I tried port forwarding port 22 on the same server that I'm trying to forward port 8096, and I tried ssh into it over other network, it finds it, but for some reason it says permission denied.
because you tried to ssh into the router of your provider.
So ports are not forwarded back my LAN they stay in WAN you mean?
You are behind cgnat. You cannot forward any ports. Only your provider can fix that.
Okay, I will talk to my provider.
Thank you, this somewhat helped me with understanding. So basically my ISP has given me some IP that acts as a WAN for my local network which I control, and it is not a public IP. So when I try to ssh to my public IP I'm basically connecting to ISP's router.
So just curious, will my ISP open up port 8096 on his/her router for me, or is it some other procedure?
There's a difference between will and can.
Your ISP can, but might not. In fact, probably won't. But it's worth having a conversation with your ISP anyway. Depending on your ISP, you might be able to get the port opened the way you want, or you might even be able to get a public IP address.
I see, thank you for explaining.
Some ISPs allow users to open ports on their routers/modems, some give direct access to the configuration page, some have dedicated tools; and some ISPs completely ban the opening of any port at all. You might want to check with your ISP.