Cant connect to one of the players

[samuel150892]

I have been having this problem where i can not connect to one of the players. I have completly reset my router and added all the ports again. Enabled and disabled UPNP. Disabled firewall, antivirus ect yet i still can not connect. I did the port check and the program is showing all my ports are ok.

With one of the admins there we have checked that everyone has there ports open. However, yesterday i was able to connect to the server with 18 people on.

Me and the admin are baffled.

My route is a Netgear WGT624 V3.

[HSZFillaRealla]

run a power cycle restart modem by unplugging all power and cable or dsl line and power to router if you have one for 30 seconds  then plug it all back up if that dont work then the server should be restarted
www.hszgameservers.com

[Dangerousdave26]

If you ran the Port check program and all the ports are ok then the problem is not you. Its someone else you are online with. They are blocking you out.

This is one of the hardest things about running a FS Host server trying to get people to understand that just because you can join does not mean everything is correct.

It is a constant battle to get users to actually try and understand that they cannot overlook this and they must confirm their ports are open.

You will need to figure out who the constant is who else is on line when you try and join.

It also could be the server it's self. They may not have all the ports open or may have firewall issues that they are not aware of. The port checker program should be run on the server as well but this is not likely the case. I would think that anyone running a server would be acutely aware of how important this is to set up correctly.

Good luck

[Bob_8712E]

It gets even more perplexing.
I've had times where one player will prevent anyone else from joining. I kick that player and everyone else jumps right in.
He comes back and again new players can't join.
The next day the same player returns and everything is fine. No body changed any settings.
I haven't checked the alignment of the planets or the tide charts?
I wonder if anyone else has experienced this?

[Homer]

Yes Bob,

i think it has to do with DHCP. The router is forwarding ports to a certain internal IP like 192.168.2.2 , next day the computer is getting a new internal IP 192.168.2.3 but the ports are still forwarded to 192.168.2.2, the next day again the same computer is getting the 192.168.2.2 and all is good. To prevent this, i'd set static IP, at least for the computer with the sim, and 100% for the server if hosting FS-Host.

[Bob_8712E]

Now that makes sense, Homer
My D-Link always assigns the same IP to the same computer but I have seen other routers that assign the IP's on a first come first served basis.
My servers are on 24/7 and only rebooted every couple months so it's not the servers.
Also if the server ports are not open then nobody will get in.
I'll have the problem players check their local IP.
       Thanks

[Bob_8712E]

If FSHost or a utility could send a test packet to all players on the server that would report the same problem that causes FS to "Not connect to all players", it would immediatly tell us who is causing the problem.
  There must be a reason why this can't be done or Russell would have done it long ago.
It would be nice if FS would report which player as it has that information.
Hmm, that brings up another question. Does FS find out who is online from the server?
If so maybe we could find out which one it chokes on
Qh well............
  On another note, we sometimes have one or more "invisible" players. FSNav and FSHost track them and they are on the player list but when you fly near them, they cannot be seen?
Life is full of mysteries.

[Homer]

Those invisible players or ghosts are a remain of a previous disconnect. If a player reconnects without rebooting the sim it causes those invisble players, for the server the player is in "Pause/Rate/Slew" status and hoplist positions also don't advance, the only fix is to reboot the sim and reconnect. This behaviour most likely not a FS-host glitch, it is a Direct play Issue, FSX flyers with disconnects don't have that problem.

A solution to see if all players are connected is to run wireshark >>>wireshark.org. This free and excellent Networkscanner is showing ports players are connected to. You can run it on the server but also other players can run it to see the ports. If someone is connected on a "strange" port it is in most cases a not forwarded port. In such cases try to analyze the router setup, often works wonder

[Bob_8712E]

Thanks Homer but those are not the invisable players I am refering to.
They are loged on the server, FSNav tracks them and they can be flying next to me or parked near by.
Some of the players can see them and some can't.
For example I parked on the ramp and left room on one side for another player and he pulled in.
Someone else said "Hey, you just parked on top of Doc!"
Neither one of us could see Doc's plane but some of the others could