Networking Question

[Prof.Wizard]

Let's say you've arranged a neat home network made by one server (which connects directly to the Internet) and one-two other PCs which have access to the server via hub and the Internet indirectly with Windows XP ICS done by the server.

If you arrange the server PC to be a dedicated gaming server (ie. for UT2003), will it be possible to be in a game which has players from both the internal network (from the aforementioned PCs) and external (Internet) players?

I was wondering because the external players would see only one IP from all players connecting to home network, right?
How the packets know where to go? (both in ICS and other forms of LAN-Internet connectivity)

(Damn... I want IP6 so badly. I guess all networking glitches and problems will go away once every darn electronic machine has its own unique identity...)

 

[zx]

Yes I think it will work, if you put the gaming server on the ICS machine. I actually do this with my CS server. It's set up on a windows 2000 server machine with NAT (before, I did with ICS too) and people can join the game from LAN or from the internet.

 

[zx]

I was wondering because the external players would see only one IP from all players connecting to home network, right?

It depends on how your server registers IP's. Since the server is on LAN, the ip shown will be the private LAN ip (ex : 192.168.0.xxx) for players in the LAN. Other players will have a regular IP.

 

[Prof.Wizard]

It depends on how your server registers IP's. Since the server is on LAN, the ip shown will be the private LAN ip (ex : 192.168.0.xxx) for players in the LAN. Other players will have a regular IP.

Yes, but how will an external player distinguish those internal? His computer will see that some players from the same IP (that of the server which hosts the game to the LAN-Internet) are in. All LAN players will present the same external public IP...?!

 

[Prof.Wizard]

Yes I think it will work, if you put the gaming server on the ICS machine. I actually do this with my CS server. It's set up on a windows 2000 server machine with NAT (before, I did with ICS too) and people can join the game from LAN or from the internet.

Do you connect to the Internet via a local server? I used to have that configuration with my roommate (I was server-ICS, he was connecting via me) but certain functionalities wouldn't work.

He couldn't and I couldn't receive files from ICQ anymore, "no direct connection could established" was the warning. In NetMeeting I had to call for a videoconference because my computer wouldn't be reached if the other party initiated the chat, etc.

Small things, you might say, but very disabilitating in a network enviroment...

 

[zx]

It depends on how your server registers IP's. Since the server is on LAN, the ip shown will be the private LAN ip (ex : 192.168.0.xxx) for players in the LAN. Other players will have a regular IP.

Yes, but how will an external player distinguish those internal? His computer will see that some players from the same IP (that of the server which hosts the game to the LAN-Internet) are in. All LAN players will present the same external public IP...?!

That's what would happen if many players were connected on a public server on the internet. They would all have the same IP. However, since the server in in the LAN, the players connect directly via a local IP adress (192.168.0.xxx). So the server registers the players with that IP.

So it depends on how the information request is processed. If the player queries the server to get a list of other players with their info, then they will see a local IP since that it's the IP the server use to communicate with the players. If however, the information request is sent to each client who send back info on themselves, the IP shown will be a global one (all LAN players will have the same IP).

 

[zx]

Do you connect to the Internet via a local server? I used to have that configuration with my roommate (I was server-ICS, he was connecting via me) but certain functionalities wouldn't work.

He couldn't and I couldn't receive files from ICQ anymore, "no direct connection could established" was the warning. In NetMeeting I had to call for a videoconference because my computer wouldn't be reached if the other party initiated the chat, etc.

Small things, you might say, but very disabilitating in a network enviroment...

Yes I use a local server. I don't have much problems, considering my main machine is not the one who shares the connection. My sister has some problems with IRC. I have to use direct connect in passive mode (less functionnality). ICQ/MSN/IRC (via Trillian) works very well.

 

[Prof.Wizard]

That's what would happen if many players were connected on a public server on the internet. They would all have the same IP.

If however, the information request is sent to each client who send back info on themselves, the IP shown will be a global one (all LAN players will have the same IP).

Isn't this creating communication (identity) conflicts?

And, second, if a PC is sharing a connection (ICS or NAT), I'm expecting the clients to have direct connectivity problems, but I was experiencing problems (with the server) too... that was the thing that bugged me most.

 

[Prof.Wizard]

I wonder how Internet Cafés do it and have one connection and all PCs in the LAN have direct connectivity for web cameras, IRC, and the rest... :-?

 

[blakerwry]

Prof. you're getting the network topology model wrong.

There is a central server (the ICS/game server) and all the clients connect to it.. all the clients send/recieve data to/from the server, the server processes all the data, so the clients don't EVER talk to each other directly.

If you typed "status" into the console (or via remote console) to see the players' IPs, then you would get a list of the IP addresses that the server sees. Thus the external players would be listed as having their routable IP addresses, while players in the LAN would be shown as having their non-routable LAN IP addresses.



As for internet cafe's etc, I'm not sure... it's possible they have a unique, routable IP for each box.. but if they don't have unique IPs for each machine then they might be using webcam software specificly designed to work with NAT or they may not be using NAT at all.