Issues with remote connectivity...

[Omerta]

Hey there. I'm sure there are other threads with issues that may be similar to this, and while I have looked and looked (google is your friend, after all) I can't seem to find the answer to my dilemma anywhere....

Long story short, I have checked the FAQ and the Getting Started and have done all of the processes. I am using a Netgear RangeMax Wireless Router WPN824v2. and as per the instructions in portforward, I have successfully (or so it may seem) setup a port within my network to port forward. When I look in the subsonic software, it says that it is on, and I've made sure the port is being used within the software. I've setup an address through dyndns using the networks external ip address and the port, using the option to webhop redirect. My friend and I, within our home network, can successfully come across the subsonic login screen using the dyndns adress I've setup. Login on in my personal subsonic, I've checked the networking portion in settings, and it also confirms that the port is being forwarded. Everything seems to work as intended, except for one problem.

It seems that when I give the dyndns address I've setup to friends on other computers and other networks, they either get a blank page, "page cannot be displayed" or "the connection has timed out". Another thing, in the dyndns website, there's an open port tool where I can check all of the ports within my router and see if they are open or closed. According to that feature, the port that I am using with subsonic is refused, which means that that there are no services available on that port, but that it is not being blocked by a firewall or my ISP. Only one port has ever been shown as open using the aforementioned feature, and we've tried using that port to run subsonic but the software draws an error saying the port is already in use and suggests we use another port... and that we have done, using a port that the feature now says is being refused. These two issues may or may not be related... all I'm interested in doing is figuring out why my friends cannot view my subsonic from an outside network. They can only view my subsonic when within my network, using an URL intended to external use, all members of the network can access it. It is only outside of the network that it times out.

Pardon any redundancy. I'm simply trying to be as thorough as I can so that anyone out there may be able to help me resolve this issue!!!

Thanks,

Omerta

[delcypher]

The mostly likely reason is that when you try and use your dynamicDNS address in your home network is that your router realises that you are trying to connect to a machine on your local network

You request

your-domain.dynamicdns.org -> xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (your router realises that that IP address is its own and routes requests internally)

I think you've got yourself a little confused with your port forwarding which is why it's not working.

Subsonic's port forward option in the web interface enables port forwarding using uPnP which is a service your router can provide which allows ports to be forwarded when they are requested.

You can also setup port forwarding manually which is completely separate from uPnP. In this case you would tell subsonic not to do any forwarding at all as setting up a port forward using uPnP and setting a manual port forward may cause a conflict.

Here's what I suggest you do.

1. Do not use a 'webhop redirect' for your DynamicDNS address. Although this isn't the cause of your problem. With particular clients this may break their functionality because they aren't expecting a redirect. Use a proper "A name" DNS record. I don't remember what DynamicDNS calls them but they do offer them. You will know when this is setup properly because when you run

Code: Select all

nslookup http://yourdomain.dynamicdns.org

you will be told that it points to your IP address.

2. Disable automatic port forwarding in the Subsonic web interface.

3. Make sure that you have your manual port forwarded specified correctly in your router's control panel.

You should now be able to go to http://yourdomain.dynamicdns.org:port/

e.g. http://yourdomain.dynamicdns.org:4040/

to connect to your subsonic server externally.

Alternatively you can use automatic port forwarding in subsonic but you need to make sure that your manual port forward is disabled and that uPnP is enabled for your router.

When accessing externally please bear in mind as well that the default port 4040 is blocked by a lot of firewall configurations at corporations so if you're trying to access it from work port 4040 may not work. In this case you need to use a port that isn't blocked, port 80 is a good choice as this is the default port for the HTTP protocol.

Hope this helps.

[Omerta]

I've succeeded in doing all of the steps you suggested. I went in and disabled port forwarding within and ensured, from my understanding, that the port is open within my router's control panel. Step one was a little trickier, but I have it functioning within my network using a random port. If it helps any, here's my web address... http://omertalvendetta.dyndns.org:1023/ and that is the information that I provide my friends... all they get still is a page cannot be loaded in their end, even with your suggestions. It's obvious I'm missing something or doing something wrong, I just wish I could figure it out!!!

I thank you very much for your time, and will continue to fiddle with this

. If there's anything else you can think of that may help, please, please, let me know and I'll see if me and my buddy can incorporate those steps and hope that it works....

[seanpkeown]

:(. If there's anything else you can think of that may help, please, please, let me know and I'll see if me and my buddy can incorporate those steps and hope that it works....

What port is subsonic using?
What is the ip address of the computer that you are on?
What is your wan IP address? http://mywanip.com/
Is it 68.235.129.118?
Do you have DSL or Cable internet at home?

Just some questions to make it easier to help you out.

[Omerta]

Subsonic is using port 1023... my IP address is 68.235.129.118. And I have DSL internet... please help!! LOL.

[berthiggins]

I have tried the address you gave in the post and cannot connect is it live at the moment?
I take it that the machine running subsonic is on a fixed IP?
If so check the port forwarding is pointed at that IP .
If you want me to test again just ask!

[Omerta]

It is live at the moment yes... and my network actually has dynamic IP, butI have set it up with dyndns, allowing it the url to be updated everytime it changes. There must be a firewall or something that it's blocking access to the URL, I just can't seem to find it...

[berthiggins]

Yes but is the internal ip address that subsonic is on a fixed or dhcp one?
It needs to be fixed .
This will allow you to port forward to one address on your network consistently
you will not be able to connect to your external address from inside the network the router will not allow this.
to test the external component you will need someone outside on the internet.
when you connect internally are you connecting to subsonic across the internal (home) network or are you using it on the same machine it is installed on?
If on the same machine are you sure that it is running on 1023
sorry to ask obvious questions but the answer to this problem is probably a simple one we just need to break it down.

[Omerta]

The address that subsonic is on is on a DNS address that constantly updates, so while the home's IP is dynamic, if it ever changes, the dns software should update accordingly, allowing the address to become somewhat static at that point. I can connect to the address that I provided above on any of the six computers (desktops are hard plugged, laptops using wireless), essentially making subsonic completely functional within my network, and this is using the external ip, not the localhost one. As for me having someone outside the internet, one of my buddies lives across the street and after we setup all of this, he went home and I provided for him the external link that worked within the household (and that ideally should work for anyone that clicks on it (ie. omertalvendetta.dyndns.org:1023) but he couldn't connect to it remotely. For him, it simply times out. I just wanted to point out that when I connect to subsonic within my home, I NEVER use the internal addresses, be it local host or my internal IP, I always use the link I provided on this reply, which should be the external link for my friends to connect this. The main reason I do this is to ensure that the link functions the way it's supposed to. We've come to realize that it does function how it's supposed to, the main reason as to why it's timing out has got to be with some sort of firewall that we're overlooking, whether it's on the router/network/or even browser. Hope these answers help!! I'm still looking into the issue some more, but any help would still be greatly appreciated!!

[Omerta]

Also, pardon my noobness, but what it DHCP vs. fixed and how can I accomplish this?

[berthiggins]

on your internal network the IP address can either be configured manually by the network admin or automatically by the router.
There is a chance that the machine with subsonic on it will not always be on the same address if it is on DHCP (automatic configuration) in a lot of cases it will be but not always.
That is why servers and printers ETC are often on fixed addresses.
You really need the machine acting as your music server to be fixed as the firewall port forwarding rule you have set up will usually point to one address on the network.
When you have used subsonic on your home network have you viewed it on other machines on the network or just locally on the machine it is installed on?