Can't open port 10308 on Tp-Link AX-11000

[killerquagmire]

Hey guys, I'm terrible with networking so I'm hoping someone can help me with this issue. I can't host a multiplayer mission so I did my due diligence and opened the necessary port on my router for TCP and UDP. However, it's still not working. So I went to https://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/open-ports/ and sure enough, it shows that the port is still closed. 

However, one thing I did notice is that both DCS and Yougetsignal have a different address listed than the actual IP address associated with my PC in the drop down list in the NAT Forwarding menu of my router. I tried putting that address in manually but the router will not accept it. I get a message saying "The IP address and LAN IP address should be in the same subnet."

So all that said, I'm sure this all has to do with the address listed for my PC in the router not matching the address pulled by DCS and Yougetsignal.

So how do I fix this? Thanks in advance.

[Flappie]

Hey. Here's a simple drawing to help you understand the concept of routing:

 

A router has always (at least) two different networks, because that's its purpose: connecting different networks. Let's assume your router is a 'basic' home router with two networks: 1. your private network, and 2. the Internet. Your router has:

• A public address to give it access to the Internet.
• A private address to allow all your home devices (PC, mobile phones, TV, smart fridge or whatever) to connect with it. They all need to be in the router subnet which means their address must look like the router's (example with the most common private subnet: 192.168.0.1 - 192.168.0.4 - 192.168.0.25).

Your router public address is the address you're seeing in the DCS multiplayer menu, or on any website such as Yougetsignal, Whatsmyip, etc.

The world does not know your PC private address, it only knows your router public address.

 

1. Configuring the router

When you want to host an online DCS server from your PC, you first need to tell your router what to do with all the people who will soon try to reach your PC to join the game. Otherwise, it won't listen to them. Let's assume you chose default port 10308. You must tell your router this:

"Please forward port 10308, both TCP and UDP, to my PC private address".

It should look something like this:

To get your PC private address, open a "cmd" windows, and send "ipconfig" command. Look for 'IPv4' address. If you have several 'IPv4' fields, see if one of these starts with "192.168.0..." because that's often the case.

 

2. Ensure your PC does not block port 10308

Once this NAT rule is saved in your router (it should be applied instantly - no need to reboot your router), users will pass the router and come knocking at your PC. More precisely: they will come knocking at your PC on port 10308. But you still need to ensure your PC port 10308 is opened, because your firewall closes all unused ports by default.

When you first host a DCS game (or when you first start DCS I'm not sure), you are asked by your firewall if you accept this port to be opened. If for whatever reason you refused, this port remains closed. You can check this in your firewall advanced menu.

Edited August 2, 2022 by Flappie

[killerquagmire]

2 hours ago, Flappie said:

Hey. Here's a simple drawing to help you understand the concept of routing:

 

A router has always (at least) two different networks, because that's its purpose: connecting different networks. Let's assume your router is a 'basic' home router with two networks: 1. your private network, and 2. the Internet. Your router has:

• A public address to give it access to the Internet.
• A private address to allow all your home devices (PC, mobile phones, TV, smart fridge or whatever) to connect with it. They all need to be in the router subnet which means their address must look like the router's (example with the most common private subnet: 192.168.0.1 - 192.168.0.4 - 192.168.0.25).

Your router public address is the address you're seeing in the DCS multiplayer menu, or on any website such as Yougetsignal, Whatsmyip, etc.

The world does not know your PC private address, it only knows your router public address.

 

1. Configuring the router

When you want to host an online DCS server from your PC, you first need to tell your router what to do with all the people who will soon try to reach your PC to join the game. Otherwise, it won't listen to them. Let's assume you chose default port 10308. You must tell your router this:

"Please forward port 10308, both TCP and UDP, to my PC private address".

It should look something like this:

To get your PC private address, open a "cmd" windows, and send "ipconfig" command. Look for 'IPv4' address. If you have several 'IPv4' fields, see if one of these starts with "192.168.0..." because that's often the case.

 

2. Ensure your PC does not block port 10308

Once this NAT rule is saved in your router (it should be applied instantly - no need to reboot your router), users will pass the router and come knocking at your PC. More precisely: they will come knocking at your PC on port 10308. But you still need to ensure your PC port 10308 is opened, because your firewall closes all unused ports by default.

When you first host a DCS game (or when you first start DCS I'm not sure), you are asked by your firewall if you accept this port to be opened. If for whatever reason you refused, this port remains closed. You can check this in your firewall advanced menu.

 

Thank you for the reply. So if I'm understanding you correctly, you are saying that the IP address in my DCS server (and yougetsignal) should NOT match my the address my router has listed for my PC? Also, shouldn't the port show open when I look it up on https://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/open-ports/ regardless if I'm on DCS since I opened it in the router config? As for the Firewall settings, (edit) I just checked for open ports using the cmd: netsh firewall show state and there are no active ports open. Not sure where to go from here.

