Port forwarding - can't access local port forwarded services with external address from within LAN

[the block]

I have been configuring my new router today with Asuswrt Merlin and have run across another issue (likely self inflicted).

I have gone through and forwarded all my ports as I had them forwarded on my last router running Shibby Tomato.

If I want to access a service from within my LAN I can do it successfully with the local IP address and port. IE https://192.168.1.20:9012 will get me there.

If I want to access that same service using my domain name from within my LAN, IE https://mydomain.com:9012, it will simply time out.

Now if I want to access this service from outside my LAN, say remoted-in to my work computer to test, I can access the service fine with the https://mydomain.com:9012.

So the port forwarding is set up properly or I could not access the service from outside my LAN. It's almost like I am being blocked from leaving the LAN and coming back when I try to access it internally with the domain name.

Anyone have any ideas as to why this is occurring, and what I could try to remedy it?

Thanks!

 

[slthomas00]

I have been configuring my new router today with Asuswrt Merlin and have run across another issue (likely self inflicted).

I have gone through and forwarded all my ports as I had them forwarded on my last router running Shibby Tomato.

If I want to access a service from within my LAN I can do it successfully with the local IP address and port. IE https://192.168.1.20:9012 will get me there.

If I want to access that same service using my domain name from within my LAN, IE https://mydomain.com:9012, it will simply time out.

Now if I want to access this service from outside my LAN, say remoted-in to my work computer to test, I can access the service fine with the https://mydomain.com:9012.

So the port forwarding is set up properly or I could not access the service from outside my LAN. It's almost like I am being blocked from leaving the LAN and coming back when I try to access it internally with the domain name.

Anyone have any ideas as to why this is occurring, and what I could try to remedy it?

Thanks!

I have the same setup - I assigned a manual DHCP address in the LAN/DHCP server section and gave it the correct name so the ASUS router returned the DNS name to my local network. Hope this helps.

 

[the block]

I have the same setup - I assigned a manual DHCP address in the LAN/DHCP server section and gave it the correct name so the ASUS router returned the DNS name to my local network. Hope this helps.

Hmm really weird things are going on. I narrowed this problem down to QoS as turning it off instantly restored my ability to use the external addresses within the LAN. However now I am having wifi issues after having turned QoS off. Some of my wireless devices are still working like my phone, but others like mine and my wife's laptop are now just connected to the network, but unable to ping the router or access the internet. I have to plug a cable in to get back to the router. Really strange behavior. Anyone see this kind of craziness?

 

[the block]

Yeah so I no longer have the original issue for which I posted. It's now a matter of do I want QoS or do I want reliable wifi. This is really strange.

 

[martinr]

Confirm the router model, the firmware version, and, that you carried out a restore to factory default settings after you flashed the asuswrt-merlin firmware.

 

[the block]

Confirm the router model, the firmware version, and, that you carried out a restore to factory default settings after you flashed the asuswrt-merlin firmware.

I have an ASUS RT-AC68P running Asuswrt Merlin v380.57. I did not factory reset after I flashed to Asuswrt Merlin firmware, however the router was literally taken out of the box from he store, plugged in, and flashed to the Asuswrt Merlin firmware. There was no previous custom settings on there before I flashed.

Could this still cause this sort of bizzare behavior? Is it worth factory resetting and trying again? Would I be able to save my current config and restore it after the factory reset, or would that be defeating the purpose? I just had so many static dhcp devices to add and it was very tedious, I'd hate to have to do it again, but if I can have normal router functionality I'd certainly do it again.

What should I do?

 

[SenorClean]

I had a similar issue when using 'Merlin' NAT Loopback (this was the default at one stage, not sure if it still is or not).
Try changing it to 'Asus' and see if that solves it.

The setting is in Firewall -> General -> NAT Loopback

Some of my wireless devices are still working like my phone, but others like mine and my wife's laptop are now just connected to the network, but unable to ping the router or access the internet.

This is a common bug (I have seen it) in the latest 380.57 release on the AC68U. Basically the 2.4ghz radio breaks if CTF forwarding is disabled (changing QoS may toggle that). I'd guess your 5ghz devices are still working but 2.4 are not.

