Router causing random disconnects in certain games?

[vun]

So basically I regularly get disconnected from Diablo 3, error 3007 and 3005 I believe, and Guild Wars, error 007, and I'm pretty sure it's the router's fault most of the time. I don't experience any major disconnects in games like Team Fortress 2, but I do notice that I lose connection with the item server from time to time.
I know that at least some of the disconnects are the router's fault as there have been cases where I've been playing D3 and my girlfriend GW right next to me and we both get booted at the exact same moment.

Not being too good with networking stuff I was hoping someone here could tell me where to look in the router settings to keep this from happening as I've checked the settings a few times and not found anything that makes sense to me.
Router is a Linksys WRT120.

[Djuzuh]

Are you using wifi ? If yes, try to hook up a network cable and see if you still get disconnected (if you have one).

[Rafen]

Does this happen at random times or when you have been playing for awhile?

[smknjoe]

Are you using wifi ? If yes, try to hook up a network cable and see if you still get disconnected (if you have one).

^That or just plug the puter directly into your modem and give it a whirl.

[vun]

Oh, sorry, should have mentioned that but apparently forgot as I tried to keep it as short as I could. I tend to go off on tangents every now and then and wanted to avoid that.

It happens both over wi-fi and wired. My computer is wired, but also happens on girlfriend's laptop using wireless.

As for Rafen's question, I haven't paid too much attention to it, but seems to be after some time of playing.
A post in the D3 forums mentioned something about games taking too long between each time they contacted the server. I can't remember the exact wording though.

[smknjoe]

Have you tried bypassing the router like I suggested? That's the only way to know for sure if the router is even possibly the issue. Hint - it usually isn't unless you have made a custom configuration or some other modification.

[funxion]

Had the same issues you're having a while back and my house runs on an industrial-grade modem with bandwidth allocations and the whole nine yards. The problem ended up being one on the ISP's end, so that may be something you'd want to look into. I'd check with your neighbors if I were you because when we had random drops, it wasn't just us - it was the whole neighborhood.

Alternatively, it could very well be your router. How old is the router?

I would call your ISP and have them send out an engineer if you can't figure out what the problem is! Hope it gets resolved!

[Rafen]

You should buy pass your router and if it keeps going out after a while of gaming its because your isp is limiting your data. I had the same problem before and had to call them and let them know that I played games online and that I wasn't downloading anything illegal. From what my networking boss says, they put a cap on the bandwidth so that they don't get in trouble from film studios or record labels for letting people download pirated movies or music. I mean this might have something to do with it and it might not. Another thing to take into consideration is how long have you had your modem and router? The modems I get from my isp actually overheat and die because they don't have any internal cooling mechanism and the same with most routers. So just hook the computer up without the router and try gaming then see what happens.

[smknjoe]

You (all) are throwing way too many variables into the mix. I know you're just trying to help, but it usually ends up over complicating things. Play the game while plugged directly into the modem and we'll go from there. If there are still problems after that then we can start looking into possible Quality Of Service issues. If there are no problems then we can look into the router configuration more.

[vun]

It's certainly not the ISP limiting my data because as far as I know no ISP in Norway does that, at least not with the kind of connection we have.
Can't imagine it being a problem with the ISP either as it's a fairly large ISP and nobody else seem to have this problem.

I'm fairly confident it's the router, I'll try bypassing it and get back with how that works out. Might take some time though as the wiring is rather tricky.

Also; when I lose connection I don't have to restart the router or anything, I can usually instantly reconnect.

[funxion]

You (all) are throwing way too many variables into the mix. I know you're just trying to help, but it usually ends up over complicating things. Play the game while plugged directly into the modem and we'll go from there. If there are still problems after that then we can start looking into possible Quality Of Service issues. If there are no problems then we can look into the router configuration more.

Didn't realize he was getting game errors...

The best test would be to access your router through your browser and see what your internet up-time is periodically and to analyze statistical graphs if they're provided. My router's browser access has that and it actually helped in solving most of our connection issues and drops.

[smknjoe]

I still recommend removing the router from the mix to either rule it out or not. If you can't try that just yet then try running a few ping and tracert tests to the server you are having problems with and also to a known good server (such as one of Google's.) The tests should be run when everything is working okay so you have a control and then again when you are experiencing problems. You need at least 3 samples of each to get a fairly accurate data sample.

