Chapter 3 Advanced Settings
Advanced Settings include Port Forwarding, Port Triggering, WAN Setup, LAN IP Setup, Static Routes, and Remote Management.
Port Forwarding
With port forwarding, you can make local computers or servers available to the Internet for different services. For example, FTP uses TCP ports 20 and 21. The selections on this screen are:
•Active Forwarding Rules: This table displays a list of ports that are currently forwarded.
•Choose Predefined Service: Select a predefined service from the
•Add Custom Rules: You can set up a custom service that is not in the list of predefined services.
•To access the local computer from the Internet, you must use the WAN address of your modem, which can be found on the Basic Settings screen or the Modem Status screen.
Because the modem or your router uses Network Address Translation (NAT), your network presents only one IP address to the Internet, and outside users cannot directly address any of your local computers. However, by defining an inbound rule you can make a local server (for example, a web server or game server) visible and available to the Internet. The rule tells the modem to direct inbound traffic for a particular service to one local server based on the destination port number. This is known as Port Forwarding.
Note: Some residential broadband ISP accounts do not allow you to run any server processes (such as a Web or FTP server) from your location. Your ISP may periodically check for servers and may suspend your account if it discovers any active services at your location. If you are unsure, refer to the Acceptable Use Policy of your ISP.
