What is port forwarding/triggering?
Outdated content This page does not reflect the current state of things. Some information within this article is either obsolete, hasn't been updated in a long time, incomplete, or otherwise invalid.
-- This KB article has been outdated by the most recent release of FreeAllegiance. If you are suffering from this problem please post in the helpline using the template --
Port Forwarding is a method to tell your device to *always* send ports 2300-2400 to your computer, and your computer alone. With Port Forwarding, those ports are always opened, and are always directed at your computer only. Because of this, a slight security concern exists since the ports are open even when you are not using them. In addition, other users connected to your device are unable to use these ports since they are sent to your computer. Even though it's less secure and more restrictive (in terms of other computers), it is the most reliable way to configure your device since you are guaranteed that the ports will be forwarded.
- Dedicates certain ports to your computer alone
- Does not allow other computers to use those ports (restrictive)
- Poses a slight security threat since the ports are always open all the time
Port Triggering is a method to tell your device to keep all ports closed until you need them. The device will listen for a certain "trigger" port to be opened and when that happens, it will automatically open the other necessary ports and forward them to the computer that opened the "trigger" port.
When the "trigger" port is closed, all other opened ports are closed with it. Because of this, it is more secure since the ports are only open while you are using them. In addition, it is compatible with all computers connected to the device since the ports are forwarded to the computer that opened the trigger port, and not always to the same computer. The drawback is, some devices don't support triggering well, and sometimes it can cause headaches. It's definately the better method to choose if your device supports it. Allegiance is a perfect candidate for Port Triggering since it opens port 47624 (TCP) when you try to play. You can set up a triggering rule to listen for that trigger port, and when heard, it can open ports 2300-2400 (TCP and UDP)
- Dynamically assigns the ports as computers need them
- Allows any computer behind a router to use them when needed
- Most secure since the ports remain closed until needed
- Some routers have problems with it, and don't do it right
