Fragnetics is a bust

[solusthebutcher]

Ok, so im running PlaneShift one my macbook pro.
2gigs DDR3 ram 250gig hard drive intel dual core.
why cant i connect to fragnetics. I was playing last night just fine, but now it wont connect.

[Caarrie]

do you have a firewall?

[solusthebutcher]

port 7777 is dedicated to PlaneShift.
on the loading screen it says 'Fragnetics failed'

[neko kyouran]

tcp or udp port 7777?

there's a difference.  port tcp 7777 won't work.  has to be port udp 7777

[Bamko]

I would check again, if it worked before.  Sometimes the server does go down. <insert inappropriate joke here> 

[enderandrew]

I was about to log in for the first time and create my character, but it says the server failed.  I'll try opening the port on my router, and I disabled the firewall on the PC itself.  The problem is, that I can port forward from my router to one box, and then my wife and I wouldn't both be able to play at the same time if that was the case.  I don't think I can open traffic for the same port for multiple IPs on my router.

I opened up 7777 on my router to this ip address on TCP and UDP, and Fragnetics still shows as Failed in the client.

I'm curious how I might be able to open that port on my router for more than one computer.

[Sen]

Hello

The servers seem to be both up right now (19:15 GMT) - do you still see a failed?
Forwarding the port for 'inbound' traffic is right in theory, but I never saw any router where you really have to do that. Letting it going out (= changing nothing of the default config) should be just fine, the router should be able to track the traffic and lead the packets the correct way back.
Btw, it is only UDP, no TCP needed at all to play 

Sen

[enderandrew]

Fragnetics still shows as Failed here, but Fragnetic's site shows 110 people connected.

If I ping laanx.fragnetics.com it takes about 10-15 seconds before the first request comes back, but I don't drop any packets.  However, when I start the client, it says Failed within the first 5 seconds.  Can I adjust the timeout setting?

Are there dev/test servers I can add to test?

[solusthebutcher]

i reset the preferences for my firewall and added the 7777 udp.
It still shows as failed.
  <----- My brain

[enderandrew]

I used the following site to test my ports:

http://whatsmyip.org/ports/

I open a specific port for ssh, which I've tested it remotely.  That site tells me that port is open.  However, it says 7777 is closed, even though I have UDP for port 7777 setup for this ip address via my router.  I took that rule out, restarted the router, and now that website merely says 7777 is timing out.

I may have to yell at my ISP because my interwebs have been really slow as of late and a lot of things are timing out.  Mind you, I fix PCs for a living on the side.  I hook up tons of different computers to my router, and all of them are slow lately.  Mainly I use Linux personally, so it isn't a virus or anything slowing down my connection.  Grrr.

I really don't understand when I specifically open the port via my router, that site immediately says it is closed, but when I don't open the port, it times out.  That doesn't make sense.

I will try placing this computer in the DMZ of the router, but I really don't want to do that long term.

Edit: Well, it may be on my end here.  I have the firewall service disabled in openSUSE because I use the firewall in my router.  I have this computer in the DMZ, so the router's firewall shouldn't be affecting this laptop, but WhatsMYIP.org is not instantly saying that 7777 is closed.  So it is possible that even though the firewall service is disabled (supposedly) it is still blocking the port.  I'm going to open the port via the supposedly disabled service and try that.

[solusthebutcher]

hmmm...
maybe i should try it on my home router again.
my college has free wifi, but maybe their routers are screwing with me

[Bereror]

What you need is the UDP port 7777 opened in the firewall. Some routers may have specific settings to allow bidirectional UDP communication and otherwise permit only outgoing traffic on that port. Do not confuse it with the TCP/IP communication, which is not the same. The whatsmyip site seems to test only TCP/IP ports and not UDP.

[Sen]

Hello

UDP cannot be scanned very reliably, so even if the page does UDP scans and says it times out... doesn't mean it doesn't reach your computer.
I think the timeout for server connections is 10 seconds. You can set this value higher in psclient.cfg (iirc) but Im not sure if it will help the initial connect. Anyway, playing wouldn't be too funny with 10 seconds delay... It should be something like half a second.
Do other things react faster or is maybe your line just very busy? 

Sen

[Prolix]

It is also possible that if the port is open on the firewall it is closed on the computer. Many operating systems close unusual ports by default these days.

[enderandrew]

I've tried now on openSUSE 11 (firewall disabled, and even firewall uninstalled) and Windows XP SP3 with firewall disabled.  I've tried in the router DMZ (thusly no firewall) and even plugged directly into my cable modem, and thusly no router/firewall.  Port 7777 is still showing as closed.  I'm about to call my ISP.  If they are blocking ports without declaring it in the user agreement, I am canceling my ISP and switching immediately.

My ISP forced me through an automated repair even when I specified the option to talk to someone directly.  The automated support said it was going to hang up on my since I had no problems (since I said my internet connection worked) until I told it I was unhappy, and then it transferred me to someone.  He immediately cut me off and said they'd never block any ports.  i said I know for a fact they block all mail traffic on port 25 except their ownng  mail service (no using thunderbird or outlook express to download your mail) and at that, be backtracked, yelled at me that they still would never block anything, and when I said I knew better, he caved and admitted they block a small range of IP addresses, only for good reason, but assured me 7777 wouldn't be one of them.

However, when I plug directly into my cable modem with no firewall, that port shows as blocked.

I will be switching ISPs tomorrow, and I will be sending a nasty letter to Cox.  It is bad enough to block ports without informing me in the user agreement.  It is even worse to lie to me on the phone and yell at me like I'm an idiot.  That is terrible customer service.  I will also be sending a note to Slashdot.  They made it front page news when Comcast was throttling traffic and lying to their users about it, and that resulted in a class action lawsuit.