Aquarium Controller Internet Setup - DDNS & Port Forwarding

[opy01]

I am going to attempt to make a guide for port forwarding and DDNS to include several of the more popular routers to help people either get it working or figure out what equipment to buy. I will split everything up into section by brand. I am going to use the newer models of each brand but for the most part they are all the same as far as programming. This guide is only for port forwarding and DDNS. I will not go into the DD-WRT in this thread since it is a more advanced firmware mod and unless you are an advanced user you should not be using it to begin with.

Some ISPs block port 80. You may want to use port 8181 or something else. When accessing your NET from outside your house you would use the domain name you create below with new new port number. For example http://newname.dyndns.or:8181/. If accessing from inside your house use http://192.168.1.25:8181 (use the IP you or your router asigned).

Dynamic DNS Service:
1. Go to http://www.no-ip.com and sign up for a free account
2. Once you register and activate your account via the email they send you can create you new host name
3. From the home page, while logged in, click on the "Your No-IP" link at the top right of the screen
4. Click on the tab that says Hosts/Redirects
5. Click the button that says "Add Host"
6. Type the first part of the host name and then choose the rest from the drop down under the "No-IP Free Domains list
7. You can set the port 80 redirect if you want. It will just send you to your IP/port and show those in the address bar and not show your URL but I don't think it matters.
8. Do not worry about the IP since the updater will take care of that
9. On the left hand side click the link that says "Download Client"
10. Choose your OS, download it then install it
11. Open the client from the start menu and enter your email and password then choose the host name you want forwarded
12. To make sure the client runs each time your system reboots you should copy the shortcut from the "No-IP DUC" folder and paste it in your "startup" folder in the start menu
13. Now go through the steps for your specific router brand.

D-Link DIR-655 (My Router)

Port Forwarding (Virtual Server):
1. On the D-links the first place you need to go is to "Advanced" then "Virtual Server" (the first thing in the Advanced tab).
2. Put in a name like "RKM-NET" followed by the IP address of the NET. It may be in the list of computer names if it got an IP from the router itself.
3. Put the port numbers in to the right of that. The public and private ports are the same.
4. For Protocol just choose "Both".
5. Put a check on the left to enable this rule and hit "Save Settings" at the top.

DDNS: Now to set up your router so you only have to remember your domain name.
1. Go to "Tools" on the top menu then on the left select "Dynamic DNS".
2. Once there Select the Server Address you used such as DynDNS.org then the domain name you created followed by your username and password.

That’s it for the D-link. Now all you do is go to internet explorer and type your domain name and you should be good to go.

Linksys E2100L

Single Port Forwarding: On most Linksys the first 5 entrys are preset, just use the first one that has a blank name. For each entry, complete the following:
1. Enter the appropriate application name such as "RKM-NET".
2. Enter the external and internal port number used by the application, they will be the same number.
3. Select the protocol(s) used for this application, I would choose "Both".
4. Enter the IP address of the computer that should receive the requests.
5. Select Enabled to enable port forwarding.
6. Click "Save Settings".

DDNS: This is under "Setup"->"DDNS"->"DynDNS".
1. Enter your DynDNS.org username, password and host name.
2. Choose "Dynamic" (this should be the default).
3. Select "Update to instantly update your IP address with the server.
4. Click "Save Settings".

That is all for the Linksys.

Netgear WGR614v9

Port Forwarding:
1. Select Port Forwarding/Port Triggering under Advanced in the main menu.
2. Click Add Custom Service.
3. In the Service Name field, enter a descriptive name like "RKM-NET".
4. In the Service Type field, select the protocol, I recommend choosing both TCP and UDP.
5. In the Starting and Ending Port fields, enter the port number (they will be the same).
6. In the Server IP Address field, enter the IP address of your local computer that will provide this service.
7. Click Apply.
8. The service appears in the list in the Port Forwarding/Port Triggering screen.
(You may or may not have to do this next part. I don’t have a Netgear so I am not sure. If it shows in the port forwarding list then you do not.)
9. Select Port Forwarding/Port Triggering under Advanced in the main menu.
10. From the Service Name list, select the service that you will host on your network (the one you created from above).
11. In the corresponding Server IP Address box, enter the last digit of the IP address of your local computer that will provide this service.
12. Click Add. The service appears in the list in the screen.

