User's Manual

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6.2 Port Forwarding
In its default state, the TG590 blocks all external users from connecting to or communicating with the
network, making it safe from hackers who may try to intrude on the network and damage it. However, the
network can be exposed to the Internet in certain limited and controlled ways to enable some applications to
work from the local network (game, voice, and chat applications, for example) and to enable Internet access
to servers in the network. Port forwarding (sometimes referred to as local servers) supports both of these
functions.
To grant Internet users access to servers inside the local network, each service provided, as well as the
computer providing it, must be identified. To do this:
1) Select Port Forwarding from the left side of any Security screen. The “Port Forwarding” screen appears.
2) Click Add. The “Add Port Forwarding Rule” screen appears.
3) Enter the host name (from the drop-down list) or local IP address of the computer providing the service
in the “Local Host” text box. Note that only one local network computer can be assigned to provide a
specific service or application.
4) Select the Internet protocol to be provided from the “Protocol” drop-down list. Depending on the protocol
selected, additional options appear in the screen.
5) Select the connection with which this port forwarding rule will be active from the “WAN Connection
Type” drop-down list.
6) To select a port to forward communications to (this is optional), select “Specify” from the “Forward to
Port” drop-down list, then, in the text box that appears, enter the port number. If no port is identified,
select “Same as Incoming Port.”
If this port will be active all the time, select “Always” from the “When should this rule occur?” drop-down list.
If the rule will only be active at certain times, select “Specify Schedule” and click Add. Then, add a schedule
rule (for more details about schedule rules, see the “Advanced Connection” chapter of this manual).
8. Click Apply to save the changes.
How many computers can use a service or play a game simultaneously? The answer may be a bit confusing.
All the computers on the network can behave as clients and use a specific service simultaneously. Being a
client means the computer within the network initiates the connection; for example, a computer on the
network can open an FTP connection with an FTP server on the Internet. But only one computer on the
network can operate as a server and respond to requests from computers on the Internet (outside the local