Router Configuration and Port Forwarding
Last updated
Last updated
While it is impossible to describe in specific detail the steps required to set up every available router to work with Link, the function of the router remains the same and so the same recommendations for basic connectivity, security, and port forwarding apply and certain requirements must be met.
The Infinity Link Gateway can connect to another Link-enabled Telos Infinity device using the public Internet. In this application, we highly recommend keeping the Secondary port behind a router as you would any computer with Internet access. Remember that the Secondary port must be connected to a Gigabit (1000Base-T) port on the router.
The Secondary port will have a local IP address (ideally a static address). This is the IP address entered into the Receive Port field in the Link menu. The public IP address entered into the Peer Device field in the Link menu must have a UDP port specified which will need to be forwarded through your router so that audio can be received by link. As mentioned earlier, any port number can be used, but we recommend a non-standard port starting at 21000.
The concept of port forwarding (also known as port mapping) is often misunderstood but critical to making Link work, and so a brief explanation is in order.
Because the IP address in the Peer Device field can be a public Internet address, having a means of allowing certain traffic to penetrate a firewall while preventing other traffic from getting through is required.
Let’s use the analogy of mail delivery as an example. A public IP address is akin to the street address of an apartment complex. The port number is like the individual apartment number. The router acts like a mailroom, sorting everything out to ensure your mail gets to you and you alone, and not to your neighbor’s apartment.
All routers are slightly different, but in general, logging into your router’s web interface and locating the “Port Forwarding” configuration page is the first step. It can be located in a number of different places, but it’s usually under a “Security” tab. Some routers will locate it in the “Gaming” tab, or in the case of the example below, in a section called “Virtual Servers.” In any case, the page should look something like this:
In this example, we have forwarded port 24001 (UDP) to the local IP address of the Secondary port on our Link Gateway, which is 10.0.0.102. Now when the Link Gateway unit on the far end configures its Peer Device Information as “PublicIPAddress:24001”, the router will send any traffic on port 24001 to 10.0.0.102.
