New router/modem, new problems

[Meowth LVL255]

I got an email from Spectrum saying that they have "made changes to my account" the other day. I called and they said that I was being sent a new modem and router. I was using the Arris 1682. If you didn't want to look that up, it is a dual band modem/router combo that pretty much topped out at 500mbps, has 4 ethernet ports which all of them were being used, and the best part was that I could stick this thing in just about any space. I'm fine with that, I'm paying for that exact speed and GETTING that with that device. Also, I have an FTP server and was able to port forward on PC without even having to go through the 192 address in a browser window. I was able to open ports through network devices. It was nice as hell. So, the first call, I was told I basically didn't have a choice in the "upgrade" of equipment. So I called again afterwards and I was told I could just grab any modem/router and activate it, they don't care. The reason for the upgrade is that the Arris is their unit. Whatever, makes sense, I guess. I'd rather just keep the old working stuff though. So the second call gave me hope at least. So I got the new stuff today and set it up. Aside from the pain in the ass setup of the activation and app and all that, not only did I lose an ethernet port and can't plug my NON WIFI CAMERAS (that I will absolutely not replace) in, there's now a problem with the port forwarding. I tried to PF through the spectrum app and apparently, opening ports are for specific devices and not routerwide. Not only that, but the app says ip reservation is a requirement to port forward. I didn't want to do that since I set a static IP on my FTP server computer which apparently, I had to change because DHCP range is different with this new, really bad equipment. So that's what I'm dealing with. I called tonight and just got off the call with a guy that asked me if port 21 for FTP was UDP. After I told him information that I really never had to worry about before when porting, a quick Google search later showed that FTP is TCP only. He tried to open port 21 and then he said, "I need 3 numbers because it's greyed out." Asking him what that meant, he told me he didn't know and there was nobody else in that department that knew more than he did. Well, obviously port 21 is two numbers and that's the port I need open. He couldn't help and the call has ended. Now I'm back at square one not knowing who to turn to other than LTT forums. So, I've decided that I'm going to buy my own router/modem combo and say the hell with this useless crap they sent me that takes up 2 plugs and way too much space and only has 3 Eports. (Also they said it's a smart router and I didn't have a choice in what network it throws at my devices which is a whole other thing.) So, I have 2 questions for you guys. 

1. How do I port forward on Spectrum equipment using the spectrum app and not have to use that ip reservation thing?

2. What's a good modem/router combo that I can get with dual band, the lights to go with those bands so I can see if there's an issue quickly, and has 4 ethernet ports? (Also doesn't use proprietary app)

 

The modem/routers I've looked up so far are grossly overpriced and don't make sense. The Linksys CG7500 is 300 dollars used? Why? Someone on Amazon wants 500 dollars for the ASUS CM-32? Why? Is there something going on that I don't know about like the GPU thing? I'd appreciate any help and I'm sorry about the huge wall of text, but I can't turn to anyone else since Spectrum's own people don't know what they're doing. I just got the Filezilla FTP server working, and they spring this on me.

[Alex Atkin UK]

22 minutes ago, Selestialnorre said:

I tried to PF through the spectrum app and apparently, opening ports are for specific devices and not routerwide. Not only that, but the app says ip reservation is a requirement to port forward. I didn't want to do that since I set a static IP on my FTP server computer which apparently, I had to change because DHCP range is different with this new, really bad equipment.

Firstly, its generally a bad idea to use FTP especially if you are using a login as its completely unencrypted over the Internet.

 

Secondly, what do you mean "routerwide"?  Port forwards are ALWAYS to one specific device, because you only have one public IP address at the router.  All port forward does it make it seem like that public IP is on the target device by translating traffic for the ports you specify between the LAN and public IP.

 

Third, using IP Reservation is not bad, its actually highly recommended over static IP addresses as that way its all configured in one place, on the router.

Losing an ethernet port sucks, but Gigabit switches are cheap so its not the end of the world.

[Meowth LVL255]

9 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Firstly, its generally a bad idea to use FTP especially if you are using a login as its completely unencrypted over the Internet.

 

Secondly, what do you mean "routerwide"?  Port forwards are ALWAYS to one specific device, because you only have one public IP address at the router.  All port forward does it make it seem like that public IP is on the target device by translating traffic for the ports you specify between the LAN and public IP.

 

Third, using IP Reservation is not bad, its actually highly recommended over static IP addresses as that way its all configured in one place, on the router.

Losing an ethernet port sucks, but Gigabit switches are cheap so its not the end of the world.

