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Created April 10, 2026 04:58
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Tunneling Ethernet Over SSH With Socat and Tap Devices
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ethernet-socat-ssh.md

Tunneling Ethernet Over SSH With Socat and Tap Devices

There are circumstances where one wants to attach the local machine to the same layer 2 ethernet segment, which a remote machine is connected to, with the only available transport being SSH.

While this solution has quite some shortcomings and should not be used to replace a real VPN, it can be beneficial e.g. for debugging network issues remotely.

Therefore, without further ado: Ethernet over SSH

Server

Socat needs to be installed. SSH to the server using -L 1234:127.0.0.1:1234 or call that command inside of the established session. (Use ~C to open a command prompt.)

socat TUN,tun-type=tap,iff-up TCP-LISTEN:1234,bind=127.0.0.1,reuseaddr

The resulting tap device should be bridged to the network which you want to connect to.

Client

Socat needs to be installed here as well. Connect to the previously started socat using:

socat TUN,tun-type=tap,iff-up TCP:127.0.0.1:1234

That's it. Your local tap0 (as it is most likely called) is bridged all the way to the remote ethernet.

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