IP address changing

[yeknom]

I am having an issue where my IP address changes and causes my players to disconnect. This happens at least once per session. I am running Windows 10 with a 64 bit system. I have tried using a static IP address and have tried using port forwarding and both were unable to solve the issue. Any help with this would be be greatly appreciated.

[damned]

What is your internet connection?
Cable, ADSL, Wireless, 3g/4g?

[yeknom]

What is your internet connection?
Cable, ADSL, Wireless, 3g/4g?

My provider calls it broadband, I assume that is cable?

[damned]

Broadband is pretty much anything faster than narrowband!
It could be any of those mediums.
Your IP Address should in most cases only change when it connects (eg after it disconnects)...

Is it your LAN or WAN that is changing IP?

[yeknom]

Broadband is pretty much anything faster than narrowband!
It could be any of those mediums.
Your IP Address should in most cases only change when it connects (eg after it disconnects)...

Is it your LAN or WAN that is changing IP?

It is the external ip address from Fantasy Grounds that changes. I am not certain if that is my LAN or WAN.

[damned]

Thats you WAN IP Address.
You should contact your ISP and ask them to run some tests on your connection as it seems to be regularly disconnecting and reconnecting.

[yeknom]

Thats you WAN IP Address.
You should contact your ISP and ask them to run some tests on your connection as it seems to be regularly disconnecting and reconnecting.
I have contacted my ISP provider, they say everything is in working order.

[damned]

I have contacted my ISP provider, they say everything is in working order.

Fantasy Grounds cant change your WAN IP Address - only a negotiation between your router and your ISP can cause this to occur.

[yeknom]

The issue must somehow be related to Fantasy Grounds because it only happens when I am using Fantasy Grounds. I am not certain as to why it happens but I am certain that it only happens when I am using Fantasy Grounds and players are trying to connect to me. I was hoping for some possible solutions by posting here.

[damned]

The issue must somehow be related to Fantasy Grounds because it only happens when I am using Fantasy Grounds. I am not certain as to why it happens but I am certain that it only happens when I am using Fantasy Grounds and players are trying to connect to me. I was hoping for some possible solutions by posting here.

If the issue is as you describe - your WAN IP address is changing - then:

1. You wouldnt know if this was happening any other time as this is the only time (most likely) that you are running a server.
2. Fantasy Grounds has no way o changing your WAN IP Address - this is a negotiation between your router and your ISP.

As a test - while working on your computer close Fantasy Grounds and every 15mins visit a website like https://whatismyipaddress.com and record the IP Address.
Do this as often as you can over a day or so...

[yeknom]

Thanks, I'll try that.

[yeknom]

Thanks, I'll try that.

Tried it for a bit and had no issues. I did not have any players connect which is when the problem has occurred in the past. Any other suggestions? Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

[Trenloe]

As damned says, this is not being caused by Fantasy Grounds. It will be your router/ISP settings changing the WAN IP address. When you say "I have contacted my ISP provider, they say everything is in working order." - there is a difference between "working order" and changing your WAN IP frequently. As damned mentions above, changing of the WAN IP won't effect things like browsing, streaming, etc.. But it does effect players connecting to FG as the FG DM is a server and the players connect to the WAN IP address.

Ask your ISP how often your WAN IP address changes, if the router is theirs then ask them to check your router setup as well. Explain you want to keep your WAN IP address the same as long as possible.

[yeknom]

Thanks and will do but I believe I may have isolated the problem. Some of my maps were far too large and I did not realize this. After reducing them down to the size that is suggested I had no problem with a player connecting. I will test it further Sunday morning as I will run a game and host 5 players at that time. I will have them connect and wait until they are fully loaded one by one to see if that helps as well.

[Trenloe]

So, was your IP address actually changing - if so, how did you know it was changing? Or was it just the size of your maps that were causing issues with communication?

[yeknom]

The IP in Fantasy Grounds was changing and it was causing players to crash. Then in order to reconnect to me I would have to restart Fantasy Grounds and check for the new external IP address, I would then inform the players and they would connect again. Often they would disconnect again before the session was over.

Tonight, after I had resized all of my maps based on a hunch from my upload speed, I had a player connect to me for several hours. During this time there were no issues at all and the maps loaded much faster, almost instantly in some cases, which had never occurred before, even when there were only 1 or two players.

I am hoping the issue has been resolved and thanks to both Damned and Trenloe for taking the time to respond to me here and to Moon Wizard for suggesting I post on the forums to get an answer.

[Andraax]

The IP in Fantasy Grounds was changing and it was causing players to crash. Then in order to reconnect to me I would have to restart Fantasy Grounds and check for the new external IP address, I would then inform the players and they would connect again. Often they would disconnect again before the session was over.

Why aren't you just using an alias so you don't have to tell your players what your IP address is?

[Willot]

Well, hope all goes well. But as a side note
There are two ways the connection at you house can be allocated an IP by your ISP
1) Static
2) Dynamic
Most ISP tend towards the Dynamic. This means your connection is allocated an IP address for a certain amount of time or a "lease". The reason they do that is for security. If someone gets a hold of your IP they can directly attack your connection SO ISP like to change it every so often. (Dynamic).

NOW to really confuse things.....

Your router in your house takes this Dynamically assigned IP and creates a NEW network in your house that creates its OWN IP address for each device in your house. Your router can ALSO assign Dynamically ip address to your devices (this is what Port forwarding is all about)

ISP Connection IP address -----> your router -----> Router Assigned IP device 1
---------------------------------------------------------> Router Assigned IP device 2
---------------------------------------------------------> Router Assigned IP device 3 ETC


Now it kinda sounds like (With the amount of traffic that is getting generated all of sudden using teamspeak too?) your ISP's DHCP (the server that Dynamiclly or STaticlly gives out the IP addresss) is seeing the increase in traffic, is panicing and screaming FLOOD ATTACK ON THIS ADDRESS!!! OMFG!!!!!!!!! and is reassigning you a new IP address which in turn confuses the hell out of FG.

Its possible that whoever is in charge of the cyber security at you ISP needs to be told to take a chill pill and calm the hell down...... and wind back the settings a bit

BTW your router can also have this same panic attack (check security logs in your router). You reducing the size of data may of fixed this (picture size)

Im guesses

Hope that made sense...Its early here

[yeknom]

Why aren't you just using an alias so you don't have to tell your players what your IP address is?

I didn't see the need for it since all of my current players are people I know in real life. I will give it a go though and see if that helps with the issue. Thanks for the advice.

[yeknom]

Hope that made sense...Its early here

Yes, it all made perfect sense. I agree that this is most likely what has happened. Thanks!

[Andraax]

I didn't see the need for it since all of my current players are people I know in real life.

It's got nothing to do with how well you know them; if your IP address changes, the alias will remain the same. This way you don't have to constantly update your friends with the address, they just use the same alias all the time.