Help me frag my boyfriend...

September 15, 2009 1:48 PM

For the love of sweet holy Moses, how can I find out what router I'm using? But wait! There's a catch. I can't see it.

Backstory: I am currently in an LDR and one of the things my boyfriend and I like to do to relax is frag each other mercilessly, preferably in Sauerbraten.

Towards this end, I am attempting to host a private server with a game just for the two of us. I am, however, having some serious trouble with configuring my ports to do this. Currently, according to WhatsMyIP, all attempts to connect with the most-often used gaming ports are timing out, and when I try to set up my own server, it does not receive a ping response. I know that PortForward can help me out with this, but first I need to know what router I have!

Here where it gets interesting: the router is locked in a giant metal box down the hall. There is no way I can get inside to see what kind it is short of calling an IT dude. Is there another way to get this information without actually seeing the brand name stamped on the side?

I have tried using ipconfig/all to get this information, but the name it gives me (Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet) is not a router. Despite that, my default gateway is 10.101.100.1, which according to my Google-fu means I am connecting to a router. An attempt to access the router's information through http:/10.101.100.1 leads only to a timed-out connection.

Thanking you in advance, hive-mind!

posted by WidgetAlley to computers & internet (20 comments total)

It's a router, just not the kind of router people have at home that converts DSL to Ethernet. A Broadcom NetXtreme is apparently a NIC but it's probably plugged into a router and/or a PC doing routing. Just because you're on a private IP range (10.x.x.x) doesn't mean that you have any control over the router and port forwarding. PortForward will not work with that piece of hardware.
posted by GuyZero at 1:55 PM on September 15

from a command prompt
tracert yahoo.com
will show you all the steps on the way to yahoo, or some other site.
posted by theora55 at 1:55 PM on September 15

Open a command prompt window (you're in windows right?). In that window, type the following:

ipconfig /all

You'll get all the network info associated with your computer, including your default gateway, which should be your router's home address. Based on that you might be able to figure out which router you're connected to, because different brands use different default numbers.

Just put that number into your browser and you'll probably get a login window. Unless your IT guy has changed it, the password is probably "admin".
posted by wabbittwax at 1:57 PM on September 15

also, if you are kind to your IT overlords, they may assist you. Baked goods are a traditional offering.
posted by theora55 at 1:57 PM on September 15 [1 favorite]

http://www.gtopala.com/
posted by JayRwv at 1:57 PM on September 15

You could try an SNMP query, but I doubt its either active or has a public community string.

Either way, I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish, I'm sure the router admin page/tools are locked down.
posted by wongcorgi at 1:57 PM on September 15

you know what I did there, is I glossed over the part where you indicated that you knew your default gateway. Disregard the above as noise.
posted by wabbittwax at 1:58 PM on September 15

If the router is in a locked metal cabinet, I would suggest not following wabbittwax's advice to attempt to log into it and change settings.

You will not be able to adjust port forwarding without logging into the router. If this router is serving multiple tenants then it's probably managed by whomever owns your building. You'll need to get in touch with them to get their assistance.
posted by odinsdream at 1:58 PM on September 15

Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet is your network card, not the router.

So, I'm assuming this is a wired connection you're trying to troubleshoot.

When you say it's locked in a box down the hall, does this mean you're in a dorm? If so, it is unlikely that the college/university will forward ports for gaming purposes (might be worth checking out though). They have most likely restricted end-users ability from accessing the device by using the gateway address.

If you're not in a dorm, who is the IT dude that you have to call? Is it that difficult?

If it is providing wireless access as well (it has to be from the same router) then you could use a program called NetStumbler. It might return the vendor information for the router when you run a scan.

However, if you are in a dorm, the likelihood of the router providing both wired and wireless access is not high. They are usually two separate systems.
posted by purephase at 2:03 PM on September 15

Either way, I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish, I'm sure the router admin page/tools are locked down.

If the router is in a locked metal cabinet, I would suggest not following wabbittwax's advice to attempt to log into it and change settings.

Fortunately, I have good reason (the word of Anders the lovely IT guy who came and fixed my internets!) that they are not locked down, and I also have permission to do what I will with them. The router itself, I am reliably told by my landlord, is locked in a box to prevent its physical theft, rather than techy nerds like myself from playing with the settings. I think part of their willingness to let me play merry hob with their system is the fact they are replacing everything in a month.

It looks, however, like I will have to recruit the patient and long-suffering Anders once again. Thank you all!
posted by WidgetAlley at 2:06 PM on September 15

I don't know anything about the game in question but does it allow peer to peer LAN games (with no dedicated server running, just two clients)?

If so, you might be able to create a Hamachi network with yourself and the boyfriend which should allow you to "see" each other's LAN games in the game client.

I can't actually visit the link because it is being blocked at my office, but that was simply the first google results for Hamachi
posted by utsutsu at 2:08 PM on September 15 [2 favorites]

Haha! utsutsu, that looks like a possible workaround, since Sauerbraten does indeed allow LAN games. You guys and gals are fantastic, thanks!
posted by WidgetAlley at 2:09 PM on September 15

You could also install nmap (a fancy port scanning program) and run it against 10.101.100.1 from the command line like so:

nmap -sS 10.101.100.1 -p 1-8090

That'll give you a list of open ports on the router, plus a guess at the OS and manufacturer.
posted by contraption at 2:24 PM on September 15

Open ports won't help if the router is running NAT, which someone is doing since she's on a private IP block. That's why commercial DSL routers have their byzantine port-forwarding options. The NAT device may not necessarily even be the router/gateway she connects to, it could be further upstream.
posted by GuyZero at 2:31 PM on September 15

I will second Hamachi. I run voice over this and it works great. No configuration, and almost always works.
posted by Climber at 3:22 PM on September 15

utsutsu: "I can't actually visit the link because it is being blocked at my office, but that was simply the first google results for Hamachi"


Got SSH? :)
posted by Gravitus at 3:31 PM on September 15

To clarify, I was suggesting nmap as a means of figuring out which ports on the router might accept a connection from a web browser for configuration purposes, since the standard port 80 wasn't responding. Often routers will use 8080 or something like that for ssl connections, like https://10.101.100.1:8080 . The manufacturer info provided by nmap may also help you get into the router actually forward the ports you need.
posted by contraption at 4:13 PM on September 15

If you can telnet to port 5009, it's an airport.

I'd just bug IT Guy. The setup may be more complicated than a consumer gateway router connected to a modem, in which case getting the port to forward to your box may involve changing settings on other devices upstream. Lack of HTTP management on something you describe as "not locked down" makes me suspect this is the case.
posted by cj_ at 4:27 PM on September 15

Oh I should answer your actual question. You can look up the vendor by MAC address. I'm not sure how to snoop the link-level layer on Windows, but if you have a linux or unix machine around, do this:

sudo tcpdump -e host 10.101.100.1

And then ping it from another terminal. The beginning of each logged packet will start like this:

16:33:45.013080 00:90:27:xx:xx:xx (oui Unknown) > 00:16:cb:xx:xx:xx ...

The bold part (00:16:cb) is the manufacturer identity portion of your router's MAC address. You can look these up in various places, such as this site. In my example above, 10:16:cb is Apple Computer, inc.
posted by cj_ at 4:41 PM on September 15 [3 favorites]

Or just run nmap against it from whatever OS you're using and let it do the lookup automatically for you.
posted by contraption at 6:53 PM on September 16