Running Palace Servers Behind a Router
The most common method of connecting multiple computers to the internet is to use a router between the cable/DSL modem and the computers. This not only allows the multiple computers access to the internet but provides security against attacks from the internet when the router employs Network Address Translator (NAT) protocol.
Some people choose to use a router with a single computer just because of the security it provides. The router in this case acts as a hardware firewall.
Routers employing NAT protocol provide security by preventing data that has not been requested by your computers from reaching your computers. This prevents you from running servers on your computers unless you configure the router appropriately.
The first issue is what IP address to use to access your servers from the internet. Most cable/DSL services will assign you a new IP address periodically. In addition, each computer on the router will have a local area network (LAN) address. The following section describes how to determine your IP and set up an unchanging one, if necessary:
Now that you have your IP address the following sections describe how to configure a Linksys BEFSR41 four port router, your computer and the Palace server so that you can run one or more Palace servers behind the router. It assumes you have a working connection between the cable/DSL modem, router and computers.
If you have a different router or are using a software firewall you may be able to use the Linksys router steps as a guide for configuring your router or firewall.
Note: You can run more than one Palace server on a Macintosh so multiple computers may not be necessary depending on the processing load on the computer. You can not run multiple Palace servers on PCs.