recurring "can't connect to login server" problem

[jtkv]

Hello everyone.
I am starting to experience the problem of "can't connect to login server" on my Linksys PAP2 ATA.
The ATA was not connected all weekend, but then it reconnected on Sunday night, but off again on Monday morning.
Rebooting the DSL modem and ATA did not help.

I then changed the SIP port from 5060 to 5061 and the ATA connected again.

But the problem continues, as after a few hours (4 or 5) I will get the "can't connect to login server" message again.
Again, I change the SIP port and it works.

Obviously, continually changing the SIP port is not a proper solution.
Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any suggestions to resolve this problem?

My ATA is an unlocked LinkSys PAP2.
My ISP is Acanac.
My DSL modem is a TP-Link TD-8816
My router (connected between DSL modem to rest of network) is a NetGear WGR614 v6

thanks
jtkv

[Funkytown]

Hi welcome to FPL Community Forums

steps before we start

Basic description on your current setup and all the device names and models that your currently using.

Thanks

[jtkv]

Hi funkytown,
I did post my equipment info in my original message:

My ATA is an unlocked LinkSys PAP2.
My ISP is Acanac.
My DSL modem is a TP-Link TD-8816
My wifi router (connected between DSL modem to rest of network) is a NetGear WGR614 v6

Ports forwarded:
UDP 53, 69, 5060, 5061, 6060, 6061, 10000 to 20000

One item I did change before this issue started is I enabled use of Outbound Proxy.
I was having terrible voice connections, both incoming and outgoing ever since I got the SIP configuration info, and saw a posting to use Outbound Proxy.
It seems to have solved my call problems, but this is a side effect, so not sure it's related.

regards,
jtkv

[Funkytown]

My DSL modem is a TP-Link TD-8816
My wifi router (connected between DSL modem to rest of network) is a NetGear WGR614 v6

your DSL modem is a TP-Link TD-8816, put this in bridge mode...

Ok and put the NEtGear WGR614 V6 in (PPPOE MODE)


1.DSl Modem (bridge mode)
2.NetGear (PPPOE mode)
3. Voip ATA (Voip ATA) connected to the NetGear


DSL MODEM picture of it being in Bridge Mode

tplink.jpg

[jtkv]

your DSL modem is a TP-Link TD-8816, put this in bridge mode...
Ok and put the NEtGear WGR614 V6 in (PPPOE MODE)

My TP-Link was not in bridge mode. It was performing the authentication into Acanac.
I have now put it into Bridge Mode, and my Netgear router is authenticated via PPPoE, and I have Internet access.
My SIP port is set to 5060.

I will continue to monitor to see if the disconnection happens.
Thanks for your help Funkytown.


regards,
jtkv

[Funkytown]

Also if your VOIP ATA has upnp = make sure its enabled or (checked marked) and apply new settings and then reboot the VOIP ATA

Thanks

[jtkv]

It is 10:50pm now, and I am disconnected from VoIP, getting the same message "can't connect to login server".
I made the change to bridge mode at 9:05am, an it's been connected all day until now.

I will leave it and see if it reconnects overnight...

regards,
jtkv

[Funkytown]

It is 10:50pm now, and I am disconnected from VoIP, getting the same message "can't connect to login server".
I made the change to bridge mode at 9:05am, an it's been connected all day until now.

I will leave it and see if it reconnects overnight...

regards,
jtkv

Dont disconnect anything, wait and see what happens....IF your still having issues then what your going to do is set the VOIP ATA as a static ip and inside the netgear your giving that static ip from voip ata full DMZ <PERMISSION>!

[jtkv]

The connection didn't restore, so I made the following changes:
1) changed the SIP port (again)
2) set Outbound Proxy to Disable
3) set the router DMZ to the ATA device

Let's see what happens with this setting...

regards,
jtkv

[tigerking]

Hi Jtkv,

It seems to me you are cascading one router (Netgear) behind the other (TP-Link) and your ATA is behind the NetGear.

Even though the TP-Link is set to bridge mode, there will be MAC binding issue (bridge mode mean bridging packet from one MAC on WAN side to the other MAC on LAN side). I have this kind of problem running some FTP servers behind two routers.

My first router is Telus DSL rerouter (Simens) come with a NAT. My like router is DLINK-655 (feature rich). I set the Telus router in bridge mode and run DLINK-655 behind. My FTP server behind the DLINK-655 working on and off and sometime stuck and not receive incoming request for file transfer. In general, the NAT use the public address on the WAN side and bind with a port on the NAT side. Then the IP and port bind to a MAC of your destination device behind the NAT. If it need to go through a bridge, further binding will be required and if there is timeout or flush/glitch in the binding table, your connection will be lost.

Long story short, do you have the privilege of two or more IP addresses from your ISP? If you have, I would suggest you put your ATA before the Netgear router sharing the TP-link DSL modem (in bridge mode) with Netgear router using a Ethernet switch/Hub.

Have the ATA to do its own PPPoE authentication to login and get the IP address.

(Sorry I am living in the West and the carrier here use DHCP, I am not sure if that will work for your ISP carrier (I believe Bell) that are use PPPoE. Whether they allow two simultaneous logins).

What I heard Bell is considering implementing DHCP simplification like the Western counter parts very soon. For me it is very simple, I just put a Ethernet switch between cable modem and my DLink router (I switched to Shaw at the end) and put my ATA to the Ethernet switch and get its own IP for SIP registration. No problem at all.

