Port Forwarding Arlo Ultra VMB5000 for Direct Storage Access offsite: TCP or UDP?

[gadgetfan]

When Port Forwarding at my router to allow remote access to Direct Storage Access, the app tells me the port to use, but not whether to forward TCP, UDP, or both. Which is it?

I tried using both at once and it does not work. 

I have already made a DHC reservation in the router for the Base Station. That works fine.

Thanks!

[88Gabe]

I have the same issue

[StephenB]

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@gadgetfan wrote:

I tried using both at once and it does not work. 

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Both should work - if it doesn't, then neither will selecting TCP or UDP alone.

Is there a modem in front of your router?  Perhaps check the manual to see if it also functions as a NAT router.

[vnorred]

I am not using port forwarding, but I cannot imagine a video streaming app using TCP.  It should be using UDP for any streaming process.  But who knows what Arlo is using?

[StephenB]

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@vnorred wrote:

I am not using port forwarding, but I cannot imagine a video streaming app using TCP.  It should be using UDP for any streaming process.  But who knows what Arlo is using?

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SRTP over UDP would be the usual way for low-latency two-way video communications.

Library playback isn't low-latency by definition, so it most likely is using TLS over TCP.  BTW, most non-real time video streaming (MPEG-DASH, YouTube, Netflix, etc) do use TCP.  

But if forwarding both isn't working, then something else is wrong.

[vnorred]

I agree with your comments, especially about if it is not working on both then something else is wrong.  I experimented with port forwarding some yesterday and it worked solid on UDP from most any remote area.  But I still am not too comfortable with that method of remote access.  I am still working on why my VPN is not successful.  I have an OpenVPN server on my R7000 gateway router and a separate VPN server running on my Raspberry Pi.  I can access any device on my network from my Galaxy phone through either VPN.  But for an unknown reason the Arlo App will not recognize my VMB5000.  I can ping and traceroute to the VMB5000 from my phone.  Still a mystery.

[vnorred]

Stephen, this is not the thread to discuss VPN connection issues.  But there does not seem to be a thread devoted to that exclusively.  Too bad there is not a platform for that as the few posts from those knowledgeable in how VPNs work reveal the same common problem I have experienced.  The problem would be solvable with more people involved in a discussion about their experiences and with someone who understands how the Arlo app and the smart hub initially establish a connection with each other, that initial handshake.

[StephenB]

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@vnorred wrote:

  I experimented with port forwarding some yesterday and it worked solid on UDP from most any remote area.  But I still am not too comfortable with that method of remote access.  I am still working on why my VPN is not successful. 

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I do have (and use) OpenVPN on my phone, but so far I've just used direct access when I'm on my home wifi network.  So I'm not using either method with the Arlo app.

At some point I will try it - not sure when I will get to it though.

[vnorred]

When you get around to trying the VPN method I would really like to know your experiences.