How to set up UPnP?
Universal Plug And Play (UPnP) is a technology to allow, among other
things, Internet applications to configure home routers and gateways,
bypassing manual port forwarding configuration. UPnP was introduced in
Windows XP and is supported in that and later versions, including
Windows Server and Vista. To take advantage of UPnP, you must have support
enabled in Windows and UPnP capable hardware (typically a broadband
router using NAT
traversal). If you meet both of these requirements, setting up DC++ is
normally a simple process. UPnP
support introduced in DC++ 0.4033. For using DC++ with UPnP
under Vista you need version 0.695 or newer.
To enable UPnP in DC++:
-
Click on File menu and then Settings. Click on
Connection Settings.
-
Select Firewall with UPnP.
-
Restart DC++.
If your UPnP system is setup correctly, DC++ will now
automatically create the required port mappings for DC++ to operate in
Active Mode. It will also detect your external IP address, and switch
into Active Mode.
Troubleshooting
If you are having trouble getting this all to work (or see messages
in the DC++ System Log
like "Failed To Create Port Mappings"), and you are sure you meet the
minimum requirements mentioned above, firstly, download a UPnP
diagnostic tool. The recommended one is Mark
Gillespie's UPnP test tool. This program will tell you what network
interfaces on your computer support UPnP.
Alternatively, to test your UPnP functionality, you can run the web based
Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool
from Microsoft.
If your router fails the UPnP test(s), then it's doubtful DC++ will
function properly with UPnP either. If none of your network interfaces are
reporting UPnP capabilities, try the following suggestions:
- Ensure your UPnP hardware has the UPnP service switched on (some
routers default to off), consult your manufacturer's documentation.
- Ensure Windows UPnP services (Control Panel -> Administrative
Tools -> Services) are running. "Universal Plug and Play Device
Host" and "SSDP Discovery Service". Both of these services should be
set to "Automatic" startup and "Started" status.
- Switch on the UPnP User Interface. To do this: Open "My Network
Places", and in the Network Tasks Panel, select "Show icons for
networked UPnP devices". If UPnP is working, you should see your router's
name in My Network Places. Also, when you go to: Start Menu, Settings,
Network Connections, you should see Internet Connection listed under
the Internet Gateway category.
- Reboot both your PC and your UPnP device (router).
- If you do not see your router as a network device in "My Network
Places" after several minutes, UPnPTest will fail to create an UPnP
mapping to the router, resulting in something looking like: INFO: Adapter #0 - 192.168.8.17 - UPnP
Disabled. Make sure the windows firewall or your third
party firewall is not blocking UPnP packets. To do this, go to Control
Panels -> Windows Firewall -> Advanced Tab -> Security Logging
-> Settings. Enable Log Dropped
Packets. The log file is located at: C:\WINDOWS\pfirewall.log.
If you see any packets being dropped with the port 1900 or 2869, the
the firewall is misconfigured and is
preventing UPnP from working. In case of a third party firewall checking
this setting varies widely between firewalls. Most decent firewalls have
some sort of logging function, where one can see what the firewall is blocking.
Look for "UPnP" or ports 1900 and 2869 and refer the firewall's manual
how to ublock.
- If the diagnostic tool is still not reporting any UPnP devices,
considering more drastic actions like upgrading your router firmware,
as many routers have UPnP implementation bugs.
If your router still fails the UPnP test follow the guide on
Manual port forwarding
to be able to use DC++ in active mode.