• Networking

  • NAT 3 on ps3 and problems with port-forwarding

So I saw that this had been discussed in a very elaborate post before but the post was closed so I couldnt right this there. I will post my question here but to the admins please feel free to move my post to wherever you feel is more appropriate.

Before I move on, I think I need to explain my connection set-up first. Like most lebanese I guess I have a Thomson (modem/router) connected to a TP-link router which connects to my ps3. My pc is connected to teh modem directly and all otehr laptops and phones to the router.

At first I tried to do teh regular port forwarding for the ports posted on all forums but noticed that the ps3 was still in NAT 3. I tried to put it in DMZ or open the UPnP and still it did not work. The PS3 didnt even recognize the UPnP even though the router showed Utorrent was using it along with some other application that starts with NAT and had the IP address of my PC.

So after all these failures, I did a LOT of reading online and noticed that a possible source for the issue could be my Thomson which apparently is a dual modem and router and might be blocking some of the ports. So I got my username and pass for the modem from ogero and accessed it. I again first tried to do port forwarding from my thomson modem to the router and then from the router to the ps3 as was suggested on one website and again it didnt work. After this last failure, I decided to try something new and " assigned my public IP" to my TP-link router. Now I have no idea what that means ( again my major has nothing to do with computers and im pretty illiterate when it cmoes to this stuff" but the explanation said it meant that my router would become the " unique entry to your local network (DMZ)". I tried that and then again tried assigning DMZ to my ps3 and it didnt work. Tried forwarding some ports the manual way again and again it did not work. It just seems like this thing refuses to work with me. I know a lot of you will go just connect it using a wire but my modem and router are several rooms away from my ps3 so that is almost impossible.

If anyone knows some other way to make this work as I have honestly ran out of ideas or internet posts that I have yet to read ... please let me know. ( I even emailed TP-link and Thomson.) TP-link replied with some instructions and links to firmware updates which I again followed to the letter to no avail.
By the way, I forgot to mention this, I have a D-link router or whatever its called right next to my ps3. Its set as a repeater so its not doing any " routing." At least thats what the guy who installed it said... its just to extend the internet connection in the house. I never bothered with connecting it by wire to my ps3 because I thought that it still gets its own connection wireless from my router so it wouldnt make sense for that to give me a NAT 2 if I cant get it through my ps3 directly right>
Hey bro, Im afraid that doesnt really work. I cant use a wired connection coz the modem and router are too far away. I have a few problems with the steps on that website:

a) karim's method for pppoe username and password doesnt work because my cmd doesnt recognize telnet :S
b) you say I need to set up pppoe on my router but my thomson = my modem is the one doing that. Does that mean I would have to disable the settings on the thomson and make it a bridge ( I read a post somewhere online about having to bridge your modem/router and router and I havent figured out how to do that yet. ) IM thinking of just taking my modem and router to ogero and tell them to open my ports and bridge them. do you think they would accept to do that?
P.S: The following guide is purely from personal experience and research, as i have no Networking related background or knowledge. It also takes into consideration from your post that you know what you are talking about.

After years of frustration, i can give you my solution.

We had a lot of problems signing in to Sony Entertainment Network with IDM is our ISP, though any other internet-based function works perfectly. The solution was to call them and assign a Dynamic Public IP Address. Next I used bridge mode, so my modem (Thomson ST546v6) was sort of a dummy (only connecting the DSL) and the WiFi router (Cisco-Linksys WRT120N) will do the rest for the internet connection to succeed.
You must be sure that DHCP is disabled on your modem before using bridge mode on it.

All the work is now on the Router as it is virtually your modem. Do the necessary port forwarding, disable NAT, and DMZ your PS3 (either by MAC or IP Address). Also most sites/users recommend disabling UPnP, i personally didnt bother disabling it as it didnt do any harm.
Now I got Nat Type 2 on PS3 but UPnP Not Available, you might think it is OK but trust me matchmaking will be more efficient with UPnP Available.
If you try testing you internet connection on PS3 it might give you a news flash in the bottom of the screen, that the router you are using might not support IP Fragments. This can be solved by simply manually inputting the MTU.

