Linksys → What would you like to see FIX to the Linky Router

Ok this is your chance, the engineers are asking for issues with the router, please post asap.

Please post the thing you would like to see be fixed with the router, not new features you would like to see. Let me know so that I can provide this info to the engineers.

****Make sure to include what firmware and model of the router that you are using****

UDP problem in BEFW11S4 wireless router. And features that can be found on regular Linksys routers (new firmware) but not available in any of current firmwares for this router.

Also, please fix the problem with enabling WEP (some time works, most time does not work).

My first thoughts point me toward the UDP Stealthing issue. I think it'll show UDP Ports as closed right now - but not stealthed.

I have not tested this yet, but have seen several postings elsewhere on this forum and site which indicate it is an issue.

BEFSR41 v2, Firmware 1.38.6

UDP definately needs to be fixed. I am using my BEFW11S4 as a wap into my BEFSR41 right now, untill the S4 becomes fully function, as we would expect it to. As far as what they want fixed, I'd say everything! From the UDP connection probem to full stealth of UDP ports as well.

I too would like the UDP port stealthing issue fixed. I am using 1.38.6 on a BEFSR11. From what I have heard on other posts as well, SPI working with port forwarding.
[text was edited by author 2001-05-11 14:25:27]

Firmware 1.38.6
BEFSR11

1) UDP problems with counter strike servers.
2) UDP ports being reported as closed instead of stealth. It especially should not reply to UDP probes when SPI is enabled. Correct?
3) Allow port forwarding while SPI is enabled.
4) Hosting issues (CS, etc)

I wish the DHCP server in the Linksys would default to disabled upon restoring factory defaults, but I guess a majority of people use the router's DHCP server, so forget it.

[text was edited by author 2001-05-12 20:29:01]

Great idea Jesse!

BEFSR41 vintage April 2000
Win2KProSP1, Win95 and WinNT4.0/SP6a (never touched Win98) and Linux Redhat 7.1.

Ping Looses Tracert Hop
This strange phenomena has been around since 1.18 and I just confirmed 1.38.6. It really bugs PingPlotter monitoring of my ISPs routers...
Win32 tracert in Win95/NT/2K (uses ICMP)
1) Tracert to any address with several hops.
2) Ping any intermediate hop of the tracert.
3) Tracert again to the same address.
4) Why does that intermediate hop not reply for several minutes?
Additional info for engineers: The ICMP TTL expired reply comes in the LAN, properly IP addressed, but best I can tell the data field is altered so gets thrown out by the tracert app.
In a possibly related (ICMP) issue, tracert -j option has never worked through the LinkSys.

HTTP Refresh Setup Pages After Apply/Continue
Ever email directions to a newbie setting something up? What a pain to include this step (ok, it bugs me too ). It *is* browser dependent.

FTP Clients only handled on port 21
This borders on a new feature but the code is there for port 21 (PORT command functional translation)... why not ANY port?

FTP Server handling
I know this may be even closer to a new feature but since PORT is functionally translated on port 21 now, handling the extremely similar PASV reply is a small step away (very similar coding I'm sure).

[text was edited by author 2001-05-11 15:01:18]

I'd like to see the new features of 1.38 (relative to 1.37)
disabled at factory reset.

I'd like issues with regard to possible negative interaction
between VPN and PPPoE looked at (Having suggested this,
I do appreciate the 1.38.6 upgrade's attention to the checkpoint
VPN matter - I haven't had the chance to see if it works yet,
but I did notice in LinksysTech's blurb that the Checkpoint
VPN and UDP packet fragmentation was an issue with this upgrade).

Are there any issues that make Linksys work differently with
Windows 2000?

Here's my motivation: VPN is the single most important
thing I do with my computer and it seems a bit chancy. My
VPN connection to work via checkpoint SecuRemote build
4176 mostly works with 1.37 (it occasionally hangs). It
doesn't work with 1.38.5. Everything else functions perfectly,
and I'm otherwise extremely satisfied.

That's all I can think of. Many thanks to the Linksys
engineers for their support!!!!

I would like to see the problem with DHCP Renew and DHCP Release to be fixed.

It's an issue that has been overlooked.
I have the 4 port linksys router (not wireless), using 1.35 firmware.

This doesn't apply to me, but for some out there. Supposedly the WAN side of the Linky is rated up to 10M. But from these poster(s), they only get close to half of that rating using OOL. They have ran tests with, and W/O the Linky in the picture, and they claim to have a slower speed with the Linky in the picture. I guess I'm bringing this up for them. I am on cable, and will never get past 5M mark, so I really don't mind, BUT, for the others out there, I guess it should be looked into. Heck, who knows, maybe I will have the opportunity of getting OOL, and will be limited to the Linky. Very strange indeed, but something to look into. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to speak out!

