Port Forwarding?

[thedooku]

I'm looking into how to get the most bang for my buck out of my broadband connection (cable). Many people on the PSforums recommend "port forwarding" to improve speed and game hosting ability.

THIS is the guide I've been looking at. I'm hoping some of the more seasoned IT guys can give me advice.

Should I follow these instructions? If so, will I notice an improvement? (DL speeds around 15Mb/s, UL usually less than 1.0Mb/s)

What are the pros/cons of port forwarding?

I have an RCA325 (should be DOCSIS 2.0, but I haven't checked the version) modem. It's connected to a Linksys WRT54GC router, which is then hardwired to my PS3.

[norm]

What firmware are you using for your linksys? Also what version is your linksys?

[thedooku]

I'll have to dig that up when I get back home this afternoon. Do I need the install CD to figure out the version and firmware? I can find it if so....it's in one of those boxes

[norm]

for the linksys you just need to look at the label to see the version. My linksys is a WRT54GS v2.1.

For the firmware you need to type this into the address bar of your browser.

192.168.1.1

That should let you access the linksys. if it asks for a password and you've never given it one there's two different defaults.

For a new model:
username: admin
password: admin

For an older model:
username: (leave it blank)
password: admin

Whatever pops up when you access your linksys is your firmware.



If you are using the default linksys firmware you may want to try a different firmware like Tomato.

[thedooku]

Cool, thanks Norm! Will update with info when i get home later.

I have never changed the firmware for my router, so I assume it's the default, unless it updates automatically or something. Tomato firmware looks interesting, though I don't know what half the stuff means, lol.

[RaTix]

Port Forwarding isn't really to make anything faster. It's to make it work in general. Different programs use different ports to connect. Port forwarding is to ensure that the ports for a program on a specific device gets forwarded through the router properly. Examples being, web pages (http) use port 80, SMTP (email) uses port 25.
The guide is similar to what 360 users have to do as well to get their NAT open. You first assign a static IP to the 360. Then in the router, forward ports 88 and 3074 to the IP you assign to the 360. Otherwise the router might not allow traffic through on those ports which can cause some odd issues, like not being able to connect to certain users, or joining games they are in, or ability to use chat functions.

Norm's just trying to get anyone he can to use Tomato, which is an un-official firmware upgrade that can essentially turn a $50 router into a $3000 router. However flashing the firmware is potentially risky as if you mess up in anyway, you can brick your router. Unless you are comfortable with flashing firmware, I wouldn't worry about it right now. The advanced settings of Tomato might end up confusing you more as well.


*Side note, I think the image for the hosting bandwidth on that link is grossly wrong. It says "Upload KBYTES/sec" not "Bits". A 3500 KBytes line is a 30 Mb connection on upload, which is unheard of in residential ISPs.

1 Byte = 8 Bits. Bytes is always represented by a BIG B, bits a small b. So if you have a 30Mb connection, divide 30,000,000 by 8 which = 3.75 MB a sec.

They really mean you need a 3.5Mb connection for 24 players, which would be 437,500 KB upload speed. Just felt the need to point that out.

[RageProphetXIII]

I had some problems with this last night I was not able to use voice chat with Brocman, and I figured out that the NAT was type 3 which restricted my PSN connection and not allowing me to chat.

I went into my router as stated above and I basically put my IP as 192.168.1.250. Then I turn off the Upnp on my router. checked my PS3 connection and still had NAT 3. When I turned the Upnp on again and checked my PS3 I had enabled the Upnp on the PS3's connection and NAT 2 was back on and chatting with the Broman.

[thedooku]

I had some problems with this last night I was not able to use voice chat with Brocman, and I figured out that the NAT was type 3 which restricted my PSN connection and not allowing me to chat.

I went into my router as stated above and I basically put my IP as 192.168.1.250. Then I turn off the Upnp on my router. checked my PS3 connection and still had NAT 3. When I turned the Upnp on again and checked my PS3 I had enabled the Upnp on the PS3's connection and NAT 2 was back on and chatting with the Broman.

