port forwarding question

L

Linea Recta

I have port forwarded several applications on my PC, which is connected by
wire to the router. The PC has a static internal IP address.

With my notebook I always log in thru wifi. Now I recently installed Skype
on the notebook and I had to forward a port for this. Does this mean that I
have to give the notebook a static IP aswell?

I'm planning to install Skype on the PC too, does this require an additional
rule?



--
regards,

|\ /|
| \/ |@rk
\../
\/os
 
L

Lem

Linea said:
I have port forwarded several applications on my PC, which is connected by
wire to the router. The PC has a static internal IP address.

With my notebook I always log in thru wifi. Now I recently installed Skype
on the notebook and I had to forward a port for this. Does this mean that I
have to give the notebook a static IP aswell?

I'm planning to install Skype on the PC too, does this require an additional
rule?

"Any PC whose port is being forwarded must have its DHCP client function
disabled and must have a new static IP address assigned to it because
its IP address may change when using the DHCP function."

One can probably get away with not assigning a static IP address to a
computer that is always on and always attached to the router (except,
perhaps, for brief intervals such as power outages and the like) because
such a computer will most likely continue to receive the same IP address
from the router's DHCP server, particularly if the computer re-connects
to the router before the next expiration of the IP address lease.
Furthermore, some DHCP servers use "automatic allocation" (sometimes
called DHCP reservation) in which an IP address is "permanently"
assigned to a particular computer (identified by its MAC address). See,
e.g., this thread:
http://forums.linksysbycisco.com/linksys/board/message?board.id=Wireless_Routers&thread.id=81638

OTOH, a computer that frequently is removed from the network, like a
notebook, could easily receive a different IP address each time it
connects to the router if the computer is set to obtain an IP address
automatically (assuming the router doesn't support DHCP reservation).
 
J

John Wunderlich

I have port forwarded several applications on my PC, which is
connected by wire to the router. The PC has a static internal IP
address.

With my notebook I always log in thru wifi. Now I recently
installed Skype on the notebook and I had to forward a port for
this. Does this mean that I have to give the notebook a static IP
aswell?

I'm planning to install Skype on the PC too, does this require an
additional rule?

To be dependable, yes, you should assign a static IP.

However if the laptop moves around, this can be extremely inconvenient.
As Lem mentioned, the best solution is to purchase a router that has
the "DHCP Reservation" feature. (Also known as "Static DHCP
Assignment", "Static DHCP", "IP reservation", or "MAC/IP binding").
This allows your machine to still use DHCP for moving around but when
connecting to your home router, the router will always assign the same
IP address to that machine. Problem solved.

HTH,
John
 
S

smlunatick

I have port forwarded several applications on my PC, which is connected by
wire to the router. The PC has a static internal IP address.

With my notebook I always log in thru wifi. Now I recently installed Skype
on the notebook and I had to forward a port for this. Does this mean thatI
have to give the notebook a static IP aswell?

I'm planning to install Skype on the PC too, does this require an additional
rule?

--
regards,

|\  /|
| \/ |@rk
 \../
  \/os

I have set up a few Skype set ups on different routers / network and
never requires a port forward rule. You are connecting to a Skype
"service" which then "re-directs" to your account / your destination
account.
 
B

Bernd

-------- Original-Nachricht --------
I have port forwarded several applications on my PC, which is connected by
wire to the router. The PC has a static internal IP address.

With my notebook I always log in thru wifi. Now I recently installed Skype
on the notebook and I had to forward a port for this. Does this mean that I
have to give the notebook a static IP aswell?

I'm planning to install Skype on the PC too, does this require an additional
rule?
As I understand how Skype works from this article, port forwarding isn't
necessary for Skype

http://www.h-online.com/security/features/How-Skype-Co-get-round-firewalls-747197.html

Bernd
 
J

Jack [MVP-Networking]

Hi
I am not sure that Skype needs a port forwarding.
However you should that a port is forwarded toward a specific IP
That means that the same port can not be opened toward more than one
computer (one IP).
The way to overcome this limitation is to assign the application in question
different port on each computer.
As an example using Remote Desktop on few computers that are on the same
network, necessitates changing the Remote Desktop listening port.
Check Skype's support for specific information about Skype concerning this
issue.
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking).
 
L

Linea Recta

"smlunatick" <[email protected]> schreef in bericht
I have port forwarded several applications on my PC, which is connected by
wire to the router. The PC has a static internal IP address.

With my notebook I always log in thru wifi. Now I recently installed Skype
on the notebook and I had to forward a port for this. Does this mean that
I
have to give the notebook a static IP aswell?

I'm planning to install Skype on the PC too, does this require an
additional
rule?

--
regards,

|\ /|
| \/ |@rk
\../
\/os

I have set up a few Skype set ups on different routers / network and
never requires a port forward rule. You are connecting to a Skype
"service" which then "re-directs" to your account / your destination
account.




---END QUOTE---


I understood it needs port forwarding 'for incomming connections' from
following link:
http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/Sitecom/WL-174/Skype.htm




--
regards,

|\ /|
| \/ |@rk
\../
\/os
 
L

Lem

Linea said:
"smlunatick" <[email protected]> schreef in bericht


I have set up a few Skype set ups on different routers / network and
never requires a port forward rule. You are connecting to a Skype
"service" which then "re-directs" to your account / your destination
account.




---END QUOTE---


I understood it needs port forwarding 'for incomming connections' from
following link:
http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/Sitecom/WL-174/Skype.htm

I can't recall doing it, but my router is in fact set to forward both
UDP and TCP traffic to Skype through a particular port. Port forwarding
appears to be a suggestion rather than a requirement for Skype.

This is the only mention of port forwarding I found on the Skype site:

<Quote>
In the quest for even better voice quality, it is also advisable to open
up incoming TCP and/or UDP to the specific port you see in Skype
Options. This port is chosen randomly when you install Skype. In the
case of firewalls, this should be easy to arrange. In some routers,
however, you cannot configure incoming UDP at all (but you still can
configure incoming TCP port forwarding, which you could/should do).
</Quote>

https://support.skype.com/faq/FA148...r-to-use-Skype?frompage=search&q=port+forward
 
L

Linea Recta

Lem said:
I can't recall doing it, but my router is in fact set to forward both UDP
and TCP traffic to Skype through a particular port. Port forwarding
appears to be a suggestion rather than a requirement for Skype.

This is the only mention of port forwarding I found on the Skype site:

<Quote>
In the quest for even better voice quality, it is also advisable to open
up incoming TCP and/or UDP to the specific port you see in Skype Options.
This port is chosen randomly when you install Skype. In the case of
firewalls, this should be easy to arrange. In some routers, however, you
cannot configure incoming UDP at all (but you still can configure incoming
TCP port forwarding, which you could/should do).
</Quote>

https://support.skype.com/faq/FA148...r-to-use-Skype?frompage=search&q=port+forward

--



Yes, I suppose that increases bandwidth capacity. I will need it, especially
since I want to use video stream too.
I'll have to figure out if my router supports DHCP reservations. This may be
important for other applications in future on the notebook.
Thanks very much for your replies.


--
regards,

|\ /|
| \/ |@rk
\../
\/os
 

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