Oops, I forgot: I'm using BEFSR41 with F/W 1.37, Windows 2000, PacBell
basic service (PPPoE, DHCP, etc), Checkpoint SecuRemote 4176 strong encryption.

It would be nice if you would add the ability to use 2 or more static or dynamic IP's to split to the different computers (2 IP's for 2 computers or 1 IP for every 2 computer..up to 4 computers for 4 port version). I currently own 2 IP's between both my computers but can only use my first IP for both my computers. I have the 4 port Linksys router using the 1.38.5 firmware but I'm looking forward to upgrade it to 1.38.6.
If anyone knows how to do this with the current firmware please reply.

said by lildude406:

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It would be nice if you would add the ability to use 2 or more static or dynamic IP's to split to the different computers (2 IP's for 2 computers or 1 IP for every 2 computer..up to 4 computers for 4 port version). I currently own 2 IP's between both my computers but can only use my first IP for both my computers. I have the 4 port Linksys router using the 1.38.5 firmware but I'm looking forward to upgrade it to 1.38.6.
If anyone knows how to do this with the current firmware please reply.

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If you only have two computers with two IPs, why do you need a router anyway? You only need a hub or switch. Actually, you can connect your modem directly to the router's uplink port to bypass all the routing part. Firmware doesn't matter anymore.

It blows my mind that the NAT blocks MSN messenger voice protocol. Fix that.

The speed in which your setting are accepted and your connection comes back.

NeuRoT

I've posted a few times on the 1.38.5/6 firmwares breaking my ability to remote control my system from outside. 1.37 allows me to use PcAnywhere 10 to RC. 1.38.5/6 both allow a connection and a small amount of data to be sent out, but will then hang the connection.

BEFSR11 1.38.5

Fix DHCP in router so that client PC's do not freeze or lockup when renewing lease.

Fix the AOL IM, ICQ etc.... File transfer/Talk problems when the two users are using a Linksys router. And CANT talk or transfer:(

I said "It would be nice if you add the ability". It's not very neccasary. I just recently found out, after buying the Linksys, that I was entitled to 2 IP addresses. Now, it would be cool if each of my computer has a different public IP. I still need the router because I occasionally hook up my laptop.
Thanks for the reply

BEFW11S4/ver 1.37.5

Please fix the UDP packet processing problem when playing online games such as Starcraft.

Wan IP update feature for use with PPPoE and dynamic IP's for Dynamic DNS forwarding sites.

Removal of the help pages from the firmware for more options usages of ROM space and an auto link to Linksys for the help pages.

Get rid of HTML/Java upgrade option it's too risky and does not function properly.

Better In / Out log information and functions.

Longer warranty period 3 yrs instead of 1 yr.

A Windows Tray Icon for router access with connect and disconnect options made available with a right click.
Also a suspend option would be good there too. Like a hold button not a disconnect just to block the Wan from the network maybe with a password.

BEFSR41 Ver.1 firmware 1.38.6

I would like to see the PcAnywhere hang problem fixed. 1.37 works great. The 1.38x series will blue screen the host computer after a few minutes.

I'd like you to figure out how my son can host games or go to games in battle.net from behind the router with the 6 computers they've got there. (Then make him stop playing and go to class! )

Can you now send files from one computer behind a Linky to another behind a different Linky as attachments in AIM? Kids complaining about that too.

I worked around the DHCP not releasing/renewing by assigning addresses to all the computers here. Is that fixed now?

Have an option to forward ports to a client host name instead of LAN IP address so that forwarding can work better with DHCP.

[BEFSR11 - fw v. 1.38.5]

With SPI and block wan enabled, mine definitely returns stealth on all scans from the WAN side without any hot patches, like dummy DMZ's, etc.; as I've pointed out before, the SNMP functionality seems to be different, and hasn't been showing ANY control messages, nor has it reported incoming traffic dependably... whether the problem is in the fw or my SNMP client, I don't know, but guidance would be appreciated. Otherwise, I've had no real problems at all with this release. I haven't needed to forward any ports or go live in DMZ since my upgrade, so I can't comment on that functionality at this time. SPI is a nice addition. Also, it may just be that I was examining the beta more closely than I might a general release, but the routing table appears to be more complete than in previous releases.

... other than the logging mentioned above, I've had nothing that really caught my attention... I do have a question, though... on keep alive, it asks for a user supplied interval, which has a minimum value of 20 seconds. What was the default in previous releases, and what is the optimum setting, there? I admit, it's a little confusing for me... at 20 s, it doesn't seem to be noticible at all, but I never tried any other values.