Edit: Also, run the same tests as described above to your modem/gateway's IP.

[Quarzac]

smknjoe has got the right idea here. Those game errors are likely timeouts or something along those lines. I would immediately suspect this is a port forwarding / firewall issue, but there's no reason further investigating that until you bypass the router and determine if that's possible.

[vun]

Thanks for the help, I'll try bypassing the router when I get the chance and see how that works. Timeout issue sounds likely as it mostly happens when I go AFK for a while. No sure way to recreate it though, but I'll see what happens if I just go AFK.

[TexasFlood]

Depends on the router.  You'll need port forwarding set, perhaps port triggering, perhaps UPnP.  Firewall settings can also come into play and maybe even QOS but that's probably more of a performance issue than functionality. A quick google yielded some starting point info for Diablo III anyway.

Diablo III Network Ports Information
Diablo III error code 3005 and 3007

[zeDoktor]

Depends on the router.  You'll need port forwarding set, perhaps port triggering, perhaps UPnP.  Firewall settings can also come into play and maybe even QOS but that's probably more of a performance issue than functionality. A quick google yielded some starting point info for Diablo III anyway.

Diablo III Network Ports Information
Diablo III error code 3005 and 3007

Valid. Blizzard's voice chat (at least for SC2) requires some port forwarding to function properly. I turned off UPnP on my router because I was getting disconnects and poor performance over time due to the fact that every application and console just had to reserve a million ports for themselves. If you find that the router is causing the issue try and see if turning off UPnP will alleviate it.

[vun]

Valid. Blizzard's voice chat (at least for SC2) requires some port forwarding to function properly. I turned off UPnP on my router because I was getting disconnects and poor performance over time due to the fact that every application and console just had to reserve a million ports for themselves. If you find that the router is causing the issue try and see if turning off UPnP will alleviate it.

All ports should be properly forwarded but I'll try turning off uPnP and see how that works out. Although I was under the impression that uPnP is something you'd want to keep on.

Edit: 20 minutes after turning off UPnP I got another 007 in GW.

[TexasFlood]

Can you confirm your router config looks like this? Might be some other things to look at but first things first.

[TexasFlood]

Can you confirm your router config looks like this example?
Might be some other things to look at but first things first.

[smknjoe]

All ports should be properly forwarded but I'll try turning off uPnP and see how that works out. Although I was under the impression that uPnP is something you'd want to keep on.

Edit: 20 minutes after turning off UPnP I got another 007 in GW.

...if you're not going to take the router out of the loop (it should be super easy) have you tried putting your PC in the DMZ on the router? Have you tried the simple ping and trace route tests as suggested? What does AFK mean?

Can't imagine it being a problem with the ISP either as it's a fairly large ISP and nobody else seem to have this problem.

I've never seen an ISP that didn't have problems from time to time. The problem you are having could be caused by several things, including your router. If you really want to know what the problem is you need to be methodical, test hardware, check hardware settings, and run diagnostics to gather data as evidence of failure or non-failure.

[TexasFlood]

What does AFK mean?

Away from keyboard maybe, a term not limited to gaming types but one they definitely use.

[smknjoe]

Thanks, I'm not a gamer and I tend to only use industry acronyms.

[TexasFlood]

Thanks, I'm not a gamer and I tend to only use industry acronyms.

Me neither, but I know some. Industry acronyms, hmm, like PEBCAK? :wink:

[smknjoe]

Thanks for the help, I'll try bypassing the router when I get the chance and see how that works. Timeout issue sounds likely as it mostly happens when I go AFK for a while. No sure way to recreate it though, but I'll see what happens if I just go AFK.

Now that IKW AFK means. It does sound like a time out issue...use the force Luke.

[smknjoe]

Me neither, but I know some. Industry acronyms, hmm, like PEBCAK? :wink:

After many years of hard work I don't have to deal with PEBCAK very often. I'm either working remotely or from a frigid black hole when necessary.

[vun]

...if you're not going to take the router out of the loop (it should be super easy) have you tried putting your PC in the DMZ on the router? Have you tried the simple ping and trace route tests as suggested? What does AFK mean?


