64 | Chapter 5: Fine-Tuning Your Network
N150 Wireless Router User Manual
1. Assign your Web server either a fixed IP address or a dynamic IP address using DHCP
address reservation, as explained in Using Address Reservation on page 50. In this
example, your router will always give your Web server an IP address of 192.168.1.33.
2. In the Port Forwarding screen, configure the router to forward the HTTP service to the local
address of your Web server at 192.168.1.33.
HTTP (port 80) is the standard protocol for Web servers.
3. (Optional) Register a host name with a Dynamic DNS service, and configure your router to
use the name as described in Using a Dynamic DNS Service on page 51.
To access your Web server from the Internet, a remote user must know the IP address that
has been assigned by your ISP. However, if you use a Dynamic DNS service, the remote
user can reach your server by a user-friendly Internet name, such as mynetgear.dyndns.org.
Configuring Port Triggering
Port triggering is a dynamic extension of port forwarding that is useful in these cases:
• More than one local computer needs port forwarding for the same application (but not
simultaneously).
• An application needs to open incoming ports that are different from the outgoing port.
When port triggering is enabled, the router monitors outbound traffic looking for a specified
outbound “trigger” port. When the router detects outbound traffic on that port, it remembers
the IP address of the local computer that sent the data. The router then temporarily opens the
specified incoming port or ports, and forwards incoming traffic on the triggered ports to the
triggering computer.
While port forwarding creates a static mapping of a port number or range to a single local
computer, port triggering can dynamically open ports to any computer that needs them and
can close the ports when they are no longer needed.
Note: If you use applications such as multiplayer gaming, peer-to-peer
connections, real-time communications such as instant messaging,
or remote assistance (a feature in Windows XP), you should also
enable Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) according to the instructions
in Using Universal Plug and Play on page 66.
To configure port triggering, you need to know which inbound ports the application needs.
Also, you need to know the number of the outbound port that will trigger the opening of the
inbound ports. You can usually determine this information by contacting the publisher of the
application or user groups or newsgroups.
To set up port triggering:
1. Select Port Forwarding/Port Triggering under Advanced in the main menu. The
Forwarding/Port Triggering screen displays (see Figure on page 62).
2. Select the Port Triggering radio button. The port triggering information displays.