Topic: WL IP doesn't transmit to website? RESOLVED!

[d_l]

I'm not that familiar with a network environment like your schools, but from what you have said about the IE configuration it sounds like the outbound http traffic is restricted to 8080 (probably the router translates that port to 80 for the internet).  If the WLIP sends it traffic out to weatherlink.com on port 80 (I think it does), then there is no way it can upload its data.

The port the WLIP uses to weatherlink.com can't be changed or at least not in the WLIP's set up screen.  There might be a undocumented way to change it to port 8080, but a Davis tech would have to help you with that.

I think you are going to have to discuss this with your IT guy and get some special exception made for the WLIP to allow outbound port 80 traffic.

You should be able to to access the WLIP's set up screen on your school's LAN by browsing to its IP:80.  The ":80" after the IP tells the browser to send the http request on port 80 (which is the normal browsing port)  instead of the default 8080 of your IE.  If that works, it would help confirm what I've suggested above about the WLIP's problems.

[m77]

Ok I think that makes sense. The manual says that the port is set at 22222 on WL and should be left at that even though it is in an editable box. am I right in thinking that I need to get port 22222 opened up or should I change this value in the WL software to 8080 or thirdly do I change it when I put the ip address into the browser? I am a little confused with what to try next.
Apologies and thanks for being patient. This is a different language to me.

[d_l]

Port 22222 is for the local computer <---- port 22222 ----> WLIP  using the weatherlink software.
Port 80 (I think) is for WLIP ---- port 80 ----> weatherlink.com site   The communication is all upload from the WLIP.

Does that help make more sense of the situation?

I think this is what is happening when you http (web) browse from the school:

your computer ----port 8080----> school router translates ----port 80---->world wide web

I think this is what is happening with the WLIP uploads:

WLIP ----port 80 ----> ||||school router

Edit: I looked through some old Wireshark snoops on my LAN. The WLIP definitely uses http - port 80 for the uploads to weatherlink.com.  It only uses port 22222 for intraLAN communication so blocking that port because of a minor trojan for traffic behind the LAN's firewall would be just crazy and I can't imagine anyone doing it.

[Bushman]

Port 22222 is likely blocked as it is used by the Prosaik trojan.

[m77]

Thanks guys.

So what do I need to do next?

in an IE browser at school do i type

IP address then :80

or literally "IP:80"

what if this doesn't work?

do i need to ask techman to "allow port 80 to alllow outgoing data for the specific IP address"?

[m77]

would i be able to get my hands on a usb connecting cable to go from the outward internet cable from the console to plug into my laptop,as in interim solution while i wait for the techies to sort it out?

[johnd]

If the WLIP sends it traffic out to weatherlink.com on port 80 (I think it does)...

Yes that's correct, port 80, both inbound and outbound for comms to weatherlink.com (as indeed d_l suggested now that I come to read last night's posts in more detail). I'll see if this can be changed - not very hopeful, but I'll double-check.

So, unless there's some other obscure explanation, it sounds like the school have port 80 firewalled/blocked. I think the next step is to confirm, if possible (ie by talking to your tech people or the network management company), that this is indeed definitely the case - we need to decide if this is definitely the likely cause of the problem or if there might be some other cause. And if port 80 is blocked then is eg port 8080 in the clear?

JGD

[m77]

thanks John   - let me know if you discover how to change it.

[m77]

when i edit the port box from 22222 to 80 it sends data down the lan to my computer!

I can get full bulletins, graphs and data etc on the laptop.

Is it possible to now upload this to the WL website while my laptop is on as an interim measure?

[d_l]

The only allowed data communication TO the weatherlink.com website is from a WLIP at this time.  Davis explains that in one of their FAQs that asks if data from a serial or USB logger could be uploaded.

You shouldn't change the port 22222 setting in the WLIP if you can get the data out of the WLIP onto your computer at school using your weatherlink program there.  22222 is the default setting and if it works, there is no point to changing it unnecessarily.  Especially if Davis techs need to be called in.  No sense confusing them with unnecessary changes.

If you haven't yet solved the problem of browsing into the WLIP's setting pages at school, the IP:80 address entry in the browser would be entered in the aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd:80 format.

Definitely talk with your network administrator about requirements the WLIP needs to upload to the Davis server.

[m77]

thank John,

after I changed the IP back to 22222, I entered the following four combinations into the browser in IE at school and none of them worked

in each case "ip" stands for the aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd format that you speak of:

ip:80

http://ip

http://ip:80

http://ip/:80

[d_l]

I think you've lost me.  To be able to change port number 22222 in the WLIP on the screen that I previously posted, you have to be able to browse into it on port 80, but you aren't able to do that?

[johnd]

Talking to someone else here today about school firewalls etc, I think another possibility is that your browsers may still use port 80 for Internet access, but access is only granted to white-listed websites, ie sites that have already been checked and approved of by whoever runs the firewall or access management. In this case then weatherlink.com would need to be added to the white-list.

