How to enable port forwarding on your router

A port is a way by which your computer communicate with the internet. Example, an application such as an online game will use the port for incoming or outgoing flow of information. The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the means by which our computer communicates with other computers in the world and port 80 is the default port of communication. By default, the port number for a web server is port 80. 

What is port forwarding?
Port Forwarding will tell the router which computer on your home network to send the data to. Routers assign port numbers to a Service that is associated with a specific Application on your computer. Below is the step by step procedure of how to open ports on your router and how to configure port forwarding.

How to enable port forwarding on your router: (based on a D-Link router)

1. Open a web browser (Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox).

2. Type the URL address of the router in your browser. This is usually 192.168.0.1

3. Enter the router's username and password. The default username is "admin". For the password, it generally works by leaving it blank and just pressing Enter.

4. Click on Advanced -> Virtual Server.

5. Check the Enabled button.

6. Give a name for your new virtual server. Example "John Home Web Server".

7. In the Private IP box, enter the IP address of the computer on your local home network where you want the Service (application) to point to.

8. Select "Both" for the Protocol Type.

9. Enter the same port number for Private Port and Public Port.

10. On the Schedule, select "Always".

11.  Click Apply.

12. Click Continue.