How to Open NAT

How to Open NAT

You have the desire to host a multiplayer session of your favorite game on the PC, but the procedure to create it continues to give you error and the other players are unable to connect. Do you know that the problem is probably the NAT set in your router? Let me explain: to connect multiple devices to the Internet with a single subscription (and therefore only one IP address ), the router uses mechanisms that allow you to address data to the correct recipient, distinguishing one device connected by another thanks to the combination of  IP private and  listening port.

This mechanism takes the name of  NAT , or  Network Address Translation , is active by default on all routers on the market, and it is its initial configuration to prevent other players from connecting to you. This means that, to achieve your goal, you have to manually intervene on these settings and configure the router according to your needs: in other words, you need to learn to open the NAT .

How do you say? Already the only sentence scares you? I can guarantee you that there is absolutely no need, because you have come to the right place, in a time that could not be better: in the following I will explain all the procedures necessary to intervene on your router and open the doors, so customize NAT according to your needs. Ready to continue? Perfect: sit at the desk, take a few minutes of your free time and follow my instructions carefully. I can guarantee you that, almost without realizing it, you will succeed in your intent and you can finally host all the matches you want!

What does NAT mean

What does NAT meanBefore taking the keyboard and taking action on your router, it is good to give you some hints about what you are going to change. The  NAT , or  Network Address Translation (which can be translated into Italian with  translation network address translation ), is the operation that allows the router to connect more devices to the Internet using a single external IP address . This result is achieved thanks to the particular “graphics” that the router creates by itself, called in  routing routing tables , able to independently sort the data, both incoming and outgoing, to the various devices connected to the network (computer, smartphone , tablet, etc.): these are “recognized” thanks to them internal IP address .

At this point, however, it is right to make a clarification: in a “normal” scenario, are devices connected to the network to request the  servers to receive data (mail server for emails, Web server for surfing the Internet, and so Street); consequently, the NAT of the router is configured to “freely” pass the outgoing connections of the various devices, with the ability to send the answers to the right device, once received.

 In some particular cases, for example to host gaming sessions or to download at most bandwidth from programs like eMule or uTorrent , it is the device connected to the router that has to work as a server, and therefore it becomes essential to accept incoming connections on certain ports listening (changing from program to program): by default, this behavior is blocked in order to preserve the security of the entire network and device. Opening NAT , or opening ports or still  port forwarding , means just that: allowing external users to connect to your device.

Why open the doors

Now that you know why you have to open NAT, the time has come to specify the role of  doors in all this. As I explained to you earlier, the internal IP address allows the router to recognize the device to which the data must go. In your case, however, your device is a server and the router needs another information on the data to be delivered: the  program to which this data must go. Because? I’ll explain it to you right away.

When your device acts as a client, that is when you surf the Internet, consult e-mail, chat, or perform other online operations, it is your program that requests data from the server on the Internet, and it is the latter that enters the response data the identification of the request received. In this way, the router simply has to “limit itself” to following the routing table to correctly sort the received data. When the opposite happens, that is when you are acting as a server, the router must be able to forward requests coming from outside, but without knowing a priori information about where the program is running: each program is identified by one or more ports, through which it can receive data.

 

Network Address TranslationThese ports are initially  closed to preserve the security of your network and your devices: in order for the program to receive incoming requests, these ports must be opened within the router, with one of the procedures that I will explain to you shortly. This operation, as I mentioned a few lines ago, is called port forwarding or  port forwarding .

Said in even simpler terms, what you do is “communicate” to the router that, when a data destined for a certain port arrives, it must be sent to a specific device (identified by its internal IP address), opening the associated device listening port characteristic of the program. So, before proceeding further, inform yourself on which ports you need to open in the router for your game (or for any other program), and what type of them (TCP or UDP). This information can be easily found between the settings of the program itself or within the guide.

Log in to the router

In order to perform the operations I told you about a while ago, the first thing you need to do is to find out your router’s IP address and get your username and password  to access it. You can get the address in different ways, depending on the operating system you are using. For example, if you are on  Windows , click on the Start button  located at the bottom left and, in the search field (or in the bar at the top right of the Start Screen, for Windows 8.1), type  Command Prompt , click on icon that appears on the screen, then enter the ipconfig command and press the Enter key . You can find the IP address of the router corresponding to the default Gateway entry

Command Prompt

For  macOS , click on the System Preferences icon  on the  Dock , then on  Network , select the name of the connection you are using (eg Wi-Fi ) from the left sidebar and then click on the button  Advanced and then on the TCP / IP tab  : the IP address you are looking for is specified next to

the Router entry .

If, on the other hand, your operating system is Linux , click on the network icon at the top right, select the entry for your connection type (eg Wi-Fi connected), then the Network settings item , and click on ⚙ at the network you are connected to.

In the new window that appears, select the Details tab : you can find the IP address of your router at the heading Default routing . When you have finished, you can exit the window by clicking on the Cancel button located at the top left.

If you can not access the network settings, open the program list of your operating system (or the App View if you are using a system based on the GNOME desktop) and start the Terminal application . Then, enter the route -n command followed by Enter : the IP you are looking for appears under the heading Gateway

Now, all you have to do is type the IP of the router so retrieved in the address bar of the browser and, where required, enter the username and password for access: if you’ve never had access to the router, you can try the combinations  admin / admin or  admin / password .

