Ubuntu as NAT Gateway with iptables

gatewayiptablesnat;Ubuntu

I'm trying to configure Ubuntu 14.04 to act as a NAT gateway between a private and public network.

  • Public Interface -> eth0 (178.x.x.x)
  • Private Interface -> eth0:0 (192.168.206.190/17)

I've tried many combinations of iptables rules, but I can't get traffic to route out. I have confirmed that the gateway can see the internet, and the hosts on the private network can see the gateway, and the default gateway is set correctly.

net.ipv4.ip_forward=1 is set in sysctl.

My iptables rules are below. My iptables experience is minimal, so it's quite possible I've missed something.

# Generated by iptables-save v1.4.21 on Thu Apr 21 12:38:44 2016
*security
:INPUT ACCEPT [215:14912]
:FORWARD ACCEPT [0:0]
:OUTPUT ACCEPT [133:16208]
COMMIT
# Completed on Thu Apr 21 12:38:44 2016
# Generated by iptables-save v1.4.21 on Thu Apr 21 12:38:44 2016
*raw
:PREROUTING ACCEPT [215:14912]
:OUTPUT ACCEPT [133:16208]
COMMIT
# Completed on Thu Apr 21 12:38:44 2016
# Generated by iptables-save v1.4.21 on Thu Apr 21 12:38:44 2016
*nat
:PREROUTING ACCEPT [3:132]
:INPUT ACCEPT [3:132]
:OUTPUT ACCEPT [0:0]
:POSTROUTING ACCEPT [0:0]
-A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE
COMMIT
# Completed on Thu Apr 21 12:38:44 2016
# Generated by iptables-save v1.4.21 on Thu Apr 21 12:38:44 2016
*mangle
:PREROUTING ACCEPT [215:14912]
:INPUT ACCEPT [215:14912]
:FORWARD ACCEPT [0:0]
:OUTPUT ACCEPT [133:16208]
:POSTROUTING ACCEPT [133:16208]
COMMIT
# Completed on Thu Apr 21 12:38:44 2016
# Generated by iptables-save v1.4.21 on Thu Apr 21 12:38:44 2016
*filter
:INPUT ACCEPT [46:3296]
:FORWARD ACCEPT [0:0]
:OUTPUT ACCEPT [28:3484]
-A FORWARD -i eth0:0 -o eth0 -m state --state RELATED,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT
-A FORWARD -i eth0 -o eth0:0 -j ACCEPT
COMMIT
# Completed on Thu Apr 21 12:38:44 2016

iptables -L -v

Chain INPUT (policy ACCEPT 15 packets, 1044 bytes)
 pkts bytes target     prot opt in     out     source               destination

Chain FORWARD (policy ACCEPT 0 packets, 0 bytes)
 pkts bytes target     prot opt in     out     source               destination
    0     0 ACCEPT     all  --  eth0:0 eth0    anywhere             anywhere             state RELATED,ESTABLISHED
    0     0 ACCEPT     all  --  eth0   eth0:0  anywhere             anywhere

Chain OUTPUT (policy ACCEPT 10 packets, 1016 bytes)
 pkts bytes target     prot opt in     out     source               destination

Here is configuration of a host on the private network:

netstat -r
Kernel IP routing table
Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags   MSS Window  irtt Iface
default         nat             0.0.0.0         UG        0 0          0 eth0
192.168.128.0   *               255.255.128.0   U         0 0          0 eth0

ping of 'nat' confirms host can see 'nat':

ping nat
PING nat (192.168.206.190) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from nat (192.168.206.190): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.359 ms

ping of 8.8.8.8 shows no traffic routing:

ping 8.8.8.8
PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8) 56(84) bytes of data.
^C
--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 1999ms

Best Answer

I think the problem is in this rule

-A FORWARD -i eth0:0 -o eth0 -m state --state RELATED,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT

You have to change the position of the interfaces

-A FORWARD -i eth0 -o eth0:0 -m state --state RELATED,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT
Related Topic