As an administrator for multiple Linux servers in various location, I find it hard to manage port forwarding in routers, of course you can configure a remote GUI login such as RDP and VNC but all these servers only enable services they need with SSH as their main method of remote administration to these servers. Then, I found out about SSH tunneling, which is a lifesaver. There are two main method to tunnel traffic through SSH:

1. Forward a single port through SSH
2. Tunneling through SOCKS

The first method is good for temporary tunneling and the second method is good for when you want to encrypt your traffic. So, I think first method is more suitable to my case, but you are free to use the second method as well.

Method 1: Forward a single port through SSH

Make sure you know your router IP before you run SSH command, you can just SSH into your remote machine to get the default using route command. After you know your remote router IP, you can configure your tunnel using ssh command:

ssh -p [remote ssh port if changed] -L8080:[remote router IP]:80 [username]@[host]

Make sure that you fill in those variables in square brackets. After entering your user password, you can open your browser and access your router web management through 127.0.0.1:8080. Make sure that your firewall/iptables are not blocking port 8080.

Method 2: Tunneling through SOCKS

This method forward ports according to the port you specified in your browser or application. However, it is more complex and usually used to encrypt your traffic. You create a SOCKS tunnel using ssh command:

ssh -TND 4711 [username]@[host]

Make sure that you fill in those variables in square brackets. After entering your user password, you need to configure your browser to use SOCKS proxy, you can find more information on how to configure web browser for SOCKS proxy here. Once configured, you need to enter the router’s IP to access the router’s web management interface.