Router questions...

I have a network that uses a cable connection, two nodes (Using the Windows ME and XP operating systems), and a router.

I'd like to access the network from a seperate computer... but I can't.

I know the IP address of the router, and both nodes... but... I can't seem to access either node.

I heard that my router has a built-in firewall... but I'm afraid I don't know much about routers. Is it some kind of hardware based firewall? I always thought that firewalls were software based.

So, is there any way that I could connect to a node behind the router?

Thanks!

-Drawenai

P.S. I'm running Windows 98, and when I try to do anything network wise... I get an error that says that I'm not logged on. How/Where do I log on? Thanks again!

Does the firewall/router use network address translation? If it does youre gonna have to configure it to use IP forwarding on whatever ports/host you wanna use.

What kind of router are you using? And most routers have a nice configuration screen that you can access by typing in your IP address, go in there and check out the security settings, and see if you can allow inbound connections. The only other way you could do it, (I think) is to tunnel a connection, but this has limitations, and your router could still block it. So please post what router you are using, because you will probably get more help that way. And no, all firewalls aren't software based, there are many hardware firewalls. There have been a few threads on that, you might want to do a search and read up.

Aha!

I'm using a Lynksys BEFSR41 Version 2 router.

I'm at the network configuration screen now.

I'm allower to do Port Forward. So, if I wanted to access shared folders from another computer, I believe I could.

It says:

"Port forwarding can be used to set up public services on your network. When users from the Internet make certain requests on your router, they will be redirected to the specified IP. "

Well guys, thanks for your help!

-Drawenai