I wish I could understand that 2nd paragraph, Lol. I've had problems connecting with certain friends in chat before, could be a similar issue. I've got some reading to do to figure out all these TLAs (three letter acronyms) ;)

Is it worth my effort to assign a static IP and do the port forwarding?

[norm]

ssshhhh Ratix!

Linksys is a good decent router, but the firmware in it is a little to be desired. A firmware like Tomato will open up some of the function of the router and take care of a lot of the issues you may have in your network. For me Tomato is smart enough to know when I'm running the 360, Hamachi, CnC or uTorrent and opens what ports that are needed or changes the settings to best suit that program.



Edit: This I can help with Ratix is better at explaining it


UPnP = Universal Plug and Play

NAT = Network Address Translation

[RageProphetXIII]

I wish I could understand that 2nd paragraph, Lol. I've had problems connecting with certain friends in chat before, could be a similar issue. I've got some reading to do to figure out all these TLAs (three letter acronyms) ;)

Is it worth my effort to assign a static IP and do the port forwarding?

I don't know anything about port forwarding, but I did figure out how to change the NAT 3 to NAT 2 so now I should have a clean connection and vaccinated the AIDS that keeps you from chatting.

If you have any questions i can try and help let me know

[RaTix]

You should always assign all devices on your network a Static IP, as opposed to dynamic. Just more secure and also makes it easier to forward ports when needed. Not sure your level of knowledge on networking, so I will start with the basics and explain.

The router dolls out IP addresses to all devices on the network. PC, PS3, Etc.. If it's using a dynamic IP, it means the router assigns the device an IP randomly from a pool of IP addresses. Usually for LinkSys it's any number between 192.168.1.2 - 192.168.1.254.

Port forwarding is setting which IP address a port needs to be forwarded to. If the device is constantly changing IPs (dynamic), it can't properly forward the ports.

So you want to go into the PS3 connection settings and assign it a static IP from the pool your router uses. I suggest going high like .100 or .200. This way if you hook up a laptop or something else that will use a dynamic connection, it won't run the chance of assigning the same IP as the PS3. routers will normally start with the lowest available number, like .2 or .3 when assigning dynamically.

Once you have that set, you can log into the router to forward the ports. PortForward.com is a good place for a step by step guide for each router. here is their page on Warhawk setup. Might want to go by the ports listed on the other article, but this will at least show you how to setup the router.

http://portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/Linksys/WRT54GC/PS3_Warhawk.htm

* For the sake of knowledge. Universal Plug and Play is sort of like a dynamic port forwarding service. It tries to determine what ports are needed for what programs on what device. Not always the best solution as it can miss some critical ports needed.

All you need to know about NAT in this case, is the more ports that are closed (not forwarded) the higher the restrictions. on the 360 the NAT levels are Open/Moderate/Strict. Open means all the ports are open (or forwarded properly) and the device can fully communicate to the WAN (or internet). Moderate means some ports are open, but some are still closed. Strict being all ports are closed and it cannot communicate at all through them. I assume the PS3 is similar with NAT3 being Strict/Moderate, NAT2 being Open.

[thedooku]

Thanks a bunch...much clearer now. You've seen/heard about all of my networking knowledge, but I want to learn more. I appreciate the help.

I lived in a fraternity house for a few years in university and a couple of the guys were very knowledgeable and loved to game. They had a fast and secure network setup for the house that worked very well for file/media sharing and gaming. I aim to have something similar in my house, but on a smaller scale and budget.

Girlfriend's having a shower for her friend at the house tonight...hoping I can hide away from the women and explore my nerdiness tonight :D

[Zabka]

Girlfriend's having a shower for her friend at the house tonight...hoping I can hide away from the women and explore my nerdiness tonight :D

too much of that and hair will grow on your palms.

[thedooku]

too much of that and hair will grow on your palms.

LoL, they said I'd go blind too.....but I have 20/20 vision and hair free palms. Don't believe their LIES:p

update: *sigh* So I've been banished to the basement and forced to play PS3 on a Standard Def TV. This a travesty! write you congressman :D