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Kohler Electric Generator Oncue issues

I have Verizon FIOS (TV, Internet) with an Actiontec router. I also have an Kohler generator with Oncue software. Oncue allows remote access to monitor and control the generator. Oncue is an application that runs on a PC.

The issue I am having is the generator seems to be able to send emails (i.e. outbound) but Oncue cannot connect to the generator. This is despite the fact that the generator passes the router connectivity test. Oncue is also able to connect to the Kohler Oncue server. It seems like the router will not allow an inbound connection to the generator's controller. This is the case with software firewall (McAfee) turned off and Actiontec security set to lowest setting. Required ports are forwarded properly. Verizon tech guy confirmed this.

Kohler says the issue is the Actiontec router and that other Kohler customers have resolved the issue by replacing the router with a Netgear router. This requires the other router to be in front of the Actiontec I believe.

I am looking for someone that has FIOS and a Kohler generator with Oncue who has gotten Oncue to work. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

tns2

Double check the documention for Oncue.

Almost all routers default to blocking incoming connections. Most software is aware of this and many actually do outgoing communication to some site instead.

Your doc probably either mentions using UPnP to configure or gives you some ports to forward. UPnP will work as long as you check and make sure that UPnP is still enabled (the default for actiontec. If you need to manual configure look for some Verizon's help pages, or search this forum for detailed help.

On a few routers they have hidden UpNP. For all actiontec routers you should be able to use UPnP Menu after first logging on to the router

http://192.168.1.1/index.cgi?active%5fpage=900

Anti-Phish1

You've left out some important information.

How is the generator connected to the router (wired or wireless)?
How is the PC connected to the router?
What hardware revision of the Actiontec do you have (A-I)?

Is the generator able to obtain a DHCP lease? i.e. Can you see it on the router's main status page?

Can you ping the generator from the PC?

bdegnan

You've left out some important information.

How is the generator connected to the router (wired or wireless)? It is wired with CAT5 and we get a good signal.
How is the PC connected to the router? Wifi. I am able to access my webcam remotely over the internet.
What hardware revision of the Actiontec do you have (A-I)?MI424WR-GEN31

Is the generator able to obtain a DHCP lease? Yes. Router recognizes it with DHCP lease.

i.e. Can you see it on the router's main status page? Yes

Can you ping the generator from the PC? Yes

tns2

One quick thing to check since you have things on wired and wireless is that you have turned off IGMP proxy.

I believe its hidden on your router so you may have to use the hidden menu page

From an earlier post of mine

"This sounds like the problem that occurs when you have IGMP Proxy set to yes.

Logon to your router.

Look at advanced options and see if you see IGMP Proxy. If you do click on it and check that IGMP Proxy is disabled.

Note on some of the newer routers they, at least temporarily, have screwed up the options and IGMP Proxy is not shown under advanced options. For these you can use a jump, which will get you to the now hidden page to turn off IGMP Proxy.

Originally posted by BIGDADDY on DSL REPORTS this jump to gets you to the IGMP proxy page. Many have had success when they turned off IGMP proxy.

http://192.168.1.1/index.cgi?active_page=6059 "

bdegnan

Thank you. I will try that and report back.

PCMacTechnician

I am having avery similar issue on 2 Generator installs with 2 Fios Actionteks - the weird thing is , the company I work for installs these all week long, same generator, and plenty of fios customers.

This issue - the only thing unique is that the fios customers have an Ethernet connection from their ONT to their Actiontec, and and we are not having this issue with clients connected via COAX.

I have played with all of the port forwarding, I have been in contact with both verizon and our Kohler support rep. Just today I tried IGMP proxy disable - and it was not helpful at all.

Our specific sympton is that we can not add the generator to OnCue, during "Reading Initial Configuration" I get a device disconnected, and it kicks the generator off the network, it then takes about 40 seconds for the generator to reconnect to the fios router and then it starts over again.

Would be very grateful if anyone else finds a solution to this problem.

jking519

I too am having trouble with OnCue connectivity and I also have FIOS. When I first installed OnCue, everything connected and appeared to be working fine (or so I thought). After a few days, it stopped connecting and OnCue says the "device is not connected...". Occasionally, I get lucky and it connects but about after 30 seconds, it drops the connection. I have verified the Generator status display shows "Connected" when I am able to connect and and then it shows "Disconnected". I've tried multiple network cables and don't know what else to do.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,
Joe

bdegnan

I started this thread and am a bit relieved to see that others are having this issue and it is not just somthing that I have overlooked.

Kohler is saying the Actiontec router is the issue and that at least one other FIOS user resolved the OnCue connectivity issue by replacing the Actiontec router with a NetGear 600 router. To do this, I would need to place the NetGear router in front of the Actiontec, connect cat5 from the generator to the NetGear router and then connect the Actiontec router to the NetGear router. I have seen some guidance on the internet regarding the specifics of how this is done. I will post URLs to this information in the next day or so and report any progress that I am seeing. Would like to know if anyone has tried this approach.

