An E4200 "MegaThread" - FAQ, Issues, How to, etc

Question

Hi Cisco Community!  I've taken it on myself to make a kind of "mega-thread" for the E4200, because I see that there are a bunch of questions scattered around the forum, and (perhaps it's just me personally) I'd love to see things grouped together as one nice reference. I'm new to the forum, and to the E4200, but I'm loving it so far.  I'm not a forum mod or anything like that, I just thought it'd be nice to gather the issues/questions that Ive seen.
Let's talk about the E4200!
The Cisco E4200 is the latest high-end consumer router from LinkSys/Cisco, released in January of this year.
**Whare are all of the vital stats for the E4200?
See this web page:  http://homestore.cisco.com/en-us/Routers/Linksys-E4200-MaximumPerformance-Wirelessn-router_stcVVprod...
**Which hard drives / flash drives work with the E4200?
Here's a "tested" list:  http://www6.nohold.net/Cisco2/ukp.aspx?pid=80&app=vw&vw=1&login=1&docid=0542deb2fe8c469383f8c59723d2...
Basically, any external drive (including ones you put together yourself) should work with the E4200, as long as you're using a drive formatted in FAT32, NTFS, or HFS+.
**Can I wall mount the E4200?
No, there are not any screwholes in the bottom of the device.  It's a common question though, because Cisco hasn't released any pictures of the bottom of the device.
**Can I use a USB hub to connect more than 1 hard drive/flash drive device to the E4200?
No, the USB hub will not be recognized by the router, therefore, the  devices connected to the hub will not be recognized.
**Why is the light on the top of the router blinking?
Most times it's normal, and I list normal operation below.  HOWEVER...
There seems to be an issue in the 1.0 firmware that's been reported in these and other forums.  There is a concern that this is a security risk.  The thinking is that the router is stuck in "Wireless Protected Setup" mode, and waiting for connections.  Some / several users have reported that turning OFF WPS and going to "manual" mode (page 12 of manual) fixes the issue.  CISCO HAS NOT COMMENTED ON THIS ISSUE, and we REALLY want some information.
You might get a blinking light that doesn't mean anything.  The blinking light, either in error, or as a part of normal operation, doesn't seem to affect performance.   
Here's the "official/normal" reasons the light blinks:
Wi-fi protected setup- When you're setting up a device, it's supposed to blink every two seconds.  If there's an error, it flashes quickly.
Upgrades, Resets, power on - The light should flash slowly in these conditions.
**The logging functions aren't working the way I expect / aren't working.
This is also an issue that has been reported in these forums.  So far, it's unknown if this is an issue with the firmware, or how people have configured their routers.  At a minimum, the logs in this device are a lot more "skimpy" than other routers on the market.
**What issues are Cisco / Linksys aware of?
Check this page:  http://www6.nohold.net/Cisco2/ukp.aspx?pid=80&app=vw&vw=1&login=1&docid=3ba1589dc0734ff7978c9e9203d0...
Most of the issues that Cisco are aware of are display issues with the internal Web interface, for instance, you can make a wireless password long enough to break the layout of the page.
**The Web interface shows two wireless networks, with the same name, is this correct?
YES, always make sure that the 5Ghz network and the 2.4Ghz network have the same name.  If you're using manual setup for shared keys, make the keys the same.  This enables your clients to roam between the two network types without reconnecting.  
**The router is hot.  Is this normal?
The processor in the E4200 runs hotter than room temperature.  In the first month or so of release, some people have reported that the router runs "hot" - most experience that the bottom of the router is warm to the touch.  
**I'm comparing routers - which is better, the Netgear 3700 series, or the Cisco E4200?  
You're in a E4200 thread, we're a bit biased.  But as objectively as possible, it's my recommendation you check out the E4200.  
Netgear's 3700 series routers are currently experiencing several firmware issues (1.0.0.6 in the v2 of the router, 6.98 in the v1 of the router).  These issues are causing disconnects, slowness in the DLNA server (USB hard drive connection), and several versions of the device's firmware have port forwarding issues.  That said, the 3700 has some highlights over the E4200:
1.  You can flash the firmware to an open source firmware.  Several are reporting that fixes many issues, but is more complex than the default interface. It's also a "power user" solution, so be comfortable with your know-how before attempting.
2.  There's a few "known good" firmware releases for the 3700 that solve issues, but they are only compatible with the v1 of the 3700 (mostly off the market by now).
3.  The web interface has more options in the 3700.
4.  The forum community at Netgear seems to be really good.  
The E4200 has been generally very well recieved, has had two issues that don't seem to affect performance (blinking light on top, logging failures), has a 90 day return policy, has a wireless download throughput of over 50M (blows away all other routers in this class), and generally speaking, out performs other routers in wired tests (anecdotal reports from forum users).  The E4200 also has a couple more options than the 3700, like being able to translate a port when doing port forwarding.
The E4200 is much newer than the 3700 series.  It's generally accepted that we'll start to see more issues soon, as more people adopt the product.  Those issues COULD be deal breakers, who knows.
Several people are taking a "wait and see" approach right now, but others (myself included) jumped from the 3700 to the E4200 because of gaming and other issues.  Anecdotally, I love the E4200!
Some folks are waiting for the next Netgear router, the WDNR4000.  I needed a router now.  
**There are several screens under Storage.  What does each do?
Disk- Disk makes a Network share (SMB share).  This is good for computer devices on your network.  Although you can make the shares authenticated, the default is that everyone has read / write access to the folders on your disk.  The default location for your disk will be \\192.158.1.1\PARTITIONNAME (where PARTITIONNAME is the name of the share, which in turn is by default named the same as the partition; you can edit this name).  This screen also allows you to remove the disk drive safely from the router.
Media Server- dedicated devices, like the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, several HDTVs, and more (including your computer) can stream music and video from your disk using the Media Server option.  The router uses a service called Twonky to create a DLNA server that you'll see listed in the video tab of your Xbox or PS3.  In this tab, you can specify how often the router should look for new videos on the disk, what to share, and what to call your media server.  
FTP Server - You can also run an FTP server, for devices that can't access the disk any other way.  
Admin - User management.
**Quality of Service - what does it do, how do I set it up?
QoS allows traffic through your router based on how important it is to you.  For instance, if your games are more important than downloading files, you can apply QoS to ensure that traffic for your games always gets through despite the downloads.
QoS is automatically applied for wireless devices that support a standard called WMM.  You don't have to do a thing to apply this.
For games, you'll need to add either applications or devices that get highest priority.  If you have an Xbox or PS3, you can "set it and forget it" by doing a MAC address rule, and adding your Xbox/PS3 as the highest priority device on your network.  If you want fine grained control over ports, etc - check from page 38 of the manual for details on configuring your applications.  If you don't have the manual, it's available for download here:  http://homedownloads.cisco.com/downloads/userguide/E4200_V10_UG_NC.pdf
**How do I get an "Open NAT" on Xbox Live / PSN with this router?
Many users will be plesantly suprised that the default settings of this router allow both the Xbox and PS3 through, usually with zero issues on NAT!  That said, if need be, you can do either Port Forwarding or Port Triggering.
Port Forwarding - use this if you've added "Address reservation" for your PS3 or Xbox, AND you only have ONE (of each) in your house.
Port Triggering - use this if you have 2 or more Xboxes, 2 or more PS3s, and you need all to connect simultaneously.  
Check starting at Page 36 for more information on Port Forwarding/Triggering.  
On Xbox Live, you'll want to open the following ports:  88,3074,1863, and 53.
On PSN, open:    5223, 3478, 3479, 3658
Check http://portforward.com/cports.htm for more games / information.
**Does anyone know how to check what devices are connected to the E4200 via WIRELESS?
Go into Status -> Local Network , and click on the "DHCP Client Table" button. (thanks kirkh)
**How does Guest access work?
Guest network access is an unencrypted wireless network that does not have access to your LAN.  You can assign the guest network any password you choose.  When a user connects to the guest network, they must then load a web browser. When they load the web browser, they'll be asked to enter the guest network password.
Guest access is defined in more detail in the user manual, page 18.
*****Conclusion*****
I'll post more as more questions / items come up.  Unfortunately, we can't edit posts, so please note that information in this post is as accurate as I know it to be as of 1/25/2011.
I invite other forum members to post question / answer format items, or generally discuss below.  I hope this helps some people, and I hope this doesn't seem excessive.

