some questions about internet connections and stuff ;)

what is a dmz?
being in the dmz is like being open to the internet right? but can a computer really be exposed to the internet on a nat router? if i have two computers on a nat router, one with port 80 forwarded to it and the other in a dmz and both are running a web server on port 80, what computer would display a page if somebody went to my external address in their web browser? would the router go to the dmz webserver or the forwarded webserver? is a dmz just having all ports forwared to the dmz computer or is it like being directly plugged into my cable modem somehow?

how do i forward udp ports?
i want to forward some udp ports in order to play a game, but my router doesnt have a way to specify whether a port is tcp or udp when i forward it, it just always assumes tcp. its a dlink di-704p router and i've just downloaded the latest firmware for it. i'm a little confused because everything in it's configuration webpage(comes up when i got to 192.168.0.1) has different names for stuff, for example the port forwarding menu is titled "virtual server".

what if i want to plug directly into my modem?
i've tried plugging directly into my cable modem but i cant get on the internet. i can remember that i used to just plug my computer directly into the modem when playing direct ip games with my friends but now windows says that the connection is "limited" and i cant get a connection. i've tried re-setting-up my broadband connection with the wizard but it only says "this connection should already be configured" at the end of the wizard and i still cant get on the internet.

#1

Quote:

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(pronounced as separate letters) Short for demilitarized zone, a computer or small subnetwork that sits between a trusted internal network, such as a corporate private LAN, and an untrusted external network, such as the public Internet.
Typically, the DMZ contains devices accessible to Internet traffic, such as Web (HTTP ) servers, FTP servers, SMTP (e-mail) servers and DNS servers.

The term comes from military use, meaning a buffer area between two enemies.

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Source : http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/DMZ.html

#2 Did you try DLink Technical Support?

#3 Are you on *DSL modem or Cable Modem?

for the dmz question: my router allows me to put a comptuer on my network in the dmz. apparently if its in the dmz its open to the internet, but it's still got a private ip address, so whats the point of putting it in the dmz.

for the second question: i havent contacted technical support, though i have downloaded the latest firmware for my model. is it at all possible that my router doesnt support udp?

for the third question: its a cable modem

#1 - DMZ is an extra layer of protection. It's not very useful for home user but very useful for corporate users who have 2-3 server that they need to their access restrict from the web but completely open for the internal user. (Ex: Exchange)

#2 Your router might not support UPD forwarding. My (Linksys) do.

#3 Pluging a cable modem directly into a computer should work. But you'll need to do a ipconfig /renew to work (Or can you just shut down your computer, change the cable and boot again)