Virtual Servers
This feature, sometimes called
Port Forwarding
, allows you to make Servers on your
LAN accessible to Internet users. Normally, Internet users would not be able to ac-
cess a server on your LAN because:
•
Your Server does not have a valid external IP Address.
•
Attempts to connect to devices on your LAN are blocked by the firewall in this
device.
The "Virtual Server" feature solves these problems and allows Internet users to con-
nect to your servers, as illustrated below.
Figure 42: Virtual Servers
IP Address seen by Internet Users
Note that, in this illustration, both Internet users are connecting to the same IP Ad-
dress, but using different protocols.
To Internet users, all virtual Servers on your LAN have the same IP Address.
This IP Address is allocated by your ISP.
This address should be static, rather than dynamic, to make it easier for Internet users
to connect to your Servers.
However, you can use the
DDNS (Dynamic DNS)
feature to allow users to connect to
your Virtual Servers using a URL, instead of an IP Address.
Virtual Servers Screen
The
Virtual Servers
screen is reached by the
Virtual Servers
link on the
Advanced
screen. An example screen is shown below.
SIGNAMAX LLC •
www.signamax.eu
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