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The Graveyard - Products No Longer Supported => Routers / COVR => DIR-645 => Topic started by: dalgibbard on June 28, 2012, 12:44:26 PM

Title: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: dalgibbard on June 28, 2012, 12:44:26 PM
Hi all,
Firstly, thanks for all your help so far.

I'm having two issues at the moment, and have a few questions too-
* When using my xbox360, i get randomly disconnected. What's weird is that sometimes, with two users logged in, sometimes only one of them gets disconnected from XboxLive, while the other remains connected (?!). Tested the QOS options as previously mentioned in other posts (namely the sticky), and setting the xbox as a DMZ host- and combinations of the two. No difference.

* Approximately every 6 - 12 hrs the DIR-645 drops the internet connection and fails to reconnect. The status page displays "Busy..." - disconnect/reconnect doesn't resolve, removing the cable physically and reconnecting doesn't resolve (between the router and VDSL modem that it)- only working fixes are to power router down and up, or use the "Tools> Reboot" option from the WebUI. Note also- when this occurs, i lose all inter-LAN connectivity, so my laptop can no longer contact my home server etc... Which also means that i'm not seeing any logs (it's configured to syslog to the server.)

* Just as a side note too- i noticed that it won't let me set my PPPoE MTU to anything above 1492- is that a weird WebUI restriction put in by the devs for no reason- or is that due to a technical limitation of PPPoE as it stands?

* Lastly- i'm seeing "dhcp6_ctl_authinit: failed to open /var/etc/dhcp6sctlkey: No such file or directory" in the logs of the router- i'm running a 6in4 tunnel, and all seems to be functioning, just not sure what this is about.

Useful Info:
* I'm located in the UK
* I'm running v1.01 stock firmware which came pre-supplied with my A1 hardware revision DIR-645
* My service provider is BT Infinity, with a BT Openreach VDSL standalone modem- works perfectly when connected to directly and/or when connecting to the net using the pre-supplied BTHomeHub3, or my DIR-825.
* Issues exist when using DHCP'd DNS IP's, or manually specified ones (advanced DNS)
* All devices on the network have reserved IPs.
* Have very recently disabled SPI, Spoof checking and set NAT'ing to Endpoint independent, but I'm yet to see if this changes anything. Ideally, i wouldn't want it set this way anyway...
* UPnP/Multicasting enabled as default
* WAN Ping response is enabled
* Xbox360 (only the one!) is connected via LAN cable (Cat6 SSTP)

Thoughts and suggestions? It seems that i'm managing to hit all of the FW bugs so far... :)
Thanks in advance!

Darren.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: FurryNutz on June 28, 2012, 01:13:15 PM
I would review this:
Gaming and Gamefuel for XBL. (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=42011.0)

If this modem has a built in router, it's best to bridge the modem. Having 2 routers on the same line can cause connection problems.
To tell if the modem is bridged or not, look at the routers web page, Status/Device Info/Wan Section, if there is a 192.168.0.# address in the WAN IP address field, then the modem is not bridged.
If the modem can't be bridged then see if the modem has a DMZ option and input the IP address the router gets from the modem and put that into the modems DMZ.

Some things to try:
Turn off ALL QoS (http://vonage.nmhoy.net/qos.html) or Disable Traffic Shaping (DIR only) GameFuel (DGL only and if ON.) options. Advanced/QoS or Gamefuel just for testing, reenable after testing.
Turn off Advanced DNS Services if you have this option under Setup/Internet/Manual.
Turn on DNS Relay under Setup/Networking.
Setup DHCP reserved IP addresses for all devices ON the router. Setup/Networking
Ensure devices are set to auto obtain an IP address.
Set Firewall settings to Endpoint Independent for TCP and UDP under Advanced/Firewall.
Enable uPnP and Multi-cast Streaming under Advanced/Networking.


