Guide: How to be a charismatic host like Lady Remilia Scarlet.This guide is ONLY for people who are connecting to the internet using a router and not a modem. Portforward.com is a good site, however when people see the number of steps to be taken they get scared and cower ( CHARISMA BREAK ). Remember this, almost every router has similar steps to port forward, however the interface is every time different. Therefore you should still use portforward.com as a guide on the interface.
Step 0 - Before we start.Let us first check our IP settings. (Note you cannot see here if you have static or not. This is just for preparing).
Go to Start -> Run -> Type: "cmd" and hit enter. Amazing black box appears.
Type: "ipconfig" and hit enter. You should see something like this below. (command box)
[attach=1]
Keep this window OPEN. We need it as reference for future steps.
Step 1 - Checking for static IP address.Almost
all standard computer + router setups have automated IP distribution. So portforwarding is useless if your host PC has no static IP. Are you already a genius ? Then you should know how to check if you have a static IP. Otherwise
- For Windows XP: Right click on Network locations and select 'properties' -> Then, Right click on Local Area Connection and select 'properties' -> Finally, select Internet protocol (TCP/IP) and press 'properties' button.
- For Windows Vista/7: Right click on Netowrk locations -> Select 'change adapter settings' -> Select Internet protocol version 4 (TCP/IP) and press 'properties' button.
For both XP and Vista/7, If the radiobutton 'Obtain an IP address automatically' is selected and 'Obtain DNS automatically' it means your local IP is
dynamic. Thus we need to set it to static. Don't close this window either, we need it.
Step 2 - Setting a static IP- Select 'Use the following IP' and 'Use the following DNS' radiobutton. The fields can be modified now. Good.
Now let us look at the command box. Notice how IP address is 192.168.1.
64 ? Notice also Subnet mask = 255.255.255.0 and Standard Gateway is 192.168.1.
254? Now go to your properties of your TCP/IP (which we opened in step 1) and fill in
exactly what you see there.
- IP address - 192.168.1.X where the X should be preferred between let's say 10 and 200. (I'll spare you the reasons, just pick a number or pick the number showing in your command box for the X. (I picked 64))
- Subnet mask - Exactly the same as in command box (generally 255.255.255.0)
- Default Gateway - Exactly the same as in command box (mostly 192.168.1.1 OR 192.168.1.254)
- For DNS fields ONLY fill in the 'Preferred DNS server' which is exactly the same number as Default Gateway.
Hit the OK button and wait for the panel to close. Sometimes it can lag because the settings are being saved. Also
do note that your internet connection can be cut off (disconnecting from IRC/skype etC) as the computer is reconfiguring the connection. So wait for the connection to be re-established and check if you can access any internet page (forum for example).
If yes - Congratulations, you have a static IP. How ever, this was just the preparation. Now we go to the real stuff.
If no - You failed to survive the charisma. Check all steps carefully and redo it. If it still fails, well....complicated stuff :V
Step 3 - Access your routerThis is probably most easiest step. Simply open an empty internet browser and type the
default gateway number in your address bar. (i.e: 192.168.1.254). You should see a similar page like this. Note: every type of router has its own login page. This is typically a Zyxel router interface.
[attach=2]
Generally (unless your brother, sister, father or someone else modified it) the login for almost every router is: Loginname = admin and Password= admin. Otherwise, good luck finding out what it is oz.
Step 4 - Port forwardHere comes the tricky part, for me, to explain. Because each router has its own interface, it tends to get confusing and painful to get it right. Therefore I would advise to compare your interface with the screenshots on portforward.com. No matter what the interface is, you need to look for "NAT settings" or "Port forward". Generally it is hidden if your router has basic and advanced view interface. So look for it! My port fortforward settings are hidden under "Advanced view" -> Network -> Nat -> tab: port forward.
[attach=3]
So when you found it, look for button to 'ADD' new port forward rule or line. And then simply fill in the fields. Generally it will ask for:
- Name of the rule / forward - Fill in what you want (i.e: Warcraft 3 host)
- IP address - (Type in your static IP which we did in step 2!)
- Starting port - type 6112
- End port - type 6119
- Note! Some routers ask for UDP/TCP or both (could be a dropdown or tick box. Make sure both are enabled)
When everything is filled out, hit ok / save or whatever button is available and wait. Again here your connection can be cut off. If nothing broke down, go check if you can access the internet / irc etc. And also go try whether you can host a game which people can access.
Step 5 - Understanding what you didBasically what we did is made sure the router directs any connection on port 6112 up to 6119 to
your computer. This is why you need a static IP. Otherwise the next time you power your PC, it might receive a different IP address from the router and thus the
forwarding rule becomes invalid. This is a common mistake people make. They just port forward without first setting their IP static.
This portforwarding principal goes for any application, game or software. So you can set more forwarding rules. Keep in mind some routers have limit to number of forwards. My router has 11 (because stupid consumer hardware sucks). Some routers have 20 or more. Depends on your model and brand.
For the more technical people. You might want to also exclude your IP address from the DHCP lease on your router, to prevent the router from giving away that IP address to another client in the network. Go to your DHCP settings and exclude your IP from the lease pool.
Enjoy your charismatic hosting.
