Blocked IP ranges

[jamie_w]

Hi,

We're a UK ISP who were recently assigned new IP ranges by RIPE and have noticed that customers on our new IP ranges are unable to use their Sure signal devices. This is presumably because our new IP's are being firewalled by yourselves. We have verified this by routing the same devices over our previous ranges, which enables them to connect fine.

If possible can you forward this range onto the relevent department or provide me with the details for somebody at Vodafone we can contact regarding this. 

The affected range is 31.205.0.0/16

Thanks,

Jamie

[thecrown]

@Wayne

Unfortunately I have just discovered that our IP address has changed, we did have a small power outage yesterday which could account for it although I understand that some service providers have a dynamic approach to address allocation to prevent customers hosting servers on their home PC. I originally said our address was in the 86.136.XXX.XXX range, but at this moment it's 86.139.XXX.XX. Are ALL the BT possible address ranges on your White List??

Also did a speedtest and both Speedtest.net and BT.Wholesale agree on our current speeds:

Ping: 31ms

Down: 5.64

Up: 0.36

Not so good, but they have just sited a Fibre Cabinet in the village which should improve things if they ever get around to connecting it to the exchange.

This process is impossible, waiting sometimes 48 hours for a reply, is there not a telephone service I can use to hand over all the information and get all the answers? It's been a week since I started this (trying to resurrect the SS) and I'm still no nearer an answer on what the problem could even possibly be. It appears to be working OK, just will not form a stable connection to your servers.....

[thecrown]

@Wayne

Ok, just want to make sure my poor little SS is actually trying it's best to 'call home'..... Here's a small vid of the light sequence I'm getting over and over again.. top light steady and then 2 and 4 activating every few minutes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lLM9VlzPyY

[Retired-Charles]

@thecrown - The speeds you're getting are low and could well be causing you the issues. Give your ISP a call to see if they can get your speed higher.

We try and answer all posts on here the best we can, if the matter needs instant help just give 191 a call or speak with Live Chat. 

[thecrown]

@Charles

Thanks for your reply, although you didn't address any of the questions that I asked:

- Is the sequence of lights we are getting correct and indicative that the unit is operating correctly? (Msg 103 of this thread).

- Is the range of Ip addresses BT is allocating to us on your White List. As I said in a previous post the problem with the SS started at the same time we swapped service providers.

- Confirmation that our SS did connect with your servers (Msg 99 of this thread).

I agree that our Broadband speeds are pretty poor at the moment, but hopefully when the new Fibre cabinet comes on line we should have blistering speeds. The speeds however have always been around this level and did not prevent the SS from operating correctly before????

Regards,

Mike

[gommog]

@thecrown

Sounds like you're having very similar issues to me, we too had changed provider so our external IP addresses changed. Our existing sure signals continue to work but we can't register any new ones. I've asked for our external IP addresses to be checked time and again, time and again i'm told they're on the whitelist, then told they're not. The problem is the people answering on this forum are not the people who are administering the whitelist and you'll never get to speak to anyone who does.

I also don't think the speed of your connection will be an issue as the traffic produced by the sure signal when trying to register is seen to be KB in size rather than MB.

After some time you'll probably get to the same point as me, they'll tell you to get in touch with your ISP but won't tell you what information they want from the ISP.

My suspicion is that when alcatel developed the sure signal they didn't give all the technical specifications to vodafone or vodafone didn't think to train any of their technicians on their use. Everything points toward this as we had exactly the same problem 5 years ago and went through the same painful steps.

Come on vodafone how about you sort this out? We're paying for devices to boost signal because your network is so poor and then you have the cheek to not give us proper support on them.

[online999]

gommog

Sorry if you've already posted this, but can you confirm what router you are using (hardware and firmware) and what public IP address you are using.

I'll check the IP range is in the whitelist for you.

Not all addresses are in the whitelist, as ISP's are continually purchasing new ranges previously used outside the UK. If VF don't then know it's now a UK address, it will need to be added (once some proof of UK use is available) VF can't add address ranges otherwise as the devices have to operated solely in the UK because of Ofcom regulations.

IP address can be opened up after a search on the RIPE database confirms it is a UK address range.

If it comes back as rest of world, then it can delay things, sometimes the only way to confirm the address range is for sole use in the UK, is to get the ISP to confirm in writing (email is okay to VF).

It’s not Vodafone being awkward, but complying with Ofcom regulations.

