Rookie Home Networker

February 27, 2005 10:32 AM

I've just recently set up my first wireless home network consisting of a Win XP box on a cable modem hooked up to an AirPort Extreme sending a signal to an iBook. It's working great except for problems with my favorite p2p program (WinMX). I now have to use a "secondary" connection to the network which yeilds less effective search results and performance and I am unable to upload files to the network. My research tells me that I need to do some fiddling with my firewall to make things work better, which is uncharted territory for me. Does anyone know what I need to do, and can you explain it to me in basic, clear terms. Thanks.
posted by jonmc to computers & internet (17 comments total)

This guide might help you out: Bittorrent Firewall Port Forwarding for Apple Airport Extreme
posted by TBoneMcCool at 11:01 AM on February 27, 2005

Actually, the Windows box is where I'm doing the p2p, and it's not Bittorrent.
posted by jonmc at 11:02 AM on February 27, 2005

• Ports which need opening for WinMX to run behind a firewall. (See the second post.)
• How to manually open ports in Internet Connection Firewall in Windows XP.
posted by AlexReynolds at 11:18 AM on February 27, 2005

Did that. Uploads still seem to be dying on the vine. Do all p2p programs have this same problem?
posted by jonmc at 11:44 AM on February 27, 2005

No idea. Different p2p programs have different upload/download algorithms, so it depends on the program. I don't know much (anything) about WinMX.
posted by AlexReynolds at 11:46 AM on February 27, 2005

It's a great filesharing program. Very napsteresque interface and the ability to easily browse users collections. I'm fiddling with others, but Shareaza has give disappointing search results and limewire is a resource hog. Gnucleues is interesting, but there dosen't seem to be away to browse hosts.
posted by jonmc at 11:53 AM on February 27, 2005

I'm guessing the firewall has nothing to do with it if you can at least get an upload started. If it didn't happen at all, I'd suspect the firewall. It is entirely possibly your ISP is doing something called "packet shaping" which translates to blocking P2P stuff by making its speed really inconvenient for you. Bittorrent downloads and uploads have a dramatic effect on my friend's broadband connection, for example, while non-BT traffic goes through quite snappily.
posted by AlexReynolds at 12:03 PM on February 27, 2005

(possibly = possible)
posted by AlexReynolds at 12:04 PM on February 27, 2005

What I see is a user attempting to make an incoming connection, but it never happens. Does bittorrent allow you to browse a users file library? Cause I tend to search serendiptitiously rather than specifically (think of the napster "browse" function).
posted by jonmc at 12:11 PM on February 27, 2005

Not that I know of. But Google has plenty of links to bittorrent sites. Be forewarned BT isn't a secure protocol by design, and I've no idea if the RIAA or MPAA put your name on a sue-at-some-point list.

Does WinMX have any preferences within that set things like maximum upload speed (fraction of your bandwidth), number of incoming connections, that sort of thing?
posted by AlexReynolds at 12:16 PM on February 27, 2005

Yeah, but everything was working wonderfully until I set up the wireless network. I can still DL, so I dont think it's my ISP. I just have to use a secondary connection, which makes for lackluster search results and I can't upload which means I'm not contributing.
posted by jonmc at 12:20 PM on February 27, 2005

Well, if by "set up my first wireless home network", you mean that you bought a wireless router, plugged it into the cable modem and plugged the computer into it, then you also need to set up port forwarding. Unfortunately, while most all routers support port forwarding, the interface to set it varies widely. See PortForward.com for how to do it in your router. The ports that will need forwarding will be the same ones that were listed as needed opening in AlexReynolds first post.
posted by boaz at 12:20 PM on February 27, 2005

I changed the firewall settings in Windows, but do I also need to get on the iBook and change it on the mac? Am I double-firewalled or something?
posted by jonmc at 12:28 PM on February 27, 2005

Open Airport Admin Utility: in the Port Mapping section, enter the IP address assigned to your Windows workstation (possibly 10.0.1.2, check your settings: Start -> Run -> "cmd" -> "ipconfig /all") and the ports required in both the Private Port and Public Port sections.

For example, forward ports 6699 and 6257 for WinMX, 2234 and 5534 for Soulseek, 6346 for Gnutella, whatever ports are set in donkey.ini for mldonkey and ports 6881 to 6889 for Bittorrent (Azureus only needs port 6881, in fact). You might as well open these all up now, while you're doing the Airport setup.

There is an Airport Admin Utility for Windows, although you could use your iBook, if you wanted to.
posted by AlexReynolds at 12:37 PM on February 27, 2005

jonmc, we need to know how your PC is connected to your cable modem. Is the PC plugged into the Airport, which is then plugged into the cable modem? If so, follow AlexReynolds' advice above. If not, are you using some other kind of router? Does the cable modem have multiple ports (for example, USB for the PC and Ethernet for the Airport)? We need more info.
posted by zsazsa at 3:55 PM on February 27, 2005

Is the PC plugged into the Airport, which is then plugged into the cable modem?

yes, that is the case. I'll attempt the port switching in a few days, and let you know how it goes.
posted by jonmc at 5:01 PM on February 27, 2005

You may find this useful.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:09 AM on February 28, 2005