I will also ask Kohler for any specfics they can provide regarding OnCue customers who overcame this issue. It is ridiculous to me that people have to struggle with this without much support and apparently need to reinvent the wheel over and over again.

gs0b

Since you have FiOS TV, you have a coax connection to the ONT. Verizon won't enable Ethernet for the WAN if you have TV service. The Actiontec router connects to the WAN over coax using MoCA. It also creates a MoCA LAN for the set-top boxes. It's difficult to replace the Actiontec router, as it really needs to be at the center of your network.

There is hardware out there that will bridge MoCA to Ethernet, however you'll be creating a setup that isn't supported by Verizon. There are posts here and on other sites that describe this setup. Note that Verizon won't support such a setup.

From the outside looking in, it looks like to me that Kohler assumes a completely open connection to the internet. This is a bad assumption and I think this is their fault. It may have to do with the back-end software they are running on their web site. If so, it's unlikely to change until they are willing to spend (a lot) more money to fix it.

One last thought; have you tried setting the generator as a DMZ host?

Good Luck.

viafax999

it would appear that possibley OnCue may be using port 502 for external access abd that you would need to forward that port to the generator bridge for remote access

See page 19 at this link

http://www.apelectric.com/v/vspfiles/pdf/t1486g9.pdf

smith6612

Just out of curiosity, has the following been attempted to see if one of these helps with keeping the Generator on the network?

Assigning a Static IP / Using DHCP Reservation to reserve an IP for the Generator
Checking to see if for some reason, the generator's control unit is entering a funny power save mode due to a lack of communication, that isn't caused by connectivity to another router (Eg: the Comcast Gateway as pointed out above).

I didn't catch anything in this thread about whether the Generator was connected Wired or Wirelessly. Just to note some things, I've found with home automation appliances and also printers of all things, tend to cooperate on a Wired connection a lot better than they do on Wireless. Lots of software bugs I'm sure are to blame.

Second, here at home I use a Wi-FI connected thermostat. In the documentation, it is pointed out that the thermostat may not behave correctly if it does not have a Common Wire attached. Even though the unit will recharge it's battery and run off of the power supplied from the HVAC unit. If you don't connect a C Wire, the thermostat will still use Wi-Fi, but it will enter aggressive power saving modes to converse power. These aggressive power savings can cause the radio to only transmit periodically each second to maintain a session, but can cause the thermostat to respond to a ping in about 500ms. Additionally, the thermostat will POWER DOWN it's radio from time to time, especially as power runs low, and will connect to the network periodically to synchronize with a server on the Internet for weather data, temp data, and so on. WIth a C wire, the thermostat will keep the radio powered constantly and will not enter a power saving mode.

Third, the reason why I suggested a Static IP here, is in case the Generator happens to be doing something funny where it is releasing it's IP address due to a power saving setting, OR because the unit is having problems with IP address Conflicts, or in the case of the thermostat I use here at home, software bugs cause the thermostat to fail to renew it's IP address with DHCP. A Static IP can ensure no other device gets the IP that is otherwise being used by the generator, and overall makes troubleshooting a whole lot easier.

Just some food for thought.

EDIT: Glad to see the Static IP part was attempted. Good move. I'd keep it on Static/DHCP reservation for the sake of troubleshooting.

IronEdison

I am a Kohler Certified Maintenance Technician, and have seen this problem before.

Here is the official solution, as detailed in the manual:

1.6 Internet Configuration and

Security (Firewalls)

When using the OnCue PC application from a remote location behind a firewall, it may be necessary to configure the firewall to open port 808.

The firewall may prompt you to allow OnCue to use port 808. Contact your network administrator for assistance, if necessary.

When the generator set is connected to an intranet network behind a firewall, for example in a commercial or industrial setting, it may be necessary to configure the firewall to open port 5253 to permit an outbound connection.

Contact your network administrator for assistance if necessary.

You can download the full manual for OnCue here: http://ironedison.com/kohler-oncue

The manual is saved on the top right side of the page.

IronEdison

I left out some important instructions on how to enable port forwarding.

Here is a link to the NetGear page that details how to enable port forwarding. http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/24046

If this link ever becomes disabled, just search "Port Forwarding" and the make / model of your router. You can find the model of your router on a sticker on the bottom of the device.

Good Luck Everyone!

obmd1

I am working with a Kohler tech now to get oncue to even add the genset. He worked with the company and they were able to get in and remotely start it, so I know the connection is working... but the password generated by the machine is not recognized when I log in via the consumer side. could this still be a port issue? The IP address is issued, and server communicates...

Cynicalguy

I just started having this issue when I upgrade my FIOS to 150/150 from 100/100. I had to switch to the Quantum Router and get my internet via ethernet vs coax. Has ANYONE resolved this yet?

Thanks

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