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Add a DNAT rule with server access assistant

The server access assistant helps you create destination NAT (DNAT) rules for inbound traffic to internal servers.

Use the server access assistant to create DNAT rules to translate incoming traffic to servers, such as web, mail, SSH, or other servers, and access remote desktops. The assistant also creates a reflexive SNAT rule (for outbound traffic from the servers), a loopback rule (for internal users accessing the servers), and a firewall rule (to allow inbound traffic to the servers) automatically.

Creating NAT and firewall rules that meet basic requirements using the server access assistant is a simple process. To add other rule settings, you can edit these rules later.

  1. Select the server access assistant from one of the following options:

    • Go to Rules and policies > NAT rules, select IPv4 or IPv6 and click Add NAT rule. Select Server access assistant (DNAT).

    • Go to Rules and policies > Firewall rules, select protocol IPv4 or IPv6 and click Add firewall rule. Click New firewall rule and select Server access assistant (DNAT).

  2. Specify the settings:

    Name Description
    Internal server IP address Specify the internal server to which you want to provide internet access. To specify the internal server, either select the server from the list or enter its private IP address. If you enter the server's IP address, Sophos Firewall automatically creates an IP host with the assigned name. You can change the name.

    To specify more than one server, edit the rules later.
    Public IP address Select a public IP address or WAN interface. Alternatively, you can enter a public IP address.

    If you enter an IP address, Sophos Firewall automatically creates an IP host with the assigned name. You can change the name.

    To specify more than one public interface or IP address, edit the rules later.
    Services Select the services users can access on the internal server.

    You can't create new services here. You can add them before you create the rules with the server access assistant or when you edit the rules later.

    To specify port translation, edit the rules later.
    External source networks and devices Select the source networks and devices from which users can access the internal server.

    To automatically create a loopback rule for internal users to access the server, select Any.
    Save and finish Review the settings and rules. Save the settings.

    The server access assistant creates DNAT, reflexive SNAT, and loopback NAT rules for address translation and a firewall rule to allow inbound traffic to internal servers. The rules are added at the top of the NAT rule table and the firewall rule table and turned on by default.

    The reflexive and loopback rule names include the name and rule ID of the DNAT rule you created. The firewall rule name includes the DNAT rule name.

    Note

    For automatically created loopback rules, Sophos Firewall sets the source networks and the inbound interface to Any. So, it doesn't create a loopback rule automatically when you specify the following settings in a single DNAT rule: External source networks and devices set to Any and the Public IP address set to a non-interface IP address (traffic reaching a non-interface IP address can flow through any inbound interface).

    For these settings, the loopback rule's source network and inbound interface would be the same as the DNAT rule's. Once the firewall matches traffic with the DNAT rule, it won't evaluate the loopback rule, which is listed below it, making the loopback rule redundant.

    For these instances, you can create a DNAT rule manually to translate traffic between internal subnets.

What next

  • Reposition the rules in the NAT rule table and the firewall rule table to meet your requirements. Sophos Firewall evaluates rules from top down.
  • Edit the rules to specify other settings, if required.
  • Create a firewall rule to allow outbound traffic matching the reflexive NAT rule, if required.

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