Topic: UPnP / ADSL question

[Bert]

Is there anybody how now if it's possible to use the UPnP gateway device ( http://linux-igd.sourceforge.net/ ) in E-smith 5.5? I have an ADSL connection. If it is possible to use UPnP than MSN Messenger will work properly from behind a NAT firewall. Some usefull links:

http://linux-igd.sourceforge.net/
http://www.bruring.com/nuke/print.php

kind regards

[Bill Talcott]

linux-igd.sourceforge.net is made for iptables, so it won't work with 5.5 without some major changes. I posted a while back to the Wishlist about adding UPnP, and was told that it presents some security issues. Essentially, there's no security built into UPnP, so any LAN client could mess with firewall/forwarding settings. Not a big deal for a home user sharing it between a couple PCs, but you probably wouldn't want to do that at a business...

FYI, UPnP just opens up and forwards ports dynamically at the request of the client. You can achieve the same thing with manual settings. You'll probably need to tell each client to look at a certain range of ports, and forward that range from the server to that specific client. That's the way it works with ICQ's extra features, but I have no experience with MSN.

[Graeme Fleming]

In my playing around with Instant Messenging behind a NAT firewall (DLink, Netgear, SME) I have found the ONLY one to work transparently with no limitations is Paltalk.  ICQ can be used by setting up Port Forwarding as per Bills post but MSNM requires a public IP for anything more than basic functionality; this being said one client behind a NAT could prob be setup using 1-1 NAT but when you have a network of systems behind 1 public IP its just impossible.

I heard in my research that MS may be looking to change the software and release it as a Corporate version (with a local MSNM server hooked into the main MSNM system on the net).

Just my 10 cents worth.