Azureus - Port Forwarding

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blburmeister

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I am having trouble creating a static IP address and forwarding my ports so that I am able to use Azureus. My question is similar to an existing question in the ticket archive- http://macosx.com/tech-support/azureus-port-forwarding/13263.html

I am also new-ish to macs and very new to networking.

My system is a Mac PowerBook G4. I am using Airport and a wireless router. I have a cable modem but that's about all I know.

When I log into my router to create a static IP (just in basic set up), I enter my current IP address, but then underneath it I need to enter an IP Subnet Mask (this is listed under the IP address on my preferences-networking screen, easy enough) and a Gateway IP address (I am not sure where to find this).

Also when I select use static IP, I'm required to set a primary and secondary DNS server also?

Here is a screen shot: https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/blburmeister/machelp/staticIP.png?uniq=-df5yt0

Based on your recommendations to Fraser, I should be able to set up port forwarding on my own. It asks for a starting port and an ending port rather than public and private. Is this the same thing?

Another screen shot: https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/blburmeister/machelp/customportforwarding.png?uniq=-df5yl8

Last question, is there a rhyme or reason to choosing a port?

http://www.azureuswiki.com/index.php?title=Why_ports_like_6881_are_no_good_choice

Phew, hopefully this is enough for you to go on.

Thank you!
 
blburmeister said:
It asks for a starting port and an ending port rather than public and private. Is this the same thing?
Click to expand...

Yes.

Last question, is there a rhyme or reason to choosing a port?
Click to expand...

In spite of the fact that it is considered poor practice, a lot of ISPs and network administrators "throttle down" the traffic on the regular, default BitTorrent ports in order to slow BitTorrent down and speed up other traffic. This is in breach of several net-neutrality and best-practice laws and agreements but they do it anyway. So, choose a port number that isn't the default, and you should be fine.
 
'I am having trouble creating a static IP address ...' - trouble that is not needed (you do not need to create any static IP address).

In 'Service Name' enter anything - such as 'Torrent'.
In 'Start Port' enter the value '49000' (or greater).
In 'End Port' enter the value '60000' (or less). As long as 'End Port' is greater than 'Start Port'.
In 'Server IP Address' enter whatever value is returned, representing your computer, via the 'Attached Devices' (second left side 'Maintenance' menu item) table.
 
Hello,

A few weeks ago I intuitively got the port forwarding to work for microtorrent on a friends PC laptop... but without any real information/experience with these problems beforehand, and without being able to recall any details well enough to translate them to my problem:

Azureus, port forwarding, on my own MacOS 10.3.9 G4 with a usbwireless utility (newtechnology software, maxpower brand usb-stick / "dongle", an at&t dsl 2wire wireless router... and no clue. I've read a few question/answer threads on sites online, and the azureus wikis related to this issue... not quite following, no one seems to be starting both at the beginning, going to the end, dealing with side issues, and also in plain enough language for me.

In exactly what boxes of the preferences for my network, and for azureus, do I get which numbers to match? what other settings might be causing problems?

tempted to give up on azureus, frustrated with macs... Thank you for you time.

-Qayin
 
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There are some good step-by-step guides at portforward.com. They have a guide on setting up a static IP in OS X here: http://www.portforward.com/networking/static-Mac10.4.htm

They also have specific guides for a wide range of router/application combinations, including Azureus and many different "2wire" model routers. Here's one: http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/2wire/1000hg/Azureus.htm . If that's not your particular model, look through the list here: http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm . Even if you don't find your exact model, the instructions for any model will not be wildly different from any other, so you should be able to follow along anyway.

Hope this helps.
 
Mikuro -

That saved me some time, most likely a fair amount. My nat issues have returned, guessed my way through them last time, no such luck this time. I'm off to likely find the info I need fairly quick, but if you or someone handily knows where to point me towards...

also, how do I know that the forwarding worked properly? the nat error message telling me that the port (same number as was forwarded) is probably closed, it has me second guessing the port forwarding slightly. that same error message shows an address xx.xx.xxx.xx proceeding the ports that I try for the test, is this address meant to match an IP or other address in my network settings? it doesn't.


my thanks go again to mikuro, and anyone else.
 
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I've had some issues with Azureus' reports. Sometimes it says things are OK when they're not, and vice-versa. I really don't know why. Usually the inaccurate report fixes itself over time if I have torrents running, though.

There's a good site called Shields Up ( https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 ) that lets you test if certain ports on your system are open or not. So when you have a torrent running in Azureus, you should be able to run this site's scan on the port you specified and see it return "open". If you set the port to 52000, for example, you can just go to this URL: https://www.grc.com/x/portprobe=52000

Keep in mind that this will not report the port as open unless there is a program (like Azureus) actively listening on that port. That's why you need to have a torrent running.

You might also want to try a different BitTorrent client like Transmission. Azureus a real beast as far as configuration goes! Transmission is a lot simpler.


Do you have the exact model number of your router? I'm wondering, because there's a feature on most modern routers called UPnP (Universal Plug 'n' Play) that lets programs automatically set up port forwarding when they need it. Both Azureus and Transmission support this feature. In Azureus you can find it under Preferences > Plugins > UPnP > Enable UPnP. According to what I found on Google, though, at least some 2Wire routers do NOT support UPnP, so it might be a dead end.
 
Mikuro -

just now checking those sites, slept before actually dealing with NAT notably.

so, on the bottom of that 2wire box: RG2701HG-00, but in the firewall-settings page it says 2701HG-B and of the two only this second one showed up in the list of port-forwarding instructions.

and... yup my forwarded port is closed, @%$@. and yes torrents are running, actively. and I'm glad to now understand that that number showing up in the azureus error text right in there with the ports I was testing is my machine number/reverse dns, and the significance of that.

and I'm not at all attached to using Azureus, (upnp has a checkmark in that list of plugins but I didn't immediately find any settings for it, nat button at the bottom reads OK, but the tests don't work for the listen ports and one in over a dozen torrents gets a green smiley but... : /

I could see if I find another client for my osx that supports most of the processes and control features as Azureus and works on 10.3.9 as well; but generic bittorrent and transmission left a bit wanting, I want as much control over prioritizing files, and looking at what all, exactly, is going on with a torrent from time to time..

and more thanks. I'm getting closer to understanding a lot of this as I go, even if I'm not sure that it's helping my transfer speeds, at least so far.
 
Actually, that port tests out as stealth now at shieldsup. also the IP address in my network settings on my computer, and on my firewall settings do match, while the IP for my computer at shields up appears to be completely different when it shows it above the port-probe test...

[okay, on shields it is listing my public IP, on my network and firewall settings it is showing my private IP... from something else that I believe I read those are meant to stay different even for port forwarding, right? I feel like I'm asking a vulnerable and obvious question, so I guess I'll double check any answer I get but exactly because it feels obvious I want to make sure I get this completely, and clearly.]
 
I'm going to double pimp Transmission for torrents. I have no idea what I'm missing with Azureus, but Transmission is fast, simple, and has yet to fall me in two years of use.
 
Unfortunately the newer versions of Transmission require 10.4 or later. The older versions are still available, but they're surely missing some features.

For your port forwarding question, you've got it right. The IP address you see in System Preferences is the one you should use for port forwarding in your router. It should be something like 192.168.x.x.

A little Googling on your router model number returns conflicting reports of UPnP support. You should probably uncheck the "enable UPnP" box in Azureus, since I guess UPnP support in your router is either missing or incomplete.

Another thing you might want to try is rebooting your router. Turn it off, wait 10 seconds, turn it back on.
 
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