I'm not quite sure what you're saying about pointing a browser at htttp://ip (no port added) - are you saying that you did get the WLIP web admin page up previously but this no longer works? I very much agree with Dave - in general it's not a good idea to mess with these port assignments - they can have unpredictable results. You may need to power down the WLIP fully, leave it off for a bit and then repower it and try again. Did you see/notice which firmware revision your WLIP was at from a previous look at the web admin page? Was it 1.06 or 1.07?

[m77]

i changed the 22222 to 80 in the weatherlink software - comms setup. i have now changed it back to 22222 as suggested.

the browser successfully found the admin page when I took the console home and plugged it into my home network.

I have not yet viewed that box with lots of numbers at school yet.

does that make sense?

some websites are filtered out and blocked and you can get them added to "the list" if you wish to view them.

is it likely to be this rather than a port numbering issue or is this the same problem?

thanks so far chaps.

[johnd]

some websites are filtered out and blocked and you can get them added to "the list" if you wish to view them.

is it likely to be this rather than a port numbering issue or is this the same problem?

It may well be that _all_ websites are blocked unless they've been individually unblocked. I would try to get www.weatherlink.com unblocked asap and try again.

This is a related issue to the port number in that it's a blocking issue but distinct in that it's not a port number that needs to be unblocked but a website URL. (However this explanation is only a possibility at present - we won't know for sure until you can successfully get data to weatherlink.com.)

[d_l]

Ooooh, OK.  I've never tried changing the 22222 to 80 in the WL software, so I don't know what that should do!

John's whitelist sounds very reasonable for the school, but there IS that non-standard port 8080 setting in your IE LAN set up to consider as well.

I'm starting to think maybe that your school's network is segmented with multiple routers behind one gateway and that might be how 22222 is blocked.  Under this idea, your computer there would be on one router and the WLIP another.

Edit: You can browse to the weatherlink.com website without being blocked from the school's computer, right?

[m77]

Yes I can browse the WL site at school easily so it is unblocked?

[d_l]

The ability to browse there sure seems to blow up the whitelist theory.

[m77]

agreed. i suppose that it is basically something to do with the school router and or the firewall.

the ict chap said that the school doesn't deal with the router and ports - that is left to the IT company RM.

I suppose the only way is for me to contact them or get the ict bloke to do so.

this whole thing is do-able, right?

[d_l]

I would hope so, but I really can't comment on the way the outside company has your internet connection set up.

Is it possible to get a dedicated DSL or cable connection for just the WLIP uploads?  That's kind of extreme, but your outside-managed connection may limit your choices.

I wonder if your situation is common for other schools?  That would certainly limit the market for Davis systems with the WLIP at educational institutions.

[m77]

Did you see/notice which firmware revision your WLIP was at from a previous look at the web admin page? Was it 1.06 or 1.07?

from the WL website when i log in:

Hardware Version: 1.0.0
Firmware Version: 1.0.6

[m77]

just found this list on the RM website (who run our network)

Port numbers - which ports we Allow / Deny on the IFL service
 
Our firewall is set up to deny/permit the following:

Inbound

Deny:
23/TCP (Telnet)
25/TCP (SMTP)
69/UDP (TFTP)
135/TCP&UDP (NetBIOS)
136/TCP&UDP (NetBIOS)
137/TCP&UDP (NetBIOS)
138/TCP&UDP (NetBIOS)
139/TCP&UDP (NetBIOS)
161/UDP (SNMP)
259/UDP (ESRO)
445/TCP&UDP (Microsoft Directory Services)
593/TCP (Microsoft RPC-over-HTTP)
1080/TCP&UDP (Socks Proxy)
1434/UDP (Microsoft SQL Monitor)
3128/TCP (HTTP Proxy)
3130/UDP (ICP)
4444/TCP (MS Blaster Virus)
8080/TCP (HTTP Proxy)

Permit everything else.

Outbound

Deny:
69/UDP (TFTP)
80/TCP (HTTP)
81/TCP (HTTP)
119/TCP (NNTP)
135/TCP&UDP (NetBIOS)
136/TCP&UDP (NetBIOS)
137/TCP&UDP (NetBIOS)
138/TCP&UDP (NetBIOS)
139/TCP&UDP (NetBIOS)
194/TCP (IRC)
445/TCP&UDP (Microsoft Directory Services)
593/TCP (Microsoft RPC-over-HTTP)
1214/TCP (KaZaA)
1434/UDP (Microsoft SQL Monitor)
3128/TCP (HTTP Proxy)
5190/TCP (AOL)
6257/UDP (WinMX)
6667/TCP (IIRC)
6699/TCP (WinMX)
8000/TCP (HTTP Proxy)
8080/TCP (HTTP Proxy)

Permit everything else.
 

[m77]

if it is port 80 for outbound, then it is on the blocked list.

80/TCP (HTTP)

now we are getting somewhere.....

[m77]

So if it is port 80 that is needed I have two options to succeed.

1. Get Rm to allow access through port 80, perhaps just for that particular ip address that the console is on.

2. Speak to davis and see if I can change the WL port to one permitted by Rm.

[d_l]

Those denied outbound http ports (80, etc.) mean that somehow your outbound http traffic is translated to the standard port 80 by the firewall/router once it leaves your network.  So if the WLIP's port to weatherlink.com  can be changed, it would have to use the school's proxy port for http.