That is only my two cents. Try to avoid cascading two routers as there will be a lot of problems that will waste a lot of your time doing trouble shooting.

If you still need to put the ATA behind the NetGear.

I would suggest you to ensure the ATA is set to grab "Random port" for SIP and RTP (instead of using the default 5060) so that it will min the chance of port conflict.

Make sure the "SIP keep alive parameter" in your ATA is set to min. say 20 seconds to ensure the ATA will send empty SIP UDP to the SIP server to keep all opened ports continue to open. It is always because the ports opened were closed too quick and then stop the SIP communication causing a loss of connection.

Also you shall need to relex the FIrewall rule on the NetGear router in the "TCP" and "UDP" end-point-filter (if there is one exist like my Dlink router), you shall need to set it to "End-point Independent" in order to allow the router freely map the port to IP address for incoming and outgoing packet even though an established connection exist.

I was trying to put the ATA behind the DLINK router but no luck to get it registered ( I also have an AIC ATA behind the DLink using SIP port 5060 which is using smart server registration, a secrete method by AIC and they locked the admin right that I could not login the box to understand) until I:

- Relax the firewall rules
- use random ports

Having seeing the complication, I decided to move the FPL ATA back to before the DLINK router and run on its own public IP.

Hope this help.

[Funkytown]

Long story short, do you have the privilege of two or more IP addresses from your ISP?

Hes with Acanac, and we are ONLY provided with 1 IP as far as I know of... He could request for a FREE static IP but ONLY 1 per customer.

If you have, I would suggest you put your ATA before the Netgear router sharing the TP-link DSL modem (in bridge mode) with Netgear router using a Ethernet switch/Hub.

Hes got an ATA Voip with only one ethernet so he needs to put it after the router and not before unfortunetly.

I would suggest you to ensure the ATA is set to grab "Random port" for SIP and RTP (instead of using the default 5060) so that it will min the chance of port conflict.

This could help in certain circumstances, but not always.

Make sure the "SIP keep alive parameter" in your ATA is set to min. say 20 seconds

Agreed this is one of the most very important things to do on what tiger mentions!

[Funkytown]

The connection didn't restore, so I made the following changes:
1) changed the SIP port (again)
2) set Outbound Proxy to Disable
3) set the router DMZ to the ATA device

Let's see what happens with this setting...

regards,
jtkv

3) set the router DMZ to the ATA device

This is what I was going to suggest in the END so if you DMZ the ATA VOIP I would suggest for you to also put the ATA VOIP in static IP mode this should fix all your issues...

2) set Outbound Proxy to Disable

I really don't think it matters for this ATA Voip you have

1) changed the SIP port (again)

5060 is what is recommended for Voip and keep it enabled

Thanks!

[jtkv]

Well, I am stilling getting the disconnect problems after the last reconfiguration.

- Taking off Use Outbound Proxy did not help.
- Giving the ATA a fixed IP and pointing the DMZ server settings to it did not help.

Will have to look into the comments by tigerking...
Maybe connect a hub to the TP-Link modem, then hanging the ATA and Netgear off the hub.
Will see if that helps...

regards,
jtkv

[Funkytown]

Well, I am stilling getting the disconnect problems after the last reconfiguration.

- Taking off Use Outbound Proxy did not help.
- Giving the ATA a fixed IP and pointing the DMZ server settings to it did not help.

Will have to look into the comments by tigerking...
Maybe connect a hub to the TP-Link modem, then hanging the ATA and Netgear off the hub.
Will see if that helps...

regards,
jtkv

I personally think the more devices that anyone adds after the modem can create more havoc then ever and increase lag over the phone ..

[jtkv]

Just wanted to update this thread...

The disconnect issues actually stopped for a few days, and I though all was well.
I didn't even make any changes to my network yet.

But it started again, and have been disconnecting about twice a day for the past week.

I have now reconfigured my network:
TP-Link DSL modem authenticates to Acanac ISP
TP-Link ethernet port connects to a switch
Linksys PAP2 ATA connects to switch using a fixed IP on TP-Link's segment (eg: 192.168.1.x)
NetGear wifi router connects to switch using a fixed IP on TP-Link's segment (authentication to Acanac disabled)
Rest of network uses Netgear wifi and wired ports on LAN IP (eg: 192.168.2.x)

I have not enabled the DMZ on the TP-Link to point to the PAP2 ATA yet, as I want to see if this new configuration will resolve the disconnect issues.

It seems that when the disconnect happens, the current SIP port is blocked.
ie: I am unable to use port 5060 anymore.
I have to switch to port 5061 for the ATA to reconnect. Even if I switch back to 5060 after 5061 reconnects, it still will not connect.
This tells me that port 5060 is blocked, but I don't know what is blocking the port.
When port 5061 experiences the disconnect issue, I switch back to port 5060 and it works again.
So the block is temporary, but what is causing the problem?

I changed my network to isolate the NetGear as the ATA is no longer connecting through that. It goes directly through the TP-Link, and if the issue still happens, it will be down to the TP-Link, Acanac ISP or Freephoneline blocking the port.

I'll update again after a few days of testing.

regards,
jtkv

[FONGO_steve]

or Freephoneline blocking the port.

Definitely not us, for understandable reasons.

[jtkv]

It's been 7 days since I reconfigured my network, and the phone has not disconnect at all.
So looks like my Netgear wifi router was causing the port blocks. Not sure why, but I'm relieved it's resolved.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

regards,
jtkv