Reliance JioFiber: Port Forwarding NOT SUPPORTED

The JioFiber router web interface presents option for port forwarding however it does not work in practice.
The page accepts and saves all the configuration changes you do. Yet you won't be able to connect to the port from outside.

The router also has a DMZ and UPnP options and those do not work either.
Customer care is unable to help ("We have no information about this at the moment")

The IP address as seen from outside is different than what the router shows as its WAN IP. So the router is not directly exposed to the internet. It is behind a NAT/Firewall.

The IP the router sees is 100.XX.XX.XX
IP as seen by sites like whatismyip.com is 49.XX.XX.XX

As far as I know 100.XX.XX.XX is a public IP but trying to access that IP from outside does not work either. So the router is sitting behind a firewall.

This is a major limitation if you want to run any kind of server. So developers and gamers beware.
If you want to make your DVR internet accessible, you can't.

With JioFi (dongle) you could use internet accessible IPv6 address to eliminate need of port forwarding but the Jio Fiber router only allocates local IPv6 addresses. Even if IPv6 worked like JioFi, it would not solve problem for IPv4 connections. So there is no alternative at the moment. You can use a VPN, but it slows you down and has other limitations.

I was planning to discontinue my old ISP but due to this limitation, I might have to discontinue JioFiber instead.

 

[sanke3]

Thanks Sanke3,
I also mentioned in my write up about zerotier
It gives me the same flexibility and i can connect to my entire home network from outside jio network without any port forwards and all my over 50 devices including rasberrypie, IOT devices like arduino etc.
Plus it’s end to end encrypted.
The initial setup maybe a bit steep for some but its really worth the effort.
Just curious are you having cameras that you need 10 forwards?

No. I have just 1 NVR connected to 16 cameras. But I need access to all my office PCs. Remote Desktop is free but needs port forwards.

 

[keithcardozo]

Go to router page. Then security > firewall > ipv6 rules and add rule to allow all incoming connections.

To test I pinged my ipv6 using IPv6 Ping | IPv6 Now
And checked on IPv6 test - IPv6/4 connectivity and speed test which shows reachable.

Just to add Ankush , the approach you used for testing IPv6 iam assuming is from the same JIO fibre connection correct ?
If that is the case then that not a correct test.
The only way to test is outside the JIO network from a different ISP - either MTNL or Airtel whcih have ipv6
Also doing a ping test only does not 100% guarantee that one can browse a website., as ICMP protocols are sometimes allowed but the http and other protocols are blocked.

If you have a 4g service either Airtel , MTNL ( I know these have IPV6) then it will be easy to test from outside the JIO Network)

Thanks again

 

[keithcardozo]

No. I have just 1 NVR connected to 16 cameras. But I need access to all my office PCs. Remote Desktop is free but needs port forwards.

Then the solution of using Zerotier will be the most suited for you as its free for 100 devices
You just need to install the Zerotier client on all the PC's thats it
and from you home pc as well the zerotier client needs to be installed. (Just follow the steps on thier website to join the private network and to authorize all your devices on their web interface- this is a one time setup)
You will then see all your office PCs on a private lP address and can connect to all via RDP
Try it - its free and without the hassle of port forwarding- and you get a direct connection without the data being relayed.

 

[Gokul Kannan]

No. I have just 1 NVR connected to 16 cameras. But I need access to all my office PCs. Remote Desktop is free but needs port forwards.

Port forwarding RDP is a bad security practice. Checkout Remote computer access over the internet using RDP, what could go wrong??

I would suggest a VPN or RDP gateway like Apache Gaucamole for accessing PCs remotely.

 

[Smh]

Just to add Ankush , the approach you used for testing IPv6 iam assuming is from the same JIO fibre connection correct ?
If that is the case then that not a correct test.
The only way to test is outside the JIO network from a different ISP - either MTNL or Airtel whcih have ipv6
Also doing a ping test only does not 100% guarantee that one can browse a website., as ICMP protocols are sometimes allowed but the http and other protocols are blocked.

If you have a 4g service either Airtel , MTNL ( I know these have IPV6) then it will be easy to test from outside the JIO Network)

Thanks again

Hmm he tested ping and reachability from the linked site servers.

