[SOLVED] I just can't seem to get port-forwarding to work

[M1ngjii]

So I have recently tried to port-forward the port 25565 for a Minecraft server. I am running a 2 router setup. So first I port-forwarded the port 25565 with my system IP to the router it is connected to (router 1). After that, I port-forwarded the same ports to the main router (router 2) using the WAN I got from the first router. After testing the port with a tester, it told me that UDP had succeeded, but TCP had failed. After that, I decided to skip router 2 with DMZ, but nothing changed. After that I thought it might have to do with firewalls, so I disabled firewalls on both the routers and my PC, but even that had no effect. I'm currently stumped and have no idea what the problem might be. Router 1 is a Linksys 1200E and router 2 is a Genexis Pure-ed500.
Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[bill001g]

Why do you have 2 routers. If it is to get better wifi you are better off running the second router as a bridge.

Can you plug your pc into the first router to test.

One of the most common problems for people that have spent time trying different port forwarding and dmz options is that they do not have a public IP address. If you look at the IP that is assigned to the wan port on the first router does it match sites like whatsmyip. If they are different they it is highly likely you do not have a public IP and will never get port forwarding to work.

 

[Ralston18]

What is the reason for having two routers?

 

[M1ngjii]

Why do you have 2 routers. If it is to get better wifi you are better off running the second router as a bridge.

Can you plug your pc into the first router to test.

One of the most common problems for people that have spent time trying different port forwarding and dmz options is that they do not have a public IP address. If you look at the IP that is assigned to the wan port on the first router does it match sites like whatsmyip. If they are different they it is highly likely you do not have a public IP and will never get port forwarding to work.

There isn't really a reason to have 2 routers, it's just that everything was set up around the older one when we got a new router. Parents thought it would be a hassle to recable everything so they just decided to run it like this. It would be incredibly difficult for me to get my system connected onto the main router directly, it would have to be a weekend project. As for the public IP address, whatsmyip gives the same IP as the first routers WAN.

 

[bill001g]

The is a odd ball brand of router but it likely work. The problem of course is finding examples of configurations.

It is really strange that that router is being used. It has a DSL modem in it and the linksys does not. You pay extra for the modem so it does not make a lot of sense to hook it to a internet connection that is not DSL.

In any case I would see if there is any way to only use the genexis. That is a much more modern router. It has gigabit ethernet ports and supports 802.11ac. The linksys in only 100m ports and only support 802.11n. If your internet connection is not more than 100mbps then it may not make much difference. In that case run the genexis as a AP. If it does not have that feature look up how to run any router as a AP. If you run it as a AP you get all the advantage of the new radios but all the routing and port forwarding is only done on the linksys. The other router in effect would be the same as if you could open the linksys and put in new radio chips when you run as AP.

 

[M1ngjii]

The is a odd ball brand of router but it likely work. The problem of course is finding examples of configurations.

It is really strange that that router is being used. It has a DSL modem in it and the linksys does not. You pay extra for the modem so it does not make a lot of sense to hook it to a internet connection that is not DSL.

In any case I would see if there is any way to only use the genexis. That is a much more modern router. It has gigabit ethernet ports and supports 802.11ac. The linksys in only 100m ports and only support 802.11n. If your internet connection is not more than 100mbps then it may not make much difference. In that case run the genexis as a AP. If it does not have that feature look up how to run any router as a AP. If you run it as a AP you get all the advantage of the new radios but all the routing and port forwarding is only done on the linksys. The other router in effect would be the same as if you could open the linksys and put in new radio chips when you run as AP.

We actually do have gigabit internet, which is enough reason to hook my system up to the genexis as soon as possible. I'll look into AP as well, since I don't know how long it might be until we discard the linksys. I'll keep you updated.

 

[bill001g]

If you have gigabit internet you are wasting your money if you don't toss the linksys as soon as possible. You will pay for gigabit and only get 100mbps because of the ports.

 

[M1ngjii]

If you have gigabit internet you are wasting your money if you don't toss the linksys as soon as possible. You will pay for gigabit and only get 100mbps because of the ports.

I'm fully aware of that, but it's been like this for a while. It wasn't a huge problem before, but now that I need to port-forward something it's become a real hassle so I'll just move my butt and connect myself onto the main router soon.

 

[M1ngjii]

The is a odd ball brand of router but it likely work. The problem of course is finding examples of configurations.

It is really strange that that router is being used. It has a DSL modem in it and the linksys does not. You pay extra for the modem so it does not make a lot of sense to hook it to a internet connection that is not DSL.

In any case I would see if there is any way to only use the genexis. That is a much more modern router. It has gigabit ethernet ports and supports 802.11ac. The linksys in only 100m ports and only support 802.11n. If your internet connection is not more than 100mbps then it may not make much difference. In that case run the genexis as a AP. If it does not have that feature look up how to run any router as a AP. If you run it as a AP you get all the advantage of the new radios but all the routing and port forwarding is only done on the linksys. The other router in effect would be the same as if you could open the linksys and put in new radio chips when you run as AP.