My suggestion is to downgrade to 378.56_2 until it has been solved. There is plenty of discussion about this problem in the 380.57 thread.

 

[the block]

I had a similar issue when using 'Merlin' NAT Loopback (this was the default at one stage, not sure if it still is or not).
Try changing it to 'Asus' and see if that solves it.

The setting is in Firewall -> General -> NAT Loopback



This is a common bug (I have seen it) in the latest 380.57 release on the AC68U. Basically the 2.4ghz radio breaks if CTF forwarding is disabled (changing QoS may toggle that). I'd guess your 5ghz devices are still working but 2.4 are not.

My suggestion is to downgrade to 378.56_2 until it has been solved. There is plenty of discussion about this problem in the 380.57 thread.

I changed my NAT Loopback to ASUS, we'll see how that goes.

And as for the wifi issue, I'm glad it's not just me then. Can I downgrade to 378.56_2 and keep all my settings, or do I need to manually re-configure everything? I'm sorry if this has been answered over and over again, this is just my first day with this firmware. Thanks

 

[SenorClean]

Can I downgrade to 378.56_2 and keep all my settings, or do I need to manually re-configure everything?

380.57 introduced a new wireless driver (hence the bug!) so it is less likely to give you more issues if you re-enter your settings, or at least use John's nvram utility
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/user-nvram-save-restore-utility-r22.19521/

 

[the block]

380.57 introduced a new wireless driver (hence the bug!) so it is lest likely to give you more issues if you re-enter your settings, or at least use John's nvram utility
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/user-nvram-save-restore-utility-r22.19521/

Thanks Senor.. I appreciate all the help. It seems like Merlin has releases fairly often, so maybe I'll just hold out for it being fixed in the next version. We'll see what happens.

 

[SenorClean]

Thanks Senor.. I appreciate all the help. It seems like Merlin has releases fairly often, so maybe I'll just hold out for it being fixed in the next version. We'll see what happens.

No problem - you seem to have hit exactly the same issues I had with mine, so I can save you some trouble...

The quickest solution for you would be to turn QoS back on, use Asus NAT loopback..
- and then check that NAT acceleration is enabled (Check under Tools -> Hardware acceleration), if disabled - enable under LAN -> Switch Control -> NAT Acceleration

That should have you up and running - just be aware that certain configurations might break your 2.4ghz again.

Otherwise - downgrade and use Asus NAT acceleration and whatever other settings you desire...

 

[the block]

Alright, I sucked it up and just downgraded to 378.56_2. So far everything is working as it should. I'll give it a few days and see how it goes.

 

[L&LD]

Just a note that yes, you should have done a reset to factory defaults and then manually and minimally configure the router to secure it and connect to your ISP. Even if you just took it out of the box and didn't use the router except to flash the new firmware.


http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573


Good to see that it is working for you now on the downgraded firmware. But a full reset is still recommended and again, no, do not use a saved backup config file (from the router's gui) to restore your settings between different versions of firmware.

You can use john9527's NVRAM Save/Restore utility though. If nothing else, it will give you a text based file of all your settings.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/user-nvram-save-restore-utility-r22.19521/

 

[the block]

Just a note that yes, you should have done a reset to factory defaults and then manually and minimally configure the router to secure it and connect to your ISP. Even if you just took it out of the box and didn't use the router except to flash the new firmware.


http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573


Good to see that it is working for you now on the downgraded firmware. But a full reset is still recommended and again, no, do not use a saved backup config file (from the router's gui) to restore your settings between different versions of firmware.

You can use john9527's NVRAM Save/Restore utility though. If nothing else, it will give you a text based file of all your settings.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/user-nvram-save-restore-utility-r22.19521/

Yeah, I should have mentioned that in my final post last night. I did a factory reset, then downgraded to 378.56_2, then did a factory reset once again before I started configuring anything. The first factory reset was probably overkill, but I wanted make sure I did what I could to kill of any demons for my next go-round.