Link>Wireless Installation Considerations (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=48327.0)
What wireless modes are you using? Under Setup/Wireless/Manual.
Try single mode G or N or mixed G and N?
Channel Width set for Auto 20/40Mhz or try 20Mhz only.
Try setting a manual channel to a open or unused channel.
What security mode are you using? Preferred security is WPA-Personal. WPA2/AES Only. Some WiFi adapters don't support AES, so you might want to try TPIK only or Auto.
What wireless devices do you have connected?
Any cordless house phones?
Any other WiFi routers in the area? Use InSSIDer (http://www.metageek.net/) to find out.
Turn off WISH, and WPS under Advanced.
Try turning off Short GI, WLAN Partition,and Extra Wireless Protection if you have it. Under Advanced/Advanced Wireless.

Turn off all anti virus and firewall programs on PC while testing. 3rd party firewalls are not generally needed when using routers as they are effective on blocking malicious inbound traffic.
Turn off all devices accept for one wired PC while testing.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: dalgibbard on June 28, 2012, 01:56:23 PM
Hi FurryNutz,
I had already seen you post this reponse on multiple other topics, hence why i provided pretty much all of the (relevent) information upfront.

* Its a modem, not a router- hence i didn't call it a router :)
* Followed the QOS guide to no avail (only relevant for the xbox issue)
* Applied DMZ settings to no avail (only relevant for the xbox issue)
* Applied a combination of the two...
* Tried disabling all QOS/DMZ settings (which is where it's currently at, and is probably a preference for now.)
* All devices on my network have a reserved DHCP address.
* All wireless points are irrelevant, as this affects cabled devices.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: FurryNutz on June 28, 2012, 02:16:26 PM
My bad, I think I gave you the wrong link the the 645's QoS sticky for XBL.
http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=48291.0 (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=48291.0)

Is the router getting a public IP address or a private IP address on the WAN side? Status/Device Info/Wan section.


SPI should be left ON and I don't think the 645 has NAT options.

Check cable between Modem and Router, swap out to be sure. Cat6 is recommended. (http://www.networkcablingdirectory.com/articles/structured-network-cabling-id_1151.htm)

I wish your region has some beta, the NA units do and helped resolved some problems here.  Might need to call your local DLink support office and ask for help and see if they have any beta's or something that might help if we can't seem to resolve this here. IT would be interesting if you had a friend, neighbor or family member that you could take this over to there place and test to see if this issue follows.

Maybe someone can review your router settings with you using teamviewer (http://www.teamviewer.com) if your interested. Its safe and secure.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: dalgibbard on June 28, 2012, 02:26:41 PM
Thanks for the assistance- The cable is fine, tried swapping it out to no avail. The fact that it will reconnect immediately on reboot without fail affirms this.
The strangest thing is that when it occurs, all local LAN machines become uncontactable to each other, even though i can still get to the router's web interface... Suggests to me that the routing table is eating itself.

See this for an example of the internet connectivity issue:
(http://s9.postimage.org/8m6nytb17/dir645busy.jpg)
 (http://postimage.org/image/8m6nytb17/)

I've raised it with D-Link support anyway via the ticketing system... not sure i want to spend time+money on the phone with first line support if i can avoid it tbh. At least with a ticket they can just forward the message without me having to explain myself a few hundred times :D

As disappointing as it is... I'm thinking my best option for now is to send it back, get a refund and go back to using my DIR-825 until it's completely dead.

If you want to review the settings, then by all means i'm willing to assist- but if a configuration issue of this nature can have this much impact on the working of the router, then the router isn't worth keeping in my eyes. The fact that i can't use an Internal DNS server for WAN DNS was enough of a reason to send it back to start with- i don't believe that i should have to change the way i want things to work, just because the unit can't work that way due to a fault (not to mention that D-link support haven't provided an ETA for a firmware to fix this... or even responded at all since it was escalated).
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: FurryNutz on June 28, 2012, 02:29:54 PM
Sounds like the DIR-825 is a better option for you. Besides it has 5Ghz Wifi. Its a solid router as well. Sorry that the 645 couldn't provide you with better service. I would ask DLink for FW if you get any response. It seems about due for a new release.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: dalgibbard on June 28, 2012, 02:32:30 PM
Sounds like the DIR-825 is a better option for you. Besides it has 5Ghz Wifi. Its a solid router as well. Sorry that the 645 couldn't provide you with better service. I would ask DLink for FW if you get any response. It seems about due for a new release.

