Knowledgebase: RBS Server
ROUTER & FIREWALL ISSUES WITH THE SERVER LOCATOR

The Server Locator serves two primary functions. One is dynamic name service, which you can get from other places. The second is a Dynamic Routing Assist function not available from any other service. This is the main reason we developed the Server Locator - to solve a problem intrinsic to some routers and firewalls that make it difficult to operate an Internet server behind them because they improperly do NAT routing.

The Server Locator was not developed to solve any problem with the RBS Server software, rather, to correct deficiencies in some routers. Our RBS Server, working with the Server Locator, corrects this problem with troublesome routers/firewalls by detecting the external IP address of the Router and feeding it to the RBS Server as its proper IP address so computers outside the router/firewall can find it.

Without the Server Locator many of these router/firewalls return only the internal IP address, making it impossible for computers on the Internet to find your RBS Server. The Server Locator is part of your Maintenance Subscription, so it will only work while your Maintenance Subscription is active.

A properly configured router and firewall that has features to properly do NAT routing can usually be set up to work without the use of the Server Locator. Cheap routers like LinkSys usually DO NOT have the features necessary to run an Internet Server without the Server Locator. The Server Locator can usually correct deficiencies in these routers.

Often routers will have pre-programmed ÔÇ£filtersÔÇØ which are sets of rules governing how it should handle specific types of traffic. One of the first things to try is to turn ON the filter or rule (if your router has one) to run an FTP Server. Our RBS Server emulates an FTP server to fool the router into properly handling RBS traffic. Some routers automatically turn on FTP rules if you use port 21 for your RBS Server, so try that.

The Server Locator needs port 3495 open through the firewall. If you are using port 21 as your control port for the RBS Server, open ports 20 and 21 through the firewall. If you are using port 2774 as your control port for the RBS Server, open ports 2773 and 2774 through the firewall.

Rather than specifying a data port range to OPEN through the firewall for the RBS Server, it is recommended that you use Stateful Packet Inspection (if available) to allow all traffic that looks like FTP, as well as all solicited traffic.

The RBS Server assigns data ports depending on what else is running on your RBS Server in a port range that can be from 1024 through 30,000. We strongly recommend using an intelligent firewall product like ZoneAlarm Pro rather than a complicated external firewall with few automated functions.

When diagnosing problems involving routers and firewalls, keep in mind that there are issues related to both the router and the firewall which must be addressed. It is best to turn OFF the firewall and fix router issues first. After router issues are fixed, turn ON the firewall and fix issues related to the firewall. Attempting to solve firewall issues and router issues at the same time becomes confusing, since it is often not clear whether the router or the firewall is causing your problem.

Also see other articles regarding ports and firewalls, and specific instructions for using the Windows firewall.

 

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