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[E9EMEN]

I have been using my router without any problem almost 2 years. I made configuration of my router for all devices at my network and added ports to be forwarded, but to be honest I am not sure if they are working 100% correctly...

First of all, how could I find out if my router is forwarding to ports that needs to be forwarded to certain devices that I set? Secondly, does forwarding port make my connection faster for the application set? If someone could clarify me more about this I will be very glad.

I have been planning to flash my router with the latest firmware available, but would you guys suggest me to do this?

Are there certain kind of flaws with 1.23NA firmware, or is this going to fix tons of issues on my router?
My current firmware date is 2007/11/13, I am assuming Dlink might have fixed some error and add useful functions since then.

I look forward to reading your commend and advices.

Thank you in advance!

[FurryNutz]

Welcome!
What Hardware version is your router? Look at sticker under router.
What region are you located?
Port Forwarding only allows connection for those applications and ports, there is no performance involved.
What applications or services are you needing to PF? If it's gaming, there are other alternatives for port forwarding.

If your router seems to be working well for you, it's recommended to keep the current version of FW loaded and not update.

What ISP Service do you have? Cable or DSL?
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.
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 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.

Wireless Installation Considerations
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 or 40Mhz 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 to find out.

Turn off WISH, and WPS under Advanced.
Turn 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.

Check cable between Modem and Router, swap out to be sure. Cat6 is recommended.

Maybe someone can review your router settings with you using teamviewer if your interested. Its safe and secure.

IF you can provide some the answers to the questions, this will help us better to determine a course of action if needed and better feedback.

[E9EMEN]

DGL-4500:
H/W Ver: A1
F/W: 1.02

Cable Modem:
Name: SA EPC2203
Vendor: Scientific Atlanta - A Cisco Company
H/W Ver: 1.1
F/W Name: epc2203-E10-5-v202r1262-071203cs.bin

I bought this router in USA, but I am currently living in Istanbul, Turkey. However, to stream movies on PS3 or to get access restricted sites I subscribed to DNS service to use servers located in USA.

I have cable modem and my ISP is Turksatkablo. My home network setup is briefly as follows:

Cable modem is a stand alone unit and connected to my DGL-4500 (192.168.0.1) with ethernet cable. Also, PS3 (192.168.180) is connected to this router with ethernet cable, and rest of the devices connect network through wireless connection.

I also have Dlink DAP-1150 (192.168.0.5) that works in Repeater Mode, but I am not sure if it is working perfectly with DGL-4500. I made configuration in its interface, performed the scan and selected my DGL-4500 router, but I can not track this through DGL-4500's interface.

I did PF configuration mainly for my PS3, becuase I am streaming movies all the time through Netflix, Vudu and Amazon. I set ports to be open for Battlefield 3, Playstation Network and Headset. I have also open ports for Skype, Netflix and BitComet applications.

If  you accept to take a look at my settings and logs throught teamviewer, I will be more than grateful! I am sure you will understand and figure out what they are actually meaning.

Best,
EK  

[FurryNutz]

For your PS3 I would review the gaming and gamefuel sticky in the FAQ Library and set up a gamefuel rule for PS3 rather than use Port Forwarding. This will help maintain some performance level while streaming.

Are there any other Wifi routers near by? Use that application I mentioned to check.

If the DAP connected to the 4500 then it's probably working. Checking status on the 4500 might not be possible however when you look at Status/Wireless, do you see any thing listed here when any wireless device is connected? I would change the 4500 wireless mode from Mixed ALL to Mixed G and N. If you don't have any N supporting devices, you can run single mode G. Theres no real need to broadcast modes that you don't use actively.

[E9EMEN]

Thank you for the hint, FurryNutz!

I log into DAP-1150 interface, and realized that unit has two MAC addresses, one for Wireless and Wired connection. After looking at Status/Wireless section of main router, I realized that it is DAP-1150 is connected to DGL-4500 without any problem. I also add the DAP-1150 to DHCP list to give a IP address in main router. Currently, DAP-1150 really located at deadspot at my roof, so I assuming we may even create a GameFuel setting for this device as we did in PS3, right? However, eventough DAP-1150 works in the Repeater mode, I could say that it is almost useless.


Basic Network Settings:
802.11 Band : 2.4 GHz
802.11 Mode : Mixed G and B
Wireless Channel: selected CH10 after using inSSIDer application
Transmission Rate: Best (automatic)
Security Mode: WEP

Advanced Wireless Settings:
Transmit Power : High
Beacon Period : 75
RTS Threshold : 2346
DTIM: 1
802.11d Enable : Disabled
WLAN Partition : Disabled
WMM Enable : Enabled
Short GI : Enabled

Advanced Network Settings:
All UPNP options: Enabled
MultiCast Streas: Enabled


Wish: Enabled
HTTP and Windows Media Center: Enabled
Automatic: Disabled:
But nothing has been configured for any device.


I read and applied the GameFuel settings from your post. Only thing that I left out is the Advanced Firewall settings. I am currently sticking to original settings for that part. I am not sure but I believe when I take that to Endpoint Independent, I am receiving different log messages... or it was because of the GameFuel setting I applied recently.

I am not sure if my router is forwarding any ports at all for my PS3. I recently downloaded PF Config tool and when I run the scan,  it shows port 80 as not open for my PS3 but displays as open for both of my routers, i.e. DGL-4500 and DAP-1150.

