My server has 9999 ping and no one can join

[chrisgbk]

If this happens, it means that you are inside of a LAN and you haven't forwarded your ports.

How do I know if I'm in a LAN?

If your computer's IP address (according to your network connection status on your computer) is within one of these ranges:

10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255
192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255

How do I fix it?

You will need to know what equipment is in your LAN and the order it is connected in to be able to setup forwarding properly. Following are some common setups in use in homes; any of the routers depicted could be wireless routers as well.

The simplest setup is depicted in the first image below; this setup is easy to deal with; as long as your modem doesn't have built in NAT, you only need to forward ports on the router. If your modem DOES have NAT, see the next setup.

A more complex setup is in the second image; this setup, if setup properly, is also easy to deal with. Unfortunately, it's almost never setup properly. If it's setup properly the second router will function like a switch or hub, and all the computers attached to the second router will be visible to those attached to the first router. If it's NOT properly setup, the second router will function as a segregated block; computers on the first router cannot be seen by the computers on the second router, and vice-versa. If this is the case, you have 2 choices: either you can set it up properly, or you can forward the ports from your first router to your second router, and then forward from the second router to your computer. To have this work consistantly, you would also need to give the second router a static IP address, otherwise if theres a power outage or the like, you may have to set it up again.


Further instructions on forwarding ports can be found on http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/routerindex.htm, and your WAN IP address can be found at http://www.whatismyip.org

For additional explanations, see: http://www.portforward.com/help/portforwarding.htm and http://www.portforward.com/help/doublerouterportforwarding.htm for the 2 situations described here.