Do you guys feel any difference between AX86U and Pro?

[iFrogMac]

Earlier I enabled UPnP on my AX86U with latest stock firmware and tested with Shields Up which reported "THE EQUIPMENT AT THE TARGET IP ADDRESS DID NOT RESPOND TO OUR UPnP PROBES!" I normally keep UPnP turned off out of an abundance of caution.

This is the screen I got initially with the RT-AX86U with UPNP enabled, under the 386 line of firmware:https://www.grc.com/su/UPnP-Exposed.htm Now it's the "DID NOT RESPOND" page. So Asus must have closed any holes with the more recent firmwares.

 

[Paliv]

This is the screen I got initially with the RT-AX86U with UPNP enabled, under the 386 line of firmware:https://www.grc.com/su/UPnP-Exposed.htm Now it's the "DID NOT RESPOND" page. So Asus must have closed any holes with the more recent firmwares.

ASUS never exposed UPnP to the WAN. It’s firmware has been passing that GRC test for years.

 

[iFrogMac]

ASUS never exposed UPnP to the WAN. It’s firmware has been passing that GRC test for years.

Well maybe it was something else in conjunction to UPNP that was on by default like the game options, or the media server. Either of which I have disabled as I don't need them.

 

[RMerlin]

ASUS never exposed UPnP to the WAN. It’s firmware has been passing that GRC test for years.

Yeah, that test was developed 20 years ago to test Windows XP boxes that exposed UPnP when people directly plugged their modem to their PC...

 

[iFrogMac]

Yeah, that test was developed 20 years ago to test Windows XP boxes that exposed UPnP when people directly plugged their modem to their PC...

is it that old? I thought it was within the last 5 years or so when more UPNP problems started showing up

 

[RMerlin]

is it that old? I thought it was within the last 5 years or so when more UPNP problems started showing up

No. The UPnP issues that gave it its bad reputation are from the Windows XP era. Back then people rarely used a router, and quite often plugged their computer directly to their modem. Windows XP pre-SP2 didn`t have a real firewall, and exposed UPnP to the Internet. SP2 resolved that (and a lot of other issues).

Any modern router will have no open port by default.

 

[iFrogMac]

No. The UPnP issues that gave it its bad reputation are from the Windows XP era. Back then people rarely used a router, and quite often plugged their computer directly to their modem. Windows XP pre-SP2 didn`t have a real firewall, and exposed UPnP to the Internet. SP2 resolved that (and a lot of other issues).

Any modern router will have no open port by default.

So, sounds like UPNP isn't dangerous as long as used responsibly and it's really just riding on the time you mentioned that gave it a bad name pretty much.

 

[Paliv]

So, sounds like UPNP isn't dangerous as long as used responsibly and it's really just riding on the time you mentioned that gave it a bad name pretty much.

It’s as safe as the devices on your network.

 

[iFrogMac]

It’s as safe as the devices on your network.

That's what I meant, and goes along the line of being used responsibly.

 

[iFrogMac]

@RMerlin , since You know Asus firmware probably in the most detail on a technical and development level, I thought you'd be the one to ask: I went back and locked over the settings regarding UPNP in addition to the main one in WAN settings. The other two that are typically on by default and may have exposed the router to the WAN are:

GeForce NOW UPNP control
UPNP Media server.

Do you know if either of those expose the router to the WAN making that test report a problem? Both are off now, and the only UPNP setting turned on now, is the main one under WAN.

I don't need the other two. I don't use, or have Gforce now, and I use Plex as my media server and that runs on the computer.

Things are working as expected now, I was just curious about the two settings listed above since they are ON by default when the default config is used.

Thanks, have a good day.

 

[Piotrek]

Turn off UPnP. Simply.

 

[iFrogMac]

Turn off UPnP. Simply.

I asked for specific technical details, not a blanket statement. If no one has that answer, that's fine. I was simply curious.

 

[RMerlin]

Do you know if either of those expose the router to the WAN making that test report a problem? Both are off now, and the only UPNP setting turned on now, is the main one under WAN.

Media server is just a DLNA server running on the LAN side, no port is opened.

I don't know the details about GeForce NOW.

 

[iFrogMac]

Media server is just a DLNA server running on the LAN side, no port is opened.

I don't know the details about GeForce NOW.

Thank you @RMerlin. I'm checking these details to make notes on, if I have to ever do a factory reset again, how many things I can leave at defaults (outside of what I know I need to change) without problems. That way I have less to change on a new setup.

Thanks again.

 

[TexasFlood]

I don't have any first hand knowledge of GeForce NOW UPNP control, but found this...

[ROG Gaming Router GT-AC2900] Geforce NOW QoS Mode - Introduction | Official Support | ASUS USA

 

[iFrogMac]

I don't have any first hand knowledge of GeForce NOW UPNP control, but found this...

[ROG Gaming Router GT-AC2900] Geforce NOW QoS Mode - Introduction | Official Support | ASUS USA

Thanks, took a look just to gather the info. I don't use GForce now, so know I won't need to enable it.

 

[RMerlin]

GeForce NOW disables NAT acceleration anyway, so I don't recommend using that, even if you happen to use Geforce NOW.

 

[iFrogMac]

GeForce NOW disables NAT acceleration anyway, so I don't recommend using that, even if you happen to use Geforce NOW.

I have a Shield TV Pro (2019 model), it's primarily used as. Plex client as it's just about the only streamer that supports Bitstream for lossless audio.