DDNS:
1. From the main menu of the browser interface, under Advanced, select Dynamic DNS to display the Dynamic DNS screen.
2. Select the Use a Dynamic DNS Service check box.
3. Select the name of your Dynamic DNS service provider.
4. Type the host name (or domain name) that your Dynamic DNS service provider gave you.
5. Type the user name for your Dynamic DNS account. This is the name that you use to log in to your account, not your host name.
6. Type the password (or key) for your Dynamic DNS account.
7. Click Apply to save your configuration.

That’s all for the Netgear.

Netopia 2200 Series
This is a more advanced system and typical users will not be using Netopia. I will not go into much detail but I will give the basics.

Port Forwarding (Pinholes):
1. Click on Configure in the upper Menu bar.
2. Click on Advanced.
3. Under the NAT heading in the Network Configuration box, click on the Pinhole selection.
4. Click on the Add button.
5. In the Pinhole Entry box, enter the parameters for your pinhole.
6. Click on Submit to save the changes.
7. Click on the Add More Pinholes link.
8. This takes you back to the Pinholes "menu" screen.

DDNS: Dynamic DNS Settings
These commands are supported beginning with Firmware Version 7.4.2.
Dynamic DNS support allows you to use the free services of http://www.dyndns.org. Dynamic DNS automatically directs any public Internet request for your computer's name to your current dynamically-assigned IP address. This allows you to get to the IP address assigned to your Gateway, even though your actual IP address may change as a result of a PPPoE connection to the Internet.

CONFIG Commands
set dynamic-dns option [ off | dyndns.org ]
set dynamic-dns ddns-host-name myhostname.dyndns.org
set dynamic-dns ddns-user-name myusername
set dynamic-dns ddns-user-password myuserpassword

Enables or disables dynamic DNS services. The default is off. If you specify dyndns.org, you must supply your hostname, username for the service, and password. Because different dynamic DNS vendors use different proprietary protocols, currently only http://www.dyndns.org is supported.

Helpfull links:

Find your public (outside) IP address:
http://www.ipchicken.com

DynDns updater service for the PC:
http://www.dyndns.com/support/clients/

Here are two helpfull link provided by delamarrr. Thanks

Here is a link to test your port forwarding:
http://canyouseeme.org/

Here is a link to find your specific router:
http://portforward.com/english/routers/ ... rindex.htm

[Wes]

[opy01]

I put this together for the Digital Aquatics site a while back since everyone was constantly posting about it. I've only had to remote into a couple of peoples systems to help out and those were Verizon routers that wouldn't port forward properly. In fact the only way we got it working on them was to put a second router inside the network and make a DMZ to the second router and do port forwarding from there. I hope this helps people here too.

[joelq]

Sticky! :-)

[opy01]

Washington said he would sticky it but I think he already took off for the weekend

[Wes]

done...updated your title a bit too, hope ya dont mind

[opy01]

Sweet, thanks! The new title is probably a bit more appropriate here lol. I like it.

[Shmoopy]

We are very lucky to have opy, he helped me set up my reefkeeper net module through DAs website and by talking i found out that he was not only in dfw but in the club as well. He spent several hours remotely running my computer to make things work right. Thanks again! By the way opy i just got my alc in the mail today so expect a cry fro help soon

[opy01]

I'll be waiting for your txt/pm/call/screem lol. Let me know if you need help

Opy, I didn't know we had a guru on this. I have a consistent problem with my port forwarding/DDNS.

First a little background. I used an old linksys wireless router (WRT54G) that I imaged to use as an adapter using dd-wrt firmware that hooks up to my RK. That provides a signal to my ATT U-verse router. And I've released the port to get the information sent outside my home network. So everything works great, but only once. After I've went to the setup or used the port forwarded address one time, it doesn't work again. That is, until I unplug the RK from the linksys, then I get one more time to access it. After that time, again frozen and won't load up. Maybe I can explain this better but it's hard. The same things happens if I'm on the network trying to access it, after that one time, I can't access it anymore.

I've looked up this problem and people have had it before but there isn't a solution that seemed to work for me.

Any ideas?

[opy01]

Do you have a static IP on your NET? If you do, make sure it is outside your DHCP range.

