Westell 7500 modem/router GEEZ!!

[cdreed06]

We have a westell 7500 modem/router that our ISP sent us. It has been a major problem for us the last couple weeks. We have 6 static IP addresses and have to have a act of congress to get a port opened. After 6 calls to the ISP we now have had it configured 3 different ways. I had been on the phone for over 5 hours yesterday alone. So now we are back to where we were midway through the process, have our autocashier going, dvr viewable online, dvr not viewable on phone, automatic wash not viewable. So to get the automatic online and get the dvr on phone I have to start from scratch again with all the settings on the modem. I just don't have the stomach for it. Has anybody else had trouble like this?

 

[JonKush]

I dont know why you have 6 static ip addresses. I have more running in my shop with just one. I could be wrong but if the 1 dvr is viewable online than it should be viewable on your phone. On your dvr settings check what port # is open and make sure your phone is set to the same #.

 

[Jeff_L]

I don't understand why you need to be working with your ISP for opening ports through them, unless they are the ones managing your router for you. I wouldn't think they care anything what ports are open, it's your choice.

Is there a management application for your router where you enable/disable ports and tell where to send traffic when a request comes for a certain port.

You might have a need for static IPs, but for my setup I just DHCP to my ISP. How I keep things "static" is by using www.dyndns.com. There you can set up a free account and have a router, such as linksys, automatically keep the site up to date with the new IP address should it change. Then in my router, I just forward ports to the IP schema I created inside my network.

For example, my router my have obtained an IP address 64.52.123.123 from my ISP, but I don't care because it updates dyndns for me. Therefore, I always hit my established name of carwash.podzone.net and it resolves the IP address for me. Then I point my dvr application from my home pc to carwash.podzone.net port 3000. When the router gets a request on port 3000, it then forwards that traffic to my dvr behind my firewall at IP address 192.168.5.101.

Basically what I'm trying to explain is that you should have management software on your router where you can open/close ports.

 

[gsgriffin]

Dyndns is great for giving you a way to use a dynamic ip as if it were static. You either have to have a computer to run the agent on or your modem/router/or firewall has to support it. Modems and routers just aren't that expensive, if you can't get the westell configured the way you want/need then you may want to explore purchasing a differ one for your needs.

If there is a computer on site, installing something like logmein.com to remote control that pc so you can see everything on the network may be beneficial. These type apps ( gotomypc is another one) do not require inbound ports open on the firewall. The downside is they can be difficult to use from a phone though.

Griffin

 

[bigleo48]

Creed,

Sounds like you don't fully understand the process. The way it works is that you have only one external static IP (or Dynamic with something like DynDNS) that you get from Verizon. That routes the data to your site. Then you need to control what goes to what internal IP adresses (like Auto cashier, DVR, etc) with ports. Consider them as doors...your external ip address is like your apt building address and the ports are like the different apts. Some services (like a DVR) could use multiple ports (some for remote view, some for mobile device view, etc). They should be listed in the manuals.

In the case that you have multiple devices using the same port (like port 80 is very popular), you'll need to change that in the device itself or do some translations in the router. So say your DVR and auto cashier both use port 80 and the manufacturer won't let you change it, you can setup your router to Verizon static IP (the one you where given (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) port 8080 goes to DVR internal ip address 192.168.1.123 port 80. So when you want to connect to the DVR, its 192.168.1.123 port 8080 and when you want to connect to the auto cashier is 192.168.124 port 80.

You'll also going to want to make sure those main devices, like auto cashier, IBA, DVR, etc have static internal addresses, so they don't keep changing on you and messing up your routes.

This is fairly simple networking...if you don't really understand it, get someone who does. He'll save you some headaches and get it done right so there are no conflicts.

 

[cdreed06]

Thank you all, I really don't understand all about this yet. The ISP told us we needed the 6 static IPs which cost more of course. I am all in favor of putting all the network items in a pile and set them on fire right now. The DVR uses 80 and 9000 ports for the computer and 18004 port for mobile. I set the mobile to 9000 and still nothing. The mobile portion did work until the changes yesterday. The autocashier is still working without any changes to it all. The automatic wash is still just unavailable. If we can't get it worked out I'm going to have to get somebody to sort it out for us. Thanks everybody.

 

[JustClean]

If we can't get it worked out I'm going to have to get somebody to sort it out for us. Thanks everybody.

cdreed06, I guess that's the best & fastest way. It won't take long for an expert to set you up. I am lucky: the university is just across the road. I just ask the IT guys over there.
One other thing: When everything is working remember to make a backup of your router settings in case something goes wrong.

 

[cdreed06]

Well James from Service 4 got it going for us. We ended up bridging the modem and adding a Netgear router that is easy to work with and got all the ports straightened out. Thanks James!