Been in contacts with Netgear Tech Support by email, and it is extremely frustrating. I am trying to get to the point where I can request a feature, but the first thing I need to do is establish that the feature is needed, so I started with a question.
I've got a webserver on my LAN. My netgear router routes web page requests to it from the WAN. When I connect to the webserver (by name), the name resolves to my WAN IP address, and the ADSL modem cannot handle it.
There are four ways forwards:
Run my own DNS server on the LAN (the only box I have is the webserver, and it doesn't have the software)
Put static entries in all the hosts files (I can't do this on a PS3)
Make the netgear dnsmasq process use a local hosts file and put my address in there (dnsmasq is compiled with this feature, it's just not scripted to use it)
Configure the router to route things correctly, i.e. do NATLoopback.
I contacted Netgear, and got frustrated because:
I don't get the same person handling the case throughout.
I keep getting asked the same questions, when the information is in the previous communications.
No matter who responds, the responses all start the same: "Hi, I'm X and ill be supporting you. I have read through your email, and think I have a better understanding of the problem" ... well, b****x - you never read through the previous email, or you wouldn't be asking me the same questions again and again.
Anyway, for your amusement, please see the following:
Dear Steve,
Thank you for choosing NETGEAR. My name is xxxxxx and I will be your support engineer.
I understand that you are trying to access web server from within the network using PS3. I will be working to assist you in resolving the issue you described. Since we are doing this online it may require a few email exchanges before we can resolve the issue. I will do my best to help resolve your case in the least possible time.
Please let us know whether you are able to access Web server from any PC on your LAN.
We found that this product is not yet registered on our website, I kindly request you to register the product on our website to check the warranty details.
Please access the link below to register the product:
https://my.netgear-support.com/myNETGEAR/login.asp
If you are not able to register the product on our website, Please send us the information requested to register the product by us.
Product Model Number:
Product Serial Number:
Date of purchase:
Shop Name:
Please feel free to contact us again if you require further assistance.
Thanks again for choosing NETGEAR. Have a great day!
Regards,
xxxxxx
NETGEAR, Inc.
http://my.netgear.com
8/5/2010 10:12:00 AM
Thanks for your reply. I''ve entered the serial number of the DG834G v5 onto the system.
The answer to your question regarding whether I can connect is no, sort of!
My Network is set up as follows:
Modem External IP (static: 81.5.181.144
Modem Internal IP: 192.168.2.1
Internal Webserver (Freecom FSG3: 192.168.2.5
Router Version:
Account Name: DG834Gv5
Firmware Version: V6.00.25
Firewall Rule:
Service:HTTP(TCP:80
Action: ALLOW always
IP: 192.168.2.5
WAN: Any
Log: Never
I want to connect to www.trumpton.org.uk, which is hosted on 192.168.2.5. If I put a manual hosts entry into /etc/hosts on my PC, it, of course, works fine. If not, I can do the following:
# ping www.trumpton.org.uk
PING www.trumpton.org.uk (81.5.181.144 56(84 bytes of data.
64 bytes from 81.5.181.144: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.501 ms
# telnet www.trumpton.org.uk 80
Trying 81.5.181.144...
^C
# telnet 192.168.2.5 80
Trying 192.168.2.5...
Connected to 192.168.2.5 (192.168.2.5.
Escape character is ''^]''.
GET /
So you see, I have the rule set up to connect to the webserver from the WAN.
The IP address correctly resolves to my modem (and it responds to pings.
I can connect to the webserver if I use the internal IP address.
I cannot connect to the webserver port 80 if I use the external IP address.
I believe that there are several ways forward:
Configure the routing function in the modem to route the internal connections back.
Get the dnsmasq to point to a hosts file which I can edit (rather than the default /etc/hosts which is on a squashfs filesystem.
Manually add the internal address to all machines local hosts file (unfortunately not possible on the PS3.
Thanks and regards,
Steve
8/6/2010 3:23:00 AM
Dear SteveNetgear,
Thank you for writing us back.
My name is yyyyyy and I am following up on your support case.
After reviewing the information that you provided, I think I have a better understanding of your issue. Here are some troubleshooting steps that I suggest you try:
Connect your computer hardwired to the router and follow these steps given below:
1) Open Internet Explorer or any other browser and access the site: http://192.168.0.1 or http://www.routerlogin.com/basicsetting.htm.
2) When prompted enter the User name as "admin" and Password as "password" (If you have changed the password then try with that password).
3) Click SERVICES under SECURITY and click on "Add custom service".
Service 1:
Service name: WEB.
Port Type: TCP/UDP.
Start port: 80.
Finish port: 80, click APPLY.
4) Then click FIREWALL RULES under SECURITY.
5) Under Inbound Services, click ADD.
6) Select the Service as "WEB”, Action: Allow always and enter the LAN Server: IP address of the server(192.168.0.x).
7) Click APPLY to save the changes.
8) Follow the same procedure to open the ports for other Services.
Once the settings are updated, check the connection.
To check the firmware version in the Router:
1) Open Internet Explorer or any other browser and access the site: http://192.168.0.1 or http://routerlogin.com/basicsetting.htm. By default, enter the User name as "admin" and Password as "password" (If you have changed the password then try with that password).
2) Under "Maintenance", click "Router status".
3) Note down the Firmware version below the account name.
Please get back to us with the firmware version.
We hope that the steps provided above would help resolve the problem/case. Please feel free to contact us again if you will require further assistance.
