Behind a router

By default, most routers do something called Network Address Translation. This provides many benifits, but also blocks communications from BitTorrent peers. If you are behind a router, you will have to set your router to forward BitTorrent requests to your computer.

We will use a process called Port Forwarding to get this done. There are two steps to this process: configuring your router to forward BitTorrent requests to a particular address, and giving your computer that address. If you have NAT turned off on your router, this section is not necessary.

Configuring the router

Linksys Router

The first thing you have to do is have your router forward BitTorrent peer requests to a particular IP address. For this guide, I’m going to assume you are using a Linksys router with all the default settings. If you have custom settings or a different type of router, the steps might be slightly different. The process is the same, so you should be able to follow along. Check your router's documentation or manufacturer’s web site if you aren't sure.

First, access your router configuration by typing the address of the LAN side of the router (usually 192.168.1.1) into the address line of a web browser. It will ask for a username and password. Leave the username blank and type administrator as the password (here is one thing that might differ by manufacturer).

Once you get logged in, click on "Applications and Gaming" at the top. Now go to "Port Range Forwarding". In the first line, type BitTorrent as the name of the application. Set the port range to whatever you configured BitTorrent with earlier (6881-6889 by default.) Set the IP address to some number less than 255. Usually, something like 200 is good. Put a check mark in the ‘enable’ box and then click on ‘Save Settings.’

Other Routers

Try these links for specific instructions and guides for configuring other kinds of routers:

• Port Forward.com - instructions for hundredes of different routers
• Configuring Compaq routers
• Configuring Netgear routers
• Configuring DLink routers

Setting your IP Address

Windows XP \ 2000

For Windows XP and Windows 2000, click on ‘Start’, then ‘Control Panel’. You may have to click on ‘Settings’ to find the control panel. In the control panel, from the classic view, click on ‘Network Connections’ (or just ‘Network’ for Win2000.) Double click on ‘Local Area Connection’. If there is more than one, click on the one that says ‘Connected’ under it. On the ‘General’ tab, click on the properties button. Find where it says Internet Protocol TCP/IP in the white window and double click on it.

Choose ‘Specify an IP address.’ Set you IP address to 192.168.1.X, where X is the number you told the router to forward to (I suggested 200.) Set your Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0 (assuming that you haven’t changed your default router settings,) and your default gateway to ‘192.168.1.1’ (or whatever the address of the LAN side of your router is) . Set your Preferred DNS Server to the same thing, and leave the alternate DNS server blank.

Windows 98 \ ME

For Windows 98 or ME, the process is different. Click on ‘Start’, then ‘Settings’, then ‘Control Panel’. Find the ‘Network’ icon and double click it. You should have several entries. Among them will be your network card with a green picture next to it. It will say something similar to “Intel® Pro 10/100 Fast Ethernet Controller.” Then, there will be another one that says TCP/IP-> “Intel® Pro 10/100 Fast Ethernet Controller” (or whatever kind of card you have.) Double click the one that says TCP/IP->Intel®Pro...

Go to the IP Address tab. Choose ‘Specify an address’. For the IP address, put in 192.168.1.X, where X is the number you put into your router (I suggested 200). The subnet mask is usually 255.255.255.0, and the default gateway is the address of your router (192.168.1.1 by default.)

Now, when you begin downloading a file, other people will be able to connect to you and download pieces of the file. Every peer downloading from you is one more peer you can download from, vastly increasing the speed of your downloads. If you are using the BitTornado client I suggested, you will see the light at the top right turn green, showing that you are properly connected to other peers.

More than one computer

If you have more than one computer behind your router that you want to run BitTorrent on, simply set each computer up for a different port range and IP Address. Then, add the additional port range forwarding as a separate entry in your router configuration.