 

[keithcardozo]

Those linked site servers are not a proper test for IPV6 as its just testing the basics. The correct test can only be from outside the JIO network.
Those test always passed for me.
Try hosting something on ipv6 like a webserver and connect from outside the Jio network - If the page loads then only we can be 100% sure.

 

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[keithcardozo]

Port forwarding RDP is a bad security practice. Checkout Remote computer access over the internet using RDP, what could go wrong??

I would suggest a VPN or RDP gateway like Apache Gaucamole for accessing PCs remotely.

I have to agree forwarding 10 ports for RDP is risky especially for the office network. Ensuring your Windows Machines are always patched and uptodate is not easy considering how many security flaws are found on Windows weekly /monthly.

Just looking at Apache Gaucamole , it requires it to be installed on a server first correct ? which would mean at least one system being online all the time?

Probably a VPN would be the best option here but then again his router should support either open vpn or ipsec vpn or host it on a raspberry
pie device
I still feel the zerotier option is the best one here as no forwards needed , its end To end encrypted and no overhead of bandwidth due to vpn plus it’s free and source code is available on GitHub if one needs to understand more

 

[Gokul Kannan]

@keithcardozo Yes, Gaucamole needs to be installed on a server or even a raspberry Pi.

ZeroTier or TailScale is better option compared to a VPN or RDP gateway.

 

[ankushmalik1120]

Those linked site servers are not a proper test for IPV6 as its just testing the basics. The correct test can only be from outside the JIO network.
Those test always passed for me.
Try hosting something on ipv6 like a webserver and connect from outside the Jio network - If the page loads then only we can be 100% sure.

So I tried by hosting a xampp server on my laptop and was able to access it through my Airtel 4g!
I can also ping through my 4g net. I tried accessing web server through port 80 and 443, both worked.

Proof:

Source

 

[Smh]

Those linked site servers are not a proper test for IPV6 as its just testing the basics. The correct test can only be from outside the JIO network.
Those test always passed for me.
Try hosting something on ipv6 like a webserver and connect from outside the Jio network - If the page loads then only we can be 100% sure.

That site servers are outside your network and if they can ping your ip then your network is accessible from web and certain ports may be blocked by your firewall which those site will not test. You can use other sites to check open ports.

Testing from airtel 4g doesn't make any sense.

 

[keithcardozo]

So I tried by hosting a xampp server on my laptop and was able to access it through my Airtel 4g!
I can also ping through my 4g net. I tried accessing web server through port 80 and 443, both worked.

Proof:

Source

 

[keithcardozo]

Thats excellent Ankush. Let me check on this once again
Thanks for your help for installing a xampp server to test.

 

[keithcardozo]

I can confirm now that IPv6 on jio fibre does work.
The reason this did not work for me before was that I had set the IPv6 firewall rule to disable during my tests on forgot to turn it on.

Thanks Ankush for pointing to the IPv6 firewall rule which needs to be added for all traffic
Tested with Xampp web-server on Mac OSX and connecting from outside Jios network just to be 100% sure.

@Smh you are right that the site servers are outside the network but in my test with the firewall rule not in place it still showed ALL oK on their website. Hence I wanted to be 100% sure by hosting a website and connecting to it from outside

 

[royalroy]

Hey, I just thought of adding something. You may install softether VPN server on any home PC (Raspberry Pi should work, I haven't tested). Then install softether VPN client software on your remote PC (doesn't work with android/iOS). They use UDP hole punching to traverse through NAT firewalls and absolutely no port forwarding is required. They do use a 3rd server to establish that connection but once the connection is established, it is a direct connection between the home network and remote PC. So, latency and bandwidth are great. Use the DDNS they provide. Also, if this fails, they also have a free Azure server to relay your connections (they say this connection is totally end to end encrypted, but I don't use this.). Connect into your local network and use whatever you want (SSH, plex server, CCTV) on your home network as you would at home.

 

[keithcardozo]

Thanks @keithcardozo for taking out time and making a detailed post. Suggest just this standalone post should be stickied

I am surprised that they replied/looked into email. I sent some 3-4 emails for DVR port forwarding and never got answered by them over email.

Only multiple calls to customer care worked! I never knew we could get only 3 - I had asked for 2 and got same.

May be in future will ask once more.

PS: Do they bind port forwarding to mac address?

How does one make a post stickied ? I am not sure how to