I've never seen an ISP that didn't have problems from time to time. The problem you are having could be caused by several things, including your router. If you really want to know what the problem is you need to be methodical, test hardware, check hardware settings, and run diagnostics to gather data as evidence of failure or non-failure.

The problem with bypassing the router is that I'm not the only one using it as well as the point I have to connect to if I want to bypass the router both being on another floor and somewhat hidden.
And while I'm not the only one who's been annoyed with the router, I'm not sure they'd let me take away their internet access just so I can be AFK and hope something happens.
Like I said, I will try bypassing the router when I get the chance, but until then I'd like to try what I can without bypassing the router.

But thanks, I'll try placing it in the DMZ and see if that helps.
Would the ping and trace route just be pinging a random website/server or the server I'm currently connected to?
Thing is I can both reconnect and access the internet immediately, it's not like I lose connection for half a minute. Youtube videos don't stop loading etc.
And yes, I have had ISP issues before, but with issues this serious I would imagine there being some mention of it on their facebook page or something.

Also; TexasFlood, my port settings are set up like that, have been since I got D3.

Edit: And thanks for all your help so far, I know I'm a bit slow when it comes to network stuff so please bear with me.

[smknjoe]

Do this:

try running a few ping and tracert tests to the server you are having problems with and also to a known good server (such as one of Google's.) The tests should be run when everything is working okay so you have a control and then again when you are experiencing problems. You need at least 3 samples of each to get a fairly accurate data sample.

Edit: Also, run the same tests as described above to your modem/gateway's IP.

Copy and paste this into notepad, replace the text with IPs where necessary, and save with a .bat extension (assuming you are running Windows.) Then run a few times when the connection is good and a few times WHILE you are having problems.

date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
ping router IP >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
ping gateway/modem IP >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
ping ISP DNS >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
ping -n 10 game server IP >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
nslookup http://www.google.com >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
nslookup http://www.yahoo.com >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
tracert game server IP >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt

You will need to rename the output files to avoid having them overwritten when running subsequent tests.

[TexasFlood]

Looks like the Battle.net servers might have some sort of timeout issue from what I googled.  Seemingly joining public/general chat helped some folks avoid timeouts.  That is described here along with some other suggestions such as bypassing your router as we have already discussed in this thread.

[vun]

Do this:

Copy and paste this into notepad, replace the text with IPs where necessary, and save with a .bat extension (assuming you are running Windows.) Then run a few times when the connection is good and a few times WHILE you are having problems.

date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
ping router IP >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
ping gateway/modem IP >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
ping ISP DNS >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
ping -n 10 game server IP >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
nslookup www.google.com >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
nslookup www.yahoo.com >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt
tracert game server IP >>networktest.txt
date /T >>networktest.txt
time /T >>networktest.txt

You will need to rename the output files to avoid having them overwritten when running subsequent tests.

Thanks, I'll try that.

[Internetlad]

Reading over your info again, One could presume that not all these issues could be caused by a bad router. Seems like the 007 in Guild Wars may be, but diablo is pretty fresh and the TF2 item server goes down a lot. I think those might just be unrelated.

It's a possibility.

[smknjoe]

Time out issues are usually a server problem (if your LAN is set up properly), but we won't know until he gets back with the results. I don't know why people always point to the router first.

[TexasFlood]

Yes, it might be the router.  Some routers have some known issues which may or may not have fixes / workarounds.  It's usually a mistake to assume anything though and do some troubleshooting.  Bypassing the router as was suggested is a pretty good way to sort that one out but not always possible. Many times tweaking router settings can help and often loading a 3rd party firmware can provide some stability / features not available in the vendor firmware. Doesn't look like my favorites Tomato / DD-WRT are support on the WRT120 though.  But that's getting ahead of the game, as you say, wait for the data.

[smknjoe]

I'm just saying if you post an unknown network problem on the Internet - 9 out of 10 people will start yelling "router, router!" without trying to diagnose the problem first. Look at the title.

[sth]

Time out issues are usually a server problem (if your LAN is set up properly), but we won't know until he gets back with the results. I don't know why people always point to the router first.

Because home network equipment is garbage across the board?

[TexasFlood]

I'm just saying if you post an unknown network problem on the Internet - 9 out of 10 people will start yelling "router, router!" without trying to diagnose the problem first. Look at the title.

