No WAN DHCP, other issues

[FntX]

After poking around a bit I couldn't get the R2 into a stable working state and I found some weird behaviors as well alongside the process.

First of all the R2 refuses to connect to the internet via the DHCP provided by my ISP.

Let me quickly explain how my topology looks like:

• A RADWIN antenna (this is the "CPE" per definition) is connecting to the base station via PTP radio
• Said antenna provides the uplink for my network via ethernet
• A DHCP is running on the base station and provides me both a V4 address and V6 prefix 
• All bog standard without any dialup, identifiers or vpn in between/required. Just hook up a random device to the antenna and you're good to go.
• On my internal network I've got a Devolo Magic 2 running do distribute WiFi across the home. It's got a single uplink adaptor hooked up to the router. Nothing fancy.
• PCs, consoles, AV receiver and most of the TVs are connected via wire.

The address I usually receive is static and is as follows:

213.135.12.xxx/24

I also receive a V6 prefix:

2a02:430:a00:xxxx::/56

 

First issue: If I boot up the R2 it welcomes me with the setup process which tries to check for the WAN uplink status which always fails no matter what.

Second issue: If I just skip this step and jump into the UI regardless, it will eventually pick up the IPs but:

• There's no way to access some services or addresses including:
  • Most parts of the Netduma website and forums (strange, eh?), Discord web, most other websites 
  • Services like Battle.net, Discord, Sipgate (VoIP)
• Google and Google services are working fine
• Some network devices are blocked from communicating with other network devices
  • My heating controller won't connect to the network anymore. It will receive a lease via WiFi but nothing else is going through. I cannot access the HTML page of it and it doesn't connect to the MQTT broker anymore
• It makes no difference using the built-in WiFi of the R2 instead

So I decided to just disable everything related to blocking stuff like Geo and Adblocking. This hasn't changed anything.

Because there's no access to the Netduma servers, I can't sync any of the things like the Adblocker and Network device stuff and also the bandwidth and ping tests will fail.

Then I connected the R2 to my "old" router to cross- and double-check. It immediately picks up the addresses and everything works as expected. Also the sync is working but, of course, running the router this way completely defeats the purpose of the device.

I also did a factory reset every time I tried something new. Attached is a log from my last attempt connecting the R2 to the uplink with only my PC attached.

Also I rebooted all devices so they pick up the new address configuration.

I also changed the address to what I usually use: 10.0.0.1/16 and tried if the devices would work with a hot swap of the routers. Same result: only partial internet access and some devices blocked.

A few questions:

• The DHCP client id is empty. Does that mean a client id option is generated automatically or is there some magic string I should enter here? My ISP doesn't require a special ID, it just serves an IP to whatever is connected to the uplink but I can imagine that the DHCP relay refuses to serve an address immediately if this info is "not right"

 

Bottom line is I am out of options to try and I don't understand the behavior which the R2 is showing.

log-1669794707157.txt

[Netduma Liam]

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks for all the info, that's really helpful.

The first issue is probably a product of the second I would think, so let's try to get you full internet access first.

Could you try going to Network Settings -> WAN -> Network and un-toggle 'Use upstream DNS'. Then, toggle Override DNS and set the primary to be 1.1.1.1 and the secondary to be 8.8.8.8. If you prefer different DNS from cloudflare or Google, that's fine, use those.

After that, you may need to reboot the R2, but check if you then have full internet access again.

On your last question, if your ISP doesn't require you to use a DHCP identifier, which it sounds like they don't, then you don't need to worry about this option!

[FntX]

Thanks for your suggestions. This doesn't change anything, though. Apparently something in the direction of IPV4 isn't working properly:
 

ipconfig /renew

Windows IP Configuration

No operation can be performed on Bluetooth Network Connection while it has its media disconnected.

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : lan
   IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2a02:430:a00:a700:20c8:ddec:9722:2293
   IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : fd26:9369:53a2::c2a
   IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : fd26:9369:53a2:0:c3fd:8c0e:fc1d:7636
   IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : fd7a:e0e:e1cf::20
   Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : 2a02:430:a00:a700:c813:faf0:4fbc:84b1
   Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : fd26:9369:53a2:0:c813:faf0:4fbc:84b1
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::8f50:e376:f5b1:b371%7
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.184
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : fe80::4610:91ff:fe67:2e8b%7
                                       10.0.0.1

Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network Connection:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :

C:\Users\fntx>nslookup
Default Server:  dumaos.lan
Address:  fd26:9369:53a2::1

> discord.com
Server:  dumaos.lan
Address:  fd26:9369:53a2::1

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:    discord.com
Addresses:  162.159.137.232
          162.159.138.232
          162.159.136.232
          162.159.135.232
          162.159.128.233

> exit

C:\Users\fntx>ping discord.com

Pinging discord.com [162.159.128.233] with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 162.159.128.233:
    Packets: Sent = 3, Received = 0, Lost = 3 (100% loss),
Control-C
^C
C:\Users\fntx>tracert discord.com

Tracing route to discord.com [162.159.128.233]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    <1 ms     1 ms    <1 ms  dumaos.lan [10.0.0.1]
  2     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  3     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  4     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  5     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  6     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  7     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  8     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  9     *        *     ^C

 

If i check on google it is working because it fully supports ipv6:

C:\Users\fntx>nslookup
Default Server:  dumaos.lan
Address:  fd26:9369:53a2::1

> google.com
Server:  dumaos.lan
Address:  fd26:9369:53a2::1

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:    google.com
Addresses:  2a00:1450:4001:827::200e
          142.250.186.46

> exit

C:\Users\fntx>ping google.com

Pinging google.com [2a00:1450:4001:827::200e] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 2a00:1450:4001:827::200e: time=13ms
Reply from 2a00:1450:4001:827::200e: time=15ms
Reply from 2a00:1450:4001:827::200e: time=16ms

Ping statistics for 2a00:1450:4001:827::200e:
    Packets: Sent = 3, Received = 3, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 13ms, Maximum = 16ms, Average = 14ms
Control-C
^C
C:\Users\fntx>ping -4 google.com

Pinging google.com [142.250.186.46] with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 142.250.186.46:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\Users\fntx>tracert google.com

Tracing route to google.com [2a00:1450:4001:827::200e]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  2a02:430:a00:a700::1
  2    13 ms    12 ms    12 ms  2a02:430:1a::1
  3    14 ms    17 ms    11 ms  2a02:430::1:0:2:202
  4    13 ms    13 ms    14 ms  2a02:430::5:0:1:3
  5  ^C
C:\Users\fntx>

BUT!

It shows my WAN IP Address...

 

EDIT:

Just tried changing the IP to static but this results in the same problems so apparently IPv4 routing is broken. I can't reach IPv4 addresses outside of my network.

Edited November 30, 2022 by FntX
Added another test case

[Netduma Liam]

Out of interest, could you please try disabling IPv6 completely from the LAN and WAN settings in Network Settings, then try again?

[FntX]

...this is something I tried early on and results in no network connectivity at all.

 

Now. Surprise, surprise...

I "spoofed" the mac address of my "old" router and went for static configuration for the WAN interface. Everything works now. 

I think it's got something to do with the routing tables in the base station. I assume leaving the router(s) off for a long period would clear this error as well.

 

This is really strange and I can't really pinpoint the issue to the R2 nor the base station...

[FntX]

Turns out something is still off. Battle.net works for example (and this forum too) but Discord refuses to connect.

 

Is there a way to look into the routing table and/or DNS etc?

 

UPDATE: Rebooting temporarily "fixes" the resolution but having to reboot in order to access specific services is of course inacceptable.

Every service that uses IPv6 is working perfectly throughout the day but any other IPv4 only services are failing at some point in time.

On the upside running now with DHCP does work but I'm not having luck with the original MAC address but that's a quirk of my ISP, apparently.

Edited December 1, 2022 by FntX
Updated with new info

[Netduma Liam]

We have actually heard of similar behaviour before, not with the R2 mind, but with some of the NETGEAR range. It is something I'd imagine will flush and fix itself over time, but it sure is disruptive when the problem is there.

I'm afraid there isn't really anywhere in the front-end to view the routing table/specific DNS info.

While we debug this, can you please disable filtering mode on any devices you've added to Geo-filter and also disable QoS from the sub-menu in Congestion Control.

Could you disable IPv6 just on the LAN side not WAN, then check if you've still got internet access? Are the requests to discord still failing in this configuration?

 

[FntX]

• Disabling QoS immediately allows Discord to connect again.
• Disabling IPv6 for LAN does nothing. 

 

Concerning Discord:

Interestingly only text chat is affected if already connected but if the client wasn't connected, it can't reach the service and just sits there trying to connect.

Joining voice channels works even if the text channels are "offline". Maybe this helps pinpointing the issue down.

[Netduma Liam]

1 hour ago, FntX said:

• Disabling QoS immediately allows Discord to connect again.
• Disabling IPv6 for LAN does nothing. 

 

Concerning Discord:

Interestingly only text chat is affected if already connected but if the client wasn't connected, it can't reach the service and just sits there trying to connect.

Joining voice channels works even if the text channels are "offline". Maybe this helps pinpointing the issue down.

Interesting, so does everything work perfectly fine if QoS is disabled completely?

Have you setup Adblocker at all since getting the R2? Have you for example added any custom domains?

Do you have any rules setup in Traffic Controller?

[FntX]

Yes, if QoS is disabled then everything is working perfectly. It also works for a few minutes after re-enabling QoS.

I also tried disabling the Adblocker but this doesn't change the results in any way. 

There are no rules in traffic controller.

[Netduma Fraser]

Could you sign up for Early Access please? https://forum.netduma.com/topic/39415-introducing-early-access/

Once approved, install the firmware there, after waiting a few minutes perform a factory reset and see if you still have the issue please. It's the most up to date version with quite a lot of fixes so if it still isn't working then it gives us a better starting point for debugging.

[FntX]

Alright - will do!

[FntX]

I'm running the preview now but I'd also like to leave feedback for the issues related to the current stable build and that is:

All the problems went away all of a sudden as if something was sticking around and cleared itself after a specific timeout period.

BUT!

Without setting the mac address of my old router it's still not connecting. I'll have a word with my ISP about that...

...which leads me to the feedback of the testing build which I'll leave in the appropriate thread, of course.

 

Consider this issue as solved by "just waiting". Thanks for support!