Yeah, although the 5GHz is irrelevant to me tbh- i had it switched off when the 825 was up. Problem is that i've been driving it so hard (was running DDWRT with increased radio power) that its a little flakey on the wiki at best- hence the new purchase :)

Still, at least it worked ;)

Thanks for the help anyway- i'll see if they've got any firmware available. If they do, you'll hear back... otherwise, assume not :D
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: FurryNutz on June 28, 2012, 02:35:16 PM
Take Care.  :)
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: dalgibbard on June 29, 2012, 08:42:00 AM
D-link have provided me with a Beta Firmware suitable for my EU unit- FW v.1.02b08. Will hold off sending it back for now, and report back with my findings.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: FurryNutz on June 29, 2012, 08:51:48 AM
Thanks for the info. Keep us posted on how it goes. I'm hoping it will work better for you.
Let me know if you need some teamviewer help.  ;)
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: dalgibbard on June 29, 2012, 01:27:46 PM
Updated to beta firmware v1.02b08 -
* Internet has remained connected so far, but often only disconnected after around 12hrs... so we'll see.
* Xbox Live disconnects still happening as frequently as before. Configured QOS and still disconnects every 5 to 10 mins.
* Still unable to use an internal DNS server in Internet Settings for the same reasons as http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=46358.msg181969#msg181969 (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=46358.msg181969#msg181969).

10days remaining for me to be able to return the unit. Thinking that may be the only viable option atm :(
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: FurryNutz on June 29, 2012, 01:51:09 PM
Let me know if you want someone to review your router settings with you. Might help some.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: dalgibbard on June 29, 2012, 02:00:43 PM
Let me know if you want someone to review your router settings with you. Might help some.

I'll be honest and suggest that we don't bother :) I've tried multiple combinations of QOS, DMZ and firewall/NAT settings all with the same effect for the Xbox, and to be honest, it should work regardless of these settings, as per every other working router in the universe (Including my DIR-825 of course!)... As for the Internal DNS issue... well that's an obvious bug. Can't even use the Advanced Settings> Routing page to correct it, as it only allows you to select the WAN as the interface.

Have sent the info to D-link, but its looking more likely than ever that this unit is going back where it came from :( Here's hoping they fix the firmware, and someone else benefits from my incessant whinging :)

Will post if i receive any more worthwhile info from D-link support.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: FurryNutz on June 29, 2012, 02:02:10 PM
I don't see any issues with my 645 while playing xbox. Actually does very well, always full bars while gaming in MW3.

Good Luck. Keep us posted.  ;)
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: brookheather on July 12, 2012, 01:02:32 PM
I have exactly the same problem with my DIR-645 router and BT Infinity.  I had BT Infinity installed today and I directly connected the DIR-645 router to the VDSL modem - initially it wouldn't connect until I rebooted the router.  It then worked for a couple of hours and then it disconnected and wouldn't reconnect until I rebooted the router.  This behaviour then repeated all this afternoon and evening until I connected the BT HomeHub 3 in between the VDSL modem.

I really don't want to have both the DIR-645 (which I need for the USB printer and great wireless range) and the BT HH3 as it doesn't support OpenDNS (which is a huge fail).  I am open to trying beta firmware if there is some available?  I am currently on the original firmware version.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: FurryNutz on July 12, 2012, 02:49:17 PM
What region are you located?

