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Netmeeting and routers

Let us make our firewall accept a Netmeeting call.

To make this work, you figure out a way for the your computer to take a NetMeeting call and to pass it on to the Windows operating system. In most cases, "port-forwarding" 2 addresses on the router will suffice. You want your router to forward NetMeeting calls on ports 522 and 1503 to the LAN address of your computer.

Below are some examples of Router setups for this purpose taken from screen captures on the Internet.

Linxsys Router

Browse to http://192.168.1.1/

Default Login:

User ID : blank (as in nada, zip, zilch)
Password: admin

Go to: Advanced --> Forwarding

click on graphics above to see larger version

Note: On later LinkSys routers, Cisco changed the router interface. Port Forwarding is now accomplished from the Applications tab instead of the Advanced tab.

D-Link Router

D-Link says, "Unlike most TCP/IP applications, NetMeeting uses DYNAMIC PORTS instead of STATIC PORTS. That means that each NetMeeting connection is somewhat different than the last. For instance, the HTTP web site application uses port 80. NetMeeting can use any of over 60,000 different ports.

All broadband routers using (only) standard NAT and all internet sharing programs like Microsoft ICS that use (only) standard NAT will NOT work with NetMeeting or other h.323 software packages.

The solution is to put the router in DMZ."

Browse to http://192.168.0.1/

Default Login:

User ID: admin
Password: blank (as in nada, zip, zilch)

Go to: Advanced --> DMZ Button --> Enable --> Type in LAN address

FAQ: How do I use NetMeeting with my D-Link Router?
http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.asp?prod_id=1214

Belkin Router

With the router powered on, press and hold the reset button for exactly 7 seconds, this will restore the router to factory default.

Note: By default the password on the router is left blank, and the default IP address is 192.168.2.1

Netgear Router

Browse to http://192.168.0.1/

Default Login:

User ID: admin
Password: 1234

Go to IE --> Tools --> Internet Options --> Connections --> LAN Settings

Uncheck "Use a proxy server..."

LAN / WAN Addressing

When your computer is behind a router, you actually have 2 addresses associated with it:

LAN Address: Your LAN address is assigned to your computer by YOUR router. It will most likely be 192.168.0.100 (although it's very possible that the last number can be 101 or some other variation). The 192.168 at the start indicates that you are dealing with a number originating at your end. One way to find out what address is currently assigned to you is to open NetMeeting and then go to Help followed by About. Your LAN address will appear near the bottom of the screen.
WAN Address: Your WAN address is your Internet address. Its numbers can vary widely. Look at our web page about Your IP will will show you how to see your WAN address. When giving out your address to a caller this is the one that they will need.

Note: A feller named Robin Keir has written a wonderful little utility called IP2 that you may download for free, and it ferrets out and displays both your addresses. You will find it at:
http://keir.net/ip2.html

"We'd like to thank Sue Raskin, Art
Crofford, and Dave Dockery of the Tampa Bay Computer Society for their
contributions to this page." Here is a link to our Facug partner user group in West Florida www.tampa-bay.org. Thanks for your help.

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