Overall, this is the best release yet, in my configuration. There have been enough comments about the stealthing issue to lead me to believe that some people are having an issue, but I'vebeen unable to duplicate it, myself... perhaps SPI is filtering the port scans? Whatever; it's an overall excellent piece of work, and most welcome. Thanks, very much, for the chance to work with these releases, and for your participation in our discussions and attention to our questions and comments...

Here's a problem that I have had since Jan 2000 and still have no resolution.

Equipment is Speedstream 5220 ADSL, BEFSR41(ppoe), WAP11 and (3) dell 4800LT(cisco/aironet 340) Wireless adapters.

After initial powerup of all devices, everything works great. If i keep my laptop close to the wap-11, everything stays working great for quite a while. When I move to lesser signal areas, the problem starts. Usually after about 15 minutes, the internet becomes unreachable. If i do a release/renew, the internet works for about another 5 or so.

OK, now for the wierd part(s). After the connection initially goes south, the WAP-11 becomes unpingable. The BEFSR41 is still pingable and all LOCAL lan connections are still valid and connected. After release/renew, internet works again, but the WAP11 never again responds to a ping until reset. I realize this is a call for BEFSR problems, but i believe these problems are somehow intertwined. The latest release, 1.38.5 has kept my internet connections going strong for at least a couple of day at a time, eventhough the wap11 in still unpingable.

Could everyody who has a wap11 please ping the unit occasionally and let me know if I am the only one with this problem. Could it be my wap is truly defective? Maybe a problem with the cisco 340 cards? Maybe the BEFSR and th WAP are conflicting on the broadcast(255)? I have also tried a external DHCP server to no avail.

This may or may not be of use, since I haven't worked with VPN for quite a while, nor at all on this firmware release, but do remember that PPPoE steals 8 bytes for itself, and PPTP/VPN steals another area for its traffic. WinNT dynamically adjusts this based on your MTU settings, or can be manually configured, but you won't get anywhere NEAR the bandwidth utilization efficiency with any PPTP based communications as you will on straight TCP/IP. PPTP/VPN is notorious for inefficiency; that's the trade-off cost of security, in current implementations. Perhaps these links might help you in a VERY general way???

»www.tuketu.com/dsl/ras-r ··· rnet.htm

»msdn.microsoft.com/libra ··· PPTP.htm

»microsoft.com/ntserver/n ··· otes.asp

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LINKSYS TECH - forgot to mention above: I raised an issue in Security a while back, in which I stated that the login and headers blatently identify the router make, model and firmware. If someone could get WAN access, I see this gratuitous self-identification as a real security issue... a cracker would IMMEDIATELY know he has hit a Linksys router, and could eliminate trying all other exploits, and concentrate on applying any he knows specific to this hardware. I would really rather see a unique but cryptic identification string, or maybe just the public IP and/or the host/domain name as the realm... perhaps nitpicking, and I know security by obscurity isn't the best kind, by itself... but I think obscurity is a good thing, too... being able to identify a victim's hardware and/or software is a foot in the door for a crack, and is roughly analogous to OS fingerprinting or advertising the encryption scheme of an encrypted message: while it may be nominal info, enough nominal information pieced together can paint a very clear picture for someone. Besides, my goal is to make any would be cracker miserable as hell in the process of getting in... anyone who wants a beach head in my computers, I want to pay for every inch he takes with a quart of blood.

i have tried the 1.35.137 and now the beta 1.38 and ya know, i just wanna have my halflife server not drop people randomly

any hope?

1) If they still are relevant, please restore the control or exception messages (Checksum error, NAT Table Full, bFree, PPP, etc.) that were provided in 1.37. They were either disabled or removed in the 1.38.x Beta. It would also be nice to have some documentation of all the possible messages.

2) Recently, someone has reported a bug or vulnerability (we cannot tell which) that is appearing in the Router's internal logs. He is seeing entries in those logs change after they first appear.

Here are links to these reports. The first two are at »www.grc.com in the Security Hardware forum; the third is here at DSLR:

»grc.com/x/talk.exe?cmd=a ··· 66&utag=

»grc.com/x/talk.exe?cmd=a ··· 97&utag=

»Possible LINKSYS Vulnerability...??

I'm not the person having this problem, only the messenger.

My router is a BEFSR41, version 1. It's running 1.38.5, and has also run 1.38.4 and 1.38.2. All have been stable.

[text was edited by author 2001-05-11 20:44:21]

If getting the BEFW11S4 firmware up to 1.38.x will fix the wireless VPN problems, then great - get to it. Otherwise please address these problems:

»BEFW11S4 w/VPN (wireless)?

and

»BEFW11S4 w/Aironet 340 + Cisvo VPN 3000 client = ?