Version 3 VSS Lights (Power - flashing, Internet - off, In Service - orange, In Use - orange)

[Retired-Lee]

This thread has been created to discuss and troubleshoot the version 3 Sure Signal when the light sequence is as follows:

• Power: Flashing
• Internet: Off
• In Service: Solid Orange
• In Use: Solid Orange

Cause

This light sequence indicates the Sure Signal's not active and it has been unable to authenticate on the Vodafone network

Troubleshooting

Please restart your Sure Signal. If the symptoms continue please add the following details to this thread:

• Your speed test results from here
  
• Your ping test results from here
  
• Your external IP address from here
  
• Your Sure Signal serial number
• The results of a traceroute

Traceroute command:

On a PC:

1. Click on Start and select Run
2. Type CMD into the Run box and press enter/click ok
3. A black box will appear
4. In this box type tracert 212.183.133.177 press Enter
5. Paste the output of this command into your reply

On a Mac:

1. Open Terminal (Applications, Utilities)
2. Type 'traceroute 212.183.133.177'
3. Press Enter

This will help us get the quickest possible resolution for you.

Thanks

LeeH

[arukDave]

Hi Jenny.

The repeat post of your server farm IP address range is useful to know, for those users where the routers can use firewall rules selected by the source IP address of incoming traffic.

But what happened to address 212.183.133.180 ?

Also good to know too, that machotspur's public IP address is in your whitelist.

Hopefully, when he gets back on here, we can get him sorted, he has a similar router to mine, so I think there is hope for him.

However, Vodafones continuing encoragement to users to use "Port Forwarding" can cause colateral damage to other systems/services they may have.

In particular, port 123.   If that is blanket forwarded to the VSS's LAN address, no other machine or device on the LAN will be able to use NTP to synchronise their time services.   Just about every PC and many automated devices use NTP to attempt to keep in step with reference time servers.

Normal NAT router behaviour will route replies to the VSS's NTP queries to your servers, back to the VSS's LAN address, with no need for any forwarding rules just fine, you only need to forward 123 back inside a LAN, if there is a NTP/SNTP server present, that you wish to be reachable from the outside.

All that is really needed, is free unfettered unrestricted unblocked access in and out.    But, that can be disrupted by other systems (any devices for example that provide a PPtP/L2TP VPN endpoint, i.e. act as a server) unless the router can use  forwarding rules selected the source IP address of the incoming packets, and you can select the order that the rules are applied.

Many home (and some so called "Business" routers) cannot diferentiate between packets arriving from different external IP addresses for port forwarding purposes, so the user cant even selectivly forward the needed traffic to the VSS.  (The BT Business Hub 3 for one!)

As to the mention of Universal Plug and Play.   As far as I (and others) can determine, the VSS (V3 at least) does not use it, and in any case, many users (me included) will have that disabled, as it is a not uncommon malware atack surface.   (Where the bad stuff that gets on your PC, does things to your router for it's own ends, out of your control!)

I have a VSS V3 hapily working as a trial at home, on a domestic Netgear router, in which the only setting I did that still applies, is the provision of a stattic LAN IP address.   No Port Forwarding, no UPnP, and it works just fine.   (serial number 40131576213 if you wish to check, none of the registered phones are in range of it at this time however, and it's in the wrong postcode for now.)

Oh yes, users MUST wait for their router to fully initialise after a power down or reset, BEFORE powering up the VSS, also turn off the VSS before doing any router maintenance or changes (firmware updates etc) that will result in a router restart.   Only, power the VSS back up, once the router has again fully settled and is happy.   (Some routers take much longer to sort themselves out, than the VSS needs to get going, so "leading to trouble".)

Best Regards.

Dave Baxter.

Technical Manager AR-UK Ltd.

[Graceyork]

Ok so the SS has been working just fine once it did eventually connect, it has reconnected after various local power outages etc. Around midday I powered of the ring main to move a socket, and since powering up its been in this state.

I've reset my router, although it as never had any problem with wired connections.

Speed down 68.08mbps

               up 15.22mbps

Ping 19ms

jitter 0

IP Address 146.200.7.42

Ser no 40140911286

tracert:

 1     1 ms     1 ms     1 ms  dsldevice.lan [192.168.1.254]
  2    12 ms    12 ms    12 ms  lo0.10.central10.ptw-bng01.plus.net [195.166.128.170]
  3    12 ms    11 ms    11 ms  irb.10.ptw-cr01.plus.net [84.93.249.1]
  4    15 ms    14 ms    15 ms  ldngw1.arcor-ip.net [195.66.224.209]
  5    14 ms    14 ms    13 ms  85.205.0.86
  6     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  7     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  8     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  9     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 10     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 11     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 12     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 13     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 14     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 15     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 16     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 17     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 18     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 19     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 20     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 21     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 22     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 23     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 24     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 25     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 26     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 27     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 28     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 29     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 30     *        *        *     Request timed out.

