This topic has been marked solved and closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
I have a Nighthawk X6 router, CDE fiber internet service(no modem). I am attempting to open a few ports to remote connect to a few pieces of factory automation equipment I'm testing at my house. The port forwarding seems simple and straightforward, however the ports don't seem to be opening according to canyouseeme.org.
I can access and control the equipment properly on the local network, but not elsewhere. I've previously run into issues connecting to other pieces of equipment (such as my WD Mycloud server), but didn't think this was a port forwarding issue until the issues I've been having with this automation equipment.
Not a very detailed description of anything. Can you access one of these devices from a system on your LAN, using the device's LAN IP address? Using the router's WAN/Internet IP address? (See: ADVANCED > ADVANCED Home...)
Is your router's WAN/Internet IP address the same as the public IP address which you're using?
The usual problems with this stuff are:
1. Wrong external IP address (different from the port-forwarding router's WAN/Internet IP address). (An intermediate NAT router, for example, could cause this. Or an ISP using carrier-grade NAT to conserve IPv4 addresses.)
2. Bad port-forwarding rule (wrong port(s), wrong target address -- including a wandering target).
3. Server not listening on the port-forwarding target system.
4. External influences: ISP blocking, other firewalls, ...
Not a very detailed description of anything. Can you access one of these devices from a system on your LAN, using the device's LAN IP address? Using the router's WAN/Internet IP address? (See: ADVANCED > ADVANCED Home...)
Is your router's WAN/Internet IP address the same as the public IP address which you're using?
The usual problems with this stuff are:
1. Wrong external IP address (different from the port-forwarding router's WAN/Internet IP address). (An intermediate NAT router, for example, could cause this. Or an ISP using carrier-grade NAT to conserve IPv4 addresses.)
2. Bad port-forwarding rule (wrong port(s), wrong target address -- including a wandering target).
3. Server not listening on the port-forwarding target system.
4. External influences: ISP blocking, other firewalls, ...
Sorry, this is my first post. I wasn't certain what info would be needed. Also, I've had little success setting up networking equipment in the past. It's always been trouble for me.
There is a fiber interface box of some type outside of the house, which has the ethernet cable coming out of it that connects directly into my router. No other networking equipment is present in the house. The automation equipment I'm having trouble connecting to is directly connected to the router with a couple of cat5e cables.
While connected to the local network: If I type in the LAN IP for any of these devices, I'm taken to the proper home screens. If I type in the internet IP(shown on the ADVANCED HOME screen), I'm forwarded to the home screen for one of the automation devices. If I type the public IP, I get a timed out message.
1: The router is set up to get the Internet IP address "Dynamically from ISP". There is some different IP info in the fields below it, but it's greyed out because I don't have the "Static IP" option selected. The public IP doesn't seem to be changing any time I've checked it. The actual Public IP starts with 162.XXX.XXX.XXX while the IP shown on the ADVANCED HOME screen shows 100.XXX.XXX.XXX.
2: I've contacted the equipment manufacturer (Automation Direct) and am certain I have the equipment set up properly to connect to. I am also pretty confident that I have chosen the proper IP and port to forward for each piece of equipment. I have the router set up as a DHCP server, but I also tried setting static IP's on these devices.
3: I'm not sure how to confirm this. I did read somewhere that the server would have to be listening during port testing. I connected to the equipment on the LAN IP while attempting to connect remotely on a different network/PC and also testing the port on canyouseeme.org. It failed the port test, and also couldn't connect remotely.
4: I haven't considered that the ISP could be a problem, but I'm open to the idea. I don't know what other firewall could be in the way though.
> [...] No other networking equipment is present in the house. [...]
A trouble-maker could still exist at the ISP.
> [...] If I type in the internet IP(shown on the ADVANCED HOME screen), > I'm forwarded to the home screen for one of the automation devices. > [...]
At that point being able to see your actual port-forwarding rules might be helpful. "type in the internet IP" into what? Web browser? Some app or other?
> [...] If I type the public IP, I get a timed out message.
If your "the public IP" differs from your "the internet IP", and you have no fancy equipment between your router and your ISP connection, then your ISP is the problem.
The only solutions I know are: 1) to ask your ISP for a real public address, or 2) to use a tunneling service like the one mentioned in another recent thread (near the end):
> [...] the IP shown on the ADVANCED HOME screen shows 100.XXX.XXX.XXX.
"100.", not "10."? "10." would be a typical private IP address range. "100." should be a real public address. ("a.b" out of "a.b.c.d" would be a little more informative, without surrendering any valuable secrets.)
> 2: I've contacted the equipment manufacturer [...]
If you can access the things from your LAN, then it's not their problem.
> [...] I have the router set up as a DHCP server, but I also tried > setting static IP's on these devices.
Because the gizmo LAN IP address appears in the port-forwarding rule, that address must be fixed. The easy way to arrange that is to use Address Reservation on the (DHCP server on the) router. (You could, instead, configure a static IP address on the gizmo itself, but then you'd also need to shrink the DHCP address pool, and specify a non-pool address on the gizmo. Either way works, but using true static addresses is more complicated than using reserved dynamic addresses.)
> 3: I'm not sure how to confirm this. [...]
If access from the LAN works, then you've verified it.
You and Antinode both got it spot on(thought it hurt my brain to try to process all of the info in Antinode's post).
I finally got around to contacting my ISP. I tried calling, but was on hold for awhile so eventually emailed. A tech support rep called me a few hours later to tell me they've updated my IP and to try it out. My public IP now matches my router's internet IP, I'm able to access all of my devices through my phone's hotspot, and all of the port checking websites are reporting my ports as open.
Thanks guys! I know this seems simple to some of you, but I have very little networking experience and would have never been able to figure this out.
