This Article Applies to:

 

All Routers

 

Issue Description/Phenomenon:

 

Phenomenon 1 (Security Camera System):

 

John wants to remotely access his security camera system from his workplace. To achieve this, he needs to set up port forwarding on his home router. Port forwarding allows incoming connections to reach specific devices or services on a private network, in this case, his security camera system. By forwarding port 8080, which is used for video streaming, to the local IP address of the camera, John can access the camera feeds remotely.

Without setting up port forwarding, John would only be able to access the camera feeds while connected to his home network. He would be unable to view the camera feeds remotely from his workplace or any other location outside his home network. The camera system's video streaming port (8080) would remain inaccessible to external connections, limiting its functionality to within the local network.

In conclusion, when he types his IP address http://[123.123.123.123]:8080/stream, he cannot view the live stream from his camera.

 

Phenomenon 2 (Hosting a Website):

 

Alice wants to host her own website from her home server and make it accessible to users on the internet. To accomplish this, she sets up a web server on her home network and configures port forwarding. Port forwarding allows incoming connections to reach the web server, making the website accessible to external users.

If Alice does not set up port forwarding, her website would not be accessible to users on the internet. External users trying to access her website by entering her public IP address would be unable to establish a connection. Without port forwarding, incoming requests to the web server's default port (port 443) would be blocked by Alice's router's firewall. As a result, the web server would not receive the incoming requests, and the website would remain inaccessible from outside Alice's local network.

In conclusion, when external users access her hosted web page, it loads forever or responds "This site can’t be reached. 123.123.123.123 took too long to respond."

 

If you run into something similar to this, you may refer to the troubleshooting points below.

 

Troubleshooting:

 

1. Make sure the server is accessible from the internal network(LAN).

 

Please double-check the IP address and the port of the server. Check if you can access the server in the local network. If you are still unable to access the server in your local network, please check the settings of your server.
Take the above image as an example, there is a server in the network providing HTTP service with port 80. To check the server access, you can try to visit http://192.168.0.200 with a browser.

 

Note:

• If a firewall or antivirus program running on the server, be sure to adjust the firewall policy and allow access to the specified ports from the outside, or you can temporarily disable the firewall for testing. 
• If you want to verify if a port is accessible from your local network, you can try Tip 2 below.

 

2. Check the port forwarding settings in the router.

 

To set up the virtual server, refer to FAQ--How to set up Port Forwarding feature on TP-Link SMB Router?

Verify that the internal port, external port, and Internal Server IP are correct. And it’s recommended to set up a DHCP reservation or static IP for the server.

 

3. Pay attention to the WAN IP of the router.

 

If there is still a problem, check the WAN IP of the router. Verify that the router is getting a public IP address. If it is a private IP address (simply put, it starts with 10, 172.16 - 31, or 192.168), then you have to consider changing your modem to bridge mode. Or you can contact your ISP or modem support for help.

 

Controller:                                                  Standalone:

 

4. Check whether the ports are being restricted by ISP.

 

If you are confident that your server is functioning properly or your configuration is correct and that the firewall won't block external connections, we recommend you contact your ISP support and ask if the ports you are going to open are available or free.

If your ISP charges for certain ports or restricts their use, it means that you may need to pay an additional fee or request a specific service plan that allows you to utilize those ports. The charges or restrictions can vary depending on the ISP and the region.

 

5. Restart your router.

 

After verifying your settings are correct, and, a function is not working properly, you can restart the router to adapt to the new changes. You can power cycle the router and check if the new changes are effective.

 

6. Examine if you have any firewall devices.

 

A firewall device that is connected to the LAN may hijack or host the connections. So, if you have a firewall device in your LAN, you should also consider this. About how to disable or add the port to the allow list, you should contact your device support for further help.

 

Tips:

 

Tip 1:

 

You can simply go to the online port checker to verify if your ports are open or not. Sometimes you need to verify on different sites. There may be a delay in your port forwarding status.

Here are some common websites:

• https://portchecker.co/
• https://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/open-ports/
• https://dnschecker.org/port-scanner.php

 

Tip 2:

 

Here, we would like to introduce a verification tool called 'telnet' that will help you test whether the port has been successfully opened or not. This method can be used to test on both LAN and WAN sides. And, it is super helpful to verify if your port is accessible in LAN or not.

Use LAN IP+port to test if the service can be accessed from within the local network.

Note: We highly recommend turning off the firewall on your computer, as the Windows 10 firewall typically blocks connections from the Wide Area Network (WAN) by default.

 

How to do the telnet test: (using port 25565 as an example):  

• Goal:

Test port 25565 of the server is opened or not from LAN on your PC.

• Steps:

Please press the "Window" key and the "R" key on your keyboard at the same time, and it will pop up the "Run" window, please type in "cmd", and then type in "telnet lan ip 25565" in this black window.

If the port is open, you will see a popup blank screen, which means the connection is successful.

If there is no response for a long time and shows "could not open a connection to the host", it means the port isn't opening successfully.

 

 

If you encounter such an issue, please follow the troubleshooting above to check your settings. Besides, ensure your Omada Controller and Gateway are running with the latest firmware.

If the issue still exists after you try the suggestion above, please feel free to comment below or contact our support team with a detailed description of your issue and the steps you have tried.

 

Thank you in advance for your valuable feedback!

 

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