Vodafone supplied router - Dynamic port mapping does not work

[m1kegibson]

I have all my router port forward rules configured in my LAN (on my NAS).

When I enable UPnP on the Vodafone Router and "Enable" forwarding rules on my NAS, they get configured on the router okay - they are listed under "Dynamic Port Mapping".

However, any attempt to connect to the port via Internet fails - it is as if port is not open despite being in the list.

If I remove the dynamic rules (by disabling on my NAS) they disappear as you would expect.

If I add add the rules via "Static Port Mapping" manually, the port forward works as you would expect and I can access server from the internet.

Basically, it looks like "Dynamic port mapping" does not work.

Anyone have any success using UPnP to configure port forwards on Vodafone router?

[m1kegibson]

Just in case anyone else picks this up, I have an explanation.

The rules configured dynamically via upnp are applied BUT only work when you access your router via the internet.  I am used to testing these rules via my LAN - this does not work.  Rules that are configured manually work when accessed via Internet (WAN) AND LAN!!  Why this distinction exists I have no idea but there you are.

[Cynric]

Just remember that upnp carries a risk.

https://www.upguard.com/blog/what-is-upnp

[Jayach]

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@m1kegibson wrote:

The rules configured dynamically via upnp are applied BUT only work when you access your router via the internet.  I am used to testing these rules via my LAN - this does not work.  Rules that are configured manually work when accessed via Internet (WAN) AND LAN!!  Why this distinction exists I have no idea but there you are.

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Port forwarding is specifically about opening up devices to the internet. It isn't about access from the LAN. (unless I'm missing something)

[curve]

Yep, you're missing something...

I use Synology's DDNS service to connect my IP to a domain.

If I manually add the ports, I can access <domain>:5001 from both the internet and my LAN.

If the ports are added dynamically, I can only access <domain>:5001 from the internet.

Therefore I have to turn off dynamic allocation.

[CrimsonLiar]

Err not really, loopback NAT on the WAN interface is not handled how you might assume.  So even using a third-party router I can port forward to a server, but that only works for external devices.  Internally ***without doing anything additional*** I can't access that same server in the same manner.  Different routers handle this situation differently; that's just how it is, and I don't think the solution here would work on the VF router!

[Aber]

Hi Curve

I'm having problems with slow/failing connections to my Synology NAS since moving to Vodafone Broadband, so am wondering whether the dynamic port forwarding is the issue as per your description. Would you mind posting the port forwarding rules you've ended up with, so I can mimic and see if it helps? Thanks in advance.

[CrimsonLiar]

Are you experiencing the issue when accessing your NAS from the internet, or is this just when it's being used locally.  For local connections UPnP and port forwarding do nothing.
If when you connect to your NAS directly using a web browser, everything works, but not when you use client software, I'd suspect there are some settings from the previous network setup that remain and are causing problems (though Synology is usually pretty good).

[Aber]

Thanks CrimsonLiar. I was unable to connect using my quickconnect ID, e.g. from DS Finder, or DS file, on an Android tablet.

I eventually tried to use the NAS's ip address. This worked, and strangely the QuickConnect ID works again. Perhaps using the ip address forced some sort of synchronisation within the apps which resolved the QuickConnect failure.

I also uninstalled Avast Antivirus on the tablet, but don't think this made any difference. When I have more time I'll reinstall Avast and hope it doesn't stop working again.

[CrimsonLiar]

An additional thought here - grasping at straws...  From what's been posted elsewhere on these boards, it would seem that Vodafone's IPv6 can be a bit wonky (BT have a somewhat wonky feature too), so it might be worthwhile testing it with that turned-off for now.