# "Unsupported" MRV - Router Compatibility



## bleggett29 (Feb 2, 2008)

Is there a post somewhere that lists router compatibility for MRV? If not feel free to add your router to this thread. Please list if it works or doesn't work.

Zoom X6 v5 ADSL router -- Works
Netgear Wireless-N 300 model WNR2000v2 -- Does not work as router but can work as switch. ie., disable DHCP on WNR2000 and enable DHCP from different router.

The reason I'm posting this is I recently dropped DSL in favor of cable. I changed out my Zoom X6 for the WNR2000 and a Motorola SB6120 modem. Upon doing so, MRV stopped working. My two HR2x and one H21 were able to receive dynamic IP assignments from the WNR2000 and able to access the internet for DoD, etc. but MRV simply would not work.
In order to get MRV to function, I had to re-introduce the Zoom X6 to the network and connect the 2 HR2x and H21 to it. Yes that worked for MRV but they would not connect to the internet. 
Now the fun part; to get both MRV and internet working. It took me about 6 hours tweeking my routers and settings. I disabled DHCP on the WNR2000 and enabled DHCP on the Zoom X6. That seemed to work but still no internet on those devices plus I lost internet to the devices connected to the WNR2000. At this point I knew I had to add a static route to one or both of the routers. In the end I added a route on the Zoom X6 to the WNR2000 and all is working.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

The router plays a very small part in MRV other than possibly handing out DHCP addresses. Properly configured, most any router should work.

Did you reboot all the HRs after changing the router?

Also, be sure you only have 1 DHCP server on the LAN. I always set Static addresses for most anything on my network -- and keep a notepad of addresses, default settings (ips, logins, passwords).


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## bleggett29 (Feb 2, 2008)

dennisj00 said:


> The router plays a very small part in MRV other than possibly handing out DHCP addresses. Properly configured, most any router should work.
> 
> Did you reboot all the HRs after changing the router?
> 
> Also, be sure you only have 1 DHCP server on the LAN. I always set Static addresses for most anything on my network -- and keep a notepad of addresses, default settings (ips, logins, passwords).


I was not able to find any configuration settings on the WNR2000 which would allow MRV. UPnP enabled/disabled. RIP enabled/disabled. RIP v1/v2B/v2M. SPI Firewall enabled/disabled. SIP ALG enabled/disabled. Nothing would allow MRV to work. And yes, the WNR2000 was the only router/DHCP server on the network at the time and rebooted all STBs after each configuration. Everything was done from midnight lastnight to 6am this morning to avoid an upset Mrs bleggett29.
One interesting note: With the WNR2000 and UPnP enabled, Network Services came back with no error status while with the Zoom X6 and UPnP enabled always came back with an error.

EDIT: RE: Multiple DHCP servers. Now that I think of it, the SB6120 has a DHCP server and it can't be turned off. In fact the SB6120 has no user configurable settings. I assumed that it's DHCP traffic didn't get routed through the WNR2000 but it's possible that it is although the only time any of my devices had an IP from it's range was when they were directly connected to it.


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## TITAN_53 (Jul 23, 2007)

If you are going to go this route I would get a network switch and connect all the receivers to one switch and then just run 1 cable to the router for internet access.


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## espaeth (Oct 14, 2003)

bleggett29 said:


> I was not able to find any configuration settings on the WNR2000 which would allow MRV. UPnP enabled/disabled. RIP enabled/disabled. RIP v1/v2B/v2M. SPI Firewall enabled/disabled. SIP ALG enabled/disabled. Nothing would allow MRV to work.


MRV needs no services to be present on the router aside from DHCP. The receivers just need to get IP addresses on the same subnet and they need to be on the same VLAN. UPnP never comes into play because external ports don't need to be mapped for MRV to function.



bleggett29 said:


> EDIT: RE: Multiple DHCP servers. Now that I think of it, the SB6120 has a DHCP server and it can't be turned off. In fact the SB6120 has no user configurable settings. I assumed that it's DHCP traffic didn't get routed through the WNR2000


For the sake of this discussion, DHCP doesn't cross LAN segments. The "WAN" side of the router is a different network than the "LAN" side of the router -- DHCP will not cross that boundary, so the 6120 cable modem is a non-factor.

I agree with the previous suggestion -- keep the WNR2000, ditch the Zoom X6 and replace it with a low cost switch. A cheap switch like this would fit the bill and run you about $30 (after rebate): http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-GS105NA-Giga-Switch-Metal/dp/B0000BVYT3/

EDIT: You may need to reboot devices on your network once you make the WNR2000 the DHCP server for your network to ensure each device get a non-conflicting address on the LAN.


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## itzme (Jan 17, 2008)

TITAN_53 said:


> If you are going to go this route I would get a network switch and connect all the receivers to one switch and then just run 1 cable to the router for internet access.


I'm just curious why you suggest that? Is that a general recommendation? My WH/MRV seems fine with cat5's going directly into the router, through switches, and a combination of both.


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## dsw2112 (Jun 13, 2009)

itzme said:


> I'm just curious why you suggest that? Is that a general recommendation? My WH/MRV seems fine with cat5's going directly into the router, through switches, and a combination of both.