As for the number of units you are hoping to use, 25 itself isn’t a technical issue (but see note below*), if the router can handle PAT for that many devices, PAT is required as all the traffic will be heading to and from the same public IP address, so the router needs to keep track and map the traffic to the correct devices.

If some of your units are operating on the same router, then it won’t be a blocked IP, and it won’t be port forwarding, otherwise none would work (unless it was NTP port 123 started to be blocked, then they would all gradually start to fail as the clocks drifted out of sync)

*On top of that, the devices should not be too close to each, as they otherwise have a detrimental effect on each other, they will see the signals from each other and automatically decrease their range to avoid interference. Another issue you’ll get is dropped calls if you move from one unit to another, as they can’t hand calls over between them. For that you would need enterprise units which are set up in a group and can hand calls over internally, they are also optimised for the coverage to ensure they cover all required areas and have a minimal overlap.

The other issue you’d have with that many units is manually setting up access control lists for each device as they are operated in closed mode, enterprise units are operated in open mode, meaning any Vodafone device will be allowed to use the devices.

[online999]

Just an add on note for those people trying to set port forwarding on their routers:

By default most if not all routers should support upnp which should mean that an SS unit which is trying to communicate through the router, should get the correct ports through.

Not all routers operate in the manner they should with upnp, and as such manual config of port forwarding is required.

However the next issue is that not all routers actually do what you tell them to do.

You configure PF and save/reboot and still nothing works, this is often because althoughy configured, the routers aren't doing it.

Most people are reluctant to believe that the router they acquired for free from their ISP or bought from a reseller isn't doing what it says it is.

My own experience though, is that certain routers just either don't work, this however doesn't appear to be 100%, so you end up having to try another router to prove the issue.

I've been to numerous sites with the issue of port forwarding not working, inserted a different router I know works, and bingo, everything works.

I'm not going to recommend a certain make or model, or state which ones have had issues, as I'd open a big can of worms, but don't presume that a router is any different from any other tech gadget, some just don't play ball, this can be a certain firmware won't work on a router, but on someone elses it will making it harder to diagnose without the cost and hassle of getting another router.

The fact is most routers should be tested for everything, but will probably only really get tested on the majority of functions most people use.

[Retired-Charles]

@thecrown - The light sequence you're seeing shows a possible ports issue.

Manually configure your router to allow port-forwarding.
In most cases, routers support a system called Universal Plug-n-Play (UPnP), which sets up port-forwarding for you automatically. If you’ve got a complicated network setup, or a complex router, you may need to enter these settings manually.

Please see the following for a list of IP addresses and port numbers that need to be forwarded to your Sure Signal's internal IP address. For instructions on how to do this, we recommend you contact your ISP or Router Manufacturer, or refer to the default guide for your particular make and model, over at http://portforward.com.

Destination IP Addresses:

• 212.183.133.177
• 212.183.133.178
• 212.183.133.179
• 212.183.133.181
• 212.183.133.182
• 212.183.131.128/26

Ports and Protocols:

• 8 – TCP/UDP                 (All routers)
• 50 – TCP/UDP               (All routers)
• 53 – TCP/UDP               (Virgin Super Hubs)
• 67 – UDP                      (Virgin Super Hubs)  
• 68 – UDP                      (Virgin Super Hubs)    
• 123 – UDP                    (All routers)     
• 500 – UDP                    (All routers)     
• 1723 – TCP/UDP           (BT Home Hubs)          
• 4500 – UDP                   (All routers)     
• 33434 – 33445 – UDP    (Virgin Super Hubs)

Please note that in the above list of IP addresses, the notation "212.183.131.128/26" means the complete range of IP addresses between 212.183.131.128 and 212.183.131.191

Your router also needs to assign the Sure Signal with a DNS (Domain Name Server) address via DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol).

The IP addresses you've stated on your traceroute are on the whitelist.

Your Sure Signal connected with us on 15 April.

Hope that helps.

[thecrown]

@Charles

Thanks for your reply, we completed port forwarding before coming here (see msg 88). Also the SS is assigned with a permanent internal IP address.

regarding the forwarding of IP addresses to a device, I don't know how to do this and I can't find any information on how to do it, any tips? Our router doesn't block any addresses, so why do specific addresses needed to be forwarded?

Thanks,

Mike

[Retired-Charles]

@thecrown - Information on the port forward process can be found here. If your router isn't listed, you'll need to contact your ISP.

Keep us updated on how you get on.