Asus RT-N56U Reviewed

[drsox]

Just installed this and I'm getting LOTS of the following entries in the System Log : General Log :

Oct 26 19:27:00 upnpd[2174]: AddPortMap: DevUDN: uuid:5f75f342-9f96-4ecc-9dbd-bcaec5ec2278 ServiceID: urn:upnp-org:serviceId:WANIPConn1 RemoteHost: (null) Prot: UDP ExtPort: 56429 Int: 192.168.123.120.56429

Also, there is an entry in the System Log - Port Forwarding as :

Hardware NAT: Disabled
Software QoS: Enabled
Destination Proto. Port Range Redirect to
all UDP 56429 192.168.123.120

None of this was setup by myself, I just used defaults for most items.

The local IP (192.168.123.120 in this case) also refers to whichever computer was last on-line (there are 3 in use).
Port 56429 seems to be an unused oddball port.

Anyone know what this means ? How can I stop this ?

It stops if I reboot the RT-N56U but restarts after a while after logging into one of the 3x PCs.

 

[leeishom]

Did you buy the Asus unit used or is it a returned item?

 

[Unregistered]

I got my Cisco VPN working on firmware version 1.0.1.7c by enabling IPsec pass through in WAN>DMZ and its the last checkbox.

 

[drsox]

It was brand new from Amazon in a sealed package.

 

[tipstir]

Press and hold the rest button for 90 seconds, then release it. If you update latest version and it doesn't solve the issue. Then sent it back to Amazon saying the product had arrived defective.

 

[leeishom]

I'd send it back, right away.
My unit did not have any issues while initial set-up, so yours should not.

 

[drsox]

Thanks, yes it's all packed up with its return ticket.

I'll give Cisco a try with the next one.

 

[Railhound]

The RT-N56U supports DynDNS and had 3 configurations for it-works without issue too.

Ok so it's just the documentation that sucks. I downloaded the manual as part of my research into whether or not to buy this router. No mention of having a DDNS besign Asus DDNS.

Also, I note that there is no VPN support according other reviewers and there is no mention in the manual either so I guess that's correct. So, if you want to connect into your work from home via VPN - you are out of luck - it would seem.

 

[lostinbids]

Fixed IP problems

I was wondering if someone could offer me some help. I have a just signed up for internet with a fixed ip address to run a mail server.

The problem I have is that the rt-n56u wont accept the static ip details. It says that 255.255.255.254 is not a valid ip address in the subnet mask. I have done a little looking around and found this on Asus' support forum. My isp is supplying in PPPoA so I guess this is the problem.

The odd thing is the internet works, the wireless works, even though the asus has an x between the www sign and the router and says it is disconnected.

Should I worry about this? or should I just get on with my life and forget this? or should I look for a router that supports PPPoA?

 

[Shikami]

Just installed this and I'm getting LOTS of the following entries in the System Log : General Log :

Oct 26 19:27:00 upnpd[2174]: AddPortMap: DevUDN: uuid:5f75f342-9f96-4ecc-9dbd-bcaec5ec2278 ServiceID: urn:upnp-org:serviceId:WANIPConn1 RemoteHost: (null) Prot: UDP ExtPort: 56429 Int: 192.168.123.120.56429

Also, there is an entry in the System Log - Port Forwarding as :

Hardware NAT: Disabled
Software QoS: Enabled
Destination Proto. Port Range Redirect to
all UDP 56429 192.168.123.120

This is possibly very simple. First off, it is obviously a triggered UPnP forwarding. Second it is most likely Teredo, which is an IPv6 tunnel. You can look look up how to disable this, because whether it is thr RT-N56U (which you sent back) or something else you will still need to disable it. After reboots it will reestablish the tunnel and UPnP ports

Note, you also have Hardware NAT disabled.

I got my Cisco VPN working on firmware version 1.0.1.7c by enabling IPsec pass through in WAN>DMZ and its the last checkbox.

Yes, and this has been mentioned if having difficulty. However, it will disable your hardware NAT acceleration if left toggled on. PPTP is the only VPN pass thru that will not cause the HW NAT module to not load.

Also, I note that there is no VPN support according other reviewers and there is no mention in the manual either so I guess that's correct. So, if you want to connect into your work from home via VPN - you are out of luck - it would seem.

YMMV, there are pass thru configurations that can be toggled to "fix" the issue. However, some do not need to do this, and also doing so will disable HW NAT acceleration unless PPTP. Personally, any problem on the Internet needs to be taken with a grain of salt. A good 90% of the problems [networking and computers in general] are due to ignorance and (other things) more than being real issues.

