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Q: Router network for gaming ( Answered,   1 Comment )
Question  
Subject: Router network for gaming
Category: Computers > Games
Asked by: andrewd-ga
List Price: $9.50
Posted: 02 Sep 2002 20:39 PDT
Expires: 02 Oct 2002 20:39 PDT
Question ID: 61114
Well I have a BFSR41 "Lyksys" router, with 2 pc's connected to it, in
my home. The main purpose of this network is gaming.Mechcommander2 on
"The Zone" to be x-act. But this network does/doesn't let us launch,
and sometimes only 1 @ a time. And is very tempermental. Wut should i
do? Get a different router? Go withnetwork cards? Or are there
different settings u know of to make it work? (been on tech support
1000 times!)oh and my ISP is bellsouth (DSL) if that helps.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Router network for gaming
Answered By: funkywizard-ga on 04 Sep 2002 18:37 PDT
 
The problem you are describing is a result of using a router to
connect to the internet. Any router that uses network address
translation (NAT) to connect multiple computers to a single cable /
dsl line (with only one ip address) will have problems with the zone
and several other online gaming services as you described.

As previously commented, the problem with only one pc being able to
connect at once is a result of having just one ip address. The zone
sees this as the same computer connecting twice at once, and not as
two computers connecting to the service. The problem of not always
being able to host a game likely has to do with some firewall settings
or NAT configurations. The easiest way to deal with this is to put the
computer that wants to host the game in the "demiliterized zone"
(DMZ). This is a setting available on your router configuration.
Alternatively, you may set up a system of port forwarding, whereby
incoming connections to certain ports (such as 80 for a www server,
port 21 for an ftp server etc) are routed to the pc hosting the game.
Redirecting ports can be tricky however, since the zone may use many
different ports, or different ports for each game you try to play.

You might also try to upgrade to the newest software for your router
(known as updating the flash ram). www.linksys.com should have the
newest flash software available for your product.

There are two main solutions to this problem. One, connect one pc
directly to the dsl modem. This should solve all your connection
problems, but will not help you play games on all your computers at
once. The second solution is to get more ip addresses from your ISP
(bellsouth). Solution 2 would make unnecessary the use of a router,
and would solve your problem, however, most isps do not support this
configuration and will not give you more than one ip address. If you
purchase the "business class" level of service from your isp, they are
much more likely to accomidate the request for more ip addresses.

Finally, don't go and buy another router, as this will not solve your
problem. All home cable / dsl routers use network address translation,
and you will probably encounter the same problems.

This answer was written from personal experience, as I have had to
configure several networks which used similar routers to the one you
mention.

Before you rate this answer, please ask for any clarifications you may
need, so I may better answer your question.
Comments  
Subject: Re: Router network for gaming
From: sparky4ca-ga on 03 Sep 2002 02:03 PDT
 
A few tips:
Be sure that you're using cat 5e cables to connect the PCs to the
router, and to connect the router to the DSL modem. THis will allow
the best throughput as well as helping to eliminate interference.
Also, since the ethernet cabling is "unshielded twisted pair" you need
to make sure none of your cables passes to close to a strong
elctro-magentic or plain magentic field, such as having cabling go
through the ceiling right above light modules. Any strong magnetic
field can cause errors in the data being transmitted.
Try each computer individually through the router, with the other
disconnected. Try each computer connected directly to the DSL line. If
the problem doesn't occur when the computer is connected directly to
the DSL, and doesn't occur when only one computer is connected to the
router, then I would suspect a problem in either the router, the
cabling, one of the network cards, or a setting on a computer. If the
problem DOES occur when the computer is connected directly to the DSL,
then there is a problem with your connection, or a setting on the
computer. basically the idea is to isolate under which situations, and
with which equipment, you experience the problem.
Also, keep in mind that having a router doesn't increase your total
bandwidth available from BellSouth. If you are on a slow DSL
connection (as in less then about 320 Kbps) then it might not be
enough for both systems to use it for gaming.
You could also try connecting through a different gaming system. ie.
If you're using MSN gaming zone, try playing through Heat (if they're
still in business.)

Another possibility is that the Zone may be seeing both your computers
as coming from the same IP address.
If you click start, run, and type in WINipcfg and press enter, then
choose your NIC on the drop down list, you should see a different IP
address on each system. (if you're using NT/2000/XP this procedure
will be different. Run ipconfig from a command line.) However, if you
go to a site such as http://www.grc.com and use their utilities and
tests to view your detected IP address, you might find that both
computers are showing as having the same IP address. This is due to
conencting through a router, which takes the one IP address you get
from BellSouth, and converting it into two or more internal addresses
for your computers. I don't know any way to correct this other then
buying another IP address from BellSouth.

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