New DM needs help with firewall/router

[Natedog]

Hey all,

My DM is out of pocket for 9 weeks, so I am trying to get a short adventure going for the rest of my group but can't get my FG to connect as a server. I have Verizon FIOS, Actiontec router, and have followed all the recommendations on the boards, to include setting up a static IP address, and port forwarding (1802). I also made sure my ZoneAlarm settings were all checked for FGII. I found only two instances of FG programs listed under the Program Control tab. If there are any others, I can't find them. My current DM tried to help me remotely, while at the airport, and he said he port forwards to a range, 1802 - 1803. But that didn't work either. I would like to get our group in the game this Sunday (28 FEB) if at all possible. Please help!

[EugeneZ]

Can you post screenshots of your router port forwarding settings and your zonealarm config? Make sure you blur out anything sensitive.

[Natedog]

Attached are 3 screenshots of my port forwarding and 2 of my ZA program control settings.

One other thing to note is that my desktop computer connects to a small modem that has a coax to the main FIOS box. The main Verizon wireless router is actually two levels up, and is the one that I log into and make setting adjustments. Verizon tech support said that this modem should not affect my port forwarding, which is controlled via the main wireless router. They refused to assist me on any of this otherwise and were pretty much worthless.

[cpbs]

Could be that you are not forwarding both types of protocols, TCP/UDP. See if there is an option to do that. As far as I can tell thats the only thing I can see off from my own configuration. I don't know if not being able to use UDP will actually cause it not to work.

Even though the Verizon tech support said it might not affect port forwarding, it make have a built in firewall in that modem. I used a DSL modem in the past and the modem itself had its own firewall, causing me not being able to host FG. Could be the same problem with that modem as well.

[madman]

i only use tcp and it works fine.

does the router have somewhere to change settings? some modems have a router/switch in them.

Chris

[Natedog]

Thank you both for your thoughts and suggestions. I could not find any means of affecting the small Motorola modem at all, besides unplugging it from an electrical supply (or hitting it with a hammer). It does make sense that it could have some sort of primitive firewall (Verizon, again, did not instill much confidence on the nature of this box). As a test, I loaded FG on a wireless laptop (Vista machine) and tried to connect through only the main Verizon Actiontec router, taking the Motorola modem out of the equation. I was still unsuccessful. I also disabled ZA to take it out of the equation, and still no luck. I have been at this for about 8+ hours today. 9 weeks without gaming is starting to look better and better. I will try adding UDP to the protocol tomorrow, but all my research only indicated TCP was required. But I am willing to shake some chicken bones over my computer at this point!

[Foen]

I'm not familiar with ZA or your modem, but you need to ensure your internal LAN IP address is static and that the port forwarding targets that address (from external static IP to internal static IP).

I only mention this because you have erased the IP addresses from the screen shots for security purposes, but I wouldn't have thought the internal IP address was publically available (and hence not a security issue).

Foen

[Natedog]

Hey All, thanks again for offering all the help. I did manage to figure out what was causing it to fail, thanks to a random post on the Web dealing with networking printers with this Actiontec router. The issue was the Source port setting (see third attachment on router settings). It needed to be set to "Any", not 1802! Maybe that will help the next DM newb out there who has this router, as it seems it have an unusual port forwarding setup.

[Griogre]

I've got an Actiontec from Verizon. My one comment on the router is it doesn’t do static local IP addresses like other routers where you usually specify a range and which IP should be static. Instead you just tell the router to give the local IP address you want to be “static” an infinite lease. Does the same thing but its not well documented.