Port Forwarding Tutorial

[bigfella]

I have been fumbling around for a few days trying to get my Antrix server to run over the internet. The problem mostly boiled down to port forwarding.

Why do we need port forwarding?

We need it because the normal PC closes most ports so prying eyes do not have free range to our PC's. However for you to be able to access a program the port the program uses must be accessible (or open).


I am making the assumption here you are using a router. There maybe one or more pc's attached to it. Each time you connect to your router it will assign an ip address to your pc that is used on your network only (network can be one or more PC's). When a PC external to your router (ie from the internet) accesses your external IP address (proveded by your ISP) your router needs to direct that PC to the PC on your network that holds the antrix server. Port forwarding allows this occur.

As stated earlier as each pc on your network connects to your router an internal IP address is assigned. This is dynamic (ie it can change every time you boot your PC). To save changing port forwarding settings each time you boot your PC it is best to make this interanl IP address static (ie the same each time you connect to your router).

To do this go to control panel and select network connections and then local area connection. Select TCP/IP then properties. Select "use the following IP address". You then choose and IP address that falls into the range that is selected dynamically by your router (then write this down). The subnet mask and default gateway are default setting you will find in your router manual. Select "use the following DNS address". The preferred DNS is the same as the default gateway. Click on OK. You have now set a static internal IP address to your PC on your network. I now suggest you do the same to all PC's on your network.

Now you need to port forward. You need to now go to the software provided by your router people (this maybe a program or can be accessed by a webpage using the your default gateway ip address). You need to got to where you do the port forwarding (this will be different for every router). You need to open the 3 ports required by Antrix to the IP address you wrote down in the last paragraph (ie the internal address you assigned to your PC).

Once you have done this your router will then direct the external PC trying to access Antrix to the server on your nextwork via the port you have just opened.

Now how do you know your port is open???

Firstly start Antrix. Then on the same PC go to https://www.grc.com/port_1111.htm Next to the "jump" button enter one of the ports you just forward and press jump. Then press "probe this port". In the status section it should say "open". If it does not then the port is not open and you have made a mistake.. You should check all three ports you just forwarded. If all say open you should be able to access your antrix server via the internet.

If anyone out there can add to or tweak this tutorial feel free to do so.

[MentaL]