Router Port Forwarding Limitations

[Halo_king116]

-- Problem Solved, thanks! --

Hello everyone.

I couldn't find a thread related to this with the search function, so I apologize if I missed a pre-existing thread.

Here some general information first in case it's relevant.

Router: Linksys WRT54G 2.2
Router Firmware: v4.21.1
OS: Windows XP SP3

Problem: My family is relatively large and enjoys a large amount of computers & various gaming systems, primarily used by me and my brother. And due to our enjoyment of online games, things need to be port forwarded a lot. I know the general concept and mechanics of port forwarding, however I have come to what I believe is an annoying limitation. With our Linksys router (as with all Linksys routers, going by their Tech Support), we only have 10 spots to port forward. I know this isn't very descriptive, so here's an example picture from PortForward.com:

(Assume the 10 spots you see in the image are the only 10 available in the Router settings)

I want to port forward WC3 for 4 computers - Which due to only being able to do one IP at a time takes up 4 spots, correct?

I also want both of my XBOX 360 to have an open NAT type for better connectivity, so I had to open the following:

3074
80
88
53
77
3330

After inserting those, my NAT was open and my router was no longer being stubborn. However, I need this for two Xboxs. So:

6 ports * 2 Xboxs + 1 port * 4 comps is > 10 (I ran out of spots, without even considering the Wii or other games). I tried to only open a few of the ports, but it was still a Strict NAT type, so I apparently need all 6.

My thoughts on possible solutions:

1) Open a range of ports for the Xbox 360s, 53 - 3330 to take up 1 spot per Xbox, instead of 6. However, would this compromise security or have any negative effects? Or would it not matter as much, because it's not a computer?

2) Find out if there’s a program that deals with my issue, allowing me to exceed the 10 spot limitation.

3) Change the opened ports every time I want to play each game specifically, and suffer with the huge inconvenience.

4) Use DMZ (De-Militarized Zone I believe) for the static IP of my XBOX 360s. I read a little it about this, but didn't like the concept.

5) Cry myself to sleep.



What are your thoughts? Know any solutions? Am I missing something extremely obvious? Any and all comments are welcomed and appreciated!

-Mat

 

[Tru_Power22]

Get a D-link router. They have more slots than you know what to do with.

 

[sqrage]

Port triggering?

 

[Samuraid]

Install this on your router: http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index

 

[Halo_king116]

Thanks everyone for your posts.

I've downloaded and installed the program you suggested Samuraid, and it has provided the solution I was looking for.

I'll also be looking into Port Triggering in more depth for future reference, although at the moment I don't necessarily understand all the specifics of it.

It's also good to know that there are routers with more practical options available, instead of Linksys which made me get a 3rd-party program to get the desired results.


I am having troubles with the new Control Panel as far as my NAT not responding to the ports being opened. However that will be due to another setting being changed that I must have missed during the reset, which will be a simple matter of fooling around with some settings. It's working perfectly for allowing additional ports to be opened. There are also a lot of other added settings I'm looking forward to learning more about.


All in all I learned a fair bit in the last 10 hours, thanks everyone!

-Mat

 

[Prometheus]

Mat, does the router software allow you to limit bandwidth per computer?

 

[Halo_king116]

After looking through the web-based GUI and the software's Wiki, I couldn't exactly find anything about limiting bandwidth per computer. I did however find a Quality of Service page for prioritizing Services/Netmask/MAC/Ethernet Port.

Don't know if that has anything to do with what you're asking about, but it was disabled.

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