Unable to Synchronize Time Through Router Firewall

[Jack Gillis]

Am using XP SP3 though a Westell router to my ADSL connection

If I have the router firewall security set to high or medium, time will not
synchronize no matter which time server I try. If I change the security to
low or disable the firewall, time synchronizes just fine. I really prefer
not to have it set to low (Paranoid here) and Westell suggest using Medium
which is like High except I can use port forwarding to synchronize the time.

My problem is that I barely know how to spell port forwarding much less how
to use it.

Would someone please get me started in right direction?

Thank you very much

 

[VanguardLH]

Am using XP SP3 though a Westell router to my ADSL connection

If I have the router firewall security set to high or medium, time will not
synchronize no matter which time server I try. If I change the security to
low or disable the firewall, time synchronizes just fine. I really prefer
not to have it set to low (Paranoid here) and Westell suggest using Medium
which is like High except I can use port forwarding to synchronize the time.

My problem is that I barely know how to spell port forwarding much less how
to use it.

Would someone please get me started in right direction?

Thank you very much

If high settings block the NTP port (UDP 123) then you'll have to define
a rule that punches out a hole for outbound traffic so it can establish
a connection to whatever NTP server to which you are connecting.

Normally a firewall will allow unsolicited outbound connections. It is
the unsolicited inbound connections that it blocks. However, NTP uses
UDP (there is no TCP handshaking to establish a session). The UDP
traffic will come later and your router's firewall may be incapable of
following the state of outbound connects to realize the UDP traffic
coming back on port 123 was requested by a prior outbound connection
(i.e., the stateful packet inspection of your router's firewall sucks,
or you configure the firewall so that disconnected but previously
solicited inbound UDP traffic will get blocked).

You can read the manual (no point in me spending the time to read it).
See if it tells you how to open a port so you can allow inbound UDP
traffic on port 123. That isn't the same as port forwarding which
shouldn't be needed unless you want to ensure that the inbound UDP
traffic on port 123 goes to only one of your intranet hosts.

 

[Jack Gillis]

Thank you very much VanguardLH. Now I know what to do.