I agree. Sometimes it is the router but one shouldn't assume or jump to conclusions.  Sometimes the firmware is simply out of date and needs to be replaced if it can't be adequately upgraded. Not all vendors provide timely, or any sometimes, updates. I like actively supported 3rd party firmware.

Because home network equipment is garbage across the board?

Don't think I'd go that far but one does have to be careful. Seems to be more often the firmware then the hardware. For years I've bought routers that allow 3rd party firmware which I'm comfortable with and loaded it immediately.

[Internetlad]

naw he's right, compared to the enterprise stuff, home networking equipment is made to be cheap and work just well enough that people don't try to return every product they buy. For example if you bought a car and every so often it just stopped moving, and you had to turn it off for a minute then turn it back on, would that be acceptable? Why is it with routers?

[TexasFlood]

Well, yeah, obviously home network gear isn't going to be built to the same standards as enterprise gear but it's also many orders of magnitude less expensive. I'm working on a project right now buying Cisco gear that literally costs over a million bucks for just the equipment and it's just a small expansion to the customer network. It's also easier to support, not many home users are going to tackle Cisco IOS. I'm careful with what I buy and run known trusted 3rd party Linux based firmware. I've probably bought 15 or so over the years for myself and family and never had to return a single one.

[TexasFlood]

Well, yeah, obviously home network gear isn't going to be built to the same standards as enterprise gear but it's also many orders of magnitude less expensive. I'm working on a project right now buying Cisco gear that literally costs over a million bucks for just the equipment and it's just a small expansion to the larger enterprise network. It's also easier to support, not many home users are going to tackle Cisco IOS. I'm careful with what I buy and run known trusted 3rd party Linux based firmware. I've probably bought 15 or so routers over the years, many refurbished, for myself and family, never had to return a single one and all working acceptably.

[TexasFlood]

Well, yeah, obviously home network gear isn't going to be built to the same standards as enterprise gear but it's also many orders of magnitude less expensive. I'm working on a project right now buying Cisco gear that literally costs over a million bucks for just the equipment and it's just a small expansion to the larger enterprise network. It's also easier to support, not many home users are going to tackle Cisco IOS. I'm careful with what I buy and run known trusted 3rd party Linux based firmware. I've probably bought 15 or so routers over the years, many refurbished, for myself and family, never had to return a single one and all working acceptably.

[TexasFlood]

Well, yeah, obviously home network gear isn't going to be built to the same standards as enterprise gear but it's also many orders of magnitude less expensive. I'm working on a project right now buying Cisco gear that literally costs over a million bucks for just the equipment and it's just a small expansion to the larger enterprise network. It's also easier to support, not many home users are going to tackle Cisco IOS. I'm careful with what I buy and run known trusted 3rd party Linux based firmware. I've probably bought 15 or so routers over the years, many refurbished, for myself and family, never had to return a single one and all working acceptably. I've spent between $15-$75 for most of them, most expensive a couple a bit over $100.

[didjamatic]

Honestly I would just replace it.  For home/small office network gear I've been more impressed with Cisco's low end/Linksys high end than any others.  For me personally they have outlasted the other options but I've seen a majority of them fail within 3-4 years of service.  Failure rates go up with dust and heat and power issues.

Texas, Here's my last $1M order of Cisco gear.  Nine 4510 switches fully loaded + other misc switches.  When doing 10GB fiber it adds up fast.

[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 52370[/ATTACH]

[TexasFlood]

Honestly I would just replace it.  For home/small office network gear I've been more impressed with Cisco's low end/Linksys high end than any others.  For me personally they have outlasted the other options but I've seen a majority of them fail within 3-4 years of service.  Failure rates go up with dust and heat and power issues.

Most of what I've bought is Cisco/Linksys as well. I tend to think of it as Linksys since that's really where it came from but yes some of my newer stuff is branded Cisco since Linksys was bought by Cisco and the assimilation is pretty far along now.  I have Linksys routers much older than 3-4 years guess I'm lucky, I do try to keep them dusted and make sure the cooling vents aren't blocked.