[arukDave]

Hi. Graceyork.

Restarting your router has got you a different public IP address...  A common happening.

But...  Your current IP (146.200.7.42) resolves to being part of PlusNet, BUT...  A "Whois" search is showing it as being in the USA!

You will need to talk to your ISP (PlusNet) and get them to ensure you have an IP that resolves back to being in the UK, else Vodafone will never allow it to be used.

You are not the first recently to suffer this with PlusNet! and Vodafone's SureSignal backoffice system.

Once that is all done...  That is your IP resolves to being in the UK...

If not already powered off.   Turn the VSS off and leave it for say 10 minutes or more.  (To allow Vodafone's servers to hopefully forget any partial connection it may have got.)

Make sure your router is fully up to speed and back on line etc, then powerup the VSS, and wait.   Anything up to an hour or more, seriously.   (Often they will come back to life after a few minutes, but can take longer, MUCH longer if something needs updating.)

If you see a lot of traffic (flickering lights on your Router, related to the LAN port the VSS is connected to) but the VSS is not indicating it is ready yet, leave it be and let it continue, it's probably updating it's firmware.

Hope this helps.

Regards.

Dave Baxter.

AR-UK Ltd.

[Graceyork]

One further point, looking at the discussions regarding PPPoE & PPPoA, I had the power off for long enough to get a different IP address when the router rebooted. This is probably the first time this has changed since the SS started working the first time. So is it simply that the Vodafone system is not looking at the correct address now?

[Graceyork]

Ok got it, we crossed!

[Graceyork]

So looking further I've tried 4 different IP address locators, and they all resolve back to the UK for this address, which are you using? I cannot argue with Plusnet on this basis.

http://www.ip-tracker.org/locator/ip-lookup.php

gives:

IP Address:Reverse DNS:Hostname:Nameservers:IP Blacklist Check:IP Lookup Location For IP Address: 146.200.7.42Continent:Country:Capital:State:City Location:ISP:Organization: Time Zone:Local Time:Timezone GMT offset:Sunrise / Sunset:Extra IP Lookup Finder Info for IP Address: 146.200.7.42Continent Lat/Lon:Country Lat/Lon:City Lat/Lon:IP Language:IP Address Speed:IP Currency:IDD Code:

146.200.7.42

42.7.200.146.in-addr.arpa

7.42.200.146.dyn.plus.net

ns1.force9.net >> 195.166.128.16 ns2.force9.net >> 195.166.128.17

Not Blacklisted

Europe (EU)

United Kingdom    (GB)

London

Sheffield

Sheffield

INFONET Services Corporation

Plusnet plc.

Europe/London

18:05:14

3600

06:07 / 20:07

48.69083 / 9.1405

54 / -4.5

(53.3667) / (-1.5)

English, Irish, Ulster Scots, Scottish Gaelic , Scots, Welsh, Cornish

Corporate Internet Speed [ Check Internet Speed]

Pound sterling (GBP)

+44

[arukDave]

Hi again Graceyork.

If you've got addresses that show as in the UK now, it should work as before.

I was using any of the services you find when you google "reverse IP" or "whois".

Many do show the last update of the data as sometime in 2011!   And I do know that as the IPV4 address space dries up, there has been some "trading" of address blocks between ISP's and the like.

For instance...

http://whatmyip.co/view/ip_addresses/2462582528/146.200.7.0_146.200.7.255

After searching with "whois 146.200.7.42"   All show as located in California!   No doubt, some records are somewhat stale, or PlusNet/BT are tunneling your traffic accross the pond to get extra address space.

Vodafone I think use RIPE as their IP lookup database provider.    Might still be worth talking to PlusNet, just to be sure.   I'm sure someone from Vodafone will be on here soon after checking things themselves.

Best Regards.

Dave Baxter.

[Graceyork]

Well thanks for that we'll see where it goes, curiously it too several days to get the SS working in the first place for no given reason.

Regards

Grace

[Graceyork]

Interestingly when we turned the power off again and got another IP address with NO US associations the SS started correctly, dear Vodafone, please review your IP addresses!

[arukDave]

Hi again.

I think it's more a case of they (Vodafone) need to review what service they use to find out where the users IP is geographicaly located.   There does seem to be an awful lot of "Stale" data on the RIPE database, where as many other services are a (little) more up to date.

What happens when we eventually (if ever) move to IPV6 in the UK I don't know..

Glad it came back up and is working again for you.

Regards.

Dave Baxter.