Mentor
•
53 Messages
New problem - not Activating w/ Centurylink VDSL, Zyxel C1000Z, and Netgear R7000 Nighthawk
I've been using a Microcell for a few years already, most recently with a Netgear R7000 Nighthawk as the router, an Actiontec PK5000 DSL modem/router in bridge mode. (Service was Centurylink, either ADSL or ADSL2 not sure).
Microcell -> Netgear R7000 -> Actiontec PK5000 in transparent bridge mode
This past week, Centurylink upgraded my internet speed and apparently put me on a VDSL (or VDSL2) circuit, and they sent me a new modem, a Zyxel C1000Z. I need to use the new modem because my old modems are not compatible w/ VDSL.
I have not been able to get the Microcell to activate using the same exact configuration except for the modem:
Microcell -> Netgear R7000 -> Zyxel C1000Z in transparent bridge mode.
I spent hours with this issue. Everything else that I have works fine (other devices that set up DDNS or UPnP ports to the outside world, etc) , except for the Microcell. I went and physically added port forwarding on the Microcell ports that I saw in Otto's guide and in the ATT instructions. (123 UDP, 443 TCP, 500 UDP, 4500 UDP).
This works: microcell -> Zyxel C1000Z in gateway/router mode, but that's not what I want.
I have temporarily established this setup, but again it's not what I was hoping for and since all of this used to work before with the older modem/DSL combo:
microcell -> Netgear R700 in AP mode -> Zyxel C1000Z as the gateway/router
(I didn't have to do any explicit port forwarding).
BTW, all of the scenarios listed above were connected as Modem LAN port to Router WAN port.
For reasons that I don't want to get into, I want to use the Netgear R7000 to do all my network processing, and just use the modem/gateway for DSL (i.e. bridged).
Does anyone have a similar configuration and did you get it to work? Any other ideas?
Thanks in advance.
Avedis53
Professor
•
2.2K Messages
10 years ago
@ Otto....hope I didn't overstep my bounds.
@ partymonkey - Don't forget to disable NAT (set to: Open) on the Netgear and keep NAT enabled on the Zyxel. Disable SIP ALG on both routers if you can (I know you can on the Netgear).
0
0
OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
•
24.2K Messages
10 years ago
@Avedis - not at all. We're here to help as best as we can but once we step into the setting up of a home network area, it can get problematic if it doesn't work, because we will become network support for the individual which is not our purpose here.
@partymonkey- I hope you understand what I'm saying here. We will help you as best as we can but the nuts and bolts of configuring your network to meet the requirments of the MicroCell are up to you.
0
Avedis53
Professor
•
2.2K Messages
10 years ago
@ Otto - I hear what you're saying. I am not suggesting anything that isn't reversible at any rate.
@ partymonkey - Caveat emptor (Let the buyer beware). I am not an expert at home networks. Your Mcell isn't the problem as you have shown that it does work. Hopefully my suggestion works for you. If it doesn't, then you will have to contact your ISP to see if they can offer another solution.
0
0
partymonkey
Mentor
•
53 Messages
10 years ago
To both of you: first of all, thank you very much for your kind ideas and support so far. Truly appreciated.
@avedis: thank you so much for the outline of the steps. That's the kind of stuff I was looking for. I am a fairly deep techie, but not when it comes to home networking, there I have a middle level of understanding, but I never spent the time to understand routing and protocols. So you gave me just the necessary level of info and ideas for me to continue down my quest.
@otto: I truly appreciate the support everyone gives, and I fully understand that this is my problem to solve, and any advice provided is strictly "your mileage may vary and you may run off a cliff". However, the reason I came to this forum (and the netgear one), is because I have more faith in getting closer to a resolution than I do through standard tech support channels. I have had past issues w/ the microcell, w/ DSL, w/ computer equipment, and very rarely any of the official technical support channels have actually resolved them properly. The first thing they want to do is replace my non-defective device for another non-defective device. Everyone covers their behind, and they draw the line right around their equipment. The reality of my world is I have 3 different vendors (and 4 if you count the modem vendor which doesn't even give you support), and each will point at each other.
Anyway, once I get an opportunity to try these things out, I will report back.
Sharing what didn't work is just as useful as sharing what worked, and given that you have dedicated the time to help me, it's the minimum I could do to share back what I learn.
0
0
OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
•
24.2K Messages
10 years ago
Yes, please do report back once it's all working correctly. What you learn and do may help others (us as well) and it may be something to add to the Tech Guide.
0
0
OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
•
24.2K Messages
10 years ago
Glad to hear that it's working out for you now. It is sometimes very easy to miss a basic requirement especially when you are trying all kinds of troubleshooting methods.
0
0
partymonkey
Mentor
•
53 Messages
10 years ago
Hi Otto, yep, but what's different here is that the MTU of 1492, which is the MTU listed as a microcell requirement, does not work.
Setting the MTU to 1480 is what worked.
0
0
Avedis53
Professor
•
2.2K Messages
10 years ago
Interesting that lowering the maximum transmission unit from a default setting of 1492 down to 1480 would fix the problem for you. A MTU setting of 1492 is the standard for PPPoE on a LAN, not so much a requirement of the Mcell. The fact that lowering the MTU for your LAN made the Mcell functional would indicate to me that your LAN suffers from packet fragmentation at a MTU of 1492 for whatever reason and that packet fragmentation was causing a problem with your Mcell.
Lowering the MTU can improve "responsiveness" of a LAN at the expense of throughput. It is always advisable to run at the highest MTU setting that your LAN will allow in order to maximize throughput but each LAN is different and sometimes changes to the MTU must be made in order to account for variations in the underlying network. There is no single "best" solution for all applications.
I am also wondering if you have "Block Fragmented Packets" disabled in your router settings. If it is enabled, it could be causing the problem and disabling this setting may allow you to increase the MTU back to 1492.
0
0
partymonkey
Mentor
•
53 Messages
10 years ago
Hi Avedis, yes, this is strange, I thought of the same. However, this "advanced" router has no setting that I can see as a user to control packet fragmentation.
And this same exact router used to work fine on a different type of DSL circuit (ADSL) and a different modem (that was compatible w/ that circuit).
My only conclusion at this point is that this combination of circuit, modem, router, and microcell cause the issue. Which exact device or configuration of the combination results in the potential packet fragmentation is beyond me, and I don't have the time or access to internal configuration to deal w/ it. (See, if I just put the modem in router mode w/ its mtu default [which is 1492], then the microcell connects fine. and I don't want to run the "advanced" router in ap mode).
Go figure, but at least if someone runs into this, reducing the MTU is another workaround to try.
0
0
OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
•
24.2K Messages
10 years ago
Avedis53 - Good points. I read that as the MTU was set at 1480 and setting to the required 1492 worked. I know there are a lot of issues with CenturyLink as reported by Broadband Reports so maybe they are still working on fixing some issues.
0
0