418&highlight=vpn
http://www.drobospace.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=88063&highlight=vpn
Thanks, Paul, but I’ve read through all of those before posting. They’re all relating to using Drobo as a VPN server. I need it the other way around (as a client). I already have a VPN server locally that I can remotely connect to from outside my network. But what I want now is my Drobo (specifically, the services running on it) to connect externally to a VPN and send traffic via that VPN tunnel.
In the end, if it’s not possible to do from within the Drobo itself, I could setup a proxy on another local server and simply have that proxy server connect to the VPN, and the Drobo would connect through the proxy. But that is my last resort.
ok joe, no worries,
am sure someone else will let you know in time if its possible.
(and even if its not, ricardo might find a way to make it happen with another app) 
@Joe: The OpenVPN DroboApp has all the files required to make the 5N behave as a client. The only piece missing is to change the routing tables to make sure your default route to go over the vpn.
Is this what you have in mind? https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/documentation/howto.html#redirect
Yes, that is similar to what I had in mind, except that there is no “iptables” app for the Drobo, so I can’t actually use this method. Also, those instructions are for the server configuration, rather than if OpenVPN is only setup to act as a client (I already have a server – external – that I’d like to connect to).
Unfortunately, most of my confusion stems from my limited OpenVPN familiarity, as I’m used to doing this through NetworkManager (which makes it really easy).
True, there is no iptables but there is a pretty decent “ip” tool. Maybe you can achieve the same goal using “iprule”?
Any further forward on this? I would liek to be able to connect to an external VPN to allow the use of Sickbeard properly…
I have tomato firmware installed on my router and I am set up to selectively route traffic from only my 5n through the VPN and all other devices / ip addresses through my regular isp connection.
Seems to work good to me.