If this solution does not work, I advise you to reset the router and try to access: to do so, press the appropriate button (which is typically on the back) and hold it down for a few seconds, until the lights on the router go out then re-ignite a few moments later. This is usually a re-enter key, so you may need a toothpick or other sharp objects to reach it. I also remind you that if you have problems with the whole process of access to the router, you can refer to my tutorial step-by-step to get more details.

Open the NAT

Now that you’ve finally managed to get into your router, you can proceed to open the ports you need. First of all, locate the Port Forwarding menu   ,  Port Mapping or  Virtual Server , and select the entry for creating a  new rule (or a new  virtual server ). At this stage the router offers you a creation module with several entries to fill out: you can do it by following the instructions below.

  • IP Address Server  (or  destination IP ) – here you must enter the internal IP address of the computer on which you intend to host your gaming session or, in general, on which you must open the NAT. If you do not know it, you can consult my guide on how to view IP address  to find it.
  • Internal Port / External Port (or  Initial Port / End Port ) – Type the port number to open in each of these boxes. I recommend, the value entered must be the same for all fields.
  • Protocol  (or  Port type ) – in this menu you must specify if the port you are interested in opening is TCP or UDP (some routers allow you to set the TCP / UDP entry to accept both types of connection id).
  • Rule Name  (or simply  Name ) – type here the name you wish to give to the newly configured relay, for example  CS: GO Server .

Once all the fields have been completed, all you have to do is click on the save button (usually  Save / Save or  Apply / Apply ) to confirm the changes and, to ensure that the settings are correctly applied, restart your router. To verify that the opening of the doors is successful, connected to this website , enter the number of the open door in the Port Number field  and then press the Check button  .

Unfortunately, I can not be very detailed about the precise configuration of each router, as each manufacturer has a management panel with different voices and options. To help you with the task, however, I can give you more precise instructions on the most known routers around.

TIM Router

TIM RouterIf you have a Technicolor router associated with a TIM subscription  , click on the Access Control tab  , then on the Port Mapping section  and then on the Create new rule button  . Once that is done, select the Personalize item  from the Service drop-down menu  , set the type of port (TCP, UDP or both) from the Protocol menu  , fill in the External / Initial  Port and  Internal Port fields  with the number of the port you want to open, enter in the Internal Host field the local IP address of the computer on which to open it and in the Description field a name that helps you remember the service you’ve unlocked (eg Server CS: GO).

Finally, click  ON at the Allow switch  and repeat the entire procedure if you need to unlock additional ports. Once the entries have been completed, click on the OKbutton  at the bottom to save the configuration. If you need further clarification or you have a different model TIM router, I invite you to consult the dedicated Internet site for further clarifications.

 Fastweb router

Do you have Fastweb ‘s modern FASTGate  router ? Opening the doors is very simple: once logged in, click on the item  Advanced which you find at the top. Then, from the side menu, select the Manual Port Configuration item  , click on the  Associate New Port Mapping button and compile the various items as follows.

  • Name – the name to assign to your rule.
  • IP address – the internal IP address of the computer on which to open the door.
  • Protocol – the type of port you wish to open.
  • External door / Internal door – fill in all four boxes with the door number to open.

After completing the entry, click on the  Add  and  Save Changes button . If you need instructions to configure other Fastweb routers (owners or compatible), I invite you to read the instructions in the Help section of your MyFastPage .

TP-Link router

TP-Link router
To open NAT in TP-Link routers , click on the Forwarding and Virtual Server entries that you usually find on the left sidebar, then on the Add New button and fill out the form that is shown as follows.

Interface – leave this field as it is.

Internal Port and Service Port – type in the number of the door to open.

IP Address – enter the internal IP address of the computer on which to open the door.

Protocol – select the protocol of the port to be opened (TCP / UDP).

Status – set the menu to Enabled to activate the rule immediately.

Common service port – leave this menu unchanged, unless you want to use pre-configured settings for the best known services (for example FTP servers, email servers, and so on).

Finally click on the Save button to apply the changes made. If you need further clarification, I invite you to consult my guide on how to set up TP-Link routers .

Netgear router

Netgear router

To open the ports in a Netgear router , click on the Advanced tab  found in the management panel and, from the left sidebar, select the items  Advanced configuration> Forwarding / Activating ports . Click the Add custom service button  and, when the form appears, fill it in the way I show you below.

  • Service name – give a name that can help you remember the rule.
  • Door / Home Door Home / Door – enter the number of the door to open in all the fields.
  • Internal IP address – type the local IP address of the computer on which you want to open the port.

D-Link router

As for the D-Link routers , once you have accessed the management panel, go to the Advanced tab  that you find at the top and select the Port Forwarding entry  . Then click on the Add button  and fill in the fields proposed as below.

  • WAN Connection s – leave this field unchanged.
  • Server Name – an arbitrary name that helps you recognize the rule.
  • Schedule – with this menu you can choose when to activate the rule. Set it to  Always to keep it always active.
  • Server IP address – enter the internal IP address of the computer.
  • External Port Start / End and  Internal Port – fill in these fields with the number of doors to open, which must be the same for each one.
  • Protocol – select the type of port to open.

Did you see? Opening the router’s NAT is not a complicated operation: I bet you know exactly how to proceed at this point.