Networking

[Direhit]

This section is dedicated to network-related items.

[Direhit]

Q: I want to get a more playable ping, but neither cable nor DSL are available in my area. What are my options?

A: While there are options, they are certainly limited. After all, I doubt that most of us here can afford a T1 or fractional T1 connection to the domicile itself.

The next best thing for gamers would be a dual channel ISDN connection, which you would get from your phone company, usually. This type of connection gives you a 128 kbps transfer rate, for both upstream and downstream. Getting a dual channel ISDN, though, is usually quite expensive. A single channel ISDN gives you a 64 kbps rate for both upstream and downstream, as each channel gives you that amount. Although it may not sound like much improvement over a 56 kbps dialup modem connection, the transfer rate is almost always steady at 64 kbps, and that your upload is superior as well (V.90 is limited to 33.6 kbps upload, V.92 allows up to 53 kbps). More importantly, though, even a single channel ISDN connection will give a pretty good, consistent ping time that rivals cable or DSL. Thus, even a single channel ISDN connection is actually quite good for gaming, even though it will certainly be unsuitable for Windows Service Pack downloads. One fellow clan mate actually plays from the UK using a single channel ISDN connection, and he does very well, and pings in the mid 100's.

Another option is a satellite connection, but these types of connections are usually not ideal for gaming. If I recall correctly, it takes 150 miliseconds for a signal to get from the satellite to the ground. Going both ways would mean that you are stuck with a ping in the 300's. On the positive side, though, you get a large amount of bandwidth, and downloading huge files is actually quite manageable. Also, your ping will be pretty consistent, so if you can adjust to the higher latency, you can probably do well enough as an engineer or an offensive player.

As you may have guessed, a satellite connection is also very expensive, both in terms of startup costs and monthly charges.

If neither option is practical for you, and you are stuck with a dialup connection, check around with your various ISP's in your area. Try to get one that supports V.92, and make sure that you check with others using that service to see if they have been happy (few disconnects, consistent service). Check with http://www.bbb.org to make sure that the company you are dealing with isn't a group of crooks that are out to steal your money.

Also, you can disable all forms of compression on your modem from the Control Panel. While this won't help your ping, at least it will give you a more consistent ping, and lag spikes will be fewer.

[Direhit]

From Fireball:

Q: I just got hooked up on cable/dsl and am using a router to hook up my computer. Why can't I connect to servers?

A: You need to enable port forwarding on your router and forward game specific ports to your computer. Consult your manufactuers website for specifics on this task. But using a Linksys as an example..

1) In your web browser, type http://192.168.1.1 ( or 192.168.0.1 depending on your model )
2) Type in your admin name and password ( check manual for defaults if you havent changed them yet )
3) Click on the 'Advanced' tab
4) Click on 'Forwarding' tab
5) Forward your game specific ports to your machine

[Direhit]

From Fireball:

Q: What are the internet port settings used in TFC / Half-Life?

A: Client
======
TCP 6003:
Outgoing connectivity to this port on remote destinations. Used for chat in the HL browser.

UDP 27011:
Outgoing connectivity to this port on remote destinations. Used for the 'custom game' mod browser.

UDP 27005:
Incoming connectivity to this port (or whatever port the client has changed this to, if not using the default). Used for game traffic (including voice) between client and server.

Server
======
TCP 7002:
Outgoing connectivity to this port on remote destinations. Used for WON auth.

UDP 27010:
Outgoing connectivity to this port on remote destinations. Used for advertising a server on the master lists for server browsers.

UDP 27015:
Incoming connectivity to this port (or whatever port the server had been changed to, if not the default). Used for all client/server game traffic (including voice), server info requests, etc.

HLTV
====
TCP 7002:
Outgoing connectivity to this port on remote destinations. Used for WON auth.

UDP 27010:
Outgoing connectivity to this port on remote destinations. Used for advertising a server on the master lists for server browsers.

UDP 27020:
Incoming connectivity to this port (or whatever port the server had been changed to, if not the default). Used for all client/server game traffic (including voice), server info requests, etc

[Direhit]

Q: I have a 15 megabyte file that I want to send / transport elsewhere, but my ISP won't allow me to send it in its current form. What can I do?

A: The first thing to try is compression. Get Winzip at:

http://www.winzip.com

and install it on your computer. Add the file to an archive, and if you have the option of using maximum compression, go ahead and use that option.

A more thorough way of doing this, though, is by using the program arj.exe, which can be found from:

http://www.arjsoft.com/

Here's an older way, but it works. Back in the days where we had to transfer 15 megabyte archives using floppy disks, we would use this method:

Find arj.exe (should be available somewhere on the internet), and use this command:

arj a demo.arj yourdemofilename -v1440

or

arj -a demo.arj yourdemofilename -v1440

This will break up your archive into multiple archives of 1.44 megabytes and compress them as well. To uncompress them, make sure that the recipient also has arj.exe and tell your recipient to put all of the archive files(demo.arj, demo.a01, demo.a02, etc) in their own directory, as well as the arj.exe program, and use the following command:

arj x demo.arj

or

arj -x demo.arj

when that command finishes, type

arj x demo.a0*

or

arj -x demo.a0*

(that's a zero, not the letter "o")

and when it says "append file?" select "a" for always.

