RAX120 Router Random Disconnects

Just notioced two of your Netgear devices are EOL so new new firmware which may cause issue with bleeding edge devices, also you generally should not use the home router's DMZ function at all if you can avoid it. ... Being a DMZ host means that it will have all its ports open and respond to internet queries and pings, not good.

---

Killhippie wrote:

Just notioced two of your Netgear devices are EOL so new new firmware which may cause issue with bleeding edge devices, also you generally should not use the home router's DMZ function at all if you can avoid it. ... Being a DMZ host means that it will have all its ports open and respond to internet queries and pings, not good.

---

The issue here isn't with the NASes. It's the rubbish RAX120. All issues described go away when C3150 is substituted.

Regarding DMZ I don't think you are right - I think all that happens is that the internet traffic passes straight though the sky router as though it wasn't there (nothing is connected to it at all other than the router) and the main router handles secuirty.

Scanning with grc.com Sheilds Up! shows all ports stealth. Scanning here https://pentest-tools.com/network-vulnerability-scanning/tcp-port-scanner-online-nmap# shows doesn't respond to ping and no open ports (can enable/disable ping response in the sky router)

 I would have thought you are in a double NAT situation possibly. I would aim to find a modem to use and a router as Sky allow you to use your own modem and router but the router must connect to the internet via DHCP passing a client ID via DHCP option 61.

Possibly - but the point is this setup worked for 2 years with the C3150 and whatever router I had before that (DIR-868 I think). It worked for the first month with the RAX120 and issues occured yesterday. After multiple reboots/firmware flashes/resets simply putting the C3150 back in resolved everything!

Have you got AX gear? Otherwise there is no real advantage to using this router at all really you may as well stay with a AC device, if the RAX120 does not support option 61 it wont work. Bearing in mind how new this router is its always best to check specs.

Shileds up is testing the RAX120 not your other router which has its TCP and UDP ports wide open. https://www.quora.com/What-happens-when-you-put-your-router-in-DMZ-mode

Killhippie is correct. Your sky router is wide open, DMZ should be avoided.

Your issue is the Sky router, option 61 is what's required for Sky I believe so it's all a bit mess as it is. 
Are you able to remove the Sky router and replace it with a modem only? 

---

Killhippie wrote:

Have you got AX gear? Otherwise there is no real advantage to using this router at all really you may as well stay with a AC device, if the RAX120 does not support option 61 it wont work. Bearing in mind how new this router is its always best to check specs.

---

Thanks Hillhippie. Yes I do have AX gear, that's why I got it. And I use the DMZ option so I don't need to find one of the few routers with MER/DCHP 61 support. Anyway, checked on Amazon and thankfully they've extended the returns window so it's going back!

---

powellandy1 wrote:

---

Killhippie wrote:

Have you got AX gear? Otherwise there is no real advantage to using this router at all really you may as well stay with a AC device, if the RAX120 does not support option 61 it wont work. Bearing in mind how new this router is its always best to check specs.

---

Thanks Hillhippie. Yes I do have AX gear, that's why I got it. And I use the DMZ option so I don't need to find one of the few routers with MER/DCHP 61 support. Anyway, checked on Amazon and thankfully they've extended the returns window so it's going back!

---

Apologies for misspelling your name.

Thanks. This setup has worked for years and allowed me to use the sky router (so if I have broadband issues sky will still support) but also allows me to use more up-to-date router for everything else.

If Sky router is wide open - so what - all it does is pass traffic to the main router. There is nothing at all connected to it - wired or wireless (the latter is turned off) and as I said - trying to ping my ip address or access ports from the internet seems not to be possible.

AX routers are newish and I don't think NG support 61 on AX range but I might be wrong hence your issues and that could change. Many AC routers do though.

how about the R7800 which does support option 61 and that's a mighty good router and you also have some great third party software. Great WiFi, well known router and price is good.

Okay bit confused what do you mean "latter is turned off" If you mean the sky router is turned off what are you using as a modem? The RAX120 doesnt have a modem built in one and I dont think it has option 60 or 61 from looking in my RAX120's menu. So how are you connecting to sky with no modem? Or do you mean the sky router is actually on and in in the DMZ? Also if the Sky router has its ports open it can be attacked and possibly compromised which would allow access to whatever is downstream ie RAX120 and your LAN. If ive got this wrong, sorry and can you quantify the topgoraphy of your network please.

