Connecting Online-Direct

If the message on the bottom line of your F2P Server is Online-Proxied, then the connection between your iPhone and your F2P Server will be faster if you open a port for incoming connections (this is also called port forwarding).

How are people connecting to me now?

On the bottom line of your Files2Phones Access Server window is a message that indicates how people are connecting to you.

Step 1: Configure your Router

The first step is to configure your router to allow incoming TCP connections (initiated from outside) through a specific port, and to send those connections to a specific IP address (which you will assign to your computer in Step 2).

1. Select a Static IP for your computer.
   
   Open your router, and select an unused IP address to assign to your computer as a static IP address.
   
   
   1. Do not select an IP address that your router may assign dynamically. Your router should have a setting that controls which IP addresses it assigns dynamically to the computers and other devices that connect to the router. Look for the DHCP or dynamic address setting. It may show you the range, or it may show you the starting IP addrses and tell you how many dynamic address it might assign. Do not select any IP address that might be in this range.
      
      
   2. Do not select one of the 20 lowest possible IP addresses, as these may be used by the router itself for system devices that you don't see. For example, if the main IP address for your router is 192.168.0.1, do not use any IPs in the range 192.168.0.1 through 192.168.0.20.
      
      
   3. Some installations seem to work better if the IP address you choose to assign as a static IP is below the router's dynamic range. If the range starts at 192.168.0.50, for example, you might choose 192.168.0.45.
      
      
   
   
   Background: a router allows multiple computers to access the Internet through the same external IP address. The external IP address is usually assigned by your ISP and it is dynamic (it changes). The router then assigns a different internal IP address to each computer. Usually, these are assigned dynamically, which means they may change. Because you don't want the incoming connections to accidentally go to someone else's computer, you need to assign a static, or unchanging, internal IP address to your computer. The first step is to find one that isn't being used (and isn't going to be used).
   
   
2. Note the Gateway and DNS Servers used by the router.
   
   Also note the IP address of the Gateway and DNS Servers used by your computer. You'll need these later, when you configure your computer with the static IP.
   
   
3. Open a Port in your Router's Firewall.
   
   Configure one port in your router to allow incoming TCP connections and to send those connections to your computer's static IP address. The name for this may vary for each router vendor. For example, Linksys calls it Port Forwarding.
   
   

   If you can't find instructions from your specific vendor, look in their documentation and support information for information for online gamers. Many online games require open ports, and most vendors include information on how to open ports or the equivalent. You might search your vendor's site with keywords such as: "open ports" or "online game"; or look for frequently asked questions such as: "can't access Internet", "game doesn't work".

   
   
   The port to select should be: 8080, 8180, 8280, 8380, 8480, 8580, or other in the same sequence, starting with 8080 and adding 100 each time.
   
   Note: check every component of the path between your computer and the outside Internet to make sure that the incoming TCP connection can get through.
   
   

Step 2: Configure your Computer

To configure your computer and your F2P Server to accept direct connections:

1. Assign the selected static IP to your computer
   
   Assign the static internal IP address you selected to your computer according to one of these sets of directions.
   
        Windows XP - How to Assign a Static IP - XP
        Windows Vista - How to Assign a Static IP - Vista
   
   
2. Add F2P Startup Command Line Options.
   
   The F2P command line options tell F2P Server to expect incoming connections through the port you opened. To do this:
   
   
   1. Right-click the F2P startup icon on your desktop, and select Properties.
      
      
   2. In the Shortcut tab, find the Target command line. It should look something like this:   "C:\Program Files\1stWorks\F2P\BIN\F2P.exe"
      
      
   3. After the double-quote, type a space, and then type these options:   -pw8080    -i1
      
      except replace 8080 with the port number you opened, and replace -i1 with the code below that matches the port.
      
      Example (showing the last part of the command):
      "C:\Program Files\1stWorks\F2P\BIN\F2P.exe" -pw8280  -i3
      
      

      Port	Code
      8080	-i1 (default)
      8180	-i2
      8280	-i3
      8380	-i4
      8080+(n-1)*100	-in
      9980	-i20
      -in must be in the range of 1-99. Note: if you select 8080, that also expects that port 80 is also open and forwarded to this computer.

      
      
      
   4. At the end of the command line, type another space and add: /p
      
      The /p option is optional, but helpful for testing your connection. It allows you to connect from a web browser on a regular computer, although the files and other material are not fully available.
      
      Example (showing the last part of the command):
      "C:\Program Files\1stWorks\F2P\BIN\F2P.exe" -pw8280  -i3  /p
      
      
   5. Click OK or Apply.
      
      

3. Restart your computer
   
   Restart your computer.

Step 3: Test.

Start Files2Phones Access Server. The message on the bottom should now say Online-Direct.

If it says Online-Direct, then try connecting to your-web-prefix.myf2p.com. You should get the Files2Phones Access Server opening page with folder buttons.

If it says Online-Proxied, then review the configuration steps and make sure you did them correctly. Also, make sure that you open the ports in each of the firewalls, routers and other components in your Internet connection.

NATs- Multiple computers with the same external IP

If you are installing F2P Server on multiple computers that share the same Internet connection, repeat the steps above for each computer. Be sure to select a unique IP address and Port number for each.

F2P Server supports up to 99 computers that share a single external IP.

Backups

Please write down your settings and save the note in case you need to reinstall at any point.