ISPs

[3hM2Nwbp]

RANT

I can't find and ISP that will let me forward the ports that I need to (unless I opt for an ultra-expensive commercial package).

I should go out and snip their cables.

:(

[Cheraphy]

What ports do you need to forward, and why?

[3hM2Nwbp]

Quite a few reasons, most importantly:

1) Stress testing (nearly DOS strength) my network library with more powerful hardware than I have in-house to see how it reacts.

2) Host a licensing server

3) Host a database that I can access from abroad.


*It would be cheaper for me to rent a remote dedicated server :\

[helios]

Why do you need to forward some specific ports?

[Computergeek01]

@ helios: How else would you filter traffic?

@ Luc Lieber: Why the heck are you hosting "In House"? I've seen this cost benefit analysis a dozen times and it almost universally favors Cloud Servers for small scale operations. If you really are looking to get large enough to gain some benefit to on-site hosting then you should already have a plan to secure that kind of capital, or I'm sorry to say you're doomed to fall flat on your face anyway.

You're correct, it IS cheaper to rent a remote dedicated server. The high start up cost and low to moderate upkeep costs of this kind of operation is what makes these off-site solutions so successful. I would stake whatever credibility I might have on saying that this is not a market failure, off-site hosting is the correct solution.

[3hM2Nwbp]

Computergeek01, you misunderstand. I merely want the opportunity to test certain concepts at this time. (Up until now, the only tests I can perform are hosting a server on the same box that I'm connecting to it with, either that or use a win98 box for one of the roles!) I have nowhere near enough practical experience or time to start up the kind of operation that you speak of, a fact that I'm trying to remedy.

[Computergeek01]

In that case what model router are you using (If you don't mind)? You can probably use this for your port forwarding. If you don't have a router other then the one provided by your ISP then I'd suggest the WRT54G from Linksys\Cisco, they go for about $60 USD and there are hundreds of tutorials on-line about how to set up port forwarding. Just plug this in in-line with the router from you ISP and you should be in business and this will also allow you to test your vulnerablities against "War-Driving" since it's also a wireless switch. Sorry if you've figured this out already, I just get excited at the mention of these kinds of projects.

[3hM2Nwbp]

After a long discussion with my ISP a while back, I finally coerced them to admit that they do firmware updates to their routers before installing them. This update disables the ability to forward ports (although the user interface still shows the ports being forwarded...)

I'm still a bit in the dark on the networking scheme outside of the software layer, but even if I'm able to forward ports at my router, connections on ports blocked by the ISP can't get though, correct? I'd like to use a non-standard port for the testing, but if all else fails I should be able to use port 80 unless the operating system believes otherwise.

I'll order the router you suggested and see how it works out for me.

Thanks