What ISP Modem do you have? Stand Alone or built in router?
What ISP Modem make and model do you have?
If this modem has a built in router, it's best to bridge the modem. Having 2 routers on the same line can cause connection problems.
Double NAT (http://www.practicallynetworked.com/networking/fixing_double_nat.htm)
To tell if the modem is bridged or not, look at the routers web page, Status/Device Info/Wan Section, if there is a 192.168.0.# address in the WAN IP address field, then the modem is not bridged.
If the modem can't be bridged then see if the modem has a DMZ option and input the IP address the router gets from the modem and put that into the modems DMZ.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: brookheather on July 12, 2012, 02:52:40 PM
I am in the UK and using the BT Infinity VDSL modem (this is not a router).  The WAN IP is being set correctly to my external IP address (currently 86.185.145.23).
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: dalgibbard on July 12, 2012, 03:41:15 PM
I am in the UK and using the BT Infinity VDSL modem (this is not a router).  The WAN IP is being set correctly to my external IP address (currently 86.185.145.23).

Good to know the stock FW is naff then! Do you happen to be having any issues with Xbox live too?Furry- could you PM brookheather with details of 102b08 for EU? I'm on my mobile atm, else I'll ping it over tomorrow morning.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: brookheather on July 13, 2012, 01:39:14 AM
I don't have an Xbox but my son runs a Minecraft server and the router started disconnecting once I had opened up the ports on the D-link router and his friends started playing.  So probably an issue caused by inbound traffic.

My BT Infinity broadband speed is around 72 Mbps download and 16 Mbps upload so potentially there is a lot of traffic going through the router firewall.

I will try the new beta firmware over the weekend.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: Marsmars on July 13, 2012, 04:30:21 AM
Just a note: I tried both the 1.02B08 and 1.02B11 EU versions (last one is publicly available on the german FTP site: ftp://ftp.dlink.de/dir/dir-645/driver_software/), but my problems did not fully disappear...

As I read this thread, it seems to me that my problems are not caused by using the 645 as an AP...
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: dalgibbard on July 13, 2012, 08:10:20 AM
Just to confirm- the issue i experienced that was *resolved* with the Beta FW was with regards to BT Infinity connectivity on the D-link DIR645 sitting in a "Busy..." state, and requiring a reboot to resolve.

If this isn't the behaviour you're seeing, then it sounds as though you may have a separate issue, that won't necessarily be resolved by a Beta FW.

At current; I'm re-testing my actual fibre connection (using the BT HomeHub3 atm) for issues, as it would appear that the XboxLive Disconnects still occur on that (albeit somewhat less frequently? Might be a fluke though!), and on my DIR-825 too (both with direct PPPoE and as a Gateway to the HH3); replaced the network cables and all. Something a bit fishy going on with the BT Fibre service potentially- most likely to do with the stupid traffic management system they seem to have become rather keen on (They know that encryption makes their well-spent money less-well-spent right?). I'm planning on discussing it further with the BT representative that i've been speaking to for the past three days or so, so i'll let you know what becomes of it - assuming you're having the same issue of course :D
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: brookheather on July 13, 2012, 08:11:38 AM
Yes my issue is the frequent disconnect from the BT Infinity modem and it just showing "Busy..." when reconnecting.  Glad to hear the beta solved this for you - will try it myself tonight.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: brookheather on July 13, 2012, 11:44:50 AM
Right I've installed the beta firmware and cold booted the router - it is now connected and I will see whether it stays connected this weekend - if not then back to the HomeHub 3...
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: brookheather on July 14, 2012, 12:54:58 AM
No this firmware doesn't work - after a few hours the router locked up completely - I couldn't access the control webpage at all.  I will have to go back to using the HomeHub 3 as a router instead.  Please let me know if there is a new firmware version that works.
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: brookheather on July 25, 2012, 01:57:13 AM
@Support - is there anything else I can try to get this router working with BT Infinity?  Are there any newer firmware updates planned to be released?
Title: Re: Two Issues - Xbox Live + Intermittent Internet Drop
Post by: FurryNutz on July 25, 2012, 08:44:06 AM
I would contact your local regional DLink support office by phone, level 2 support and see if there is any information on this. Let us know what they say.