my web server behind Obi202?

[haihaihai]

I am tinkering with the Internet path on my home network and I am having troubles making everything work at once.



My speed is 15Mbps down / 1 Mbps up.

I host both a mail server and a web server.  Very lightly used.
I use an Obi202 for VoIP and sometimes fax service.
I have a "main" router that uses SQM / QoS, which improves voice quality quite a bit.
I am using Google Voice as my (only) VoIP provider - and I've heard GV is spotty on fax and won't do T.38 at all.

It seems that I've got two choices in terms of cabling connections, and I'm hoping for some help.

setup A (which I've been using mostly):

ISP -> router -> Obi202 / LAN / Web server / Mail server

setup B (which I'm trying to get to work):

ISP -> Obi202 -> router -> LAN / Web server / Mail server

Setup A isn't working for sending fax.  Even if I disconnect everything else from the router, the Obi202 can't successfully transmit a fax.

Setup B isn't working for incoming Web server requests.  I have configured the Obi202 with the router as a demilitarized zone (and incoming Mail connections work) but the web server does not work.  I have also tried port forwarding on port 80 to the router, but still the web server does not work.

I understand what is happening.  The Obi202 has an internal web server that is enabled on the LAN interface and can optionally be enabled on the WAN interface.  The problem is that when the WAN interface is not enabled, the Obi202 still refuses to forward port 80, no matter what I try.

Is there some way to get the Obi202 to forward port 80?

(edit ->) With setup A, Pandora works just fine on my home receiver.  With setup B, Pandora plays about 30-60 seconds of a track and then skips to the next track.  Unusable.  Again, even with all other traffic shut off.  Hmmmmm.  Maybe I just need to dig deeper into completely prioritizing the Obi202 in setup A.



Thank you!

[drgeoff]

I'd put my effort into getting Setup A working satisfactorily.  But if you want to experiment more with Setup B I'd advise not using the routing function of the non-202 router.  Ignore its WAN port.  Turn off its DHCP server and plug everything (including the LAN port of the 202) into its LAN ports.  Just use it as an ethernet switch (and Wi-Fi Access Point if applicable).

[haihaihai]

Those are excellent suggestions, and I see what you mean.  Thank you.

Firstly - I still need some kind of firewall, so if I ditch my firewall / router, I need to enable the firewall on the Obi202 and set up port forwarding.  The question (which I can test) becomes "how much delay will the Obi202 introduce when firewalling is enabled, compared to how much the router is causing?"

Secondly - it seems fair to assume that the router, with latest-and-greatest OpenWRT software and recent-technology Smart Queue Management will do a better job at controlling traffic and latency.  So I agree with your suggestion of making Setup A work correctly being the better path.  I think I will dive into the suggested articles on Linux Packet Scheduling and the Traffic Control package.  The thing is - Setup A didn't work even when ALL other LAN traffic was disconnected by cabling.  I'll have to confirm that test result.


An observation -- I'm quite surprised that putting the Obi202 between the ISP and the Yamaha receiver causes Pandora to - whatever the cause - skip ahead to the next song.  When Obi202 is on the LAN, inside the router and a peer to the receiver, Pandora has no problems even when both my incoming and outcoming flows are pegged.

And, finally, another observation.  Voice quality might be "less than perfect" but it is acceptable to me and the people with whom I speak.  The VoIP quality issue only affects the four or five faxes that I want to send per year.  While I'd prefer to understand and correct this in software, I can re-cable and reboot the equipment as a usable workaround.  Very few people actually desire to send me a fax - but some prefer a fax to e-mail for correspondence containing sensitive information.  Frankly, I have no idea if I can receive a fax, because it's a pain to set up a test case that will send me a fax each time I make an adjustment...

Thanks for the helpful suggestions.