4 hours of hard network trouble, and still no luck.

[taez]

Plan:
My aim is to run a small private server for me and a couple of mates.

Problem:
My friends can't connect to my hosted server properly - they try and login and the realmlist box comes up, they select a realm to join, press accept and the box of realmlists disappears and reappears.

What I Have Done So Far:
Configured the MySQL database of realms in realmd to accept both internal network and external connections.

Redirected my Mac Address to DMZ Port therefore no need for "Port Fowarding" as DMZ makes port fowarding obselete however; I did turn DMZ off and put Port Fowarding on. Still no difference.

Set up the .conf files in many different formats of IP addresses.

Setup both dyndns and no-ip and of course both with no luck.

Added 2 root users for MySQL 1 using internal ip address, other using external.

Further Details:
I just want the majority of you people who like to flame on the forums saying press the "Search" don't even bother, it's not worth reading or wasting time - I have searched all over the forums for anything I could find, I have tried anything and everything on the forums and still no luck. So please once again, don't flame "use search" - Because I already did, even more so a pain when no results and had to wait 60 seconds.

What I Would Like:
If possible could I either have replies here saying on how to fix this problem, or a tester to see if you can connect, and if you can, it's my friend's end and this will be a waste of time.

Server Config and Details:
MaNGOS 23-05-07 Build
Silvermoon Project Database Latest Release, 2.1?
MySQL Latest Version
SQLyob Enterprise Latest Version.
Network Connection: Wireless BT Home Hub Modem/Router.

Thanks In Advance:
I would like to thank any repliers now for any constructive advice they may give - this saves me flaming, I will update and let people what worked and what didn't work for me.

Mac

[MentaL]

[jerkstore]

Nice work on the DMZ host thing, but... Port forwarding isn't generally the issue. The IP of your realm, as set in the realm database, is exactly what gets sent to the client when it tries to join. However, if you're able to access your server locally, that means it's coughing up an internal network address, which is meaningless to a computer that is not on your local network. They connect, authenticate, and are then told by the realm server to connect to "192.168.0.56" (or whichever one your server is on) for access to the realm itself. Their client tries to connect to 192.168.0.56 on their internal network, and fails, kicking them back to the realm list to try again.

Your best bet is to set your realm address to a DNS name that is registered to your "real" internet address, and then fool the machines on your local network (edit the hosts file) into thinking that DNS name actually points to the local address on which your server resides.

I'm not sure if you can set up multiple realms that point to the same world server. That would eliminate the need for this whole process, as one could be set to return your external IP, and the other your internal.

[taez]

Nice work on the DMZ host thing, but... Port forwarding isn't generally the issue. The IP of your realm, as set in the realm database, is exactly what gets sent to the client when it tries to join. However, if you're able to access your server locally, that means it's coughing up an internal network address, which is meaningless to a computer that is not on your local network. They connect, authenticate, and are then told by the realm server to connect to "192.168.0.56" (or whichever one your server is on) for access to the realm itself. Their client tries to connect to 192.168.0.56 on their internal network, and fails, kicking them back to the realm list to try again.

Your best bet is to set your realm address to a DNS name that is registered to your "real" internet address, and then fool the machines on your local network (edit the hosts file) into thinking that DNS name actually points to the local address on which your server resides.

I'm not sure if you can set up multiple realms that point to the same world server. That would eliminate the need for this whole process, as one could be set to return your external IP, and the other your internal.

Sounds logical, however I will try and find the right host file in Vista, I know where it is located XP, I'll browse google and get back to you on how I get on.

Thanks mate.

-- Edit 1 || Subject: Found Hosts File --

Found the hosts file, just so happens to be in the same place as it were in XP - Could you confirm that I would put in the host file to confuse the system into letting, the 'client' let's call him, join my server. As it stand I am on DMZ Mode so I will take a wildcard and go for:-

127.0.0.1 *.no-ip.com

As an example of what could be, I will try it anyway, please correct me as I have only ever had to edit hosts during internal networking from redirecting server to server, little less complicated that this, first ever attempt so bear with me.

For those who are curious the hosts files in Vista are located in (default path):-

c:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

From there the hosts file is located there, however the file is read only make sure you run notepad as Administrator to edit this file.

Right, after a lucky shot I finally managed to get it work!

For those who are confused I am going to type up a complete guide fully working, down to the simplest thing so everyone can host a server simple as pie - Let's say the Dummies Guide to Hosting a MaNGOS Server. Just so you all know, I have only been doing this scene for 2/3 days... It's not that difficult people, a little patience and common sense is all it takes.