Thanks again for choosing NETGEAR. Have a great day!
Please do visit http://kb.netgear.com for any technical queries regarding NETGEAR products
Regards,
yyyyyy
Technical Support
NETGEAR Inc.
8/6/2010 3:48:00 PM
yyyyyy, Thanks for your reply.
In your email, for the first steps 1-8, please see my previous response (8/5/2010 10:12:00 AM) in the section ''Firewall Rule''
In your email, for the second steps 1-3, please see my previous response (8/5/2010 10:12:00 AM) in the section ''Router Version''
I appreciate that you have a large number of these emails to process. You will also find other information in my previous response (8/5/2010 10:12:00 AM).
Best regards,
Steve
8/7/2010 3:38:00 PM
Dear Steve,
Thank you for writing us back.
My name is zzzzzz and I am following up on your support case.
After reviewing the information that you provided, I think I have a better understanding of your issue. Here are some troubleshooting steps that I suggest you try:
Please follow these steps to enable DMZ in the Router:
1) Open Internet Explorer or any other browser and access the site: http://192.168.0.1 or http://routerlogin.com/basicsetting.htm. By default, the Username is "admin" and Password is "password" (If you have changed the password then try with that password).
2) Click WAN SETUP under ADVANCED.
3) Check the option "Default DMZ" and enter the IP address of your computer (192.168.0.x). ( X is IP address of PS3 )
4) Click APPLY to save the changes.
Please click on the link below to find the snapshots for the above steps:
http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1118
Please do visit http://kb.netgear.com for any technical queries regarding NETGEAR products.
We hope that the steps provided above will help to resolve the problem/case. Please feel free to contact us again if you require further assistance.
Thanks again for choosing NETGEAR. Have a great day!
Regards,
zzzzzz
Technical Support
NETGEAR Inc.
8/7/2010 5:13:00 PM
I opened up my PS3 to the internet (as a DMZ) as you suggested, but the PS3 is still unable to connect to my webserver.
I didn''t understand how setting the PS3 up as the DMZ server would help in this scenario, as the PS3 is a client in the connection to my webserver.
My webserver port forwarding rule works fine (you can try it yourself - just connect to www.trumpton.org.uk with a web browser).
What I still cannot do is connect to www.trumpton.org.uk from my PS3, as the web server is on the same LAN network as the PS3, and the dns lookup for www.trumpton.org.uk resolves to the WAN IP address of the modem, not the LAN address.
8/7/2010 9:15:00 PM
Dear Steve,
Thank you for writing us back.
My name is zzzzzz and I am following up on your support case.
Regarding your query, we also request you to contact Sony and check regarding PS3 settings, procedure to access an webserver and also we request you to access the webserver externally with any computers and check for concern, So that we can isolate the issue.
Please do visit http://kb.netgear.com for any technical queries regarding NETGEAR products.
We hope that the steps provided above will help to resolve the problem/case. Please feel free to contact us again if you require further assistance.
Thanks again for choosing NETGEAR. Have a great day!
Regards,
zzzzzz
Technical Support
NETGEAR Inc.
8/7/2010 9:52:00 PM
Thanks for your response.
I had already contacted Sony, and they have confirmed that my PS3 is operating correctly. In fact, I can connect to every website under the sun, except for www.trumpton.org.uk (because it is on the LAN side of my Netgear, not the WAN side).
If you read my first response, you will see that the problem also exhibits itself on a PC.
If you read my last response, you will see that I have verified that my webserver operates correctly (I did this via telnet to port 80 from freeshells.org).
I would appreciate it if this could be dealt with by one single person, rather than several different ones.
I would also appreciate it if you would read the previous emails, as I keep being asked the same things again and again.
Thanks and regards,
Steve
8/7/2010 9:55:00 PM
Dear Steve,
Thank you for writing us back so quickly.
My name is zzzzzz and I am following up on your support case.
After reviewing the information that you provided, I think I have a better understanding of your issue. Here are some troubleshooting steps that I suggest you try:
Please connect your computer wired to the router and follow the steps to reduce the MTU size on the router:
1) Open Internet Explorer or any other browser and access the site: http://192.168.0.1 or http://routerlogin.com/basicsetting.htm. By default, the username is admin, the password is password (If you have changed the password then try with that password).
2) Go to WAN Setup.
3) Reduce the MTU to 1300 and apply the changes.
4) You can also try other MTU values like 1492, 1440, 1400 etc.
Please try with different MTU values and check the status.
Please click on the link below to find the snapshots for the above steps:
http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1153/
Please do visit http://kb.netgear.com for any technical queries regarding NETGEAR products.
We hope that the steps provided above will help to resolve the problem/case. Please feel free to contact us again if you require further assistance.
Thanks again for choosing NETGEAR. Have a great day!
Regards,
zzzzzz
Technical Support
NETGEAR Inc.
8/7/2010 10:16:00 PM
Thanks for your response.
I have changed the MTU from between 1300 and 1458 (which is recommended by my ISP).
There has been no change, but I don''t see why there should be - www.trumpton.org.uk is still resolving to my WAN IP address, and the server is actually on my LAN (the modem routes through as per the firewall rule for port 80 for everyone on the internet, just not for me on the LAN).
What I am looking for is this: http://www.puffinsoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=404
Ot the ability to override a DNS lookup with the internal IP address.
Thanks, Steve