If you are using one of the later versions of arj.exe, you may be able to use 2.88 megabyte archives in lieu of 1.44 megabyte archives, by selecting the -v2880 instead of -v1440 option.

If you don't like using the command prompt-driven software, then you may want to try the GUI-driven Winarj:

http://www.lasoft-oz.com/

[Direhit]

From Incubus:

An easier (and probably more familiar) way of doing this is with WinRAR, using the wizard, create a new archive. When you come to an 'Archiving Options' Menu, type the maximum size that your isp will allow (ie. 5000). Then press finish and it will output <filenam.rar>, then <filename.r0n> (where n is an integer value).

To undo the process make sure all of the .r0n files are in the same directory as the .rar file. Then open the .rar file and extract like you normally would.

[Direhit]

Q: How do I create a private network in my own home that is connected to a router? What settings should I use?

A: Most of the time, simply setting it up using the DHCP method should work just fine, but in case if your ISP requires that you input the numbers manually, here's a bit of a tutorial:

From Sudihan Media comes a thorough explanation:

http://www.sudhian.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=340

[Direhit]

Q: I just performed a firmware upgrade on my Westell Wirespeed modem that is used with my DSL connection, and now I can't access certain sites, or sometimes, I can't even post to the Catacombs. What just happened?

A: The firmware upgrade apparently tightened some of the security settings. If you are running a software firewall on top of this, then you should use "Medium" security settings, as the problems seem to only occur when you try to use "High" or "Stealth mode" settings.

[Direhit]

Q: How do I find out who is pinging me / sending me spam?

A: If you are running Zonealarm, you can simply scroll through the alerts and find out what IP address.

If you are trying to find an IP out of an e-mail address, turn on all headers, and look for the number. Beware, that spammers will often times put fake IP addresses in there to fool you.

Learn how to read headers properly before you start sending abuse complaints to the ISP. It's easy to make a mistake and send an abuse notice to an innocent ISP because of forged headers.

http://www.stopspam.org/email/headers/headers.html

Once you are certain, you can then use:

http://www.arin.net/whois

to find out who is pinging you or sending you spam. Almost all American companies will be responsive and swift about dealing with such abusers.

If the above search tells you that the origin was from either Europe (RIPE) or Asia (APNIC), you can use the following sites to find out who the offenders are with their WHOIS databases:

http://www.ripe.net
http://www.apnic.net

The Europeans seem to take abuse seriously, and usually act on things in a timely manner.

Most ISP's in the Asia / Pacific network area don't give a hoot about what their users do, which is why many spammers and hackers sign up for accounts in those regions, since they know the ISP isn't going to do anything about it.

Lately, there has been a lot of spam originating from Latin America and Africa. You can find their WHOIS databases here:

http://lacnic.net/en/index.html

http://www.afrinic.net/


At this time, I would tend to think that the ISP's in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, are going care less than what the Europeans or Americans care, in terms of spammers using their ISP services. Still, if you are interested in trying, knock yourself out...

[Direhit]

Q: I'm experiencing a lot of lag, and I know it's not my fault, since my computer works fine on other connections. What can I do to help get the connection fixed?

A: First, do a tracert.exe command to a server's IP from which you are experiencing lag. This can be done from the MS-DOS command prompt. Let's say, that you were experiencing horrible lag to Phat Farm I, when everyone else is sailing along nicely. You would type in:

tracert 216.74.97.35

This will give you a comprehensive listing of the steps / nodes that you cross when trying to connect to Phat Farm I. From this listing, you can see which node is the culprit. If it is part of your ISP's network, then let them know exactly where the problem lies. If it is part of a different network, you can still contact them and let them know about the problem.

In case if you don't know where to contact the ISP in charge of the bad node, look them up:

http://www.arin.net/whois

[Direhit]

Q: What do they mean by DOCSIS when they are describing my cable modem?

DOCSIS is short for Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification, which has helped standardize what a cable modem should use. Most cable companies that provide internet access use DOCSIS-compatible modems, so if you have a modem is DOCSIS-compatible (also assuming that you are using the same version, such as 1.1 or 2.0), then you should be fine using it with the cable company.

http://www.cablemodem.com/

[Direhit]

Q: What is the difference between an ethernet card that has a "Wake on Lan" feature, and one that doesn't?

A: Wake on Lan is a feature that allows a computer that is at a complete power off state, to power on upon receiving a signal from the LAN / ethernet. By sending a special network packet, you can essentially power on your computer remotely. This can be password protected, so that you don't end up with JohnWild wannabes trying to disrupt your computer cluster.

In general, though, if you are a home user, it's really not even worth it trying to implement WOL. Save a few dollars and get the ethernet card that doesn't support WOL.

[Direhit]

Q: How would I go about splitting my network connection so that more than one computer can use the same connection?

A: That depends on whether you are on a Cable / DSL connection, or a true LAN connection.

