Post by itchy on Mar 10, 2015 10:32:17 GMT 12
This is the detailed description of what you are doing when following the instructions at the bottom of this post. By all means just skip to the points at the bottom if you’re not interested in the detail
Xbox Live requires you to open ports on your router when any kind of direct communication is required (ie playing Forza in a private lobby – this is why people who have issues with private lobbies rarely have issues with public lobbies). Think of ports as channels through your router. Your router is the device that connects to the internet and then ‘routes’ traffic from the various machines connected to it, to and from the internet. The router has a public side (the side that connects to the internet) and a private side (the side that connects to your local network, ie your laptop, your PC, your XBOX etc.)
When you connect to the internet your router gets a ‘public’ IP address (literally your address on the internet). When a machine (say your XBOX) connects to the router it gets a ‘private’ IP address (literally your address on your local network). Your private IP address is not visible on the internet. It is only accessible on the private side of the router. Each device that connects to your router should have an IP address that is unique on the private side. The router usually hands these out via a process called leasing. This private IP address can change each time you connect that device to the internet and for most things this is not a problem. However, when you start doing things like port forwarding it is essential that the device being forwarded has a static/dedicated private IP. When you forward a port you are opening a port for a single private IP address; this is why you need a static dedicated IP on the private side. This way the device will always connect to the local network using this specified IP not one that the router hands out. The router resolves where traffic should go via a process called NAT (Network Address Translation).
When you set up a dedicated IP for your XBOX you are telling the XBOX to always connect to the router using that private IP address. Note that your mate might have exactly the same private IP address assigned to his XBOX but this is not a problem as it only has to be unique on the local network. If you have 2 XBOXes they will both need a different dedicated local IP address.
So what is a port? A port is effectively a way of telling the router that you would like certain traffic to pass through the router directly to a machine with a given private IP address. The router always routes certain traffic to your local network. A good example is port 80 which is used for web browsing. Port 80 is always open on your router to all devices. If it wasn’t you wouldn’t be able to browse the web as the router would block port 80.
The ports mentioned in the XBOX port forward instructions allow XBOX Live to pass through traffic to the IP address that you specify (ie the dedicated IP you set up for the XBOX).
Note, that there are people who tell you that you can just place the XBOX on the DMZ (demilitarised zone) on your router. This is a very bad idea. You are effectively opening every port (all 65 odd thousand of them) to the internet .. really .. really .. bad idea. The reason people suggest it is it’s easier than doing port forwarding properly.
In a nutshell that is what port forwarding is and why you should do it properly.
NOW .. how to do it.
During this process you may change settings on the XBOX. I strongly advise that your write down what the settings are as you change them. That way you can always revert back.
1) Set up a dedicated IP for your XBOX … portforward.com/networking/staticip-xbox360.htm
2) Set up port forwarding for your particular router portforward.com/english/applications/port_forwarding/XBOX360_Forza_Motorsport_4/default.htm -- look for your router in the list.
3) If you have any problems drop me a message on this thread.
4) If you want to revert to dynamic IP assignment on the XBOX .. follow the instructions on point 1 and then on step 7 select automatic again.
Hope that helps,
Itchy
Xbox Live requires you to open ports on your router when any kind of direct communication is required (ie playing Forza in a private lobby – this is why people who have issues with private lobbies rarely have issues with public lobbies). Think of ports as channels through your router. Your router is the device that connects to the internet and then ‘routes’ traffic from the various machines connected to it, to and from the internet. The router has a public side (the side that connects to the internet) and a private side (the side that connects to your local network, ie your laptop, your PC, your XBOX etc.)
When you connect to the internet your router gets a ‘public’ IP address (literally your address on the internet). When a machine (say your XBOX) connects to the router it gets a ‘private’ IP address (literally your address on your local network). Your private IP address is not visible on the internet. It is only accessible on the private side of the router. Each device that connects to your router should have an IP address that is unique on the private side. The router usually hands these out via a process called leasing. This private IP address can change each time you connect that device to the internet and for most things this is not a problem. However, when you start doing things like port forwarding it is essential that the device being forwarded has a static/dedicated private IP. When you forward a port you are opening a port for a single private IP address; this is why you need a static dedicated IP on the private side. This way the device will always connect to the local network using this specified IP not one that the router hands out. The router resolves where traffic should go via a process called NAT (Network Address Translation).
When you set up a dedicated IP for your XBOX you are telling the XBOX to always connect to the router using that private IP address. Note that your mate might have exactly the same private IP address assigned to his XBOX but this is not a problem as it only has to be unique on the local network. If you have 2 XBOXes they will both need a different dedicated local IP address.
So what is a port? A port is effectively a way of telling the router that you would like certain traffic to pass through the router directly to a machine with a given private IP address. The router always routes certain traffic to your local network. A good example is port 80 which is used for web browsing. Port 80 is always open on your router to all devices. If it wasn’t you wouldn’t be able to browse the web as the router would block port 80.
The ports mentioned in the XBOX port forward instructions allow XBOX Live to pass through traffic to the IP address that you specify (ie the dedicated IP you set up for the XBOX).
Note, that there are people who tell you that you can just place the XBOX on the DMZ (demilitarised zone) on your router. This is a very bad idea. You are effectively opening every port (all 65 odd thousand of them) to the internet .. really .. really .. bad idea. The reason people suggest it is it’s easier than doing port forwarding properly.
In a nutshell that is what port forwarding is and why you should do it properly.
NOW .. how to do it.
During this process you may change settings on the XBOX. I strongly advise that your write down what the settings are as you change them. That way you can always revert back.
1) Set up a dedicated IP for your XBOX … portforward.com/networking/staticip-xbox360.htm
2) Set up port forwarding for your particular router portforward.com/english/applications/port_forwarding/XBOX360_Forza_Motorsport_4/default.htm -- look for your router in the list.
3) If you have any problems drop me a message on this thread.
4) If you want to revert to dynamic IP assignment on the XBOX .. follow the instructions on point 1 and then on step 7 select automatic again.
Hope that helps,
Itchy