It's just a way for the router to do less "work." Since most home routers are all-in-one devices their processors can become overworked. If it works for you then don't fix it


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## espaeth (Oct 14, 2003)

itzme said:


> I'm just curious why you suggest that? Is that a general recommendation? My WH/MRV seems fine with cat5's going directly into the router, through switches, and a combination of both.


The great thing about NAT widgets (aka SOHO routers) is they offer a plethora of configuration options.

The bad thing about NAT widgets is they offer a plethora of configuration options.

In general, there is just far too much margin for people to configure things poorly vs a standalone switch with absolutely no user-settable options. Commonly you'll see people go into the port configuration and manually set the ports to Full duplex thinking this will get them the best performance. The problem with this is that auto negotiation, as it is defined in the 802.3u standard, must default to half-duplex in the absence of a negotiation handshake. So setting full duplex on the switch disables the handshake, and every device you plug into those ports will default down to half-duplex because the handshake didn't take place. In the case of real-time video between HR2x receivers, this duplex-mismatch is bad. Really bad.

There can also be the issue on some hardware where the LAN ports don't connect to a true switching ASIC, but rather a multi-NIC onboard chip which leverages a software process running on the router for things like a pseduo-TCAM stack. Generally the widget has enough CPU processing power to handle moderate to heavy loads of network traffic, but it could potentially be impacted with 3rd party firmware running more CPU intensive processes like RRDTool traffic graphs, NAS/CIFS file servers, etc.


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## Barry in Conyers (Jan 14, 2008)

itzme said:


> I'm just curious why you suggest that? Is that a general recommendation? My WH/MRV seems fine with cat5's going directly into the router, through switches, and a combination of both.


One of the claimed advantages of DECA is that it takes MRV traffic off your computer network so performance is not degraded. Putting all of the DirecTV STB's on one ethernet switch is another way to isolate MRV traffic from the rest of your home network. Depending on your network hardware and layout, it may or may not make any noticeable difference in performance.


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## DrummerBoy523 (Jan 9, 2007)

TITAN_53 said:


> If you are going to go this route I would get a network switch and connect all the receivers to one switch and then just run 1 cable to the router for internet access.


I've got my home office desktop wired to my router & the DECA ICK wired to it. All other PCs in the house connect wirelessly to the network. I've also got a old Linksys running DDWRT and operating as a repeater upstairs. All devices have pre-assigned IP addresses by their MAC so that I can keep track of what is connected.

So, if I were to buy a switch and put the DECA on it and then run a cable to the router, how and where would be the best place to set up DHCP for the other devices on the network?


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## TITAN_53 (Jul 23, 2007)

itzme said:


> I'm just curious why you suggest that? Is that a general recommendation? My WH/MRV seems fine with cat5's going directly into the router, through switches, and a combination of both.


Well as you state it can generally work in many combinations. I've had it running with each DVR piggy backed off the 2nd port of another (anytime I used the 2nd ports on the DVR's it caused router lock ups), some running through the 2nd port and some running through a router, all directly through my router, all connected through a network switch with 1 cat5 to my router and just recently switched everything to DECA.

If I was staying unsupported I would go with the DVR's on their own switch because it's the closest thing to the supported setup. Just letting the switch handle all the MRV traffic and not running everything through your router, freeing up space for whatever else you might have going on.

Again, this is just what *I* would do. My only recommendation for anyone wanting to setup an unsupported MRV network is to do some research and then make your own decision based on what you think will work for you and for the equipment you have.

I have 5 DVR's so I was letting the switch handle MRV with the 1 cat5 to the router for internet and running my PS3, laptop and random other things through the router itself.


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## dsw2112 (Jun 13, 2009)

DrummerBoy523 said:


> I've got my home office desktop wired to my router & the DECA ICK wired to it. All other PCs in the house connect wirelessly to the network. I've also got a old Linksys running DDWRT and operating as a repeater upstairs. All devices have pre-assigned IP addresses by their MAC so that I can keep track of what is connected.
> 
> So, if I were to buy a switch and put the DECA on it and then run a cable to the router, how and where would be the best place to set up DHCP for the other devices on the network?


I'm a little confused; you mentioned a DECA ICK attached to your router, so that already gives any DECA device access to your network and the internet. Why exactly do you need to add a switch to your router with another DECA attached? Do you have a segregated network?

As for the DHCP, is it enabled on your main router? (not the repeater) If not, that would be the place to do it. Then anything connected to your LAN/DECA network (that doesn't have a static IP) will be assigned one. What are these "other" devices you're referring to?


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## armchair (Jul 27, 2009)

DrummerBoy523 said:


> I've got my home office desktop wired to my router & the DECA ICK wired to it. All other PCs in the house connect wirelessly to the network. I've also got a old Linksys running DDWRT and operating as a repeater upstairs. All devices have pre-assigned IP addresses by their MAC so that I can keep track of what is connected.
> 
> So, if I were to buy a switch and put the DECA on it and then run a cable to the router, how and where would be the best place to set up DHCP for the other devices on the network?





dsw2112 said:


> I'm a little confused; you mentioned a DECA ICK attached to your router, so that already gives any DECA device access to your network and the internet. Why exactly do you need to add a switch to your router with another DECA attached? Do you have a segregated network?
> 
> As for the DHCP, is it enabled on your main router? (not the repeater) If not, that would be the place to do it. Then anything connected to your LAN/DECA network (that doesn't have a static IP) will be assigned one. What are these "other" devices you're referring to?