---

Killhippie wrote:

Okay bit confused what do you mean "latter is turned off" If you mean the sky router is turned off what are you using as a modem? The RAX120 doesnt have a modem built in one and I dont think it has option 60 or 61 from looking in my RAX120's menu. So how are you connecting to sky with no modem? Or do you mean the sky router is actually on and in in the DMZ? Also if the Sky router has its ports open it can be attacked and possibly compromised which would allow access to whatever is downstream ie RAX120 and your LAN. If ive got this wrong, sorry and can you quantify the topgoraphy of your network please.

---

Internet -> BT ADSL Socket -> RJ12 cable -> Sky ER110 Fibre router 192.168.0.1 (with DMZ ticked 192.168.0.254) -> LAN Port 1 of Sky to Internet Port on RAX 120 (or other router) via RJ45 cat 6 cable -> RAX120 (now TPLink C3150) 192.168.1.1 -> Internet as static IP 192.168.0.254, gateway 192.168.0.1, mask 255.255.255.0

Does that help?

---

Killhippie wrote:

Okay bit confused what do you mean "latter is turned off" If you mean the sky router is turned off what are you using as a modem? The RAX120 doesnt have a modem built in one and I dont think it has option 60 or 61 from looking in my RAX120's menu. So how are you connecting to sky with no modem? Or do you mean the sky router is actually on and in in the DMZ? Also if the Sky router has its ports open it can be attacked and possibly compromised which would allow access to whatever is downstream ie RAX120 and your LAN. If ive got this wrong, sorry and can you quantify the topgoraphy of your network please.

---

Sorry - 'latter' meant wifi turned off. The wifi on the sky router is turned off and no other devices are connected other than the RX120. The sky router is on acting as a modem.

It's acting as a router not a modem. All you have done is disabled the WiFi. 
DHCP server is still active. 

---

Newfiedrool wrote:

It's acting as a router not a modem. All you have done is disabled the WiFi. 
DHCP server is still active. 

---

It is acting as a modem as well - the RAX120 (nor C3150) doesn't have a VDSL modem.

Yes it would act as a DHCP server if anything was actually connected to it - but there isn't anything. Everything is connected to the RAX120/C3150.

It is on, you have a firewall on the Sky router too and it's not acting like a modem.

It's the active connection to your internet and every port is open. Password, login it's all there.

you have 2 routers in line. 
you have DMZ which leaves your sky open. 
The 120 was simply the wrong router choice with your setup. Remove the sky and put a modem in its place or you need another router with the correct option.

There's so much going on these days, that I haven't posted in a while. Anyway, my udpate is the router has been running for a few weeks now and it has been stable. The fix that worked for me is a PITA, but simple. Factory reset your router and manually change the settings to match what they were previously.

FWIW, I'm still going to move to another vendor when something that intrigues me comes out. This is strictly due to the lack of Netgear support. 90 days of support is abysmal and there are competitors that have longer support terms. Also, when I worked with support for another issue during the 90 days, level 1 was useless and escalation was difficult to say the least. I've had better experiance with both Asus and TP-Link support in the past. Anyway, good luck folks. 

---

rax120_rax80 wrote:

There's so much going on these days, that I haven't posted in a while. Anyway, my udpate is the router has been running for a few weeks now and it has been stable. The fix that worked for me is a PITA, but simple. Factory reset your router and manually change the settings to match what they were previously.

 

FWIW, I'm still going to move to another vendor when something that intrigues me comes out. This is strictly due to the lack of Netgear support. 90 days of support is abysmal and there are competitors that have longer support terms. Also, when I worked with support for another issue during the 90 days, level 1 was useless and escalation was difficult to say the least. I've had better experiance with both Asus and TP-Link support in the past. Anyway, good luck folks. 

---

I have to agree with everything you said here. I started the same discussion in another post (didn't see your post) with the same issues. There are several people there with the same problem. I've been stable now for a week and a half after factory reset and reconfiguring my settings. I came from ASUS where I was happy for a few years but one day that router reset button broke so I bought this Netgear router as a replacement. I was dissappointed to say the least in the 90 day support from Netgear. Also using the community to test Netgear product updates and then charging people for service calls is ridiculous.

Based on the number of people on these two threads, its clear this is more then just an isolated incident. I'm waiting to hear something from Netgear but I might not want to hold my breath.