Port Forwarding Advice Needed (Xbox 360)?

Question

***Right now, I am using a Dlink Gaming Router for all my gamer-specific needs. For the past year or so I've been using it, it's been working great.

However, for the past few months, the speed my xbox normally receives (through a wireless adapter) is now reduced to less than half of what it used to run.

In games, I would either lag constantly, every few seconds, or even just get disconnected instantly from the game.

I looked up what was happening with the router, and it appeared every other source connected to it (PC's and laptops, etc, even the Wii and PS3) were running at normal speed, while my Xbox was still running very slowly.

I have several theories/solutions...
a) The problem is caused because of the distance between the Xbox and the router.
The Xbox, afterall, is a floor above the router. The thing is that the Xbox has been up there this whole time and has been running fine. Also, I set it up wirelessly temporarily right next to the router (literally), and it was still running slow, so that kind of knocks that theory out.
b) I need a new router, maybe even a new antenna for it.
I'm not really sure how to test this other than by hooking up another router in the current one's place, and I don't have another at my disposal at the moment.

A few notes: I also tried using a different wireless network adapter for the Xbox, and the results are still the same. I also did the same with another Xbox, and it was still the same.
I also spoke with a tech-geek I go to school with and he suggested I either restart the modem or enter a code into my PC that will reset the IP address for the router (or something). If turning off the router by unplugging it counts as restarting it, then I have done that numerous times by now (I do not see a restart button on it).
I also entered the code with my PC (Open Run, go to the Command Prompt, type ipconfig /release) which I'm pretty sure resets the IP... The weird thing is that I think it worked... my Xbox seemed to have no problems for several hours after that. At night, however, it started slowing down badly and went back to running poorly. I don't know...

You can see that I am no networking genius, and I do not know much in this sort of field, which is why I came here for answers. I will greatly appreciate any helpful answers given. Please help if you can!***


That was a previous topic I posted. I received answers telling me to look into port forwarding, so I did.
I spent the next 3 to 4 hours slumped in front of my computer screen, tweaking with my router and Xbox settings trying to set up "virtual servers", "game rules (for port forwarding)", and "gamefuel" (I use a D-Link DGL-4300 gaming router).
Now, I don't even know what all of those things are, let alone how the whole universe of wireless networking works, but I looked up guides, past forum topics, tutorials, and even YouTube videos...!!
My Xbox is still kind of having trouble with the internet... I could just save myself a bunch of time, go to Walmart and buy a 50 foot long ethernet cable and hardwire the freakin thing.... only I don't want to, and what's the point of having a wireless gaming router if I'm not even going to do my gaming wirelessly?

I'm going to be very simple, since I at least barely understand "port forwarding" at this point. Please please PLEASE do NOT send me the link to that http://portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/Dlink/DGL-4300/Xbox_Live_360.htm How-To-Port Forward site. I have poured over that site over a thousand times and its not helping. That's an older version of the DGL 4300 interface, and that guide isn't even specific enough (What the hell do I put in for IP Address?! TELL ME)

At this point, if anyone uses a D-Link router for port forwarding, specifically for Xbox 360, I would absolutely love to have the information you put in for your router to get the job done.

This is what I have... Tell me what I'm doing wrong...
[Router Settings] Advanced> Gaming
Enable: [Check]
Name: Xbox Live (I selected it from a drop-down list)
IP: 192.168.0.150 (I entered the IP of the Xbox... is that what I'm supposed to do?)
TCP Ports to Open: 3074-3074 (correct for Xbox?)
UDP Ports to Open: 3074-3074, 88 (Correct?)
Inbound Filter: [Always]
Schedule: [Always]

Now for the Virtual Servers (Advanced>Gamefuel) I have (following this http://live.tommccann.net/ )...
There are 3 Virtual Servers I set up...
One (Live1) has protocal private/public ports as: 3074
Another (Live2) has the ports as: 2074
And the last (Live 3) has the ports as: 88
All of them have the IP address of my Xbox set as their IP.

As for the Gamefuel Department (Advanced>Gamefuel) (Following a D-Link support guide I found...)
Enable Gamefuel: [Check]
Automatic Classification: [Check]
Dynamic Fragmentation: [Unchecked]
Automatic Uplink Speed: [Check]

That's all I really tinkered with really... for several hours. If you guys have any advice in terms of how I should se

Answer 1

Ok heres one for you,

Do you have a wireless password, maybe someone is leeching your bandwidth. If you don't set up a WEP key, and right it down because you need to enter this code to connect your computers, 360, wii and etc.

Sorry you probably already know this but I wanted to be sure :)



Next thing I would do is ya, port forward, you seem to know a lot more than myself about netrworking and I set up port forwarding.



If your 360 worked fine before withought port forwarding set up on your router then I'm sure its probably not the issue.



Also disconnect/turn-off all devices that could leech your internet, because if the Wii and PS3 are in fact running fine at the same time as your 360 then they could be related.



You can also try disconnecting your 360's wireless, turning the console off, plugging the adapter back in, and turning the console on again. It worked for me before.



So ya, the best thing you can do from here is get everything off your network and then try your 360, this can help us deduce if it is hardware problems or just that there is too much network activity.



Hope this helps.. Sorry if it doesn't.

Answer 2

Your connection can run at about 100mbps max using the cheapest Ethernet cable alone - but this bottlenecks if you are using internet. No matter how many megabytes your LAN runs at, if your internet speed is something like 25kb/s, it will never exceed 25kb/s. If you are connecting using an internet connection, it could very well BE that you are both using the same gateway to connect. Say you have a 30kb speed that is perfect for online play. With your brother next to you playing another console, this splits to 15kbps each theoretically. If you are both on at the same time, it might be to much data for your internet speed. My suggestion? See what happens if one of you connect. Whether you still lag by yourself will basically tell you how much faster your internet needs to be.

Answer 3

These documents provide step-by-step guides on how to setup port forwarding. Our ultimate goal is to have a write up for every hardware router and firewall available, and instructions for every application that Internet users have difficulty getting to work through their router or firewall.



http://portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/routerindex.htm