Behind a firewall and want to serv? Need help? Read this.

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Behind a firewall and want to serv? Need help? Read this.

Postby Riamus » Sun Feb 08, 2004 3:58 pm

Ok, due to the numerous people who have asked questions regarding serving from behind a firewall or router that they cannot configure, I've decided to post all the information here in one place for people. Any questions can also be added to this thread and I, or someone else, will answer your questions.

First off, this information is for anyone who wants to serv and has a firewall or router which they cannot configure, because it's a school's firewall, or a family member's, or whatever reason that prevents you from changing the settings on the firewall or router. Note that if you do have the ability to change your firewall/router settings, DO SO! You will have a much better fserv if you set one up without using this workaround.

Now, if you have a firewall from a school, or any other source which you are unable to configure and which you cannot serv from in the normal method, then start here...

1) Use the Invision menu to open up DCC Manager and click the Setup tab.

2) Check the Global Reverse DCC init checkbox and enter a port value which you are able to *download* from. Usually the default port of 6060 works, but occasionally a firewall may block that port. Mine does because I was in the top20 bandwidth users last year at my college and I used that port. :) If port 6060 doesn't seem to work, you can easily find a port that will work by downloading something from someone. As long as the download is coming in, just read what port the file was sent to you on and use that port. Or, you can just try various ports till you find one that works.

3) Configure your fserv like you would normally. Use for help with that. Make sure you have your triggers set to the channel(s) you want to serv in. Once you have everything for the fserv (or xdcc/tdcc/mp3/etc) set up correctly, continue on...

4) Turn on your fserv and have someone test it. Read below for problems you or others might have. Don't assume your fserv isn't working just because one person can't connect. Some people don't know they have firewalls or routers. If you are in a channel where someone else uses Reverse DCC, just find someone who can connect to them and use the same port as their fserv and have that person try yours. If a person can connect to one Reverse DCC fserv on a specific port, they can connect to all that are using the same port.


FAQ:

Q: Who can and cannot connect to me when I use Reverse DCC?

A: Anyone who can serv without Reverse DCC should have no problems connecting to you (eg. people without firewalls or routers and people who have their firewalls or routers set up for serving) can connect and download from you. Also, anyone who has a firewall or router who can FORWARD your PORT that you chose to their computer through their firewall or router. Since all routers and firewalls have different ways to do this, I'll leave it to you to have people check their manuals, the manufacturer's website, or to e-mail the manufacturer to find out how to FORWARD PORTS. They will need to forward your port.

A: The people who cannot connect are people who have firewalls or routers which they are unable to, or unwilling to, configure. Also, anyone who is hiding their hostmask cannot connect. On most networks, this is the mode +x, though on some, it is +m. Have the person check their modes (/mode their_nick) and see what modes are listed. Use "/mode their_nick -x" to turn off the hide feature. Many people don't realize they have a firewall or a router. Various broadband modems act as routers and need to be configured. Also, Windows XP Pro has a built-in firewall which should be turned off or configured properly.


Q: No one is around to test my fserv. Can I test it myself with a second copy of mIRC/Invision on this computer or another computer on my network?

A: No. If you are using Reverse DCC, you cannot test your fserv from any computer that is also behind your router/firewall. Only people outside your network will be able to test it or use it.


Q: People are getting a command that says to type /dccserver +sc-f on PORT (where PORT is the number you choose for your Reverse DCC port). What is this and why do they have to type it?

A: This command tells their mIRC to listen for Sends or Chats, but not Fservs on the port you chose. Reverse DCC is not a normal fserv... it uses DCC Chat instead, so they need to watch for Send and Chat. They don't have to turn off listening for fservs (typing /dccserver +sc on PORT will also work). Note that this will NOT have any impact on their ability to connect to any fserv that is not using Reverse DCC. They will, however, have to change the port if they try connecting to a different server that is using Reverse DCC and is using a different port. That's why using the default port is best.


Q: Someone just tried to connect, but all they got was "Waiting for Acknowledgement" and nothing else. Why?

A: This is what will happen when someone is trying to connect to you who is in the list at the top of this FAQ of people who aren't able to. This problem is only associated with people who have something blocking your port to their computer... usually a firewall or router... even if they don't know they have anything.


Q: Someone tried connecting to my fserv and got only DCC Chat and can't display the directory or download from me.

A: Check their nick. If it includes any symbols, ask them to change their nick and try again. Certain symbols are not compatible with Reverse DCC and will cause Chat to come up instead of your Fserv.


Q: Someone seems to be able to connect on their end, but nothing shows up. Why?

A: Ask if they are using Fserv Explorer (or a similar script). If so, turn it off. Read below for more information on Fserv Explorer on Reverse DCC Fservs. The Fserv Explorer his hiding the fact that the person is stopping at "Waiting for Acknowledgement" as discussed above.


Q: No one is able to view my fserv with FServ Explorer. Why not?

A: Because Reverse DCC uses Chat instead of the Fserv protocol for your fserv, Fserv Explorers cannot view the fserv information. For fserv commands such as DIR and GET, look at the link at the top of this message for information on commands.


Q: I can't send to someone. My status window shows this error:
DCC Send to **** incomplete (connection failed)
or DCC Send to **** incomplete (connection rejected)
or DCC Send to **** incomplete (service unavailable)

A: The person you are trying to send to is either blocking downloads or blocking the filetype you are trying to send. Ask them to check their DCC Options and their DCC Filetype Ignore settings. Filetypes such as RAR are ignored by default and will cause this error until the person removes that filetype from the Ignore menu or simply disables the Ignore filetype menu.


Q: I can't get my sends to automatically resume to anyone. Why?

A: Some people cannot resume sends when using Reverse DCC. I have not yet found the cause. My resumes sometimes send and sometimes do not. However, note that if a person hides their host, changes their nick, or changes the /dccserver info they entered to start downlaoding from you and the send stops, the resume will NOT work.

**********************

Any other questions or comments, just ask. I'm sure I forgot to add some stuff here for the FAQ section, but it's at least fairly complete.
You can find me at #Invision on irc.irchighway.net or #OldGames on irc.undernet.org if you need me for anything.
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More info

Postby Riamus » Mon Feb 09, 2004 6:25 am

You can find me at #Invision on irc.irchighway.net or #OldGames on irc.undernet.org if you need me for anything.
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Postby Riamus » Mon Oct 30, 2006 2:57 pm

You can find me at #Invision on irc.irchighway.net or #OldGames on irc.undernet.org if you need me for anything.
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