I've also bought a few Motorola routers (when they were being closed out and were cheap) which were very much like the Linksys models, based on the same Broadcom reference boards and I got good deals on them. And a couple of Asus which are pretty good like most Asus stuff. I tend to buy stuff that's been around a while and recommended by others and that I know I can load my favorite 3rd party firmware on.  Also bought a couple of Zyxel. These are the only ones I bought that I can't load the 3rd party firmware on and Zyxel has not supported them well so doubt I'd buy them again. Used to like Zyxel back in the day since they offered some features others didn't but gotta move on.

Texas, Here's my last $1M order of Cisco gear.  Nine 4510 switches fully loaded + other misc switches.  When doing 10GB fiber it adds up fast.

Fibre is expensive, I got grilled a bit recently for going with fibre over copper for a pair of small (32 port) 10GB swithces recently. With the structured cabling troughs, patch panels etc didn't seem like I could guarantee keeping the overall length under 100 meters so just punted to fibre. We're getting some small Nexus switches, big Cisco iron (6509s) and a couple of F5s for this project. It does add up fast, and the labor to install & support even faster.

[smknjoe]

Honestly I would just replace it.  For home/small office network gear I've been more impressed with Cisco's low end/Linksys high end than any others.  For me personally they have outlasted the other options but I've seen a majority of them fail within 3-4 years of service.  Failure rates go up with dust and heat and power issues.

Texas, Here's my last $1M order of Cisco gear.  Nine 4510 switches fully loaded + other misc switches.  When doing 10GB fiber it adds up fast.

(Attachment Link) 52370[/ATTACH]

I've had good luck with Linksys/Cisco as well.

[Wildcard]

I use several Linksys managed switches and have been very happy. Most of the SRW20* line has been rebranded as Cisco small business now.

[sth]

Netgear dual band.

:rofl:

[vun]

Well when me and the GF get booted from two I assume it's the router and the fact that this occurs frequently leads me to believe it's not the ISP as I'm sure more people would've spoken up about it.

I'll post the results of the test smknjoe gave me when I've gotten data from a few disconnects and I'll bypass the router once I get the chance.

[TexasFlood]

Googling this issue finds a LOT of complaints, there was one individual (at least) who claimed to be tracking it & stated it was across different ISPs and router hardware, even direct connections with no router.

If the only common thing are the battle.net servers then that is probably where the issue is, could be as simple as lack of server capacity. Of course that may be an overly simplistic view as there could be other issues involved as well but if there is an common issue impacting many or all, seems like that's where one should look first.

In this thread, wireshark captures reportedly showed TCP retransmissions to bnet (80.239.208.193:1119) followed by TCP dup ACKs. Whether it is using an SSH tunnel as mentioned in the above link, VPN as mentioned here or logging into chat as mentioned in my earlier post, setting up some sort of keep-alive to prevent connections from timing out seems to be the only approach I saw which reported success at least as a workaround.

[smknjoe]

Well when me and the GF get booted from two I assume it's the router and the fact that this occurs frequently leads me to believe it's not the ISP as I'm sure more people would've spoken up about it.

I'll post the results of the test smknjoe gave me when I've gotten data from a few disconnects and I'll bypass the router once I get the chance.

When you get booted from the server are you able to browse the web normally? Do you only notice this when online gaming?

If the only common thing are the battle.net servers then that is probably where the issue is, could be as simple as lack of server capacity. Of course that may be an overly simplistic view as there could be other issues involved as well but if there is an common issue impacting many or all, seems like that's where one should look first.

In this thread, wireshark captures reportedly showed TCP retransmissions to bnet (80.239.208.193:1119) followed by TCP dup ACKs. Whether it is using an SSH tunnel as mentioned in the above link, VPN as mentioned here or logging into chat as mentioned in my earlier post, setting up some sort of keep-alive to prevent connections from timing out seems to be the only approach I saw which reported success at least as a workaround.

I see this happen alot with various setups (especially ssh tunnels to out-of-the-box RHEL installations.) That's why I mentioned it in an earlier post.

TexasFlood are you in Texas or is that a SRV reference?

[TexasFlood]

TexasFlood are you in Texas or is that a SRV reference?

SRV reference.
Used to live in Austin where I saw SRV many times at Auditorium Shores near where the statue of him now stands, :sad:

[TexasFlood]

TexasFlood are you in Texas or is that a SRV reference?

SRV reference.

Used to live in Austin where I saw SRV many times at Auditorium Shores,
near where the statue of him now stands, :sad: