Port problem, think Airport may have firewall?

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Hello. I wonder if anyone has had a similar problem with ports and multiple routers/firewalls when gaming or using BT clients, such as Transmission.

Although I'm not a techie I have read multiple forums (including Transmission's) and built-in help regarding setting up static IP address and port forwarding. A debug test in Transmission when I toggle seems to show it's working ok. But the port still says 'closed' in Transmission Preferences.

I have a macbook connected to the Internet through Airport (that comes with the macbook, not Extreme) going to a Linksys wireless WRT54G router (which I've configured to have no firewall and forwarded ports as per Portforward.com's instructions) then a Motorola Surfboard modem into the wall.

Since sorting out port forwarding and tweaking dl/ul settings on Transmission my speeds have increased to around 40/40kbs from around 10-12kbs previously. But still nowhere near what I had when I had a PC.

In Transmission preferences my port is still showing as closed (but Tranmission still dl/ul but at only around 40/50bps at the fastest)

But on canyouseeme.org my port (50001-5) is ok.

According to the wiki files my ISP (Starhub in Singapore) isn't throttling.

So I figure I've still got some firewall somewhere. In Macbook System/Sharing I've opened the port for Transmission but suspect this hasn't stop the firewall. Is my Airport (the one in the macbook, I don't have an Airport Extreme) acting as a router as well, and firewalling me?

When I go to Airport Utility it doesn't display a base station, so I can't *get in* to check the configuration.

Even if no one can answer my question specifically, it would be helpful to know what other people use so maybe I could start from scratch?

Anyone else have a macbook with Airport - wireless router - cable modem AND get fast BT torrents? If so, what's your set up?

I should add that I'm testing all this on a well-seeded torrent file - I'm positive it should be faster

Many, many thanks in advance. I haven't dared post this on the Transmission forum as I wanted one last try to figure out what could be wrong (and suspect Airport). They have suffered port-closed fatigue overt here and just tell people to read the built-in files. Which I have. Many times.

ETA - I think it actually might be the Motorola Surfboard that acts like a router. Any tips?
 
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The Airport card in your Mac is just a wi-fi adaptor. The Firewall on your Mac won't be throttling you speeds. I suspect it's your router setup.

You say you've disabled your router firewall.... how? You should need to disable it. Just open and forward the port. You don't even need to do that if the router supports uPNP.

I've had a few issues with Linksys routers in the past so my gut feeling is that your router is at the heart of the problem.

To try and debug where the problem lies why not connect your modem directly to your Mac by ethernet cable. If you see a speed increase it's your router, if you don't it's not. Worth a go.
 
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dorisbonkers
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Thanks MrPlow. After posting I did more digging and think it could be the modem even?

I shall buy an ethernet cable to try this out.

Thanks for your help. I do realise what a frustrating task it can be advising people who *half* (or even quarter) know what they're supposed to be doing! But I have tried -- I've been reading up on this for a week and really know my way around the TM forum.

Thanks.
 
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You shouldn't need to buy a cable. The cable that connects the modem to the router should do.
 
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dorisbonkers
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ooh, you star - thanks. You're up early btw (if you're in the UK)

out of interest, what set up do you use for this task (presuming you do)?
 
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Up at 5:15 Mon-Fri. Tend to drop onto the forums while I'm waking up with my first coffee of the day :)

As for my setup:
Netgear ADSL router - wired to some of my PCs - wireless to my MacBook

Transmission on my MacBook. uPnP works but I prefer to set a firewall rule on the router. The port is showing open and 'green' in transmission.

Netgear routers allow the same IP address to be allocated to a predefined device (using the MAC address). It's like having a static IP with having to change anything on the MacBook. That way when I connect to other wireless networks I don't have to mess with the network settings on the Mac.

If I get a few minutes later today I'll have a look at the manual for your router and see if I can come up with some more ideas.
 
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What happens if your add your Macs IP address to the DMZ on the router?
 
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dorisbonkers
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Sorry Mr Plow, time difference so I couldn't get back to you until now.

I created a static IP on my Mac and went into the router and fowarded ports 50001-4 on that IP and enabled. I disabled its firewall and opened the Transmission port on the Mac (stopped the firewall)

toggling between UPnP on Transmission preferences still shows the port (50001) closed.

It's still downloading but WAY slow....
 
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Sorry Mr Plow, time difference so I couldn't get back to you until now.

I created a static IP on my Mac and went into the router and fowarded ports 50001-4 on that IP and enabled. I disabled its firewall and opened the Transmission port on the Mac (stopped the firewall)

toggling between UPnP on Transmission preferences still shows the port (50001) closed.

It's still downloading but WAY slow....

What happens if the modem is connected directly to the Mac?
What happens if the Macs IP address is added to the router DMZ?
What happens if you turn uPnP on on Tranmission AND the router?
 

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