SMC 8014 port forwarding issues...

[Dark Prodigy]

Setting up a small LAN and Cam/Dvr server for a small business for a friend of mine. Done this many many times.... However the stupid modem/switch Comcast gave him is a pain for port forwarding and connecting to externally...


The Skinny..

He needs to be able to observe his cameras (all 12 of them) remotely through the camera software web interface (max DVR DR series) on the DVR server from his home or smartphone. Again, I've set this up many times before for people... never an issue. Just configure the routers port forwarding and use DynDNS to update the ever changing external IP of the server/PC your connecting externally to..easy stuff.

For some reason the dvrserver when connected to the 8014 does not have its own external IP address.. it has the external IP of the 8014's WAN..The DynDNS updater keeps defaulting to this external IP making it useless. Comcast says I NEED a static IP from them to make this happen...assign the static to a port on the 8014 and connect the dvrserver to it. Never had to do this before..and don't want my friend to have to pay an extra monthly fee for a static IP. Any way around this?

 

[GotNoRice]

Why would you expect the DVRserver to have an external IP if it's behind the router? (SMC 8014 is a combo router unit).

Just allow the DVR server to have an internal IP behind the 8014 and set that internal IP as the DMZ, that should take care of any and all port forwarding issues. DynDNS using the 8014's external IP should not be an issue since that will forward to the internal DMZ IP.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Why would you expect the DVRserver to have an external IP if it's behind the router? (SMC 8014 is a combo router unit)..

Because the SMC business gateway that Comcast uses is designed for 1:1...putting additional public IP aliases in it. It runs NAT by default for a simple network inside, but it's designed for...and widely used...putting additional routers/servers behind it with their own static public IPs.

 

[GotNoRice]

Because the SMC business gateway that Comcast uses is designed for 1:1...putting additional public IP aliases in it. It runs NAT by default for a simple network inside, but it's designed for...and widely used...putting additional routers/servers behind it with their own static public IPs.

Yeah I guess... I used the 8014 for over a year with just a single dynamic IP. Putting the DVRserver on the internal LAN and setting it to the DMZ should be more than sufficient and doesn't involve messing around with any external IPs.

 

[Dark Prodigy]

Why would you expect the DVRserver to have an external IP if it's behind the router? (SMC 8014 is a combo router unit).

Just allow the DVR server to have an internal IP behind the 8014 and set that internal IP as the DMZ, that should take care of any and all port forwarding issues. DynDNS using the 8014's external IP should not be an issue since that will forward to the internal DMZ IP.

The DVRserver is assigned an internal IP by the 8014. It uses 10.1.10.xx.... I already tried to DMZ that internal IP of the DVRserver and opening the necessary/specific ports I need (with port forwarding) so I could connect externally... no go.

Every PC I connect to the 8014 has the very same public/external IP and I don't know why that is. I tested it by hooking up 3 PC's at once to it. Each PC connected to the router should have its own dynamic public IP address. This dynamic public IP address is what DynDns uses, so there is no static IP needed.

The way Comcast has it seems to indicate that their services only allows 1 external IP per modem. And that sucks. Like they are forcing you to use their static IP services.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Every PC I connect to the 8014 has the very same public/external IP and I don't know why that is. I tested it by hooking up 3 PC's at once to it. Each PC connected to the router should have its own dynamic public IP address. This dynamic public IP address is what DynDns uses, so there is no static IP needed.

Any device that you plug into the SMC with that devices TCP/IP set to "Obtain Auto/DHCP" will pickup a 10.1.10.xxx address...which is normal. In this setup, the SMC is running just like any Stinksys, DStink, or Nutgear home grade router....it runs its own DHCP service for this. Devices will not pickup public IPs if their TCP/IP is set to "obtain auto/DHCP". This is normal, this is how the SMC works.

The proper way to setup your own devices.....including your own router, on static IPs is to plug them into the SMC..and assign those static IPs manually on your device. Plus your device into one of the LAN ports of the SMC. Commonly I do this setup for clients where I use my own router...such as an Untangle firewall, or Cisco, or whatever router you want to use..I setup the WAN interface of my own router with the static public IP I'm assigned from Comcast..and uplink it into the SMC.

One more step...take a PC...set its IP to obtain auto (or static assign it a 10.1.10.101 address)...and log into the SMCs web admin. Under the "firewall options" section...remove the checkbox for the firewall..and then on one of the taps towards the right, there's an option that you'll want to enable..."Disable firewall for true static IP subnet only"

The SMC Gateway is used by Comcast for accounts that have the higher business static package with more than 1x static IP address. Single static accounts and dynamic accounts should have the plain old Motorola Surfboard modem.

 

[Dark Prodigy]

Figured it out.


I was using port 8080 for the telnet port for the dvr software. Comcast BLOCKS this port and uses it for its own modem updates only accessible from its private domain. Changed the port to 8090, forwarded it...turned on the DynDns updater for the dynamic IP and everything is toasty. WITHOUT Comcast's static IP purchase rape.