Well, it is just a learning experience for me. I hate flashdriving 5-10 GB videos from my work computer over to storage. With FTP, it's just a single transfer and it's usually quick. I was using Filezilla and was getting to the security part of my learning experience. 

When I portforwarded in the past, I would open up network devices on my PC and go to modem properties. This allowed me to open ports. In that, every article I read and video I watched made it seem as though porting was routerwide and did not have to be set up on each device. For Minecraft servers, I just had to open a port on my desktop and it would work. For FTP, I opened up 21 for ftp on the desktop and the server was running on the laptop right next to it. Forgive me if I have an obscured outlook on how ports work.

 

For IP reservation, I had already set my laptop (server) to have a static IP address. It works, I can reboot it and it won't change. Then I went to go PF in the app, and it says it requires me to turn that on for the device (which for some reason calls it a desktop) before I can open ports. Would that not override the static IP I set with its own? If so, I don't want.

I have 4 devices that need ethernet. I have a router on the other side of the house feeding someone's TV because for some reason, the room eats wifi and it's our only solution. I have my desktop that has no wifi and I want ethernet because I want the fastest speeds a possible for that device. I have another router outside that 2 others use and that can't change, and I have a security system that I had to unplug. It can only use ethernet. The reason why I didn't want this upgrade initially was because I have limited space to put these 2 devices. Spectrum obviously wants these devices extremely close together because of the tiny cable they gave me with it. Both units have to have power and they are huge blocks. I have limited power plugs and had to unplug 2 other devices and now cannot use them because the plugs take up almost 4 slot spaces because they're fat. I'm going to Walmart as soon as they open to see if I can find a replacement for this junk, but it might take me 2 months to pay for it. I didn't want an extra device taking up space and was perfectly happy with the Arris 1682. I really don't have the room for a switch either.

[Alex Atkin UK]

8 minutes ago, Selestialnorre said:

When I portforwarded in the past, I would open up network devices on my PC and go to modem properties. This allowed me to open ports. In that, every article I read and video I watched made it seem as though porting was routerwide and did not have to be set up on each device. For Minecraft servers, I just had to open a port on my desktop and it would work. For FTP, I opened up 21 for ftp on the desktop and the server was running on the laptop right next to it. Forgive me if I have an obscured outlook on how ports work.

 

For IP reservation, I had already set my laptop (server) to have a static IP address. It works, I can reboot it and it won't change. Then I went to go PF in the app, and it says it requires me to turn that on for the device (which for some reason calls it a desktop) before I can open ports. Would that not override the static IP I set with its own? If so, I don't want.

The old way was probably using uPNP to automatically trigger a port forward on the router, this is not recommended these days as malware or any random software you might  install can do the same, potentially leaving security holes.

 

Yes you would need to disable the static IP address on the device itself, as its preferred to do this via reservation over DHCP.

 

The point is IP addressing and port forwards are primarily router duties, so better to do them all in that one place.  It makes it much easier to manage as you add more devices.  I reserve every single device on my LAN in DHCP so they're all static, in one nice neat list on the router I can easily change without having to mess around with the individual client.

[Meowth LVL255]

15 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

The old way was probably using uPNP to automatically trigger a port forward on the router, this is not recommended these days as malware or any random software you might  install can do the same, potentially leaving security holes.

 

Yes you would need to disable the static IP address on the device itself, as its preferred to do this via reservation over DHCP.

 

The point is IP addressing and port forwards are primarily router duties, so better to do them all in that one place.  It makes it much easier to manage as you add more devices.  I reserve every single device on my LAN in DHCP so they're all static, in one nice neat list on the router I can easily change without having to mess around with the individual client.

I have heard about UPNP being horribly unsafe to use, but I don't believe I was using that seeing as I only just heard of it. If I could go back to the old device, I could show you what I was doing in a series of screenshots, but this new device is app only and it throws a wrench in how I thought to go about PFing. It was a place in Windows 10 that allowed me to access the router as a device instead of going to the 192 address and setting TPD and UDP while being able to name it.

[Alex Atkin UK]

7 minutes ago, Selestialnorre said:

I have heard about UPNP being horribly unsafe to use, but I don't believe I was using that seeing as I only just heard of it. If I could go back to the old device, I could show you what I was doing in a series of screenshots, but this new device is app only and it throws a wrench in how I thought to go about PFing. It was a place in Windows 10 that allowed me to access the router as a device instead of going to the 192 address and setting TPD and UDP while being able to name it.

It didn't just open a browser?  I've had various routers and when they appear in Windows all they ever did was open the browser page.

