RV082 RV042 RV042G v4 firmware bug?

[dondersconsulting]

Models affected:  RV082 v3 (primarily)  -  also RV042 v3 and RV042G

Symptoms:

1) web admin GUI stops responding

2) internet speed slows or stops completely

Temporary Fix:

1) power-cycle the router, everything works fine for a random period of time

Notes:

1) happens after a month or so for RV082 that is giving me trouble.

2) seems to affect a large number of units but not all units

3) this has been going on for a YEAR OR MORE without resolution

4) also, I can only program this router with IE - for firefox, I can't get past the certificate warning and to the login prompt.

5) could this be related to https login and broken code regarding SSL certificate or its integration into the web GUI?

6)  yes, I have reset the unit to factory defaults and reprogrammed

     yes, I have tried different firmware revisions

     yes, I am on the current firmware

     yes, I have re-issued the SSL certificate

Maybe the team writing the firmware could get their hands on some of the reported units with these issues and see how they behave, figure out what the real problem is so we can stop beating our heads against the wall?

[zavodny]

I have the same issue. Router RV042 freezes once a day, IPSEC VPN stops working. Have to do reboot of router.

firmware:

v4.2.1.02 (Jan 18 2012 14:10:55)

Tryied to contact Cisco Online support, but they didnt join session :-(. Tryied it twice. They says: "A Cisco Support Engineer will join as soon as available." Probably there are no Engineers at Cisco Support :-D

[dondersconsulting]

It's so hard to figure out if this is a firmware issue, a hardware or quality control issue, some setting that we are activating that creates the bug, etc.   I feel like I am not taxing this unit at all - here is the load I am presenting it with:

     max users - 20 in-office and 5 remote to terminal server (low-bandwidth 15-bit color sessions)

     IP4 only, DHCP off

     Internet -  Cable 15 x 1.5 (single)

     Firewall -  4 custom rules

     Forwarding - 2 rules

     UPnP -  9 rules

     Content Filter - 5 domains & 3 keywords

     VPN - none

     Bandwidth Mgmt - none

     I do have a custom port for remote https management

     I log attempts to access port 3389 - get about 10 denials per day

Could it just be a memory leak or something like that causing things to get dirtier until it locks up?   If the issue can't be found why not just add a simple routine so a router reboot can be scheduled weekly or monthly?  

[Ken Dresser]

I am having similar issues with two RV042G's.  I bought one of these to use at home (dual WAN, 24 Mbps/3Mbps and 60 Mbps/10 Mbps) and one to use in a small RV park (single WAN 100 Mbps / 10 Mbps). I've used both boxes at the RV park and not at home yet but in every case, after a few hours, I can no longer connect to the web admin page; the web browswer just doesn't connect and times out. I DO have DHCP turned on and have some static addresses defined.  I have tried with SSL turned OFF, turned ON, with the Firewall DISABLED, and with it enabled (but with DOS and SPI disabled.  I have Remote Management ON.  I have SNMP on and have set up a PPTP VPN.  When the Management GUI fails to load the VPN will not allow a connection either.

OH, and one thing that keeps happening is that once I VPN into the box that connection becomes fixed and I can't get the management gui to stop showing the VPN connection as continuning to exist (this is before the management gui stops "connecting").

I must be able to monitor the behavior of the router in the RV park and VPN (PPTP is easy) and SNMP MUST work for this application.

I'm pretty sure these issues are related to the new V4 code and bugs in the firmware. PLEASE Cicso, find and fix these issues quickly!!!

[Te-Kai Liu]

Ken, please contact the Small Business Support Center to open a case if you believe there is a firmware issue. Once the issue is duplicated, the support engineer will be able to escalate the issue for a prompt resolution.

[Ken Dresser]

I opened a case this morning but haven't heard back from the engineer yet.

[Bob Boklewski]

Well, I haven't see any disconnections that I know of with the RV082 V3 hardware version and firmware version 4.2.2.08.  However, we had an issue with VOIP where we needed to change UDP timeout value from 30 to 300 on a hidden page in the web interface (Took a long time to find out this existed).  I can tell you the RV082 seems to be much more stable then the ISA570 we have in place.  I have had nightmares with the ISA570 firmware. Every time we upgraded, something else broke.  I am stuck on an early firmware version which seems to be the most stable, which doesn't include the SSL Heartbleed bug fix, so we can't use SSL period because of this.  The router randomly rebooted with the newer firmware versions, and showed tons of errors in the logs.  I can't get syslog working at all either on my ISA.  It also seems the WAN interfaces timeout randomly (Same time), luckily it isn't something that happens often.  However, when it does happen it drops our VOIP phones and there is nothing to record in the logs to figure out what happened.  I still think the RV082 version 3 is good for a small office and as far as the ISA series I would stay away, plus, it is end of life, so look elsewhere. 

[SamirD]

One thing I've seen done to band-aid an issue like this is to use a simple lamp timer.  You'll have 1min of downtime, but the rest of the 23:59 should be smooth sailing.  I plan to use these myself when I get home.

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[SamirD]

It is probably just that--a memory leak in some bad code.  Personally, I'd rahter them just fix the code than band-aid it with an 'auto-reboot' feature.

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[SamirD]

I believe the same script I use to automatically reboot my rv016s every day can used on the rv042.  PM me if you want me to send you the script.

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[ghedrick]

This problem is plaguing my VPN and I was also unable to get any help from Cisco! Is there any way to post the script or provide a link? I don't see how to private message anyone on here...

[SamirD]

Wow, you're right.  They eliminated the messaging system.   Lovely forum 'upgrade'.

Email me directly at my website.  I'm not sure if it will work on v4, but it might be worth a shot.
 

[thn.tplogic]

Same problem.

[sjgdigital]

Same problem here.

I use these boxes as they are a reasonable way to get load-balancing into a small business BUT every unit I've installed I've had these problems with.

ALL are running the latest firmware.

ALL are configured slightly differently - nothing consistent that seems to cause the issue.

NOTHING showing in the log which points to an issue causing the box to lock up.

Recycle power and it can be logged into again.

To be honest, I expect better from Cisco and this really isn't good enough.  The fact that Cisco have left this unanswered is pretty shabby, really.

I'm wondering if it could be caused by power spikes but I'm clutching at straws with that theory.

Anyone have any success in resolving this?

[Tom Watts]

Well, to be fair, it seems like no one wants to take initative to open a case with Cisco. I know for sure the 2 years I worked for the SB-TAC this is not a documented problem and I know for sure it is not a traditional problem with these units. Between my personal experience using these products and my experience working for Cisco, no one has really called on it.

Cisco can't fix what people aren't willing to share their problems through a formal process. There is only so much to replicate in the lab.

The community forums are an excellent resource for casual support and even "unsupported" scenarios to get stuff working and of course free support when you're not entitled to warranty. But it is a luxury and a privelege, not the way of the world.

If this is a serious problem and you want it addressed NOW, please call the small business support center, open a case. Cisco is not a big mean giant that only wants money and doesn't care about satisfaction... it's quite the opposite in a very amazing fashion, I've seen it personally many times.

-Tom
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