The process of doing so is pretty straightforward. Here is a site to help you out.
Note: I personally set my router's MTU manually at 1492 (due to 28 byte headers), but on PS3 it is actually 1464.
Wow Kareem thanks a lot for your input. Your set up sounds like its exactly the same as mine. And putting my modem/router in bridge mode was exactly what I had wanted to do next. I just couldnt do it alone because ogero wouldnt give me my PPPoe username and pass on the phone and said Id have to go over to them to set up my router if I deactivate the modem and put it in pure bridge mode. The fact that it worked with you will make me give it a try anyway. Il take my modem and router to Ogero some time this week and will let you know how it goes. Thanks for the help.

BTW about the MTU manual settings, as I said at the beginning im not a techie at all but just read a lot and tried to figure this stuff out as I went along. Every website and forumn has MTU set at 1500. what advantages does setting it at 1492 offer?
Wikipedia actually explains what does MTU mean. As i gained knowledge through conscious reading, i think MTU is actually preset depending on the medium. So basically setting the MTU to 1500 does nothing.
Kareem I just wanted to let you know that It all worked out yesterday. I managed to put my modem and router on bridge mode and I automatically got a NAT 2 without even opening any ports or using DMZ or UPnP.
Some details in case anyone is reading this and needs to know how to set it up on a modem/router connected to a router.

In general if your having problem with NAT the usual recommendation is to open up specific ports your ps3 needs to use and you can find a LOT of tutorials online with detailed step-by-step guides and videos that take you through it. Some of you in lebanon however will, like me,go through those steps over and over again to no avail. The reason is that OGERO use a modem/router connected to a router in many instances. Modem's like the Thomson are apparently wired routers as well, and when you connect two routers together in series prior to getting to your ps3, you will always get a NAT3 even if you port forward or DMZ or double port forward( one website suggested forwarding ports from the thomson to the wireless router and then from the router to the ps3 but it still didnt work for me.) The only apparent solution is to put the modem and router in bridge mode. Now that is easy for anyone living outside of Lebanon were ISP providers tend to be reasonable. In Lebanon, ISP providers will not give you your PPPOE username and pass that you need in order to do this. So below is a step-by-step tutorial that starts with getting your pppoe username and pass, and then how to set up bridge mode. Its an easy process but if you have to learn it by trial and error as I did, it would take a lot of time. I hope this saves you the unnecessary effort:

BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE ... Connect to your modem/router = thomson or whatever otehr model you may have .. and your router:
You can google the model router and modem along with the words default IP address : eg: Thomson default IP address. Each company has its own but they are generally often similar or the same. Thomson uses 192.168.1.254 . Now you have to do the same for your router and when you have that you go to your browser and type each ip address in a different tab. You will be prompted for your username and password. Unless you have changed them, you can again google the name of the modem or router along with default username or default password and just plug those in. This applies for the router, but the modem was usually for most people set up by ogero so you will need to call them and ask for your username and password ... ( usually they give it to you. one guy didnt but you can always try the next day ;)


Step 2: Backup.
Each modem / router has a seperate tab to do the backups from. Find it and back up your configuration. In case anything goes wrong, you go back to the same place and press restore instead... trust me, having a backup folder is VERY important. Do not skip this step.

Step 3: Obtain PPPOE username and pass. If you go to the following thread : http://lebgeeks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?pid=25850 you will find a lot of ways to get it ( will have to thank kareem for his enormous help there) . Command prompt does not work on teh thomson modem so you will have to use the alternative method. Simply go to the internet connection tab and then to the details. Press disconnect and you will find your username in a tab along with a hashed out password underneath it. If you have firefox or googlechrome, just download any of the addons that reveal hashed out passwords. Go to the page and you can use the addon to see the hashed out password. Save it in a text file and keep it till later.

Step 4: Reconfigure your modem into a bridge. Just go to setup, and select bridge mode. Everything else is strait forward from there.make sure not to select start DHCP server from the modem. once its finished your done with the thomson.

Step 5: Go to your router and press setup as well. Again its strait forward so long as you select PPPOE and put in your username and password that you found in the modem hashed out area.

Thats about it. 5 very easy steps and your done.