Harbor’s new network interface binding looks useful, but I’d like to request a more granular VPN option.
The goal is to allow Harbor to establish and use its own VPN connection without changing the network routing for the rest of macOS.
For example:
BitTorrent traffic: VPN
HTTP/HTTPS direct downloads: normal connection
Metadata/API requests: normal connection
Ideally, Harbor would be able to load a standard OpenVPN configuration, such as a NordVPN .ovpn profile, establish that tunnel internally, and bind only the torrent engine’s traffic to it. Everything else on the Mac, and potentially everything else inside Harbor, could continue using the normal Wi-Fi/Ethernet connection.
My understanding of the current interface-selection feature is that Harbor can bind to an existing VPN interface, but if NordVPN has created that interface system-wide, the Mac’s other traffic is still subject to Nord’s system-wide VPN routing. The feature I’m describing would avoid that by having the VPN connection exist specifically for Harbor or for one networking component inside Harbor.
I think this would be a fairly unique feature in the macOS download-client ecosystem. It would provide VPN protection where it matters without requiring users to put their entire Mac behind the VPN.
Harbor’s new network interface binding looks useful, but I’d like to request a more granular VPN option.
The goal is to allow Harbor to establish and use its own VPN connection without changing the network routing for the rest of macOS.
For example:
BitTorrent traffic: VPN
HTTP/HTTPS direct downloads: normal connection
Metadata/API requests: normal connection
Ideally, Harbor would be able to load a standard OpenVPN configuration, such as a NordVPN .ovpn profile, establish that tunnel internally, and bind only the torrent engine’s traffic to it. Everything else on the Mac, and potentially everything else inside Harbor, could continue using the normal Wi-Fi/Ethernet connection.
My understanding of the current interface-selection feature is that Harbor can bind to an existing VPN interface, but if NordVPN has created that interface system-wide, the Mac’s other traffic is still subject to Nord’s system-wide VPN routing. The feature I’m describing would avoid that by having the VPN connection exist specifically for Harbor or for one networking component inside Harbor.
I think this would be a fairly unique feature in the macOS download-client ecosystem. It would provide VPN protection where it matters without requiring users to put their entire Mac behind the VPN.