Contributor
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34 Messages
Best way to setup DMZ
Hello, trying to improve my gaming experience. One thing I heard is to put my gaming console into the DMZ. I tried to add my gaming console into my wi-fi router's DMZ by specifying the internal address, seems like it kind of improved but then a day or two later, my household started losing internet access, had to reboot my cable modem (or gateway I guess the proper term these days) a couple times for it to work again. Don't know if it was just coincidental but when I removed my console from my router's DMZ, I haven't lost internet since. Is there something that Xfinity or the gateway doesn't like with setting up a DMZ within the router right behind the gateway? When I researched this I've seen Xfinity reps or others reply that setting up a device within the DMZ is not considered secure.
So I researched in this forum about DMZs and see several posts about setting up the DMZ within the gateway itself, so I'm tempted to put my gaming console into it using the instructions provided in this article that an Xfinity rep provided: https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/port-forwarding-xfinity-wireless-gateway?linkId=155308662 .
Just wondering then, what's the best way to setup a DMZ to get the best possible gaming experience, within my router, at the gateway, or both? Thanks in advance.
CCAaron1
Problem Solver
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954 Messages
3 years ago
Hello and thanks for taking the time to reach out @imngtech. I see it has been a couple of days. Are you still having issues or where you able to get this resolved?
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flatlander3
Problem Solver
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1.5K Messages
3 years ago
Best? Is NOT a DMZ. What that does is just nakedly expose whatever you put into it to the internet. You've bypassed whatever firewall protections your router had, so whatever is there is just going to get hammered. That generally assumes something with it's own protection and firewall, not just a device with perhaps no protection. Could have been your internet traffic problem. Might not have been. Dunno. You'd have to sniff/log the traffic to see it with something else.
Better, would be a dedicated firewall with at least 3 network interfaces. One interface goes to the modem and gets your public accessible Xfinity IP address. Two others create their own internal subnets. One for your regular stuff, and one independent subnet for your game console. Ideally, your game console would be connected via Ethernet (fastest, lowest latency). Your existing router just turns into a WiFi access point then (no actual routing, no dhcp server, dhcp requests are forwarded to the firewall). The two internal subnets don't speak to each other.
Now you create port forward rules on the firewall to direct the traffic you want to your game console (and it's subnet)-- IF required, while still maintaining at least 'some' sort of inbound protection. Bonus round involves active/adaptive firewalls plus limiting who can talk to your external IP address and access exposed open ports, but that's a different subject.
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