He was only talking about adding a wired network switch in front of the router. I know this because I suggested doing that in another thread for a UPL problem he's having. Hopefully the wired router is the DHCP server.


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## bleggett29 (Feb 2, 2008)

espaeth said:


> MRV needs no services to be present on the router aside from DHCP. The receivers just need to get IP addresses on the same subnet and they need to be on the same VLAN. UPnP never comes into play because external ports don't need to be mapped for MRV to function.
> 
> For the sake of this discussion, DHCP doesn't cross LAN segments. The "WAN" side of the router is a different network than the "LAN" side of the router -- DHCP will not cross that boundary, so the 6120 cable modem is a non-factor.
> 
> ...


OK. So I dug out my 6 year old trusty Netgear FS108 10/100 switch to replace the Zoom X6. I did a factory reset on the WNR2000 and started from scratch. All 3 STBs connected to the swtich. DCHP only on the WNR2000. Everything rebooted. Guess what? STBs have internet but no MRV just like when the STBs were directly connected to the WNR2000 . The WNR2000 is doing something funky that is not allowing MRV. Does anyone have a WNR2000 that MRV works?

I'm perfectly fine having the Zoom X6 in the network and configured as described in my first post but would like to get to the nuts and bolts why the WNR2000 isn't allowing MRV.


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## espaeth (Oct 14, 2003)

bleggett29 said:


> All 3 STBs connected to the swtich. DCHP only on the WNR2000. Everything rebooted. Guess what? STBs have internet but no MRV just like when the STBs were directly connected to the WNR2000 .


What does MRV status show?

What does the network -> Advanced section report the IP addresses to be of each of the receivers?


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## armchair (Jul 27, 2009)

bleggett29 said:


> OK. So I dug out my 6 year old trusty Netgear FS108 10/100 switch to replace the Zoom X6. I did a factory reset on the WNR2000 and started from scratch. All 3 STBs connected to the swtich. DCHP only on the WNR2000. Everything rebooted. Guess what? STBs have internet but no MRV just like when the STBs were directly connected to the WNR2000 . The WNR2000 is doing something funky that is not allowing MRV. Does anyone have a WNR2000 that MRV works?
> 
> I'm perfectly fine having the Zoom X6 in the network and configured as described in my first post but would like to get to the nuts and bolts why the WNR2000 isn't allowing MRV.


IMO, you should menu restart the Directv boxes as well. It's typical for the boxes not to see each other (w/o a restart) when the network is overhauled like that. The boxes will remove sharing privileges when they can no longer detect it's connection.


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## espaeth (Oct 14, 2003)

armchair said:


> IMO, you should menu restart the Directv boxes as well. It's typical for the boxes not to see each other when the network is overhauled like that.


Moreover, if you are changing subnets in the process you might need to power down all of the receivers, and power them up one at a time with the new DHCP server handing out addresses.


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## DrummerBoy523 (Jan 9, 2007)

DrummerBoy523 said:


> I've got my home office desktop wired to my router & the DECA ICK wired to it. All other PCs in the house connect wirelessly to the network. I've also got a old Linksys running DDWRT and operating as a repeater upstairs. All devices have pre-assigned IP addresses by their MAC so that I can keep track of what is connected.
> 
> So, if I were to buy a switch and put the DECA on it and then run a cable to the router, how and where would be the best place to set up DHCP for the other devices on the network?





dsw2112 said:


> I'm a little confused; you mentioned a DECA ICK attached to your router, so that already gives any DECA device access to your network and the internet. Why exactly do you need to add a switch to your router with another DECA attached? Do you have a segregated network?
> 
> As for the DHCP, is it enabled on your main router? (not the repeater) If not, that would be the place to do it. Then anything connected to your LAN/DECA network (that doesn't have a static IP) will be assigned one. What are these "other" devices you're referring to?





armchair said:


> He was only talking about adding a wired network switch in front of the router. I know this because I suggested doing that in another thread for a UPL problem he's having. Hopefully the wired router is the DHCP server.


yes, the wired router is the DHCP. If I add the switch in front of the router, where would I setup DHCP?


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

Terminology may be confusing. . . the switch should go 'behind' the router on a LAN connection.

Cable Modem >> Router >> Internal Lan stuff including switch.


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## dsw2112 (Jun 13, 2009)

DrummerBoy523 said:


> yes, the wired router is the DHCP. If I add the switch in front of the router, where would I setup DHCP?


As Dennis mentioned the switch would be "behind" the router. If the router is already DHCP enabled then anything attached to the router (whether through a switch or directly connected) will be assigned an IP if needed. Adding the switch doesn't negate the routers ability to handout IP's to anything attached to the switch.


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## armchair (Jul 27, 2009)

Thanks for the clarification guys, I meant the LAN side.


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