A noobish question re: ports...

cdfreelancer

cdfreelancer

New Member
I've recently had a router fitted to my computer and it has been causing me no end of problems. I am aware that I need to make some changes as regards which ports the router uses etc.

Unfortunately I'm not exactly sure about ports.

1. What exactly IS a port?

2. How many ports does my machine have?

3. Is each port exactly the same?

4. AAAARGH someone please help me and explain this whole 'ports' thing ot me!!!

Thanks in advance!
 
Ports are "channels" that your PC uses to communicate with other PCs on the internet. There are upwards of 8000. Some of the more common ones are:

80 HTTP-Internet
21 FTP
110 POP3 email in
25 SMTP email out

etc.

most are not used. Your router or firewall needs to open the ports for a program, IF you want to accept connections from the internet, such as for a FTP server or a game server, or P2P program. This is not necessary if you just want to browse or email.
If you want more detail on some aspect, just ask :)
 
Thankyou.

My problem lies in the fact that I use a program called emule as my P2P client and recently I installed a router because I changed ISP. Emule was working fine until installed the router and now is barely downloads anything at all.
I understand that in order to make emule work well again I need to configure my router and/or emule but I haven't got a clue what to do.

Please help me!
 
My router is a BT voyager 205 ADSL. Unfortuantely that guide is no good because I don't have a Linksys BEFSR41 router.
For some reason emule only offer advice for a handful of routers.
Why do people bother with routers anyway? Surely it's better to use a modem.
 
Ask and you shall receive: How to port forward on the BT Voyager 205 . Start emule, look under the options and see what ports it wants to use, if necessary look under the emule link above and see what the steps are that you need to follow. I know you have a different router, but the general idea is the same. You will need to create a virtual server for the ports that emule wants to use; see the link on this post.
IIRC, emule has a test service available that will check your connection, but I may be thinking of eDonkey.
Have fun :D
P.S. Routers act as a firewall, which is *VERY* secure, that is why they are better than modems. Also, they are easier if you need to swap PCs.
 
OK I followed the advice shown here as you recommended.
Obviously my router is the BT voyager and the tutorial is for a Linksys BEFSR41.
I managed to follow all steps until I came to section 3, subsection v. It asks you to goto the configuration web address for your router, where you can change features and security level etc. It then says "make sure that 'UPnP Services' are enabled". Well my problem is that I can't find an option to enable/disable 'UPnP Services' anywhere in the settings for my router. Aaargh.

I'm new to this router configuration business, so I hope that makes sense.
 
Aaaargh this is really f*cking me-off now! I don't really know what I'm doing and I've tried to follow the advice but to no avail.
I'm worried I might mess-up my internet access.
 
I looked on my D-link, it is under Tools--Misc. and there it was. Your router undoubtedly has a different interface.

here are a couple of links that may help:
Lnk 1
This next one is for a BT 2000, I Don't know if the interface is similarLink 2

P.S. Try it without verifying the status of uPNP, it may be on be default; it was for my router, it may be for yours.
 
OK I just called my ISP's technical support helpline and they informed me that, as I thought, there is no option to enable/disable UPnP.
Apparently the BT voyager is a cheap 'n' nasty router hence why it's functionality is limited.
 
Incedently, I have both the USB and ethernet cable connecting the router to my mousetrap. Is it wise to use both connections at the same time or is best to only use the ethernet connection?
 
OK, the program I'm having a problem with is my P2P client, emule. There is a facility within emule that allows you to check ports for connectivity. I have just run the check and this is the result:

"Please wait while the ports of your eMule are being tested...




Testing IP: host[EDITED].range81-151.btcentralplus.com ([EDITED])

Starting TCP connection test...
TCP test failed! UDP test will not be performed.




Connection test finished.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Results in detail:


TCP connection test failed.
It was not possible, to establish a TCP connection to your eMule.
Other users will only be able to connect to you with the help of a server, resulting in a low ID for you. While eMule still works, this will give you several disadvantages. Therfore it is highly recommended to solve this problem.



How to resolve port problems... Something is interfering with your network communications. There are two main reasons for this:

If you are using a firewall, ensure that your firwall don't block the required ports! You might need to set a rule to allow the ports to be available.
If you use a router, make sure that your router forwards the required ports to your local IP!"

Where you can see [EDITED] is where I edited out my IP address.

Damn this is a pain in the ****
 
Go through the steps of creating a virtual server with the router; that part is necessary, even if you cannot enable upnp. Be sure that the ports are open for TCP not UDP. Be sure you use the ports specified in the emule help page, and also be sure that you do not have a software firewall, such as Zonealerm, SP2 or sygate that is in the way. Keep trying, it can be difficult.
BTW, how do you use ethernet and USB at the same time, are they both active connections?
 
I just spoke to my ISP on the phone and the guy told me to disconnect the USB connection and only use the ethernet. I have no idea if they were both active connections.

With relation to forwarding the neccessary ports: I phoned my ISP and the kind gentleman on the end of the phone guided me through the process. The earlier posts that you made in this thread showed me how to set a static IP and then how to forward ports but due to my lack of experience I needed to be guided through the process and am pleased to say that I have now successfully forwarded all necceassary ports for emule to use (And learnt something in the process).
I know that the operation has been successful because when I do a port test using emule, I come to a webpage with this message:

"Starting TCP connection test...

TCP test successful.

Now testing UDP...
Sending UDP packet...
Waiting for result...
UDP test successful.




Connection test finished.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Results in detail:

Both port tests were successfully finished. Happy eMule'ing!"


OK, brilliant, I have forwarded the ports correctly.

However...

This has failed to address the primary issues that I have been experiencing with emule since installing the router.

I've continued this subject in a new thread.

Thanks for the help up until now!
 
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