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Teacher

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16 Messages

Sunday, November 13th, 2011 11:33 AM

Playing COD MW3 & Running out of NAT sessions....

Playing COD MW3 & Running out of NAT sessions....

 

I have the AT&T U-verse Max Turbo Internet package with download speeds up to 24 Mbps. It has been working well for the past couple of years as my son and I use it simultaneously to play most of the latest and greatest online multiplayer games together... World of Warctaft, RIFT, etc... This has worked very well even when we have guests over and they connect using this same connection. We can have three or four people playing online without any issues... Recently we assembled two brand new machines as a hobby project with most of the latest and greatest hardware. Could this be why when we are playing the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 we have this problem.... "Running out of NAT Sessions"? I say we play but we really don't because before the first game is over we are both lagging so hard we really can't play. I have called AT&T support a dozen different times but they have you reboot the equipment with only temporary results. Once they sent out a technician who completely replaced their equipment but within a day it was back the same way so laggy we can't play. Finaly after a dozen logged complaints to AT&T about this issue one rep had the insight to tell me to look at the NAT Sessions table and sure enough it was completely locked up...But he could not tell me how to fix it... I have been searching the internet for any solutions to this situation and the closest I have been able to find was a guy posting about his Skype program causing the exact same issue "Running out of NAT Sessions" and his resolution was to limit the upload to about 1/2 of what he was using in the skype program. I have not seen anywhere in the Valve / Steam client that I can do this (that is what is used to play MW3 online) Is anybody else having this issue? Does anybody out there know enough about networking, routers, LANs, and NAT Sessions to give me another clue as to how to resolve this because AT&T isn't going to do it for me... SAD FACE 8(


 

Images To Show The Difference:




Good Connection Not Really Doing Anything Here...







Try To Play Call Of Duty MW3 w/ My Son And Then We Get This NAT Session Overload...







We can get in a game or maybe only a half of a game before the internet connection goes to complete garbage... And thanks to that one guy who said check your NAT Sessions table I am now aware that I have a NAT Sessions table and it does appear to be full... Any thoughts? We can do the whole reboot the Modem / Router show etc... and then get in part of another game but I know this should not be like this... Our internet connectivity was excellent for almost two years and now all of the sudden... Fun Time Is Over!




... < -- INSERT UBER NERD RAGE HERE!!! -- >

Teacher

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16 Messages

12 years ago

My Cisco router is unable to connect to the internet via my AT&T router for some reason... I do not know enough about networking to determine why I am unable to access the internet through two routers connected to eachother. I find it strange that I would have to. One router has always proven to be sufficient in the past no matter what ISP we used... While I consider the purchase of yet another router does anybody else have any suggestions as to how we can resolve this issue aside from purchasing a third router?

Master

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5.9K Messages

12 years ago


@Wyze wrote:

My Cisco router is unable to connect to the internet via my AT&T router for some reason... I do not know enough about networking to determine why I am unable to access the internet through two routers connected to eachother. I find it strange that I would have to. One router has always proven to be sufficient in the past no matter what ISP we used... While I consider the purchase of yet another router does anybody else have any suggestions as to how we can resolve this issue aside from purchasing a third router?



No need for a third router.

 

This is what I did to use an "internal" router (when I had Uverse). I set my "internal" router to use DHCP or Dynamic for the WAN address, plugged it's WAN port in to a LAN port on the 2WIRE, reboot the "internal" router, let the 2WIRE assign a local address to the "internal" router and then set that address to the DMZ in the 2WIRE's management interface. When I go to the "internal" router's management interface it shows as having the same WAN, gateway, and DNS addresses that the 2WIRE uses.


I set the "internal" router to assign addresses to "my" side of the network in a different IP range than what the 2WIRE uses (192.168.2.* instead of 192.168.1.*) but using the same subnet mask (255.255.255.0). My internet works fine with no interuptions and local network tasks (back ups, streaming, etc.) work as expected. I can also still access the 2WIRE from "my" side of the network when I need to without having to change any network settings or swap any cables. Leave DHCP running on the 2WIRE. You do not need to disable the firewall in the 2WIRE as the DMZ will open a pinhole through it to the address you pick (your internal router). If you have existing wireless on your router that your satisfied with and want to keep, just make sure to turn off the wireless in the RG.


As for any STBs, they should be run straight out of the RG with CAT5 or RG6 Coax.


If you currently have your router behind a basic DSL or Cable modem, Your setup will be pretty much the same. The 2WIRE will replace your modem, then go into your existing router and change it's internet connection type to Dynamic or DHCP. Then change it's internal network IP adress and DHCP Pool and you should be good to go.

 




__________________________________________________________
How can you be in two places at once, when your not anywhere at all?
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I really want to become a procrastinator, but I keep putting it off.
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There are three kinds of people, those that can count, and those that can't.
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“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature has made them." :Bertrand Russell

Teacher

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16 Messages

12 years ago

Just went to Fry's and purchased a brand new router and have paid the extra fee to have them come out and install it for me this week. The sales people on the floor were all pretty much in agreement that you simply disable the AT&T router and only use the 2WIRE modem (because you have to) and then use your own router and the problem will be eliminated. This sounded a lot like what you have provided here as a solution although I do not completely understand everything you said it kind of sounds about the same. So the issue should be resolved this week. Fingers crossed! Thanks for all the help!

Teacher

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16 Messages

12 years ago

This issue is not limited to games either.


Today I was simply working remotely when I suddenly found myself unable to open Notepad on a machine. The machine was completely frozen / locked up. So I switched over to another machine and checked the NAT Session table and tada! The exact same problem without any video games involved. In case you are unable to read the screenshot it says...


Current NAT Sessions

session table 0/1024 available, 919/512 used in inbound sessions:


ACE - Expert

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34.6K Messages

12 years ago

FWIW: 512 concurrent sessions seems like a gracious plenty for normal home use.  I'm wondering if COD:MW3 has a P2P software distribution server/client that is eating your ports alive.

 

And also, FWIW, I can't imagine any reason in the world why a lack of available NAT sessions in your Internet router would cause Notepad to lock up on a PC, unless there is software also running in the background on that PC that reacts poorly to not being able to setup network connections.

 

 

Teacher

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16 Messages

12 years ago

And now I am up and working with quality connection speed... My son will be home any minute and we will test COD/MW3... I hate to get excited at this point but I am starting to suspect that I may have found the problem and resolved it myself... So then the questions become "Has that been checked for the past two years?" & if so then "How did it become un-checked?"

Teacher

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16 Messages

12 years ago

I really need to start studying networking all of these mysteries give me a headache...

Teacher

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16 Messages

12 years ago

With several macines running and COD / MW3 being played by my son and I at the same time we appear to have the internet connectivity that we have come to expect from AT&T over the past couple of years. It is really looking like I found the issue. One little checkbox... Now how in the world do you suppose that became unchecked in the first place? Why didn't any of the tech support tell me to look there? Well in any case I suppose I should simply be happy that it appears resolved... Now about this new router I just purchased... Do I keep it and use it or simply use the AT&T gateway device? I suppose that would be a completely new thread...

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