[Meowth LVL255]

6 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

It didn't just open a browser?  I've had various routers and when they appear in Windows all they ever did was open the browser page.

Nope. It just opened up a properties window and then an option in that window that allowed me to set name, ip, TDP and UDP. I used this for opening ports in Minecraft servers and it worked like a charm. The only time I ever had to go into the 192 browser page was to set SSID and Pass.

On a closely related note, this device here: Motorola MG7540 (16x4) Cable Modem + AC1600 Dual Band Wi-Fi Router Combo, DOCSIS 3.0 Certified by Comcast Xfinity, Cox, Charter Spectrum, More 686 Mbps Max Speed - Walmart.com

The page is extremely confusing. There's several things that tell me that it runs at GB speeds and several things that tell me a few other numbers. I'm paying for 500mbps speeds from spectrum and I don't wanna short myself of course, but this seems to contradict itself. Title says 600+, the other pictures say up to 300, product description says 1000mbps. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

4 minutes ago, Selestialnorre said:

Nope. It just opened up a properties window and then an option in that window that allowed me to set name, ip, TDP and UDP. I used this for opening ports in Minecraft servers and it worked like a charm. The only time I ever had to go into the 192 browser page was to set SSID and Pass.

On a closely related note, this device here: Motorola MG7540 (16x4) Cable Modem + AC1600 Dual Band Wi-Fi Router Combo, DOCSIS 3.0 Certified by Comcast Xfinity, Cox, Charter Spectrum, More 686 Mbps Max Speed - Walmart.com

The page is extremely confusing. There's several things that tell me that it runs at GB speeds and several things that tell me a few other numbers. I'm paying for 500mbps speeds from spectrum and I don't wanna short myself of course, but this seems to contradict itself. Title says 600+, the other pictures say up to 300, product description says 1000mbps. 

Gigabit will be the LAN ports, 686Mbit seems to be what it supports over the modem.

 

The 300Mbit is related to specific ISPs, my guess is those ISPs deliver their faster services over DOCSIS 3.1 so this wouldn't be compatible.

[Meowth LVL255]

16 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

It didn't just open a browser?  I've had various routers and when they appear in Windows all they ever did was open the browser page.

By the way, this is what I was doing. Sorry for the double post, but i just remembered I can connect to another, better built router and do that. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

1 minute ago, Selestialnorre said:

By the way, this is what I was doing. Sorry for the double post, but i just remembered I can connect to another, better built router and do that. 

Can you put their new router into bridge mode and just use it as a modem?  Then use whatever plain ethernet router you feel like.

[Meowth LVL255]

1 minute ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Can you put their new router into bridge mode and just use it as a modem?  Then use whatever plain ethernet router you feel like.

I'm not really allowed to change settings other than SSID, password, a little porting and that's about it. I just need to find a decent cable modem/router combo and get rid of this horrible air freshener looking piece of sh%# they gave me. I'm already looking for something else, but as you can see, I'm having a headache trying to find something good.

[Donut417]

5 hours ago, Selestialnorre said:

I'm not really allowed to change settings other than SSID, password, a little porting and that's about it. I just need to find a decent cable modem/router combo and get rid of this horrible air freshener looking piece of sh%# they gave me. I'm already looking for something else, but as you can see, I'm having a headache trying to find something good.

If you don’t  mind separate equipment l, I have the CM1000v2 on my Comcast connection and it works great. I have the Synology RT 2600ac paired with it. In my opinion you should go with a Docsis 3.1 modem over a 3.0. Modems can last a long time and this way you won’t have to upgrade for a while as the ISP upgrades it’s network and your speeds over time. 

[Meowth LVL255]

15 hours ago, Donut417 said:

If you don’t  mind separate equipment l, I have the CM1000v2 on my Comcast connection and it works great. I have the Synology RT 2600ac paired with it. In my opinion you should go with a Docsis 3.1 modem over a 3.0. Modems can last a long time and this way you won’t have to upgrade for a while as the ISP upgrades its network and your speeds over time.

Funny enough, this morning I went to Walmart and found the Arris SBG6950AC2. Took it home, hooked it up, and it gives me everything I asked for. I only did this because someone in my house couldn't connect to the 2.4 signal (because thanks roku) and couldn't watch Netflix. I found out what they sent me was only a single band and I have devices in the house that will not accept 5G signal. It needed to be rectified right then in there. Speed testing it right now, I'm getting 483 down and 24 up which is exactly what I'm paying for and nothing else. I appreciate everyone's help who replied. I also have 192 browser access and can port forward through network devices instead of some app.