So I got myself off my butt and decided to route myself over to the main router, the Genexis today. Set up my static IP and tried to port-forward, but the exact same thing happens. What should I do?

 

[bill001g]

Try the DMZ option instead of port forwarding. Port forwarding is hard to understand in some routers. DMZ you just have to put the IP of your PC in so it tends to be simpler.

If this still doesn't work I would load wireshark on your machine and see if you actually receive packets. If you scan a large pool of addresses when it is set to dmz mode it should be very obvious. it will tell you all the ports are closed but all you really want to know is did your pc actually get the data. The actual port maybe getting the data but is not responding. Note wireshark intercepts before the pc firewall so it could be the firewall blocking it.

 

[M1ngjii]

Try the DMZ option instead of port forwarding. Port forwarding is hard to understand in some routers. DMZ you just have to put the IP of your PC in so it tends to be simpler.

If this still doesn't work I would load wireshark on your machine and see if you actually receive packets. If you scan a large pool of addresses when it is set to dmz mode it should be very obvious. it will tell you all the ports are closed but all you really want to know is did your pc actually get the data. The actual port maybe getting the data but is not responding. Note wireshark intercepts before the pc firewall so it could be the firewall blocking it.

DMZ did not work. I downloaded Wireshark, but I'm quite confused on what all of these things do. How should I proceed to find out if I receive packets or not?

 

[bill001g]

Let wireshark run but make sure you have as little internet stuff up as possible. This lets you not learn about wireshark filters, with less traffic you hope you can just see it and scroll through.

What you want is to tell the port scanner site to scan a bunch of ports that way you won't miss the packets because it will send them to a lot of ports. You should see incoming traffic on all those ports. You are looking for what is called a SYN packet coming from a remote location. They should be obvious.

 

[M1ngjii]

Let wireshark run but make sure you have as little internet stuff up as possible. This lets you not learn about wireshark filters, with less traffic you hope you can just see it and scroll through.

What you want is to tell the port scanner site to scan a bunch of ports that way you won't miss the packets because it will send them to a lot of ports. You should see incoming traffic on all those ports. You are looking for what is called a SYN packet coming from a remote location. They should be obvious.

Ran Wireshark while using the port scanner. Couldn't tell what I was looking for apart myself, so I used this filter I found on the Wireshark forums: tcp.flags.syn==1. Didn't find a single port which I tested. Not sure if that's not the correct filter or this just wasn't the problem.

 

[Ralston18]

Reading back -this from your Post #4:

"Parents thought it would be a hassle to recable everything so they just decided to run it like this. It would be incredibly difficult for me to get my system connected onto the main router directly, it would have to be a weekend project. "

So get your parents involved. Make it a weekend project and ask them to access the main router to make any necessary changes.

Is there a problem with doing so?

 

[M1ngjii]

Reading back -this from your Post #4:

"Parents thought it would be a hassle to recable everything so they just decided to run it like this. It would be incredibly difficult for me to get my system connected onto the main router directly, it would have to be a weekend project. "

So get your parents involved. Make it a weekend project and ask them to access the main router to make any necessary changes.

Is there a problem with doing so?

I already mentioned it in another reply, but we got rid of the second router during the weekend. We're only running off the Genexis now, but I still have the same problem as before.

 

[Ralston18]

Your system is now physically connected to the Genexis with an Ethernet cable - correct?

And you are using this router?

https://genexis.eu/content/uploads/2020/10/Pure-ED500-Installation-Guide-v1.4-EN.pdf

What else did you configure and otherwise set up?

Details needed.

And I noted that you only answered part of my last questions.

 

[M1ngjii]

Your system is now physically connected to the Genexis with an Ethernet cable - correct?

And you are using this router?

https://genexis.eu/content/uploads/2020/10/Pure-ED500-Installation-Guide-v1.4-EN.pdf

What else did you configure and otherwise set up?

Details needed.

And I noted that you only answered part of my last questions.

My system is directly connected to the Genexis via ethernet cable, nothing in between. That's the correct router you have linked. Currently, I have only set up a static IP address. As for settings on the router, I have only changed the WLAN name and password, besides that only messed with the DMZ and port-forwarding options. I have tested them both, but without success thus far, but I know it has nothing to do with the firewall.

 

[Ralston18]

What Static IP address did you use?

On your computer run "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt.

Post the results.

 

[M1ngjii]

What Static IP address did you use?

On your computer run "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt.

Post the results.

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) I211 Gigabit Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : B4-2E-99-AB-D1-1F
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:7d0:88c3:2680:bdb3:5c98:7086:2186(Preferred)
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : 2001:7d0:88c3:2680:a10d:c6f0:d6d6:7e87(Preferred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::bdb3:5c98:7086:2186%6(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.168(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : fe80::36e3:80ff:fea1:7220%6
192.168.1.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 112471705
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-26-81-48-DD-B4-2E-99-AB-D1-1F
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:7d0:88c3:2680::1
192.168.1.1
8.8.8.8
2001:7d0:88c3:2680::1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Is this all you wanted?

