Port forwarding, port forwarding, opening ports - these concepts, found in computer literature, are to some extent synonymous. In general, this means allowing outside access (usually from the Internet) to software installed on the user's computer. A computer located behind a router, firewall, antivirus does not receive connection requests from the network. They are blocked by the above programs as bearing potential danger.
At the same time, there are a number of programs that require access from the network to work. The most obvious example would be a web server. In order to be able to connect to it, it must have an eighty port (http) open. And if you read the instructions with the antivirus or firewall and figure out what you need to click in order to configure port forwarding correctly, then the situation is different with routers. Some routers, when turned on for the first time, will simply close everything (including access to the network), while others do not have a Russian interface, and in others, it is simply difficult for a beginner to understand. Nevertheless, port forwarding on the router is a fairly simple situation, and, having opened one, others open the necessary ones by analogy. Below we find out how to open the port in several models of routers on the market today, and now we will analyze the general case.
Why open?
The port forwarding setting in the general case is as follows:
- Some program from the network, trying to connect to the user's computer, encounters a closed port.
- The user learns that for this program to work, you need to open the port.
- He goes to the web interface of the router, and if he knows how, he opens the port.
- The next time you try to connect, the program receives a response, and mutual communication between computers is configured.
In addition to the above web server, a DC network can serve as an illustration of such a connection.
This is what a standard DC network or torrent-tracker looks like. In the center we have a server that arranges the initial connection, but then the machines communicate, bypassing it. To connect, the computer receives a request from the network, unlike regular surfing, when pages are opened upon request from the user.
Asus users
So, what will port forwarding look like for users of routers of this company? Asus calls this feature, like most brands, port forwarding. For an example, let’s take a look at the RT-N66U model. Forwarding settings are located on the corresponding page, which, in turn, is hidden in the Internet block.
Go to the page. There is information about what you can configure, a warning about ports 80 and 21, and the settings themselves. In the middle block, turn on the function, as in the picture above, and go to the list at the bottom of the window. Here we fill (from left to right): service name (this is for your convenience); port range (you can specify one); local address (IP of the machine to which requests should be passed); local port (you can not configure so as not to get confused); protocol (if not sure, set as in the picture).
After filling in all the fields, add a new rule (Add / Delete button) to the right of the filled line. That's it, now the router will skip requests to the specified port from the external network.
Zyxel
Zyxel's forwarding of Keenetic ports looks about the same, only the web interface of this router is more compact, and the choice of different settings is on the left in the main menu.
All submenus are hidden in the main menu, and only blocks are presented on the page.
From the main menu, go to the "Home Network" section, then to "Servers". Next we turn on “Port Forwarding”, as in the picture, and at the bottom we enter our data: “Service” - “Other”, then the port number or range, “IP-address” - enter the address of the machine for which we are forwarding, “Description "- fill in for yourself, and in the" Access "field - the same as in the picture. A little lower on the right, click "Add."
New Zyxel Models
Port forwarding of the first generation Zyxel Keenetic ports, regardless of the model, is configured identically, it is depicted above. For newer generations, this window will look a little different. Having entered the web interface, click on the shield icon and select “Add Rule” in the window that appears.
In the window that opens, we need to enter the interface, it can be viewed in other windows (usually PPPoE) settings. Enter the port, protocol and IP in the appropriate fields (underlined), then click on “Save”.
Forwarding the ports of Zyxel Keenetic Giga, Giga II and expected III will repeat the schemes already described, so we will not dwell on this in detail, but move on to the settings for the following devices, namely D-Link routers.
D-Link Dir-100, -300, -615, -620
We will not write down the settings for each of these devices, they are identical, so we will limit ourselves to one model. The main visual difference between these models is the lack of USB, therefore, if there is a D-Link without another model USB, there should not be any special difficulties. Dir-615 port forwarding is configured in a few steps. In the upper menu, go to the Advanced section, then on the left menu - Virtual Server, for some models the desired window may be hidden under the Port Forwarding button. Settings must be made for each protocol separately, so the rules for these routers are doubled.
To open each port, we need to fill in two columns. The first column is from left to right: Name - the name of the connection (for you), select Application name, then the port number. Traffic Type - we select from the list (but in another rule we select the remaining one), in the last column - Always.
The bottom column refers to the port itself, we set it from left to right: Name - put down the IP of the computer for which we are configuring. The next field is Computer name. We leave the port as above. We skip the Traffic Type, and in the last field we enter Allow All - we allow everyone on the Internet to connect to this port on the internal machine.
We write the next rule in the same way, we change only the Traffic Type field. The second rule opens the same port for connection, but using a different protocol. We open other ports in the same way, filling in two rules for each.
D-Link NRU - routers with a USB port
D-Link NRU port forwarding is also carried out on the basis of virtual servers, but due to the additional functionality of the web interface they look somewhat different.
The Virtual Servers section is located in the Firewall block. Click “add” and fill in the new window: “Template” - you can leave Custom, the interface, as a rule, Wan, the protocol - you can already select both. External, internal port - set the same four times so as not to get confused, and internal IP - write the number of the machine on the internal network. When you need to open a range of ports, they are written as the start and end ports. Then the range is repeated twice - the initial range of ports and the final range of ports. Then click the "Change" button. The window closes, and a new rule appears in the previous one.
A bit about fixing
If you haven’t done this before, now is the time to enable IP commit for stable port forwarding. D-Link, like the other brands discussed in the article, allows you to not fix addresses, but forwarding is attributed to a specific permanent address, so fixing is necessary.
In addition to the function described in the article, fixing can slightly speed up the internal network, but how to configure it is better to look in the instructions specifically for your device. Usually this requires only a couple of clicks in the window devoted to the settings of the home network, assigning addresses to computers and devices, which will subsequently go to the network using a router.
Conclusion
If you use a router at home, no matter which company, then to work with torrents and oslo-networks, in addition to configuring antiviruses and utility software on the machine, you will need to open the port on the router itself. In most cases, this action is called "port forwarding" - a request from an external network for a specific port on a specific machine.
Active users of torrents are also familiar with the concept of "white IP". It is such an address, but at home on a home router, you need to create for this user, and the fact that we examined all modern models should help in this.
Someone may wonder why all this if the browser normally downloads. He himself gives the connection request, and the file comes only in the response. Torrents sometimes respond to requests, not just ask.