I'm not exactly sure how I setup the static IP, although I felt that i did. How could I check this. If I setup a static IP, I probably didn't consider if it was outside this range (don't really know what that range is, is it the 1-255 thing?)

[opy01]

Been away from the computer for a bit. DynDNS no longer offers free domain names to new users. I am now using no-ip.com for my domain name with a dynamic IP. I'll see if I can get a mod to update my first post.

Dynamic DNS Service:
1. Go to http://www.no-ip.com and sign up for a free account
2. Once you register and activate your account via the email they send you can create you new host name
3. From the home page, while logged in, click on the "Your No-IP" link at the top right of the screen
4. Click on the tab that says Hosts/Redirects
5. Click the button that says "Add Host"
6. Type the first part of the host name and then choose the rest from the drop down under the "No-IP Free Domains list
7. You can set the port 80 redirect if you want. It will just send you to your IP/port and show those in the address bar and not show your URL but I don't think it matters.
8. Do not worry about the IP since the updater will take care of that
9. On the left hand side click the link that says "Download Client"
10. Choose your OS, download it then install it
11. Open the client from the start menu and enter your email and password then choose the host name you want forwarded
12. To make sure the client runs each time your system reboots you should copy the shortcut from the "No-IP DUC" folder and paste it in your "startup" folder in the start menu
13. Now go through the steps for your specific router brand.

Dyndns offers a free one still. You have to sign up for an account then cancel and you are left with a free one. Some routers only allow dyndns. On a side not i am using the fios router only and was able to set up port forwarding just fine. As far as the guy that keeps loosing connection. Make sure you have static route selected in your apex and dhcp turned off. Then do a reboot of the apex. This will update your settings with your router. Might even have to go into the router and release the wireless bridge you are using before rebooting the apex.


Sent from iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hook'em2006]

This all sounds pretty confusing. Can anyone offer any help?

[opy01]

Sorry, I thought I was subscribed to this thread. If you PM me I can try to help.

Burbarry,
in the past I've tried to set up Fios routers but they didn't want to work too well. They seem to have updated their firmware or hardware to actually work properly lol. On multiple occasions I've ended up having to set up a DMZ then set up a router on the inside but I just set one up last month and it worked perfect without a second router.

[K_Red_Raider]

Thanks for putting this up!

One question...I have done all of this but when it asks for my home computer I'm not sure what to put down. We don't have a "home" computer all that we have are laptops which we take to work every day. So what do I do with that? Also, my router is a SMC brand from Suddenlink.

Thanks Again!!
Kevin

[opy01]

What is asking for your "home computer"?

[K_Red_Raider]

O sorry. When I am entering in all of the ip addresses in the advanced area (on my router) it asks for my home computer ip address but we only use laptops which we take to work every day so what am I suppose to use for that

[opy01]

I dont know why it would ask for a home computer IP. What router is it and what are you trying to do in the router when it asks for that info.

[K_Red_Raider]

It is a SMC Brand from Suddenlink. It does not actually ask for it but there is a spot for it when I am doing the port forwarding. I was at the point under your link sys brand explanation #4 (enter the IP address of the computer that should receive the requests). I realize they are different brands but this was the closest that I could find to the SMC Brand router that I have. I have left it blank and entered the rest of the information but when I press the add button it does not show up.

[opy01]

Put the IP of the Device you are trying to get to, like a RKM-NET or Apex.

[K_Red_Raider]

makes sense I"ll try it tomorrow when i get home from the fire station. Thanks again! Im sure I will have more questions as I am computer illiterate

[opy01]

Ask away, I'm more than happy to help.

[pjracer]

I just set my Apex up to the router with port forwarding. But i have a problem. I was able to get into it remotly until the ip of the router renewed. What i should i use to remote in with the APEX controller.

I hav e a motorola 2 wire.

[opy01]

No-ip.com has an updater service that you need to run 24/7 on a computer at your house. That will constantly update no-ip.com when your ip renews.

[pjracer]

I will try that but i am using opendns.com and they have their own version. for example my router ip is 72.0.0.1 and the internet ip is 108.0.0.1. When the router refreshes it changes the 108 number so does no ip[ net it to a url?

[opy01]

If opendns.com has their own updater then you will need to use that. Just make sure it is running at your house so that is updates your dns service with your home IP when it changes.