Opening Ports

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So I used to forward ports all the time, normally single computers. Now at home I have 4 computers running through a router on my network. I am not sure if I can forward ports on a network.

I need to forward port 7777 for Unreal Tournament 3, to get a certain problem fixed with the game. That is besides the point.

All the information on how to do this 100% is right here, http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/Belkin/F5D9230-4/Unreal_Tournament_3.htm. Now in that tutorial it says you need to have a Static IP address, which I knew. How to do that is right here.

http://www.portforward.com/networking/static-vista.htm

My question, if I follow that tutorial on getting a Static IP address will it effect my other computers and not allow them to use the internet? I know I tried this in the past and I think they still had internet but it was not stable, if that is what I did, can't remember. Anyways, is it safe to do this?
 
Yes.

It would be best to set them all as static if you did that though.
 
Ah, I thought someone might say that. That is quite the hassel just to get a game to work 100%. I guess it's time for me to move out hahaha
 
Your other computers do not have to have a static IP address. Only the machine that the port is forwarding to must be static.

What can happen, is that the DHCP server (running on your router) may attempt to assign an IP Address to another computer that matches the static one that the first computer is set to. If there is a conflict, then that machine will not be able to access the internet.

It is simple to fix, though, just go into your routers DHCP settings and adjust the range of IP Addresses that the DHCP server will give out.

For example, it might say something like 192.168.0.1 - 192.168.0.50

Make sure the static IP you give is outside of this range and you will not have any conflicts.

I typically setup my DHCP server to give out IP's between 192.168.0.100 - 192.168.0.254, and I use ranges < 100 for my static IP's

Hope this helps !
 
what router do you have? Some have a static lease option which just makes the DHCP server assign the same IP all the time. It's done by MAC address. I have my n etwork setup like that, the IPs aren't static but they always get the same IP.
 
Or you could open that port on all of the addresses and stay dynamic with all PC's. That is what I do.

Admiral
What router? That's a nice feature.
 
LordofLA: how would that affect the connection of other computers? I have my desktop set to a specific IP address on my router using that exact method for certain applications, and the other computers used at my house (mostly just one or two laptops other than my desktop) have no issues. All it's doing is assigning a dedicated IP address to the MAC address of the network adapter connected to the router. Kinda like how i have mine set to always be 192.168.0.100, no matter how many times my computer is restarted.
 
if you set your PC manually to a static IP (the prefered way for static IP rather than static DHCP assignment), and don't want to, forget to, or can't tell the DHCP server that the IP is taken, there is a chance that another machine will try and take your IP as well.

It is best if using static IP, to configure all the workstations to static details and disabling the DHCP service on the router. One less attack surface on your router that way.
 
if you set your PC manually to a static IP (the prefered way for static IP rather than static DHCP assignment), and don't want to, forget to, or can't tell the DHCP server that the IP is taken, there is a chance that another machine will try and take your IP as well.

It is best if using static IP, to configure all the workstations to static details and disabling the DHCP service on the router. One less attack surface on your router that way.

I think to be safe, which it makes more sense to me what you are saying. I will wait till I move into my new place, and do all the computers with a static IP.

Thanks guys.
 
Just assign a static IP outside the DHCP pool and you dont have to worry about the DHCP server assigning an IP that you used statically on another comp.
 
I always assign static ip't to my pc's. As it states everywhere; it clears up issues with opening ports .... There are ways that you can set a port to be open across the network ..
 
Good stuff here, and I have to throw my vote towards doing MAC address reservations on the routers. Obviously need to change that if you get a new machine or change the NIC.

One of those 3rd party firmware thingies is supposed to let you do 16 different authentication based wireless networks from one router. I want to give that a shot, would be cool to have my computers and my gaming systems on seperate networks. I can leave the xbox network unencrypted and get faster speeds :D
 
The new linksys WRT160N has mac address filtering in it. I wonder if it runs like a regular linksys with the constant net kicks and having to reboot and such ...
 
I needed to open a bunch of ports too but then got lazy and just opened up a dmz ;)
 
Enabling DMZ is the worst thing you can do. With it enabled your just using the router more for a hub than a security device. The only time you want to enable it is when you have one box dedicated to something like a game server. As for a regular home network, running DMZ enabled is the most stupid thing you can do ....
 
I do okay on my network with bridged DSL - meaning the router is being a router and not a half-baked packet filter, dhcp server, dns proxy, etc.
 
Just assign a static IP outside the DHCP pool and you dont have to worry about the DHCP server assigning an IP that you used statically on another comp.

This is what I do ... Works perfectly ....
 

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