[AKosygin]

FFXI and PlayOnline requires the following ports to be allowed through for the following reasons:

TCP 25, 110, and 443 for e-mail
TCP 80 for web access
And dynamic ports 50000 to 65535 for various communications

UDP ports 50000-65535 for various communications

There should be a setting to allow you to specify that when your computer requests a port, it will trigger the rule to allow access activating all the other ports for a specific communication with a server. You can set it so that one or more of these ports will trigger the rule:

TCP 51220 (Authentication Login)
TCP 53001 (FFXI Patch Connection)
TCP 54001 (FFXI Connection)
TCP 51300 (PlayOnline Menu Update)
TCP 54000 (PlayOnline Patch Connection)
TCP 51240 (PlayOnline Redirection Connection)

or you can just set it as a range from 51000 to 55000 TCP.

It is usually safe to make it so at out going request on that port to a certain server will allow that server to connect back on the other ports. You may have to fiddle with the settings a bit. Maybe I will post up a guide at the end of the month on configuring your firewall.

Please find a place for your router configuration that has "PORT TRIGGERING" or "APPLICATION TRIGGERING" and enter 51000-55000 TCP for the trigger ports! Then input all the ports as specified in the manual to allow access after those ports are triggered.

All this information should be on one line, for ONE APPLICATION. So, an example of this might be:
TRIGGER START PORT: 51000
TRIGGER END PORT: 55000
TRIGGER TYPE: TCP
PUBLIC PORT: 25, 80, 110,443, 116,118,443,50000-65535
PUBLIC TYPE: BOTH
ENABLE: [checked]

Refer to the image and find something like this on your router and set it appropriately. Special thanks to Oro-dono for the image.

[Susurrus]

I have a Linksys Wireless B router and I can't figure out exactly where it is on the software. I don't see anything that has the same fields as that image.

[Vietone]

Most routers these days have uPnP(Universal Plug and Play) and for programs that support uPnP, the software can automatically open and close ports at will.

Open POL and you need to be at the Opening POL screen that shows the member list. Click on network settings and enable uPnP portmap. It will automatically map the ports it needs and the router will map the ports out until the program closes and the ports timeout and close.

You have to make sure that your router supports uPnP and if it doesnt its usually just a matter of a firmware update and the router should support uPnP.

Not all router configuration screens are the same. In fact, every company seems to use a different setup as to make it as hard as possible for the general user. If your router does not support uPnP then the website http://www.portforward.com/ is the best resource for information on configuring your router.

Now its important that you use the triggering option for your router. When triggering is enabled, only a computer on the LAN can trigger a port by accessing it. After the port becomes inactive, there is a small delay before the port closes. this is much safer since it only allows the user on a LAN to open and will automatically close with no user interaction.

[dumo]

How would iI go about enabling UPnP. My router shows that I can do it. I just need some help with how.
It has a bunch columns for Application, Ext. Port, UDP/TCP selection, Int.Port, Ip Adress and an enabled checkbox. Would anyone be willing to help me with what needs to be put in there for it to work?

[PotentPotables]

HEAR YE! HEAR YE!

Need to configure YOUR ports! Try this out!

Free to try, free to buy! Registered and Non-Registered user ONLY!

http://portforward.com

[dumo]

Alright, just got off the phone with playonline. They game me better port numbers and I have opened them. I was in the game for about 30sec and told the girl it was working. About 30sec later, I ended up with the same error. Any ideas?

[PotentPotables]

You have a LinkSys Router.

[dumo]

Yes, is that a problem? Is there a way to get this working?

[PotentPotables]

Absolutely and gald you asked!

Originally Posted by dumo

Yes, is that a problem?

Yes. It IS a LinkSys router.

Originally Posted by dumo

Is there a way to get this working?

Use a blunt and heavy object such a hammer, brick, or large child to smash your LinkSys Router and gently place the piece back in the styrofoam, setting it aflame on a lake during sunset. Then buy yourself a nice High speed router from D-Link or some other reputable company and your curse will be lifted [after of course resetting your ports].

Seriously, I've had nothing but bad luck with LinkSys and this game. I'm sure your gonna hear now, "I've had my LinkSys for years! It's great!". But all the problems I used to have stemmed from my 3 LinkSys routers that I bought. Then, I bought my D-Link and have used it for about 5months now without incident.

[dumo]

Do the dlink routers work wireless? I just finnished with POL on the phone and they told me that very few people can get the game to work wirelessly. I pretty much have to be wireless. My only other option is to run cables down 2 floors. I guess I'll be lugging the comp up the stairs in the morning to see if I can at least connect through the modem and then while wired to the router.

[PotentPotables]

... and there's your second problem. Wireless sucks and sin't worth the money imo. You'd be better off running a cable down 2 floors. And that's all I have to say about that.

[Intensity]

Guess I'm gonna have to be Devil's Advocate. I HAVE had a Linksys router for years, i've actually had several over the past 8-10 years, upgrading as I went along. I will agree with your wireless comment, I'm against any online gaming wirelessly. You're going to lose huge bandwidth in the process and see a large amount of lag.

Back to beating Potents dead horse. 3-4 years ago I worked in Radio Shack. Being the dealers of fine fine electronics they are *cough*bullshit*cough*, they carried D-Link. The D-Link was much cheaper than the Linksys but claimed they were of equal quality. We took more returns for D-Link products than any other during the 2 years I was there. SO, as for the D-Link vs. Linksys argument. Eh, if I need anything to do with networking, I'll go with the product that's owned by the leaders of the networking industry since.... ever, over the generic equipment.

I'm not saying Potent's a liar, I'm just saying in my personal experience I've seen way more D-Link's crap out than Linksys. Cisco Systems ftw

[Keyra]

my problem doesn't make sense to me. I have a linksys router, and it has worked flawlessly for the last 2 years or so. I've been playing ffxi for about 3 months now and I haven't had any problems till this last weekend. Now I can't stay connected even 10 min. It really doesn't sound like a router problem to me. I have no idea where to go from here.

[dumo]

Well, it started to work last night. Linksys router and wireless connection. I started up the computer last night and tried it again and it worked. Has been fine for several hours though.

[Unreg_glow500]

You forgot some ports which may apply to some people here.
"Port numbers that may be used by terminals such as the PlayStation(R)2. TCP 1024 - 65535 UDP 50000 - 65535" and "*If your Internet service provider (ISP) specifies a DNS server, you may need to configure your settings to allow packets to pass through UDP Port 53 as well."

Here is the link from PlayOnline.com: https://secure.playonline.com/polapp...6polg_loc%3Den