The problem I have is that the rt-n56u wont accept the static ip details. It says that 255.255.255.254 is not a valid ip address in the subnet mask. I have done a little looking around and found this on Asus' support forum. My isp is supplying in PPPoA so I guess this is the problem.

Because it is not a proper IP address. I think you have something incorrect with your information for your public address. The address you gave is a subnet that is used in conjunction with the IP. Something is off, and my advice is to make sure you have the information correct before proceeding.

 

[Unregistered]

I got my Cisco VPN working on firmware version 1.0.1.7c by enabling IPsec pass through in WAN>DMZ and its the last checkbox.

You beaut! Solved my problem. Thank you for posting!

 

[lostinbids]

The problem I have is that the rt-n56u wont accept the static ip details. It says that 255.255.255.254 is not a valid ip address in the subnet mask. I have done a little looking around and found this on Asus' support forum. My isp is supplying in PPPoA so I guess this is the problem.

Because it is not a proper IP address. I think you have something incorrect with your information for your public address. The address you gave is a subnet that is used in conjunction with the IP. Something is off, and my advice is to make sure you have the information correct before proceeding.

Thanks for the reply. As I said I was putting the 255.255.255.254 in the subnet mask not the IP. In the IP address I was putting 213.xxx.xxx.xxx as supplied by my isp. My isp supplied 255.255.255.254 as the subnet mask address.

I have manged to get the problem sorted out now.

 

[Shikami]

Thanks for the reply. As I said I was putting the 255.255.255.254 in the subnet mask not the IP. In the IP address I was putting 213.xxx.xxx.xxx as supplied by my isp. My isp supplied 255.255.255.254 as the subnet mask address.

I understood, but IP's work or they do not for particular reasons. When you stated "It says that 255.255.255.254 is not a valid ip address in the subnet mask." I am thinking from this statement that after placing the subnet along with the already placed IP, the router informs you that the IP address is invalid. Subnets just divide up the networks and hosts, and also technically should not have been the issue. The IP could though if it was none routable IP, for example. The subnet you have been given is a /31 (255.255.255.254). Meaning that there is one more host address that can be allocated. That is what your subnet means. If it was /32 which is 255.255.255.255, you would be the only host on that address. This is common with PPPoE and dial ups and such. "Dead end connections"

Curious, what was the issue? Misplaced configuration, or misinformation from their end.....?

 

[leeishom]

/32 is Broadcast.

 

[Shikami]

/32 is Broadcast.

Incorrect, because we are talking about subnetting. /32 is a subnet (255.255.255.255). This is not one of the broadcast addresses of a network. Subnetting is the allocation of networks and hosts, and on a /32 there is no other address to to allocate for a host. Although, the broadcast address of the NETWORK can be 255.255.255.255 as in IP/logical address.

You need to look up subnetting and also broadcast addresses. Here I will make it easier: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_address.

 

[Unregistered]

I have my eye set on this router, hopefully it will replace my aging WRT54GL because it can't handle 125 mbps down.

Does this router support following:
- Port translation/mapping (don't know how it's called), basically can I forward external port 8080 to local port 80 ?
- SNMP?

 

[leeishom]

Yes.../32 is full Broadcast.
But, having an IP host address within a range=valid host address'es, then broadcast and then next Subnet.
So, in plain speaking: Every subnet including valid hosts has its own Broadcast.
But yea, /32 is Broadcast.

For example: 10.117.18.20/31=10.117.18.21(host), 10.117.18.22(last host), 10.117.18.23(Broadcast).

Even though, I enjoy Wikipedia - I do not need that article to relearn Subnetting. But thanks for the link.

 

[Shikami]

Yes.../32 is full Broadcast.
But, having an IP host address within a range=valid host address'es, then broadcast and then next Subnet.
So, in plain speaking: Every subnet including valid hosts has its own Broadcast.
But yea, /32 is Broadcast.

We are-in a some what manner-saying the same thing. However, this is my context from previous post: "If it was /32 which is 255.255.255.255, you would be the only host on that address. This is common with PPPoE and dial ups and such. "Dead end connections"

You post later that /32 is broadcast. Which is true and the logical address that was allocated to the /32 is a broadcast address and also the logical host address. It is not a "full" broadcast since it is the only host, and not a part of a "network" or "block." Such request will head out to the gateway. I may be being pedantic or doing some semantic argument, but that is how I see it.