 

[bill001g]

The DMZ is so simple you almost can't have done it wrong.

Using wireshark eliminates the common issues with a pc and not having software running or things like firewall blocking.

So if we assume this all correct it only leaves router firmware issues but that would be uncommon. Unfortantluy you can't do the best test and plug your pc direclty into the modem since the modem is built into the router and DSL bridge mode is a pain to attach a pc to.

I would go back and recheck everything. Start from the beginning.

First check that the wan IP you see in whatsmyip is the same as the router says is assigned to the wan port.
Make sure you have the dmz set to the proper IP in this case 192.168.1.168
Use a port scanner and have it scan a large range of ip while you have wireshark running.

What your previous testing says is the data is not getting past the router. Wireshark is a very brute force tool but it is hard to miss many 100s of incoming packets.

 

[M1ngjii]

The DMZ is so simple you almost can't have done it wrong.

Using wireshark eliminates the common issues with a pc and not having software running or things like firewall blocking.

So if we assume this all correct it only leaves router firmware issues but that would be uncommon. Unfortantluy you can't do the best test and plug your pc direclty into the modem since the modem is built into the router and DSL bridge mode is a pain to attach a pc to.

I would go back and recheck everything. Start from the beginning.

First check that the wan IP you see in whatsmyip is the same as the router says is assigned to the wan port.
Make sure you have the dmz set to the proper IP in this case 192.168.1.168
Use a port scanner and have it scan a large range of ip while you have wireshark running.

What your previous testing says is the data is not getting past the router. Wireshark is a very brute force tool but it is hard to miss many 100s of incoming packets.

Whatsmyip gives the same IP as the routers WAN.
DMZ is set to that IP.
So I ran Wireshark again while checking ports, but still nothing. It could be me doing it wrong :/

 

[Ralston18]

Yes go back and recheck everything.

'ipconfig /all" shows that your system is using a router with an IP address of 192.168.1.1 and apparently using using a Static IP of 192.168.1.168 (DHCP Enabled = No)

As I understand the documentation the Genexis router's default IP address is 192.168.1.254 (Subnet 255.255.255.0).

However, I did note the use of 192.168.1.1 being mentioned.

From the Command Prompt run "tracert8.8.4.4"

What are the first two IP addresses (hops) that are listed?

Who has full admin rights to the Genexis router? The router's logs (if available and enabled) may provide some insight.

Consider that you may need to do a full factory reset to default settings. Is that viable?

 

[M1ngjii]

Yes go back and recheck everything.

'ipconfig /all" shows that your system is using a router with an IP address of 192.168.1.1 and apparently using using a Static IP of 192.168.1.168 (DHCP Enabled = No)

As I understand the documentation the Genexis router's default IP address is 192.168.1.254 (Subnet 255.255.255.0).

However, I did note the use of 192.168.1.1 being mentioned.

From the Command Prompt run "tracert8.8.4.4"

What are the first two IP addresses (hops) that are listed?

Who has full admin rights to the Genexis router? The router's logs (if available and enabled) may provide some insight.

Consider that you may need to do a full factory reset to default settings. Is that viable?

Rechecked everything again and couldn't find anything wrong.

Ran tracert 8.8.4.4 and these were the first 2 hops:
1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms iopsys.lan [192.168.1.1]
2 2 ms 1 ms 1 ms 3-112-190-90.dyn.estpak.ee [90.190.112.3]

I'm the only one who even does anything with the routers, so I'm pretty sure I have admin rights. I do have access to the event logs, but I'm not sure what to look for.
Do you mean a factory reset on the router? If so then that is completely doable, I've done it before.

 

[Ralston18]

What you look for in the router's logs are any entries relating to failures or other issues with respect to accessing internet connectivity, websites, or port-forwarding problems.

Router IP is 192.168.1.1

I do not understand the network name iopsys.lan

That seems to be associated with ": Inteno DG301 - iopsysRouter

However, many things have been tried and/or changed. Biggest change, perhaps is going from two routers to the single Genexis (?) router.

Summary

Do over time.

Do a factory reset on the Genexis router.

Re-establish network and internet connectivity so that all is working in the Genexis (one router) network environment.

Once that is done then revisit setting up port forwarding for the desired Minecraft server.

You should have clean slate on the router so to speak so and based on what you have done you are further along on the learning curve.

Before proceeding with the Port Fowarding requirement, read the following link.

https://help.minecraft.net/hc/en-us...-How-to-Setup-a-Minecraft-Java-Edition-Server

Search for and read other similar links.

Plan out, step by step, what you need to do in order to configure port forwarding for Minecraft with respect to your router and network environment.

Look at the router's admin screens to identify what changes are necessary and where to make those changes. Do not make any changes until you are certain about the changes and configuration settings that are required.