Port Forwarding Guide

[Zahvi]

Port Forwarding Guide

Hello, AGD Community.

 

Today I will be will be walking you through the steps of forwarding ports on your router. I will also explain what possible errors can occur, why they occur, and how to fix them. Alright let's get started!

 

Table Of Contents

• 1. Finding Your IP
• 2. Setting Up A Static IP
• 3. Forwarding Your Port
• 4. Configuring Your Server Host
• 5. Check The Port

 

Note:

Spoiler

I know there are tons of port forwarding guides and tutorials, however it seems that people still have difficulties with this simple but yet tedious task.

Hopefully I will be able to write this guide in a way where even the most computer illiterate people can understand it. If there is anything you do not understand in this guide, please feel free to leave a comment with what is perplexing you so that I may help you better understand and fix the guide for future readers. Thank you!

 

Vocabulary:

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Static IP - A number (in the form of a dotted quad) that is assigned to a computer by an Internet service provider (ISP) to be it's permanent address on the Internet.

Dynamic IP - A temporary IP address that is assigned to a computer or node when it's connected to a network. A dynamic IP address is an automatically configured IP address assigned by a DHCP server to every new network node.

 

 

Step 1: 

Finding your IP - Click on your start menu go to search and type in cmd, your command prompt should open. Now type: "ipconfig /all" (Ignore the quotes.) After you have ran the ipconfig command a bunch of information should be displayed in your command prompt window. You are looking for: IPv4 Address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, and DNS Servers. Write this information down you will need it later on.

 

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Step 2:

Setting up a static IP address - Typically most computers will use a dynamic IP address, however, in order for us to get our game online we want a static ip address. You can use a dynamic IP address, but I wouldn't recommend it. Whenever your computer is restarted your dynamic IP address will change, therefore causing you to have to forward your ports again but with your new IP address. This is annoying, inefficient, and down right not fair to your players. Moving on.

 

To set up your static IP address open up my computer and click on Network on the left sidebar. -

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Click on Network and Sharing Center in your top menu. -

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Click on Change Adapter Settings in your left sidebar menu. -

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Right click on whichever Network Connection you are using and select the properties option at the bottom. -

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Scroll down the list until you locate Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and then click on properties. -

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Your IPv4 properties should look like the one below. Click on both the options: Use the following IP address and Use the following DNS server address. -

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Now remember when I had you write down all that information that we received from the command prompt? You're going to need it here. Simply fill out the form with that information and click okay. Your IPv4 should now look something like this. -

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Now that you have a static IP address we can move onto the third step.

 

Step 3:

Port Forwarding - This is the most important step in this guide. Forwarding your ports allow others outside of your network to connect to your network and access your server.

 

Refer to the information that you received within your command prompt and locate the default gateway address. Once you have located your default gateway address open up your internet browser and type it into the URL bar. You should now see your default gateway login page, it should look similar to the picture below. -

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The default Username and Password is dependant on the type of router you own. Usually the username is "admin" and the password is "password"

If admin and password don't work you can use this link to find your router's password. Simply find your router type and model and voila! You should now have your username and password. If the username and password from the link does not work you may have to call your ISP.

 

Once you have signed into your default gateway you're going to want to find the port forwarding page, mine is located under the firewall tab and inside of the Virtual Server / Port Forwarding option. Depending on your router yours may be located elsewhere. Now that you are on the port forwarding page you will want to click add. -

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From here you will be able to set up what ports you want forwarded. For description you will want to put something that will indicate what the port is forwarded for. I used my games name. Next you will want to fill out the inbound port fields. You can open up a range of ports by entering the lowest port on the left and the highest port on the right. In our case we are only opening up one port, so go ahead and enter the port into both boxes. The default port for Intersect Engine is 4500. For format you are going to select both. for the private IP address you are need to put the address you made static. You want to use the same ports in the inbound port fields for the local port. Now click add. -

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Step 4:

Changing the host in your config file - find the config.xml file inside C:\Users\username\Desktop\Intersect Alpha 1.9\Client and Editor\resources and edit it. Find where it says "localhost"  change it to the IP you made static. -

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Step 5:

Check your port to see if it's open. You can use this website.  Input your port where it says Port to Check. Now click check port. Be sure to start your server before doing this step. -

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If you successfully forwarded your port then the port checker should display a success message. Congratulations! You have successfully forwarded your port, and your game server is now online! -

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If the port checker returns an error than you have either done something wrong or need further configuration. First double check everything to make sure if it's correct. If everything is correct than we need to troubleshoot the problem to see what further configurations are needed. Please see below to troubleshoot your problem. -

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Further Configurations have not yet been added to this guide please check back later after it has been updated. Thank you!

 

[biosboy4]

Also, for those that don't have a static IP, there are services like http://www.noip.com/

 

It uses DNS to reliably resolve users/clients to your dynamic IP address.

[Kibbelz]

Solid guide, 10/10

[Zahvi]

10 hours ago, biosboy4 said:

Also, for those that don't have a static IP, there are services like http://www.noip.com/

 

It uses DNS to reliably resolve users/clients to your dynamic IP address.

I will add a short No-Ip setup tutorial as an alternative step to Setting static IP - This will be added within the troubleshoot portion where I will be going over problems that may arise and how to solve them.

 

Thanks @Kibbelz. I appreciate it.

[pamiclo]

Very helpful. Thanks.

 

5 ★  /  5 ★ 

[Zahvi]

@pamiclo I'm glad I could help.

[koinken]

what if i have an at&t router?

[Kerobirot]

My server is not working. It turns off whenever i turn it on. How can I fix this?