Problem and solution for the D-link dvc-1100 (dvc-1000) with Linksys wrt54g

In case this can help someone else avoid the pain I just went through with this videophone see my problem/solution below or at this website:

********************************************* WRT54G Problem and Solution As far as networking products go, this camera is easy to setup, unless you have a Linksys WRT54G. If you place a call from behind the wrt54g the remote side can't see you (i.e. you've only got video working in one direction). From taking some packet captures it appears that the wrt54g is changing the destination ports on outbound traffic! It changes to a port that still in the valid range (udp 15328-15333), but it's changed nonetheless. I believe this is the cause of the problem.

Everything works fine as long as the initial call is from a non-wrt54g router. The wrt54g can receive calls just fine. In fact, once the wrt54g receives a video call you can then initiate calls from the wrt54g to the person that called you without a problem (and this is what made this problem so annoyingly hard for me to pin down). If you do place a call from the wrt54g first and cause this problem you can easily fix it by reseting the wrt54g. Once it's reset the wrt54g can then receive calls ok.

I've reported this bug to Linksys on April 12th, 2005, but I get the feeling they were just blowing me off when the tech said he'd report it (i.e. I don't expect them to fix this ever). This is unfortunate, because otherwise this is a really nice router (especially when you combine it with the sveasoft firmware). Maybe if everyone who reads this complains to Linksys they'll actually fix it. I also reported this problem to D-link on April 13th 2005 in the hopes that they'll add this info to their FAQ.

The only fix I know of is to not use a wrt54g router with this camera (or to never place an outbound call from behind the wrt54g). I've listed the results of a few routers I've tested below.

Routers that I've tested that are known to work well with the dvc-1100 are:

• Blitz Wireless Router firmware version 1.08.000.264

• D-Link DI-624 H/W Ver C2 firmware version 2.50

• Linksys BEFW11S4 v2 firmware version 1.45.10

• Linksys WRT54GC firmware version 1.02.8

Routers I've verified do NOT work (i.e. exhibit the "wrt54g" problem described above:

• Linksys WRT54G v2 firmware version 3.03.6

• Linksys WRT54G v2 firmware Sveasoft Alchemy-pre7a v3.37.6.8sv

• Linksys WRT54G v3 firmware version 3.03.6

• Linksys WRT54GS v.2 firmware version 3.37.6

• Linksys WRT54GS v.2 firmware Sveasoft Alchemy-pre7a v3.37.6.8sv

If you'd like to report a working or non-working router to me you can drop me an email at "annoyingLinksysDvcProblem.20.jim-j AT spamgourmet DOT com". Please include the router manufacturer, hardware version and firmware version you tested with and if you encountered my infamous "wrt54g" problem, or another problem.

But BEFORE you email me please understand that I don't have time to provide any tech support. I won't help you forward ports and I probably won't reply to any emails sent to me. Also, please don't report any more working D-link routers to me. I assume that all Dlink routers work. Only let me know if you find a non-working dlink router.

And now for one free bonus solution! The Linksys BEFSR41 v3 firmware version 1.05.00 has a different problem. It can place outbound calls ok, but it cannot receive inbound calls at all. It won't even answer the call. This happens regardless of if you place the Dlink camera in the dmz or forward the correct ports to it, the behavior is the same. I've gotten tired of reporting bugs to Linksys, so I haven't told em about this one. Feel free to report it for me.

I used to think Linksys made the best cheap home routers, but this mess has changed my mind. Is Dlink now the best, or is there a better brand out there? I'm not really fond of Dlink routers, but they can't be worse then the current crop of Linksys routers. Is Netgear any good? I've never used em.