Answer 1

**Does DHCP have to be on in the router to properly enable the Guest Network? 
Yes.  No DHCP, no guest network.
**How do I access the disk from iPhone, iTouch, iPad, Android, or Blackberry?
Any application which allows you to access network resources will allow you to access the file share portion of the shared disk.  On Android, ES File Explorer allows you to access files, for example.  There are several apps available on the iPhone, such as NetPortal.  On Blackberry, try the FILES app.
**Can multiple people access the shared hard drive at the same time?
Yes, I've successfully streamed a movie to 4 devices simultaneously without any drops! 
**Port forward to broadcast for WOL (Wake On LAN)?  I want to wake up my computer from the Internet, how do I do this?
The current method isn't the BEST, but it seems to work:  You must reserve a DHCP address for the computer you want to wake in the DHCP reservation screen (basic setup page).  You must also put in the port forwarding rule for UDP port 6 or 7 to that computer, port being depending on your magic packet software. Currently, this allows for the Wake On Lan to work as long as the ARP table isn't flushed.  Because the magic packet is supposed to be pointed at the broadcast address, it's important to open the port to the broadcast address, but the JavaScript on the port forwarding page disallows this action.  Some people have intercepted the HTML on previous LinkSys routers (on the port forwarding screen) to...  Forum members will likely be trying this method on the E4200 soon - I'm not going to, as I don't have a need for WOL (let me know how it goes).
**Is there a way to transfer settings from an old router to the E4200, like port forwarding, WEP/WPA keys, etc?
No, there's no automatic way to transfer the settings.  Many of your old settings (WEP, HAHAHA) are obsolete anyway.
**Is the E4200 DLNA certified?
If it's not directly certified, it doesn't really matter.  The media server seems to work with everything I've thrown at it - Xbox, PS3, Media Center, etc etc  Technically, the box and the ad materials all state "UPnP AV Media Server", not specifically DLNA, so it's probably not actually certified at this point.  The server is TwonkyServer it looks like (the icon is the same T icon).