Can't access device on network

[den75]

Hi all, having a strange problem. I'll give as much detail as possible. I have a Neptune Apex aquarium controller used to monitor/control equipment on an aquarium. It does not connect over wireless so you have 2 options of connecting. Either hard wire it to a router(not an option for me because of location) or plugged into a wireless gaming adapter or range extender which is the way I am set up. I have a Windstream Sagecom modem/router. It does have wireless but I turned that off some time ago because the wireless wasn't reliable. I have an Asus RT-AC66U router for my wireless. My WAN IP from the modem is 192.168.254.1 LAN IP of the Asus is 192.168.1.1. The wireless range extender is a Belkin which gets it's wireless signal from the ASUS. I needed to restart the Apex controller after I made some changes to some settings. DHCP was on and when it came back up it got assigned an IP in the 192.168.254.xxx range. That's my first question, why did it get an IP in that range and not in the 1921.68.1.xxx range?? I also could not connect to it. I disabled DHCP and manually assigned it an IP in the 192.168.1.xxx range. Still can't connect to it and can't even ping it from my desktop PC which also has an IP in the 192.168.1.xxx range. Why not? I should mention also that there is a cloud service(Apex Fusion) you can connect to the Apex from from anywhere you have an internet connection. When DHCP was on and the Apex had the 192.168.254.xxx address I couldn't access it there either. After manually assigning the 192.168.1.xxx address I can connect to it from the cloud, so it is on the internet but not locally on my PC. Sorry for the log post, but wanted to give as much info as possible

 

[JeffMD]

What is the wireless device you are using? range extenders are just that, they have no ethernet, they plug into a wall and extend wifi range.

 

[den75]

It's a Belkin Dual Band Wireless Range extender Model F9k1106v1. It has ethernet ports on the back which the aquarium controller is plugged into. It's worked in the past. Problem cropped up when I rebooted the aquarium device. The Belkin gets it's wireless signal from my Asus router

 

[AnonymouseUser]

You need to disable DHCP on the Asus RT-AC66U for this setup to work properly (set it to AP Mode if possible). DHCP will be handled by the Windstream Sagecom modem/router unless it's in bridge mode (router portion disabled). The reason you can't see your device properly is because you are double-NATed.

My WAN IP from the modem is 192.168.254.1

No, that is the LAN IP of the modem. WAN IP is your Internet IP address.

 

[den75]

You need to disable DHCP on the Asus RT-AC66U for this setup to work properly (set it to AP Mode if possible). DHCP will be handled by the Windstream Sagecom modem/router unless it's in bridge mode (router portion disabled). The reason you can't see your device properly is because you are double-NATed.



No, that is the LAN IP of the modem. WAN IP is your Internet IP address.

So why do my phones and tablets connect to and get their IP from the ASUS just fine then? I don't understand.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

So why do my phones and tablets connect to and get their IP from the ASUS just fine then? I don't understand.

In a double-NAT situation, the devices may get their IP from either DHCP server. You only want one DHCP server per network.

 

[den75]

In a double-NAT situation, the devices may get their IP from either DHCP server. You only want one DHCP server per network.[/QUOT

OK, that makes sense, but why when I turn DHCP off on the aquarium controller and manually assign the 192.168.1.xxx address I still can't ping it or access it from my desktop PC. I can still access it through the cloud service

 

[den75]

Plus, can the device get the IP from the Sagecom even though I have the wireless turned off?

 

[AnonymouseUser]

OK, that makes sense, but why when I turn DHCP off on the aquarium controller and manually assign the 192.168.1.xxx address I still can't ping it or access it from my desktop PC. I can still access it through the cloud service

It's possible the Gateway IP address is incorrect, but I don't know how the cloud service can still access it. Even if it is correct, that is one of the problems of double-NAT; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Plus, can the device get the IP from the Sagecom even though I have the wireless turned off?

Yes, the router is the controller, and the wireless part is a separate device in the network. Disabling the router portion of the modem (eg, Bridge mode) will allow the Asus to handle all the routing functions when configured correctly.

 

[den75]

Gateway is 192.168.1.1 I'll look into getting rid of the double nat like you suggested, but still confused why I can't ping or access it withe the manually assigned IP yet the cloud service still works

 

[ch33zw1z]

Second this motion: Everything on the same subnet, modem running the show, AC66U setup as WAP.

for home use, there's almost never a reason to split it up.

 

[den75]

Thanks Everyone. Just so I am clear. I'll need to disconnect the Sagecom from the Asus router. Follow the steps in the posted link(thank you for that) to set the Asus up as just a WAP, re-connect the Sagecom then re-boot all of my devices to obtain new IP's?

 

[mxnerd]

Follow AnonymouseUser's advice:

Put Sagecom in bridge mode (which remove it's router function) and use it as simple modem, which will get a WAN IP and hand it over to ASUS router's WAN port. Use ASUS as a normal router.

If Sagecom is a DSL modem router, you need to write down username/password and input them in the ASUS router, WAN connection type should be PPPoE.

Then connect everything, wired & wireless to the ASUS router.