Re: Soundrts router/firewall help
Every router is different, so the first step is to find out what brand it is, and what specific model.
There should be a sticker somewhere on the unit that will give you the information you need, and possibly more... Depending on the ISP.
If you don't have someone that can see to read it for you, and OCR isn't working, then if it's the standard machine that you automatically get installed when you sign up for broadband internet, you should be able to just call your ISP's tech department and have them tell you.
After you know the router's name, you need to look up some basic information about it on Google, if you haven't gotten it from your cable company already. Start with what you need to type into the address bar of your web browser to access it's administrative interface, usually an internal IP; and then find out what the default username and password for logging into it is (keep in mind that this isn't t
he same code that you use to connect to the wireless network it's self.)
If you can also find step by step instructions on how to forward a port with your specific machine while your at it, then all the better, but unless your ISP has something in it's FAQ or help database, or you can get a hold of a readable electronic version of the user manual from the manufacturer's website, you probably won't be able to do so.
So here's a general set of instructions that may or may not work depending on your specific router, assuming that there isn't a help link within the web interface it's self anywhere along the way, which you should keep an eye out for.
1. Find the DHCP controls, sometimes known as "Assign a static IP" or some such; they will probably be in a more basic section that doesn't specifically
have to do with the wireless network it's self.
2. You should see a list of the devices on your network, with device names, current internal IP's, which will be made up of 4 sets of numbers divided by dots, and possibly MAC addresses as well, (no relation to Apple computers, ) which are unique strings of letters and numbers separated by several dashes that are generated by a device's network card. Next you need to locate your own device from within that list, usually it will contain the name of the person that owns the computer in it, and copy the MAC address, unless your particular router just lets you choose between clients with a combo box, in which case you don't need it.
3. Asign a specific IP to the computer you've chosen, entering it's MAC Address if needed to identify it. next you'll probably have to type the IP in, by hand, a
nd it should look just like the router's own IP address, accept for the very last number, which can not be the same, and needs to be no greater than "254". For instance, my router's IP address is "192.168.0.1" and the one I gave my computer is "192.168.0.168". If you don't know what your router's internal IP is because yours was accessed by using a normal http address, such as "routerlogin.net" for instance, you can usually find out on either the main page that you see after logging in, or within some sort of status or about section.
4. You should probably write down the new IP, along with any other information, such as your computer's MAC, that you think you might need later before continuing. Make sure to apply your changes, and if the router needs to restart it's self, let it. You may also need to disconnect from your wireless network and reconnect again, but this first part will be finis
hed after that, and we can now forward the port to that IP you set, since now it won't change every hour or how ever long it is for you the way it usually does, which would break things.
5. Now you can find the port forwarding area and do what you came to do, (it's not the same as port triggering by the way, so ignore that page if you come across it). The one you want has about a 50 50 chance of being in either the basic or advanced sections, I guess it depends on how much your router trusts you not to bust it...
6. Create a new entry, and name it something like SoundRTS so that it's easy to find again if you need it. Then choose port 2500, making sure that you've selected the UDP protocol option, and if you are asked to provide both a start and an end port, just use the same one for both of them.
7. Next you need to tell th
e router which device you want this port forwarded to, so if your router simply gives you a list of computers or IP addresses to choose from, just pick the one you want, unless you instead have two blank fields to fill in, internal IP and external IP, which is more likely, then you should enter the IP address you assigned earlier into both fields. You may even need to do this twice, if you were asked to specify both a start and end port while doing the last step.
8. Apply the changes and wait a moment, then reconnect if needed, and finally double check that SoundRTS is aloud through windows firewall before attempting to put up a server, if it's not, then browse to your SoundRTS folder, and press enter on "soundrts.exe" to add an exception.
9. If people are able to connect, then you may consider backing up your router's current configuration if it has that feature, usually found within the advanced section under system or administrative tools, so t
hat you don't need to set up the port and IP again if you need to hard reset the unit. It should download a file onto your computer that you can then upload back to the same place later if needed.
I really hope this helps, even if you aren't hosting your own server... In which case the only thing you need to do on your end is unblock SoundRTS through your PC's firewall, no static IP assignment or port forwarding needed, since even if you don't end up using this little guide, someone else might later.
_______________________________________________ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
