TacOps via Internet - ADSL Modem Gateways

bbriley

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Hi All,
My brother and I in Ireland have been playing tacops pbem mode and having much fun and thought. Tonight, we thought we'd try network mode. We followed major H's instructions for host and joiner to the letter. We turned off the software firewalls and set up the adsl modem/gateways to allow TCP (instead of UDP) via port 7023 (tacops port) and set the address for that to our internal pc address 198.xxx.xx etc. Then we ascertained our internet IP for the host player and the host could "ping" fine (with either of use hosting - we tried it both ways). The joiner could, however, never find the host! Any ideas here on finding each other via adsl modem/gateway?

Thank you for any help. I am about to give up on playing on network via adsl. Our son tried to host it (demo game, which we still retain for testing) using the settings he uses for Battlefield 1942, but it didn't work for tacops. The host can ping fine - no error, but in all cases the joiner cannot find the host.
 
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MajorH

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> and set the address for that to our internal pc address
> 198.xxx.xx etc

I am not sure what the statement above indicates. An address starting with 198 would be a LAN address AND should only be used if both players are on the same LAN.

The address that the joiner must use in an Internet game is the host's Internet IP address and not his internal/LAN PC address. How did you determin your Internet addresses? When I need to find my Internet address I make a quick trip to www.ipchicken.com.

I am not familiar with the ins and outs of ADSL so perhaps one of the guys who use ADSL will chime in.
 
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bbriley

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ADSL - Internet - Tacops

MajorH said:
> and set the address for that to our internal pc address
> 198.xxx.xx etc

I am not sure what the statement above indicates. An address starting with 198 would be a LAN address AND should only be used if both players are on the same LAN.

The address that the joiner must use in an Internet game is the host's Internet IP address and not his internal/LAN PC address. How did you determin your Internet addresses? When I need to find my Internet address I make a quick trip to www.ipchicken.com.

I am not familiar with the ins and outs of ADSL so perhaps one of the guys who use ADSL will chime in.
Hi Major,

I am aware of both my internal address (192 (not 198 - my error in my message).168.0.1) and my WAN (internet) IP of 168.103.108.211 . My understanding from our son, a software engineer, is that in the following modem instruction:
*************
Selecting Port Forwarding in the “Advanced Configuration” screen generates the
“Port Forwarding” screen. Port forwarding allows certain programs to bypass the
Gateway’s built-in firewall, allowing access to parts of the network (for hosting a
Web or ftp server, for example). To use port forwarding, enter the IP port range in
the “IP Port Range” text boxes. (If more than 10 ports are needed, Actiontec recommends
using DMZ Hosting. See “DMZ Hosting,” below, for more information.)
Choose the protocol type from the “Protocol” list box, then enter the IP address of
the computer on the network to be used as a host. Click Add. The forwarded ports
appear in the “List of Forwarded Ports” text box.
To remove forwarded ports, highlight them, then click Remove.
***********

... the address I should use - "ip address of the computer on the network" is the INTERNAL address of my pc (192.xx etc) and not the WAN/Internet IP address. Perhaps he is mistaken and I should use the WAN/Internet IP address.

I will try that next! Thanks for your reply.
 

MajorH

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I use a Lynsys router which also provides port forwarding as well as DMZ hosting.

I have never had any lasting success at configuring its port forwarding features for any networking program - so I also seem to be missing the magic touch for networking :).

Instead, I use its DMZ feature for the duration of any network game and then turn it off as soon as I am finished.
 

bbriley

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DMZ and Port Forwarding

MajorH said:
I use a Lynsys router which also provides port forwarding as well as DMZ hosting.

I have never had any lasting success at configuring its port forwarding features for any networking program - so I also seem to be missing the magic touch for networking :).

Instead, I use its DMZ feature for the duration of any network game and then turn it off as soon as I am finished.
We finally found the combination! my brother left his software firewall on and then set the asdl up for NAT.
 

MajorH

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> We finally found the combination!

Excellent. In that case would you mnd editing your thread starting message so that it no longer displays an "unhappy face" in the thread list page. :)
 

bbriley

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Port Forwarding is more secure!

MajorH said:
I use a Lynsys router which also provides port forwarding as well as DMZ hosting.

I have never had any lasting success at configuring its port forwarding features for any networking program - so I also seem to be missing the magic touch for networking :).

Instead, I use its DMZ feature for the duration of any network game and then turn it off as soon as I am finished.
Qwest sent me on to Actiontec (modem manufacturer) tech last night - he said to use "Port forwarding" for port 7023 (tacops port) and the internal IP address for my PC (from ipconfig AND also showing in the Actiontec status window in my browser). What we had previously missed was taking the settings from the modem and then using them to set up a fixed internal IP setting (and DNS spec's) in windows networking. The port forwarding approach is much more secure than either DMZ or NAT. We will be testing this today, but he assured me that my adsl is now set for tacops hosting correctly.

Thanks for your help - and I did change the icon for the initial message!

If you wish, once we test this later today and it is successful, hopefully, I can post the detailed port forwarding and windows networking setup steps here, in case it will help other adsl modem/gateway users of tacops.
 
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MajorH

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bbriley said:
If you wish, once we test this later today and it is successful, hopefully, I can post the detailed port forwarding and windows networking setup steps here, in case it will help other adsl modem/gateway users of tacops.
That would be great. I suggest that you start a new thread titled something like "Network setup tips".
 

TRiley

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MajorH said:
> Excellent. In that case would you mnd editing your thread starting message so that it no longer displays an "unhappy face" in the thread list page. :)
But Major, that IS his smile!
 

TRiley

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bbriley said:
We finally found the combination! my brother left his software firewall on and then set the asdl up for NAT.
Hmmm... this is not strictly accurate. The problem here, like in so many things is terminology.

In MY modem's advanced settings, there is a section called NAT and it is in that section, apparently, that I can set up so-called port forwarding. Which is what I did, explicitly for the port the game does only.

From my manual:
You may enter a single port number or a range of port numbers to be forwarded, the the local IP address of the desired server...
('server' in this case referring to my single pc)

My impression is that the difference lies in DNS settings. My "Dynamic DNS" is inactive, which may be why my modem is not functioning fully as a hardware firewall. But I'm guessing here.

I have no separate sections in my setup (or advanced setup) for port forwarding, game hosting, or DMZ hosting (which may be the same thing, for all I know).

I think I got it right through luck and the way my router was setup by the manufacturer for the ISP, because I certainly didn't know about making any adjustments to the Windows Networking software setup.

Now, I can add this info to another thread on technical aspects of how to do this as the major suggests, but I wonder if my complete lack of technical knowledge about networking might only confuse the issue.

I will say this as an impression only, though I may obviously be mistaken: Once you open your computer to the "outside world" so to speak through ANY port, you are vulnerable to intrusion if someone piggybacks their intrusion onto the data packets travelling through that port. That's where software firewalls and protection enter into the picture, I presume. But once you instruct your software firewall to permit tacops to behave as a server, I can't see how it can stop any data that rides in attached to, say, the packet of information which is the orders.

Terry
 
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