Also, in your example giving and judging by what you gave me as what it is, the broadcast address is 10.117.18.21-not .23. With the host address being .20. In this case it is most likely RFC3021 and could likely be PPP connection. Is this case, though, broadcasting is different, as with /32. I cannot recall the details nor do I wish to at the moment. Edit: All I recall is obsolete blahblahblah....for broadcasting.

These recent subnets have been set in order to deal with the IP issues (mandatory too by RIR), so when someone says /32 broadcast. I am not thinking from that point of view anymore. I am thinking on how most everyone's IP's are allocated. Even on Verizon's FIoS I have a /32.

 

[Railhound]

YMMV, there are pass thru configurations that can be toggled to "fix" the issue. However, some do not need to do this, and also doing so will disable HW NAT acceleration unless PPTP. Personally, any problem on the Internet needs to be taken with a grain of salt. A good 90% of the problems [networking and computers in general] are due to ignorance and (other things) more than being real issues.

I would say a good 90% are a result of a lack of proper and complete documentation by the manufacturers. In the case of Asus RT-N56 the documentation is incredibly poor. I personally rely on the manuals that come with a device. From what I have read here, many issues could have been resolved if the manual was complete, thorough and up-to-date.

Why no mention of VPN or the DDNS options beyond Asus DDNS? Why no mention of VPN. I mean what is so hard about saying VPN does (or does not) work? If you want it to work then some other valuable feature is disabled? What’s so hard about that?

This issue is not just limited to Asus either. I had some serious hard times with my Cisco router inexplicably changing IP addresses with something they call “NAT Helper”. I was running a Filezilla FTP server and any time the server was accessed over port 21 the router flipped the LAN/WAN ip addresses. If I ran the server on another port, the router left the ip addresses alone and the server worked fine.

The folks at FileZilla helped me with this but the folks as Cisco thought this was normal and very good feature. My point to the folks at Cisco was that any “feature” that is not documented is a bug.

I see lots of “bugs” on this forum.

 

[Shikami]

I would say a good 90% are a result of a lack of proper and complete documentation by the manufacturers. In the case of Asus RT-N56 the documentation is incredibly poor. I personally rely on the manuals that come with a device. From what I have read here, many issues could have been resolved if the manual was complete, thorough and up-to-date.

I read you loud and clear. However, I would say that there is also a percentage that is ignorance. Not many have any real computer education and knowledge networking-even experience. I know what is in there due to my education. I even get whitepapers about the core logics that are used in any electronics. That is one reason why I like this sight for the router reviews; the router is dissected.

Why no mention of VPN or the DDNS options beyond Asus DDNS? Why no mention of VPN. I mean what is so hard about saying VPN does (or does not) work? If you want it to work then some other valuable feature is disabled? What’s so hard about that?

The VPN passthrough support came later with the RT-N56U, but is within all routers (application level gateways), unless there is hardware dedicated to a VPN end point. Honestly, I do not understand how come the HW NAT cannot pass the VPN packet without handlers too, or at least was discovered to be an issue long ago and resolved. It was known to be an issue with the latter RALink processors and HW NAT from other user's posts. Dunno about the Asus DDNS or even why they are providing DDNS, but I always look inside more to see what the options are with every router. Even after a firmware update I dig around. I love me some dmesg's in Linux.

This issue is not just limited to Asus either. I had some serious hard times with my Cisco router inexplicably changing IP addresses with something they call “NAT Helper”. I was running a Filezilla FTP server and any time the server was accessed over port 21 the router flipped the LAN/WAN ip addresses. If I ran the server on another port, the router left the ip addresses alone and the server worked fine.

Oh yeah, actually depending on the FTP type you may need to open ports 20 to 22. On top of the fact that FTP and others services needing a NAT handler/helper. This is the negative attribute to NAT. You are disconnected from the network with a structure that is supposed to be connected. Every time a packet is received and sent that header has to be re-written. This is part of the benefit to having the HW NAT processor offload from the main processor. Having multiple packets from multiple hosts can start to slow a SOHO router down.

The folks at FileZilla helped me with this but the folks as Cisco thought this was normal and very good feature. My point to the folks at Cisco was that any “feature” that is not documented is a bug.

Well there are two types of FTP (active and passive), and part of setting up FTP is knowing the server app, client app compatibility, as well as NAT support for all of the above including the router's support for FTP. You would think that this day in age that there would be no issue but some networking services provided are not standards. One of them is NAT.