If you are on a standard ethernet connection, you need to get a hub. Hubs simply split the port into 4 or more ports, and are pretty simple to setup. The catch here, though, is that you will need one IP address for each system attached to the hub, as if they were on separate connections. Thus, a single IP address cannot really be shared between the two computers.

If you are on a Cable / DSL connection, then you need to get a router, which looks like a hub, but may implement a few nice features. Broadband routers will allow multiple computers to share the same connection by assigning them fake IP addresses.

While you could conceivably use a hub with your broadband connection, instead of a router, you would need to get a separate IP, and that is something that the cable / DSL companies tend to sniff out rather quickly.

[Direhit]

Q: What if I need more ports for my DSL / Cable connection? All of my multiple ports in my router are all full now.

A: In this case, you can simply then attach a regular hub to one of the ports in the router, and not have to worry about the ISP detecting multiple IP addresses, since all of the connections will still be channeled through a single real IP address.

[Direhit]

Q: My dialup ISP is offering a "high speed" dialup that uses my ordinary analog phone line. They claim that I can get up to four times the speed of ordinary dialup, without getting a more expensive DSL connection. Is it worth it?

A: This so-called "high speed dialup" networking doesn't really affect your overall bandwidth, in that you are still limited to your maximum output that you could get with an ordinary 56K connection. Instead of granting you more bandwidth, better caching schemes are used, so that your system does not have to download as much data when browsing the web. Instead of downloading certain files, the system will grab the same information from its own hard drive, speeding up web page loading times significantly in some cases.

Applications such as FTP, DCC, etc., though, will remain unaffected by this "high speed dialup" service. You will not see any improvement in your download speeds here, nor will you see any real gaming benefits from it either.

[Direhit]

Q: My DSL company is offering a "DSL Lite" package, where I will still get broadband, just not as good as the normal package. Are these worth looking into?

A: This normally depends from company to company, but as a general guideline, DSL Lite packages will give you a 128 kilobit / sec upload rate, and a 256 kilobit / second download rate. This is equivalent to an entry-level cable internet connection.

You'll still get nice ping times, since you're still accessing the same lines using the same protocols, so you'll still be able to play online games without any problems, as long as the ISP is reasonably good.

The problem here, though, is that usually, there's not much of a savings versus the normal package. Most of the time, you would be saving 10-15 dollars / month.

It comes down to whether or not you are perfectly happy with a good ping time, despite the slower transfer rates.

[Thrash]

Q: I recently upgraded to Windows XP or installed a wireless router onto a Windows XP machine. Everything is fine except every so often I get massive lag spikes and a temporary time out. It goes away after that then comes back a minute later. It continuously does this and is currently unbearable. How can I fix it?

A: This is something that happens with a conflict between the routers automated setup and XP's windows setup. In order to fix it you need to go to Start --> Run --> then run "services.msc" When that opens up towards the bottom should be something called "Wireless Zero Config" Right click on it and select "Properties" In properties is a section called "Startup Type" it will be set to automatic. Set it to manual and restart your computer.

*WARNING*Read the following before you restart. Once you restart your computer you will NOT have internet. You will need to again run "services.msc" and this time right click "Wireless Zero Config" and tell it to "Start" the service. Once you have told it to start it will attempt to establish an internet connection (You wont actually see any dialog saying so, but it is). Once this connection has been established, and you can browse websites, use IRC, etc... right click on "Wireless Zero Config" and select "Stop". This will NOT stop your internet. Your lag spikes will be gone.

Now, every time you want to use the internet free of lag spikes (After say a computer restart or shutdown) you will have to run "services.msc" and select "Start" wait for the internet connection to be established, then "Stop" it after it has been established.

*Note*: If you have AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) set to run at startup and you tell Wireless Zero Config to "Start" so you can get your internet connection, your AIM will NOT start until you completely close it and reopen it.

[Direhit]

Q: I think someone's been stealing bandwidth from my wireless router. How can I prevent them from doing this?

A: From A-X:

You need to go into your router and turn on WEP and set a key, and then also turn on WEP + set the same key at your Windows clients. If the router and your cards support WPA, use WPA-PSK instead.

Read the manual that came with your router, and they'll tell you how to access it.

[Direhit]

Q: Why is my wireless networking so slow? There's a long lag whenever I try to do anything.

A: Start by looking at the channel number used by all wireless devices, including the router. Most times, there's a conflict, where more than one entity is trying to use the same channel number.

[Direhit]

Q: I just bought a new wireless router. The wired connections work fine, but I can't get any wireless signal.

A: Many routers now require that you activate the wireless part before using it. This will require that you have a physical wired connection to the router at first. From there, you can access the router features by typing in whatever pseudo address that they want you to use, into your favorite browser. Typically:

Netgear: 192.168.1.1
D-Link: 192.168.0.1

and so forth. The user account for the first time is usually "admin" and the password is usually "password"

You can activate the wireless part once you access this.

[Direhit]

09 Jan 2006

Updated links to WHOIS search engines.

Added AFRINIC.