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Router Fiddling?

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Uytuun, Feb 25, 2006.

  1. Uytuun Gems: 25/31
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    Remove all ads!
    Well, I have a problem with the multiplayer part of the infintiy engine games it seems and it's bugging me to no end: I can't connect to anyone and no one can can connect to me.

    I've tried pretty much everything, so I thought it could be the router. Brother claims that unplugging it and plugging it back in will cause us to have to reconfigure it and if that's the case, I'm not so sure I should touch it. (I assume configuring a router is not easy ;) ) So, knowledgeable people of SP, is what he says true? And if so, what do I do? :)
     
    Uytuun, Feb 25, 2006
    #1
  2. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    Try setting it to put your computer into the DMZ while you play. That's the only thing that's really consistently worked for me. I've spent hours trying to make it work with careful port configuration, but it never did.

    Edit: I didn't describe how to do it because it's different with pretty much every router - provided yours even has this option (most of them do, though). I suggest doing a Google search on your router brand along with the word DMZ... even if you don't find instructions for the exact same model, the firmware will be similar so it should be easy enough to figure it out.

    Though if you know how to access your router's configuration as it is, finding the DMZ setting should be relatively easy. It's usually under advanced settings, and all you normally need to do is enable DMZ, select your computer from the listing of the ones connected to the router, and apply the changes.

    Keep in mind that this effectively disables the built-in firewall protection for your box, so make sure you have a software firewall like ZoneAlarm installed, since you likely won't bother with putting this on and off every time.

    [ February 25, 2006, 23:56: Message edited by: Taluntain ]
     
    Taluntain, Feb 25, 2006
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  3. Morgoth

    Morgoth La lune ne garde aucune rancune Veteran

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    AFAIK, setting the DMZ option for one network doesn't disable the firewall protection. It only makes sure that traffic from your DMZ network cannot reach the non-DMZ part of your network.
    Most routers do this by simply adding a different set of firewall rules for the DMZ network, allowing external systems to reach the DMZ on some ports.

    Uytuun, I think you should find out which ports are used by the IE games, and carefully open up those. For more safety you could follow Tal's advice, place your system (and only that system) into the DMZ and open those ports you need for gaming for the DMZ, and close all the other incoming ports.
     
    Morgoth, Feb 26, 2006
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  4. Erod Gems: 14/31
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    With the small home routers (at least those that I have used), DMZ usually works with the normal firewall settings. Meaning, incoming packets will first be checked by the firewall and NAT algorithms, then it is passed to the DMZ host if no port forwarding is specified for that port.

    Personally I would never advice someone to place his/her computer in the DMZ. It is a security risk. Instead separate port forwarding rules should be created for the needed ports.
     
    Erod, Feb 26, 2006
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  5. Taza

    Taza Weird Modmaker Veteran

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    IIRC port forwarding doesn't work too well with the infinity engine games, seeing you need to redirect 100+ ports.
     
    Taza, Feb 26, 2006
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  6. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    This is from my home router's DMZ help section: "The DMZ PC is effectively outside the Firewall, so has less protection. Because of this, the DMZ should be enabled only when required."

    Anyway, I said the protection would only be disabled for the box in the DMZ, not for all of them.

    If you put the box into the DMZ, you don't need any port configuration at all, since they'll all be accessible. At least that's how it worked for me.

    I couldn't make port configuration work properly even with NWN, let alone the IE games. But I guess a lot of it depends on the router. Mine's pretty old and has a large amount of quirks that I just couldn't get by. Using the DMZ was by far the easiest solution, and not really a problem as long as you're running a software firewall anyway.
     
    Taluntain, Feb 26, 2006
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  7. Taza

    Taza Weird Modmaker Veteran

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    There's no trouble using port forwarding for NWN, but IE games pick the used ports randomly from a range.

    YMMV, naturally.
     
    Taza, Feb 26, 2006
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  8. Uytuun Gems: 25/31
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    Thanks for your help, I'll be sure to look into your suggestions. :)
     
    Uytuun, Mar 1, 2006
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  9. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    Okay, time to revive this one. Basically, it looks like in Uytuun's case, IP conflicts might be the problem. We were able to play Starcraft on battle.net, so it's not the kind of firewall thing that prevents you from playing at all, but she can't join multiplayer IE games (or rather find the servers), which doesn't really look like an IP thing. Maybe if you can't make games or people can't find you, then it might be your IP... but if you just try to join? Nonetheless, it looks like she's getting some IP sharing problems in other circumstances too, so it might be something of that kind. Any suggestions?

    There might be a very slim chance it's not actually the router's fault but something with ISP or a local computer. She had the same problem on a different network with probably a different router but possibly the same ISP.
     
    chevalier, Aug 14, 2006
    #9
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