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Changing NAT settings to be less restrictive

I have a PS3 and Xbox360 and they both say my Airport Extreme is using a restrictive "type 3" NAT setting that can interfere with online gaming and chat. What settings can I change to get my APX to play nicer with my game consoles?

8-Core 3.0GHz (late 2008), 16GB, 5TB, Nvidia 8800, Mac OS X (10.5.3)

Posted on Nov 11, 2008 6:07 PM

22 replies

Tesserax

Level 10

148,619 points

Nov 18, 2008 6:49 PM in response to Navarro Parker -

By "A Moto 2210," do you mean the Motorola Netopia 2210-02 ADSL2+ Gateway? If so, then you DO have another router upstream of your AEBSn.

Nov 19, 2008 8:25 AM in response to Tesserax

I guess I'm confused. It's only a DSL modem, isn't it? I've logged into the 2210 configuration screen and there's no control to open up ports. I talked to AT&T (my ISP) and they assure me they don't port block except for email (which was a really low numbered port like 30-something).

So do I need to buy a more configurable DSL modem? Because I'm plugging my game console directly into the modem and I'm still getting strict type 3 NAT warnings.

Brewser

Level 1

10 points

Nov 19, 2008 8:55 AM in response to Navarro Parker -

I found a work-around with my DSL Modem and the PS3. I setup the PS3 to use PPPoE and put in my Qwest credentials. It took right off and now I have NAT-1. If you don't know your password you should call your ISP.

Tesserax

Level 10

148,619 points

Nov 19, 2008 1:40 PM in response to Navarro Parker -

Sorry for any confusion that I might have introduced. If you confirmed that your "modem" is, one-and-the-same" as the link I had provided earlier, then it is a Gateway, and not just a modem. A Gateway is a combination device. It may be any combination of modem/wireless router/firewall/Ethernet switch. Most Gateways have a minimum of two modes of operation: modem or bridged Ethernet. The latter "opens" all of the device's ports and allow the downstream device to directly access the Internet through it.

If you are unable to administer this device, then you may want to replace it with one that is Xbox Live-compatible.

Nov 19, 2008 1:44 PM in response to Tesserax

I'm going to try Brewser's PPoE method of configuring my PS3.

Do you know if an XBL compatible modem will ensure PSN compatibility?

Tesserax

Level 10

148,619 points

Nov 19, 2008 2:01 PM in response to Navarro Parker -

Do you know if an XBL compatible modem will ensure PSN compatibility?

Sorry, but I don't have an answer for that. I'm pretty sure that neither Microsoft nor Sony have posted any compatibility comparisons between their on-line services ... nor would I expect them to.

I suggest reviewing the Xbox Live site to determine the models that are compatible that will work for your network and then see if Sony's PSN support site has something similar. If so then you can check to see if any devices match.

Brewser

Level 1

10 points

Nov 19, 2008 2:08 PM in response to Navarro Parker -

What DSL modem did you get from AT&T? With Qwest they sent me a wireless router built in to the modem (Netopia 3347). I now have both my Xbox and PS3 running on just the Qwest DSL router wireless and all my Mac's running on the Airport Extreme N.
Qwest uses PPPoE but I am not sure what AT&T uses. All I had to do is call Qwest for my login info and select PPPoE on the PS3 and then the PS3 will ask you for your user name and password. It all took off after that. My 360 never had any problem with NAT and it says that it is open without running PPPoE. My PS3 seems snappier now because it was having problems connecting. I hope downloads are now faster as well.
I don't understand your XBL modem question though.

Message was edited by: Brewser

Changing NAT settings to be less restrictive