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Ask HN: SSH Based Tunnel FOSS/Better Alternative to Pinggy?

Basically pinggy.io allows you to use ssh to host a tunnel. I want to use something like this to host my minecraft server / something general But I like open source software and I was wondering if there are some alternatives these are non foss options serveo.net localhost.run there used to be a public instance of https://github.com/fasmide/remotemoe but now its shutdown :( (Please come back) there is https://ssh-j.com/ but it says "Users are encouraged to use it for SSH exposure only, to preserve end-to-end encryption. No public ports, only in-SSH connectivity" So what are some other open source alternatives or any opinions?

tra3 2y ago
You still need need a public end point to host your tunnel. Is an internet facing bastion host with ssh not what you're looking for?
- Imustaskforhelp 2y ago
  yes but which service to you ? and I feel like I am unable to understand you?
sandreas 2y ago
Why not just rent a root server and use WireGuard / OpenVPN for your trusted clients? Sounds like you want a Virtual Private Network and SSH is only one (pretty restricted) way to do this...
- Imustaskforhelp 2y ago
  yes I understand that , but respectfully I hope you understand that I came here not to hear to rent a server but rather to actually get a alternative. 1) wireguard and openvpn are really hard to configure. You can just see it from the fact by seeing the plethora of apps trying to simplify these two. (see sshuttle to see what I am speaking) 2.) I want it to be accessible by everyday , so no I am not looking for it as a vpn
solardev 2y ago
Are you just trying to expose a port in your computer through your router for friends to connect to? What is on the other end of the tunnel? If it's just an open Minecraft server for anyone to connect to by IP address (or dynamic DNS), you should be able to just configure your router to forward that port to your particular machine. Apologies if I'm misunderstanding you. It's not clear what the tunnel is supposed to do in this case.
- Imustaskforhelp 2y ago
  I don't have the root access or anything to the server but I have ssh access to it. Its okay if you misunderstood me. Here's what I mean I am running ssh in a rootless machine (they have given me permissions) , I would like to run minecraft in it. (hacking for fun y'know), but I don't have the ability to configure that router (obviously) , I would like the server to be used by the web (without the other users worrying about anything but just a link) Pinggit does it but I have some issues 1) It only has an hour max 2) It doesn't give me a permanent address 3) Its not foss. Now Please read me post again , I hope you could help me with a solution Hope you have a nice day , Cheers!
  - solardev 2y ago
    Sorry, still a bit confused. > I don't have the root access or anything to the server but I have ssh access to it. So wait, this server isn't in your house behind your router, it's already on the internet? Is it publicly accessible by IP address? > I am running ssh in a rootless machine (they have given me permissions) , I would like to run minecraft in it Does the minecraft server daemon work as non-root? If so, doesn't it already expose a port that anyone can reach via the internet? Is the issue that the server admin lets you run Minecraft, but firewall rules etc. don't open that port to incoming traffic? Are you sure they're ok with you running a game server on that machine (they typically tend to be pretty CPU-heavy)? If so, you might just be able to open a standard SSH tunnel without any additional apps. But you still need to have some other publicly-accessible server that's reachable from the internet (the other end of the tunnel). Usually that's what costs money, because it requires an always-on server that will forward all the players' network activity through it to your real server. Maybe you can use a free-tier EC2 server (or similar on GCP or Azure) to host that endpoint and forward that proxy. But I think it's a lot less work and cost to just rent a Minecraft server on a shared host (they're like <$10/mo).

tra3 2y ago

You still need need a public end point to host your tunnel. Is an internet facing bastion host with ssh not what you're looking for?

Imustaskforhelp 2y ago
yes but which service to you ? and I feel like I am unable to understand you?

sandreas 2y ago

Why not just rent a root server and use WireGuard / OpenVPN for your trusted clients? Sounds like you want a Virtual Private Network and SSH is only one (pretty restricted) way to do this...

Imustaskforhelp 2y ago
yes I understand that , but respectfully I hope you understand that I came here not to hear to rent a server but rather to actually get a alternative. 1) wireguard and openvpn are really hard to configure. You can just see it from the fact by seeing the plethora of apps trying to simplify these two. (see sshuttle to see what I am speaking) 2.) I want it to be accessible by everyday , so no I am not looking for it as a vpn

solardev 2y ago

Are you just trying to expose a port in your computer through your router for friends to connect to? What is on the other end of the tunnel? If it's just an open Minecraft server for anyone to connect to by IP address (or dynamic DNS), you should be able to just configure your router to forward that port to your particular machine. Apologies if I'm misunderstanding you. It's not clear what the tunnel is supposed to do in this case.

Imustaskforhelp 2y ago
I don't have the root access or anything to the server but I have ssh access to it. Its okay if you misunderstood me. Here's what I mean I am running ssh in a rootless machine (they have given me permissions) , I would like to run minecraft in it. (hacking for fun y'know), but I don't have the ability to configure that router (obviously) , I would like the server to be used by the web (without the other users worrying about anything but just a link) Pinggit does it but I have some issues 1) It only has an hour max 2) It doesn't give me a permanent address 3) Its not foss. Now Please read me post again , I hope you could help me with a solution Hope you have a nice day , Cheers!
- solardev 2y ago
  Sorry, still a bit confused. > I don't have the root access or anything to the server but I have ssh access to it. So wait, this server isn't in your house behind your router, it's already on the internet? Is it publicly accessible by IP address? > I am running ssh in a rootless machine (they have given me permissions) , I would like to run minecraft in it Does the minecraft server daemon work as non-root? If so, doesn't it already expose a port that anyone can reach via the internet? Is the issue that the server admin lets you run Minecraft, but firewall rules etc. don't open that port to incoming traffic? Are you sure they're ok with you running a game server on that machine (they typically tend to be pretty CPU-heavy)? If so, you might just be able to open a standard SSH tunnel without any additional apps. But you still need to have some other publicly-accessible server that's reachable from the internet (the other end of the tunnel). Usually that's what costs money, because it requires an always-on server that will forward all the players' network activity through it to your real server. Maybe you can use a free-tier EC2 server (or similar on GCP or Azure) to host that endpoint and forward that proxy. But I think it's a lot less work and cost to just rent a Minecraft server on a shared host (they're like <$10/mo).