Here's what my settings are in Tp-Link based on their tutorial:

Service name: HTTP (selected in dropdown as instructed by Tp-LInk Tutorial)

Device IP Address: (My PC address selected from dropdown)

External Port 10308  Internal Port 10308

Protocol: ALL (TCP & UDP)

 

null

Edited August 3, 2022 by killerquagmire

[Flappie]

6 hours ago, killerquagmire said:

Thank you for the reply. So if I'm understanding you correctly, you are saying that the IP address in my DCS server (and yougetsignal) should NOT match the address my router has listed for my PC?

Affirmative.

6 hours ago, killerquagmire said:

Also, shouldn't the port show open when I look it up on https://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/open-ports/ regardless if I'm on DCS since I opened it in the router config?

Negative.

Your router acts like a guide. It tells others devices where to go from here. If your PC 10308 port is closed, all traffic sent by your router to your 10308 port will be dropped (ignored).

[Flappie]

I think your NAT settings are correct (apart from the service name, but we don't care: this is just a label for you to remember what's this NAT rule for - and I'm pretty sure you'll remember the 10308 port is for your DCS server).

All you have to do now is open the 10308 port on your PC. I'll help you with that. What's your firewall software? I take it it's Windows default firewall?

[okopanja]

Hi @Flappieand @killerquagmire,

I have been using the TP-Link routers for years: cheap, reliable with plenty of features. I also took a look at the specs of this particular one: that is one mighty router.

However, I also noticed that the router has no ADSL/cable modern, which means that you likely connect to a ISP-provided router via ethernet cable from WAN port on your router to LAN port on ISP router. Can you please confirm?

The following is for the case you answered with yes:

The topology of your network is slightly different from the Flappie's diagram, between router in picture and internet you have to imagine one more router from ISP.

Typically the ISP router is configured to provide the devices connected to it the private addresses in certain range (likely 192.168.0.0/24, 192.168.10.0/24 or 192.168.1.0/24). In this case your TP-link will get an IP address from ISP router, and this one will not be public.

You should check the status page of the TP-Link router, and see if you got a private network IP or not.

From here you have 2 options:

1. ideally you configure the ISP router to work in bridge mode. This means your TP-link router will get public IP address on it's WAN interface. This is configured either in router or in your ISP's portal. Note it can take up to 24 hours to activate!!!
2. if option 1 is not possible and if you have credentials for ISP router and it supports port forwarding (or DMZ the IP address of WAN interface of TP-link router), you use this to forward the traffic toward the WAN IP address of your TP-Link router. E.g. Internet =10308==> ISP router =10308=> TP Link router =10308=> Your PC

You can post the output of status pages of both routers or DM if you have privacy concerns.

Note 1: I am on vacation and will be at the beach during whole day where cell network is at best very limited, so I may reply very late today.

Note 2: it may go through multiple iterations until you manage to open up all of the required ports on different devices, so are yourself with patience.

[killerquagmire]

9 hours ago, Flappie said:

I think your NAT settings are correct (apart from the service name, but we don't care: this is just a label for you to remember what's this NAT rule for - and I'm pretty sure you'll remember the 10308 port is for your DCS server).

All you have to do now is open the 10308 port on your PC. I'll help you with that. What's your firewall software? I take it it's Windows default firewall?

Yes, standard windows 11 firewall and webroot antivirus. And Thank You for helping!

[killerquagmire]

9 hours ago, okopanja said:

Hi @Flappieand @killerquagmire,

I have been using the TP-Link routers for years: cheap, reliable with plenty of features. I also took a look at the specs of this particular one: that is one mighty router.

However, I also noticed that the router has no ADSL/cable modern, which means that you likely connect to a ISP-provided router via ethernet cable from WAN port on your router to LAN port on ISP router. Can you please confirm?

The following is for the case you answered with yes:

The topology of your network is slightly different from the Flappie's diagram, between router in picture and internet you have to imagine one more router from ISP.

Typically the ISP router is configured to provide the devices connected to it the private addresses in certain range (likely 192.168.0.0/24, 192.168.10.0/24 or 192.168.1.0/24). In this case your TP-link will get an IP address from ISP router, and this one will not be public.

You should check the status page of the TP-Link router, and see if you got a private network IP or not.

From here you have 2 options:

1. ideally you configure the ISP router to work in bridge mode. This means your TP-link router will get public IP address on it's WAN interface. This is configured either in router or in your ISP's portal. Note it can take up to 24 hours to activate!!!
2. if option 1 is not possible and if you have credentials for ISP router and it supports port forwarding (or DMZ the IP address of WAN interface of TP-link router), you use this to forward the traffic toward the WAN IP address of your TP-Link router. E.g. Internet =10308==> ISP router =10308=> TP Link router =10308=> Your PC

You can post the output of status pages of both routers or DM if you have privacy concerns.

Note 1: I am on vacation and will be at the beach during whole day where cell network is at best very limited, so I may reply very late today.

Note 2: it may go through multiple iterations until you manage to open up all of the required ports on different devices, so are yourself with patience.

