Please assist me understand how to do port forwarding.

Port fowarding is a simple process. As it will take a while to exchange notes on what type of router you have. Why don't you try this link and it will guide you through setting yours up.

http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/routerindex.htm

Do not use the automatic config, then you can be certain what is setup on your router.

Hope it helps.

@Ausie,m Thanks I have been going through the stuff it is helping, more will be needed too

No worries fxmaxony, just ping whatever help you need I am sure there is ample support here.

@Aussie, Anthing on Ip forwarding? I am ever greatful.

Fxmaxony,

IP Forwarding? I thought you were configuring a router to port forward. Your router should be forwarding IP's not for the local network to your upstream gateway. Areas where IP Forwarding ca be configured for routing other than on a physical router:

* Linux - not my forte.

* Turning an XP box into a a simple router.

Could you please expand a bit more on what you are trying to achieve, with what.

@OP

You first need to understand the basics of TCP/IP if you don't already.

Learn about TCP and UDP ports and the common services that runs on these ports.

e.g

TCP 80         - HTTP
TCP 25         - SMTP
TCP 53         - DNS
UDP 53         - DNS


Servers that runs this services would normally be listening on these ports. A mail server for instance would be listening on TCP port 25. In normal network deployment, you would have a network edge device (firewall, gateway, router etc) located between a LAN (containing servers that run specific services such as a mail server mentioned earlier) and remote networks such as the internet. Request would normally come from devices on the remote networks for specific services running on servers located on the internal network.

The edge device while not running a specific service is able to listen for incoming requests for such services and forward same to the appropriate device (running the specific service) on the internal network. This is the basis of port forwarding.


A very simplified analogy.

An executive officer with an office in room 25 of a building.
A security officer standing at the gate of the building screening visitors into the building.
A visitor intenting to see the executive officer.

Ordinarily the visitor would want to go directly to the executive officer at room #25, however the company policy does not allow direct communication between visitors and the executive officers. As long as the visitor knows that the executive officer is in room 25, he compose a message and hands this over the security guard who looks up his confidential company directory and locates the executive officer in room #25 to deliver the message.  In a similar manner, the executive officer receives the message and hands it back to the security officer who remembers that the visitor for whom the message is for is located at the security gate. In this manner, communication between the visitor and officer is established indirectly through the security officer even though this could have been done directly.

The visitor in this scenario is the device on the remote network. The security officer is a router or gateway with port forwarding enabled. The executive officer is the destination server on the internal network running the specific services that is the target of communication from the remote device. Hope this helps

Hi Paribus,


That was an excellent answer based on a real-life scenario.  Very practical indeed, very.  That's the kind of mentality that we are trying to cultivate in our fellow-Nigerians here.  Well done.

Hopefully, the poster would come in to say thanks to you.

Perhaps he would also come in to tell us which router he is using and how far he has gone with the actual hands-on configuration of port forwarding, now that he has got all the help that he needs.



kiwi992.

@all posters, I appreciate so much. thanks for your time,

I am not configuring a router, I downloaded openvpn and is configuring it to work with a tunneling application, I use Mtn gprs to browse, The port i use for openvpn is 1194 some how some how i had success and immediately it quitted, I had the feeling that i needed to do port forwarding because it is and option in the server package, I may not have appeared ok in the technical terminologies but bear with this, meanwhile my research goes on, but i keep saying thanks because I have been educated further, more pls.

fxmaxony,

Could you give us a brief description of what you are doing, what you have done and what error you are experiencing?