[FurryNutz]

Basic Network Settings:
802.11 Band : 2.4 GHz
802.11 Mode : Mixed G and B Do you have devices that use B mode? How many other neighboring WiFi routers are near by?
Wireless Channel: selected CH10 after using inSSIDer application
Transmission Rate: Best (automatic)
Security Mode: WEP Do you have devices that use WEP or can they use WPA or WPA2? WPA2 is preferred and is more secure.

Advanced Wireless Settings:
Transmit Power : High
Beacon Period : 75
RTS Threshold : 2346
DTIM: 1
802.11d Enable : Disabled
WLAN Partition : Disabled
WMM Enable : Enabled
Short GI : Enabled

Advanced Network Settings:
All UPNP options: Enabled
MultiCast Streas: Enabled


Wish: Enabled This may not be needed and can be disabled.
HTTP and Windows Media Center: Enabled
Automatic: Disabled:
But nothing has been configured for any device.


I read and applied the GameFuel settings from your post. Only thing that I left out is the Advanced Firewall settings. I am currently sticking to original settings for that part. I am not sure but I believe when I take that to Endpoint Independent, I am receiving different log messages... or it was because of the GameFuel setting I applied recently. I would test both default settings and Endpoint Ind. Theres not security concerns if you change settings. You can always go back.

I am not sure if my router is forwarding any ports at all for my PS3. I recently downloaded PF Config tool and when I run the scan,  it shows port 80 as not open for my PS3 but displays as open for both of my routers, i.e. DGL-4500 and DAP-1150. Port 80 really doesn't need to be opened as the router and devices can automatically connect to this port with success. It's a general internet port so it gets used alot. You have to be actively using the port to check to see if it's open or not.

I downloaded the teamviewer tool. I never used this tool but here is my information:
Remember not to post the User ID or Passwork in the fourms. Send that information via PM. I have it though.

[E9EMEN]

I can go back to Endpoint settings if it is going to make my connection faster, however again I don't understand anything displayed in STATUS/LOGS after applying these settings.

There are several WiFi connections around my unit, however I am not so worried about security settings. I once read that configuring settings to WEP is less secure compared to WPA or more secure protection settings but makes it more effective in terms of connectivity.

I would like to set my wireless mode to only B or G again if it is gong to increase my connection speed, but I am not about which mode each unit uses at my network. Is there any software that I could use to find this out?

[FurryNutz]

First off you need to take a look at all of your wireless devices and see what wireless modes they support. Most devices now days support up to and including N speed. However you need to see what which device(s) you have that may not support N or G. Your wireless modes will be based on what your lowest and highest supporting devices are. So say you don't have any devices that there highest connection mode is B, that would be good. So you can set the router for Mixed G and N mode should you have some N devices and G devices. Now if all of your devices support up to n, then you could have the router run single mode N only. In some cases this is preferred so that each device gets a fast connection, however this can hamper some connections or if any interferences are encountered by the router, the device can not fall back to G mode since it's only working on N, so in most cases Mixed G and N work well. However if you only have G and B mode devices, then have the router use those modes only since N isn't needed. You can always turn it on at a later time.

[FurryNutz]

Any status on this 

[E9EMEN]

Sorry, I was busy with my work lately.

As you mentioned, I look at each device, what wireless modes they support, and based on that changed my router's settings accordingly.

In a nut shell, I have two laptops that supported G mode, and one laptop that supports N/B. Since I have one laptop that support N mode, I decided to run the DGL-router in N mode. I also learned that running router in N mode allows other devices to connect since N mode is back-compatible other wireless modes. However, the performance of the router was not as expected.

I was able to access router at with speed rate of 300mpbs with my laptop that supports N mode, however I realized that when other units, ones that only support G mode, connects to this router my speed was dropping to 54 mpbs instantly. Also, I see lags and increase in response times.

For these reasons I changed configuration of the router again, and set my wireless mode as only G.


BASIC NETWORK SETTINGS:
802.11 Band : 2.4 GHz
802.11 Mode : 802.11 g only
Wireless Channel: selected CH3 after using inSSIDer application
Transmission Rate: Best (automatic)
Security Mode: WEP
DNS Relay: Disabled

ADVANCED WIRELESS SETTINGS:
Transmit Power : High
Beacon Period : 75
RTS Threshold : 2346
DTIM: 1
802.11d Enable : Disabled
WLAN Partition : Enabled
WMM Enable : Enabled
Short GI : Disabled
Extra Wireless Protection: Disabled

ADVANCED NETWORK SETTINGS:
All UPNP options: Enabled
MultiCast Streas: Disabled -------------? Not sure about this feature. If you could explain plainly and with little detail about how it works and why to use it, I will be glad

WISH SETTINGS:
Wish: Enabled
HTTP and Windows Media Center: Enabled
Automatic: Disabled:

WI-FI PROTECTED SETUP:
DISABLED COMPLETELY

FIREWALL:
SPI: Enabled
UDP: Endpoint
TCP: Endpoint
Anti-spoof checking: Enabled

LOGS:
DISABLED COMPLETELY


Performance of the router has been superb for me so far, even when my PS3 is on and streaming movies on any available application. I have GameFuel settings for my DAP-1150 and PS3, and I never got lag or delays in response time when I tried to access internet directly from DGL-4500 router.

[FurryNutz]

Good to hear. Glad its working well for you now. Enjoy.