Attempting to Port forward for plex AGAIN

[Saint Grimm]

I asked about port forwarding awhile back and finally just gave up, but I'm attempting it yet again...

I've got a 2 router setup, one is in bridge mode and won't allow me edit port forwarding info on it, that router is wired to this pc, which is the same PC that plex is on.

The other router is cabled to the DSL phone-jack, and another PC.

I used PFConfig to test if my router was bridged correctly, it says I only have 1 router (which to my understanding,means yes it is bridged correctly).

When going into the router that's connected directly to the internet source, I can add port forwarding for port 32400. However, when I try that port (or letting plex handle it automatically) it tells me that remote access is still unavailable.

When checking port 32400 with apps and/or websites, they all say that the port is closed or unreachable, even with it being set as forwarded in the router itself.

When unplugging the bridged router and connecting to the "main" router wirelessly, I still CANNOT use Plex's remote access.

Both routers are Netgear R6300V2

 

[drtweak]

There is no "Bridge" mode on these routers.

Bridge mode is a term used for Routers/Modem COMBOS and Bridging turns off the router parts.

So if i am correct

it looks like you have your DSL Modem ---> First router --> Second router (I'm assuming you converted it to more of a switch by disabling DHCP on this router)

If that is Correct then the router that needs the port forwarding done is on the first router with the DSL Modem.

If this is NOT how it is connected then what kind of internet is the second so called "Bridged" router connected to?

 

[Saint Grimm]

It does have bridge mode... here is a screenshot from my router's settings.

The first router i hooked into the phone jack where the DSL comes in. The second router is in bridge mode and is connected to the first router wirelessly, and plugged into this PC's ethernet, so that I can gain full internet speeds on this PC (40MB download, compared to 15MB wireless).

I made my PC's IP static, went into the first router and added port forwarding for port 32400, as seen here with my PC as the IP.

If the second router is bridged (stopping the NAT functions) then adding that port forward to the first router is all I need to do, according to plex's website, however, it does not connect. PFConfig says the port is NOT open, as does every port testing website I try.


EDIT: I have no idea where the modem is or how to access it. I was very, very young when the DSL was installed, all I know is there is one phone jack in the house that has internet running through it, that is where router 1 is plugged in.

 

[drtweak]

Ahhhh...

This is why i hate Netgear.

Bridge mode is a common term for Modem that have routing capabilities and putting them in bridge mode makes then only a modem.

in this case it is what we call a Wireless Bridge. I have no idea why they just call it bridge mode that is waaaaay confusing for most of of.

As far as the internet goes, just follow the cables on the WAN port on the first router.

Are you able to get internet on the server?
also try setting the server to DHCP, and then go into the first router and do a DHCP reservation and give the server a static IP though the router. I know some routers just do not like other devices with manual configs.

I perfer ASUS routers. Setting up their Wireless bridge is simple and easy. I always find netgears menus hard to navigate and deal with. Plus they tend to have more security issues than other routers as well.

 

[Saint Grimm]

I'm not sure what you mean by get internet on the server. Plex is using this pc as the server, so if that's what you meant, yes. I don't know how to set this PC as a static IP through the router though, I'll google it and edit this when it's done.

 

[Saint Grimm]

Reserved my PC's IP through the router, still no change. Also tried Embry to see if it was just an issue with Plex, but it's remote access won't work either.

I completely reset the "bridged" router to factory defaults, and instead of bridging it in the router settings, I selected the wireless from router 1 AND the ethernet, right clicked and chose "bridge". My ethernet connection works fine ONLY if I'm connected wirelessly to router 1 as well, without the wireless connection, my ethernet has no internet. To verify, WITH a wireless connection, my ethernet has internet, without wireless connection my ethernet has no internet.

I can reverse all of this if I run into problems, but as of right now, it SAYS that the remote access is finally working! However, I haven't attempted to download anything yet, so I'm not sure if it'll be downloading at the speeds I require, or if it'll just go off my slow wireless card.

If you have any idea what I'm talking about having done, could you tell me if there's any bad sides to it? Anything I may not have discovered yet that makes it not worth keeping this way? If so I'll go back to the router-bridge instead and try to figure it out from there.

 

[Saint Grimm]

It was far too slow bridged in that manner.. My max download speed was 15.5mb. But now I know that this is caused by the router's "bridged mode"... So I'll make a new question about how to get around that, and post on the netgear forums too, if they have one. Hopefully after spending 72 straight hours the first time, and close to 30 straight hours this time working on this crap, I can get it fixed... If nothing else, at least I made somewhat of a breakthrough this time.

 

[drtweak]

Yea for something like this you want that plex server hardwired into the main router. This wireless bridge stuff doesn't always work too great.