I have AT&T for my service provider. Their modem has a built in router, which I disabled once I got the Tp-Link Archer so it wouldn't cause any interference. I just hung up the phone with At&T tech support and they confirmed that the port was already open on their end. Do I need to go back and enable my isp router again? And thank you for helping!

Edited August 3, 2022 by killerquagmire

[killerquagmire]

FYI guys, I just checked my router config and it says I have a Dynamic IP. 

[okopanja]

Hi,

Dynamic IP address means that there is no manual configuration involved on your side. Your router or PC connected to the interface will announce its presence and as a result DHCP server will allocate the IP address for some fixed duration (so called lease time).

As for your case, a short explanation what is a public and private IP address. Private addresses are generally allocated for usage within internal networks, such as LAN in your own home. Public in contrast are meant to be used as part of wider network typically internet. For you to host the server you need at least one public IP address, and this is typically allocate to the router/modem that connect you to the ISP.

The private networks typically start with following:
- 192.168.x.x (netmask 24 bits)
- 10.x.x.x (netmask 8 bits)
- 172.16.x.x (netmask 16 bits)

So I will start with several questions to you:
1. do you have internet access now that you connected new router?
2. can you open the status page of the router and see what are the IP address and gateway IP address there?
3. are you able to use command prompt?
if you you can run command tracert to figure out how many private networks (and routers) are between you and your provider.
E.g.
At the location where I am at the moment

tracert www.google.com

will provide the following output:

  1     5 ms     1 ms     3 ms  172.16.0.1
  2     6 ms     4 ms     6 ms  94.65.219.177
  3    10 ms     6 ms    11 ms  87.202.121.21
  4    38 ms     9 ms    10 ms  79.128.242.190
  5    28 ms    14 ms    14 ms  62.75.3.69
  6    49 ms    57 ms    54 ms  62.75.14.130
  7    52 ms    90 ms    52 ms  74.125.51.154
  8    59 ms    50 ms    47 ms  142.251.65.71
  9    47 ms    47 ms    51 ms  66.249.95.169
 10    73 ms    44 ms    47 ms  zrh04s06-in-f132.1e100.net [172.217.16.132]

Each response I got was from a separate network inteface of various nodes along my route to google.
You will notice that first response is from a host on a public network (172.16.0.1), this interface is the interace of the LAN of the Wifi router I am connected to. This means that only one router is between "my" network and the outside world. The second response is that same device, but this time from it's WAN interface. Notice that this time the IP address is public. If I wanted to configure that server here, I would need to reconfigure only that device.

In your case: if you spot only one private address then it means you need to reconfigure only your new router. However, if you spot more than one (l would expect 2 more), likely you need to reconfigure both as I already wrote in previous post.

BR,

[killerquagmire]

I did the tracert cmd prompt. The first address listed matched my Lan IP address listed in my router configuration. 
I am connected to the internet and I can see my dynamic ip address as well as the default gateway address. They do not match btw.  

Edited August 8, 2022 by killerquagmire

[killerquagmire]

Update: I spoke to TP-link tech support and they said the problem is that I have a private WanIP address and would need to contact my ISP and have it changed to Public in order for Port Forwarding to work. Initially I thought halleluiah!- this should be an easy fix! Not so much. My ISP provider (AT&T) said I would have to pay 15 bucks a month for a static IP address in order to do this. This can't be right?? Am I missing something here guys??? I hope someone can help because I don't think everyone who hosts a multiplayer mission from the mission editor is paying a monthly fee to do so. In fact, I know better because I used to do this all the time back when I had Mediacom as an ISP and I wasn't required to pay any type of extra fee. There has to be another way! 

[okopanja]

Well, if your ISP confirmed that your WAN IP is not reachable from internet by design, you can either pay, give up, consider hosting your server elsewhere, or maybe change ISP if you can find suitable alternative at the same price.

There were attempts of european ISPs to do these things, but they were met with angry consumer reactions.

Even then they still try to discourage the users from placing WAN to be externally reachable. Recently I upgraded to 1000Mbit/s on the same provider, and it took good 48 hours until I could switch to bridge mode back.

[killerquagmire]

4 hours ago, okopanja said:

Well, if your ISP confirmed that your WAN IP is not reachable from internet by design, you can either pay, give up, consider hosting your server elsewhere, or maybe change ISP if you can find suitable alternative at the same price.

There were attempts of european ISPs to do these things, but they were met with angry consumer reactions.

Even then they still try to discourage the users from placing WAN to be externally reachable. Recently I upgraded to 1000Mbit/s on the same provider, and it took good 48 hours until I could switch to bridge mode back.

Yeah it looks that way. The lady on the phone did mention that she could attempt to get the fee waived. I just didn’t think that she fully understood the situation as often happens when you call these guys. Guess it was me who didn’t understand. But,  I’ve been through two other ISP’s in my 5 yr history with DCS and never had this issue. Hopefully they can wave the fee. Otherwise I’ll just have to join other servers. Thanks for your help man. I’ve been running up against a lot of technical issues with DCS lately. Now back to trying to get my new VR headset tuned in. That’s been a nightmare in itself. Lol