Time Capsule, hardwired to TWO xbox 360's, and NAT issues.

Question

Hello All,
I currently have an older Linksys WRT54G (version 1.0 LOL) which has been working fine for years. I recently bought my son an XBOX 360 for Christmas and we went through the issues of NAT and Call of Duty, and basically I have become quite knowledgeable on this topic. I recently added a SECOND XBOX 360, as it became apparent that one would not do with three boys in the house (Plus COD is a blast on line).
So I created a second Live Account and got the two xbox's running online stably with NAT wide open on both. This required abandoning the Linksys Firmware and installing "Tomato" on the WRT54G. That works GREAT. No modifications were required for the rest of the network including...
Macbook by Wifi, Minimac Hardwired (ya ya wifi works but hardwire is better), Airport Express (used only to stream music to stereo in family room - from ANY PC/MAC running Itunes...Itunes is VERY NICE), HP printer with network adapter, 5 other PC's including a mix of VISTA, XP, XP Pro, and multiple IPHONES, A Palm Tungsten C, WII, DS and of course the two hard wired XBOXs. NO Problems. The Tomato configuration only required the modifications for the XBOXs specifically as the rest of the network settings were not change after the firmware update.
What am I interested in? I'd like to upgrade to a Time Capsule for several reasons. One Newer wifi, faster, two frequencies, backup space for growing Mac branch of our network, and as the internet sharing router. AND to be able to access the TC from the internet for file access anywhere! LOVE THAT FEATURE. This requires the TC to be the first device after the cable modem as far as I can tell at this point. (any input on this specific feature would be great).
So I want to configure the TC with the input from the Cable modem as the main distribution of the internet. Then from the other NETWORK ports connect to my 20 port router for the rest of the house, as well as to the other items currently connected at the site of the current LinkSys Router (Mac Mini, Sony TV).
Also I need to maintain the current XBOX set up with (as well as Wii) with full open NAT on both XBOXs.
My question: Anyone here currently using the TC for hardwired connectivity for an XBOX with XBOX live running with open NAT for TWO XBOXs?
The issues with NAT and TWO XBOXs is that you cannot simply use PORT FORWARDing or PORT Triggering to make sure that the traffic goes to the correct xbox. The XBOX uses specific communication ports and the ROUTER needs to keep the traffic flowing properly or you get disconnected or never get open NAT (must have for XBOX live and internet gaming). There are many write ups on using Port Forwarding for one XBOX and setting the second one in the DMZ, but this does not work all the time.
The "Tomato" firmware on the LINKSYS allows fooling the router into giving a 'pseudo static' ip address to the XBOX's by doing MAC address based reservation of an IP number and then letting the DHCP give the xbox an IP address. The MAC address based reservation makes sure that the XBOX always gets the same IP address which for some GD reason must be in order for the traffic to be routed to the correct device. (you can of course use the same MAC address reservation for any device on the network).
Second Question: For those using the TC AND a second WiFi Router to do WIRELESS connection to the XBOX - which device do you have configured as the main INTERNET sharing router? I have read hear what appears to state that the TC is the main router and the other WiFi the secondary. Thus the ROUTING is still being done by the TC and the other wifi device is being used simply as a WiFi Access point/switch. If this is the case would the firmware on the TC allow the proper routing for TWO XBOXs on the network?
Thank you,
Mike

Answer 1

The ports are 53, 80, 88, and 3074. Since you are trying to make two Xbox consoles use those ports and you are trying to connect to a server, what you need to do is to use Port Range Triggering. You can't use Port Range Forwarding since it will only set those ports into listening mode to the IP address you set it. So if you use Port Range Forwarding it will only be open/available to one console(the one using the IP address).
You need to use PORT RANGE TRIGGERING. Disable Port Range Forwarding and DMZ. You need to enable UPnP as well if your Linksys router have this option (other model doesn't have this option but it is said to be enabled in default settings according to their tech support).
To solve the lag problem set your MTU size to 1364. This settings will work even if you have one or multiple consoles running behind the router.