Port Forwarding Halp!

[Acevalefor]

I have searched all over hell and back and I think I even beat teh interwebz while searching, but I cannot find a solution to what the hell is going on with my setup.

I need to be able to access my server which is behind a Motorola CPEi150 Wireless AP(Clear Internet service) and a Netgear wireless router WNR2000. I am trying to access through port 5900 for VNC access.

I have the AP set up to forward all incoming connections on port 5900 to 192.168.15.3 which is the static IP that is assigned to my wireless router. Then, I have a port forwarding rule to forward all incoming connections from my router to the server IP address. I know the port forwarding on the router is working because I can reach the server all day long inside my network.

As soon as I try to log into the server using my static(ok, it's dynamic but it hasn't changed in 3 years) IP from my ISP, it just times out...like there is a missing link between the AP and the Router. I don't even get a log report so I know the AP isn't forwarding the incoming request as it should be according to the port forwarding rule.

I can confirm that the port is indeed open on the AP, but where does the request go if it's not getting forwarded to my router???

HALP! I can't access my files without this...

[Patriarch]

Possible IP conflict between the Moto and the netgear

For starters, I'm assuming you can ping your server?

[Acevalefor]

I can ping my server. Along with every other computer on the network.

The Gateway is at 192.168.15.1 for the Moto
The Gateway is at 192.168.1.1 for the Netgear
It looks something like this:

Moto:
Gateway 192.168.15.1
Port Forward rule: WAN port 5900, LAN port 5900, IP 192.168.15.3

Netgear:
Gateway 192.168.15.3
Port Forward rule: (same ports as above), IP 192.168.(Server.location)

Should the Moto be set up with DHCP for routing to the Netgear?

[Cephius]

I'm confused, why are you port forwarding in two places? If I'm correct your current setup looks like this:

[Internet] -> Router -> AP -> Server

Is that right?

If so you should only need to forward the port from the router. It should pass through your AP without any additional forwarding rules, but if you need it, you would forward port 5900 on your AP to your server as well, not back to the router. Please clarify if I have your setup wrong.

[Mafai]

I'm confused, why are you port forwarding in two places? If I'm correct your current setup looks like this:

[Internet] -> Router -> AP -> Server

Is that right?

If so you should only need to forward the port from the router. It should pass through your AP without any additional forwarding rules, but if you need it, you would forward port 5900 on your AP to your server as well, not back to the router. Please clarify if I have your setup wrong.

From reading this it seems like his AP is exposed to the internet first, not the router? You should solve your problems by putting one of the devices into bridge mode. Unless of course you need 2 seperate networks.

Which are you?
Internet > Router > AP > Server

Internet > AP > Router > Server

edit:
I just did some more reading, and it looks like your AP is actually a WIMAX router and its getting your signal for your home network right?

Turn your netgear router into repeater / bridge mode and let your moto router handle all routing.

[Acevalefor]

It's more like

[Internet] -> Modem/AP -> Router -> Server

So with that setup I don't need to forward from the AP to the router?

It's a retarded wireless modem from Clear Internet that seems to function as an AP because the router is assigned an IP address from the Modem/AP that is different than the ISP IP.

[Mafai]

No, your AP is the main router in this case. You should turn your netgear router into repeater / bridge mode and let your moto router/ap handle everything.

[Acevalefor]

No, your AP is the main router in this case. You should turn your netgear router into repeater / bridge mode and let your moto router/ap handle everything.

I would love to do that and solve my problems forever, but the Moto cannot function as a wired router and we have 4 wired PCs that need their precious IPs.

[Mafai]

If I'm understanding correctly, the AP is handing out IP's fine to the wireless PC's right? It should be able to assign IP's to anything connected to the Netgear as well if bridge mode is enabled.

[Mafai]

Actually, read this. You seem to have a grasp on this and this might clear things up for you.

http://austexvoip.com/clear-wimax/cl...i-bridge-setup

[Acevalefor]

Thanks for the help so far. I'll read through that linksys thing and see what I can apply to my setup. Also, there is nothing like bridge mode in my netgear router and the Modem doesn't broadcast the wireless signal, just receives it. So all wireless and wired connections are on the Netgear right now. Can I leave those there and just make the Modem assign IPs with DHCP?

Edit: I have everything set up similar to that WiMax article just with a few changes for port forwarding specific to my needs. Still I cannot connect using Remote Desktop Connections(Yes it is enabled on the server and I can connect inside the gateway) or RealVNC either one.

Just to make sure I'm not being an idiot Let me walk through this...
Enter ISP IP address with Port number in the prompt for RealVNC (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:5900)
It times out every time.
Enter the Local IP address (192.168.1.157:5900) and it connects with no problem at all.

It seems to me like something is not getting forwarded from that stupid Moto modem/AP

Is there an easier way to do this?

[Mafai]

Thanks for the help so far. I'll read through that linksys thing and see what I can apply to my setup. Also, there is nothing like bridge mode in my netgear router and the Modem doesn't broadcast the wireless signal, just receives it. So all wireless and wired connections are on the Netgear right now. Can I leave those there and just make the Modem assign IPs with DHCP?

Edit: I have everything set up similar to that WiMax article just with a few changes for port forwarding specific to my needs. Still I cannot connect using Remote Desktop Connections(Yes it is enabled on the server and I can connect inside the gateway) or RealVNC either one.

Just to make sure I'm not being an idiot Let me walk through this...
Enter ISP IP address with Port number in the prompt for RealVNC (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:5900)
It times out every time.
Enter the Local IP address (192.168.1.157:5900) and it connects with no problem at all.

It seems to me like something is not getting forwarded from that stupid Moto modem/AP

Is there an easier way to do this?

Just use teamviewer. It bypasses all that router BS. Also it can run as a service and the program takes care of any IP address issues that could happen (if it changes). You get a Teamviewer ID (which you can link to a teamviewer account)

[Acevalefor]

Solved:
There was an invalid DNS setting in the network adapter on the server that was causing the router to not recognize the server. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Also, teamviewer rocks for my workstations, but I cannot use it on a server OS unless I give them $900....

[Mafai]

Solved:
There was an invalid DNS setting in the network adapter on the server that was causing the router to not recognize the server. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Also, teamviewer rocks for my workstations, but I cannot use it on a server OS unless I give them $900....

Yea, on servers it doesn't let you install it and run as a service... It's lame.

[arshesney]

You can use logmein free version vithout troubles anyways, or you can look for a v5 teamviewer, that will install on server OS.

Edit: I wouldn't expose to the internet VNC, it's weak on security, rather open the 3389 for remote desktop if you need to (and use a robust password for your administrator account), it will be faster and more secure than VNC.