[Muchemo]

Hi ppl, first post here at TSG!

After having no replies at other forums, I looked for an active tech support community where I could get some help on this much too common issue - port forwarding! I hope this might be the place!

I'm trying to open ports on my home wireless network.

I have a Linksys AM200 modem (192.168.1.1) "RFC 1483 Briged" to a D-Link DIR655 (192.168.0.1) router and a PPoE DSL connection.

Some Linksys configurations:

- Multiplexing LLC
- DHCP enabled: DHCP address range: 192.168.1.2 / 192.168.1.254
- UPnP enabled
- NAT enabled

D-Link configurations:

- does PPoE
- DHCP enabled: DHCP IP address range 192.168.0.100/199
- IP reservation to my laptop: 192.168.0.198

I think everything is OK with port forwarding in the D-Link. Relying on some information I've read at another forum, what I think I'm not doing right is forwarding the ports to the WAN IP of the D-Link router in the Linksys! What worked for the user in that post doesn't seem to be working for me, but I guess it is just a question of finding the right numbers!

So, in D-Link's configuration page, my WAN IP usually rounds 89.180.XXX.XXX. This WAN is dynamically assigned by my ISP, so this isn't it! In the Linksys port forwarding menu, only 192.168.1.XXX IPs are accepted.

So, should I change D-Links network to 192.168.1 (right now, all IPs in D-Link are 192.168.0.XXX)? If so, should I take off bridging, do PPoE at the modem, set a 192.168.1.XXX static address for D-Link and then enabling DHCP at D-Link with range besides the modem's address and D-Link's static address?

These are just noob ideas, and if they make no sense whatsoever, please disregard them and just lay out a new plan of what I should do! Please ask for more info if needed!

Meanwhile, I've learned I shouldn't have DHCP enable in both modem and router, but which is best to have DHCP enabled?
Also, in which should I have firewall ON (or should I turn them all off if I have a software firewall on)?

Thanks!

[Jason08]

For now, leave everything else as is, but an 89.x.x.x WAN IP for the D-link seems to indicate that the Linksys is only working as modem, so forwarding may only be nesseacary in the D-link router. Have you tried just a normal forwarding in the D-link to your reserved private IP address?

[Muchemo]

Yes, I have done that.

I think all configs regarding port forwarding in the D-Link are OK (I indicate my reserved IP address (so I can have a static IP address... I suppose...), use the correct ports for the application, inbound filter set to allow all).

I've done port forwarding before (just never with separate modem/router combo), so I'm aware of what has to be done and even double checked with portforward.com instructions, once I realized it wasn't working!

And yes, once set in bridge mode, I was expecting that the modem would only pass the internet connection for the router to manage, so all configs should be done there! But somehow, in the other forums post, forwarding the ports from the Linksys modem to the WAN IP of the DLink router seems to have worked! That's why I thought my situation would be the same, but maybe it isn't! I suspect it's something really simple I will later on smack my forehead during the !Eureka! moment, but for now it's just puzzling and annoying!

I'll keep working on this and if you (or anyone else) have some other ideas, please let me know!

By the way Jason08, thank you for answering, it was the first aid attempt I got in numerous forums/days!

PS - disabling my software firewall doesn't change anything...

[Jason08]

Yes, forwarding in the modem/router and then in the router to the computer's IP address usually does work. Have you downloaded and installed the PF port checker to see if the ports are really open?

[Muchemo]

Hi again!

Yup, I've used PortChecker to check whether the ports are really open, and always get "NOT OPEN"...

I've turned off DHCP and Firewall in the modem, it's only bridging to the router. In the router, everything seems to be OK in the port forwarding menu. Additionally, I've tried many firewall configurations in the router, from most to less restrictive options, and even with the latter, PFPortChecker returns "NOT OPEN"!

What about UPnP settings in the modem and router? Should they be ON or OFF?

The way I've got everything configured right now is how the modem and router manuals recommended, and also how I read in some internet sources (example here)!
Now I'm starting to think I should try to configure the most I can in the Linksys modem and try to set the router to only provide a wireless access point to the internet.

Any ideas on this?


Thx!

[Jason08]

That setup may work, but that may require a lot more configuration. Have you tried putting the computer in the DMZ of the router?

[Muchemo]

I've read that should be done as last resort only... and when I think there is no reason for the ports not to be open and the solution must be something really simple, it's hard to give up!

I'll keep toggling around with this a bit more 'til I think about DMZ, but I guess, eventually, it'll come to that.

Thx 4 the help!

[Muchemo]

Eheheh, I knew it!

I was pointed to a post from Berzdex at the whirlpool forums. There, he says:

Port Forwarding usually needs the LOCAL IP to be static, NOT the WAN IP.

Turn OFF DHCP if active in the router.

Turn OFF DHCP if active on the PC(s)

Assign a static IP to each PC on your LAN even if only one is to receive forwarded ports.

The router is usually 192.168.0.1 so PC IP's can be in the range 192.168.0.2~255

Use the same subnet mask on each: 255.255.255.255

Use the router's IP as the DNS and the Internet Gateway addresses.

Port forwarding will now work correctly.

It worked, all assigned ports are open!

Thx 4 your support too!

[Jason08]

Yes, whenever port forwarding is done, the internal IP is used.
Glad it's now working. You can mark the thread solved by clicking the "Mark Solved" button at the top of the thread.