How to configure your router to allow fast BitTorrent downloads

There sure is a lot of people that have adopted BitTorrent as the tool of choice to download movies

and TV shows. However if you are using a network router you might be facing painstainkingly slow

downloads (of around 10Kbps) because of a network configuration not properly set. Some think it's a

client thing and switch from one to another with no results.

The problem's cause is that some ports on your router are blocked by default and the solution is to

open them up. We had to find it the hard way because lots of FAQ lists out there don't give enough

detail on how to solve this issue. This simple but useful tip will increase download throughput from 10

to ~240 Kbps.

NOTE: The specific example below considers a Linksys router, but that should work for any other

manufacturers (e.g. D-Link, Netgear, etc.). Our Linksys router is the Wireless-G WRT54G. Other

models might have a slight different user interface but should be very similar.

1) Open a web browser window and type your Default Gateway IP number in the
address bar. It should be 192.168.1.1 in most cases.

2) To login leave username blank and type admin for the password (unless you
have changed it before which is always advisable)
3) Find the section that says Port Range Forwarding or similar
4) Add in the port range 6881-6889 for Torrent files
5) Make sure you check both protocol boxes TCP and UDP as well as the Enable
setting.

6) Have the forward address set as your internal IP address 192.168.1.72 in our
case. To find yours Go to Start -> Run and type in cmd.
This will open a DOS window. Type the command IPCONFIG and look for your ?IP
Address?.

7) Confirm and submit all the changes and that will probably work.

If you?ve been through this share your experience here. If you have different routers or versions of

Linksys and there?s something different let us know how to configure it.

Scroll down for more…..

TUTORIAL: How To Open Ports and
Forward them to your Router
The first half of this tutorial is intended to show you how to open ports on your PC. The second
half will show you how to forward those ports to your router so that outside sources can access
them.

Tutorial Created Using Windows XP Pro…If you’re not using this O/S your screenshots may look
slightly different.

2 GREAT TORRENT CLIENTS TO USE:

BitTornado= http://www.xtreme-source.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=3
uTorrent= http://www.xtreme-source.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=17
---------------------------------------------
Part 1

Go to -> My Network Places -> View Network Connections

*Now right click on the LAN Connection that provides your internet access and select Properties:
----------------------------------------------
Click Advanced -> Settings
-------------------------------------------------
Now click Advanced -> Highlight your internet Connection -> Click settings
A window should open similar to the one below but would more than likely have existing ports
open on your system listed.
--------------------------------------------------
Click add and you will see this set settings windows appear

-----------------------------------------------------
*Description of Service: Usually the program name (abbr.) and/or the port number being opened
* Name or IP address: Just what is says. If you don’t know your PC’s name just put the IP
address.
Note: If you don’t have a Static IP address on your PC then everything you’re doing can and will
be ineffective if and when your IP address changes. Set a Static IP for your system
*External Port/Internal Port number for this service: Unless you know exactly what having two
different ports here consist of, keep them the same.
*TCP: TCP enables two hosts to establish a connection and exchange streams of data.
*UDP: provides very few error recovery services, offering instead a direct way to send and
receive datagram’s over an IP network.
NOTE: Between TCP & UDP make sure you set the port for the type you need. If one port needs
both types then you’ll have to the go through these settings twice.
-------------------------------------------------------

Part 2

This section was will show you how to forward ports you’ve just opened to your router. Since I
don’t own every router in existence, I’ll show you what it takes for the LinsysWireless Broadband
Router to have ports forwarded to it. The concept is the same for all routers and once you
familiarize yourself with the steps, you should be able to navigate through your router settings
with ease.

First you need to access your router. Open Internet Enter. A user name and password box
should◊Explorer and type 192.168.1.1 appear like the one below. The factory password for this
router is “admin” (without the quotes), leave the user name blank. Some routers may be
"admin" as the user name with the password area blank. Check the documentation that came
with your router or refer yourself to the company website to figure out what this is for your
router.
NOTE: I highly recommend you changing that password from the factory setting ASAP if it still
exists.
------------------------------------------
Once you type your password, the router settings should be displayed

-----------------------------------------
Select Application & Gaming ->
------------------------------------------
This screen is very easy to handle once you get familiar with it.
*Application: Input a small abbreviation so you know what program you’re forwarding the ports
for
*Start to End
Many times, a program will need a range of ports forwarded (i.e. 21000-21005)
Under start, type the initial port and under end type the last port of the range.
*Protocol: I explained what TCP & UDP were earlier, here all you do is select the one that the
port utilizes
*IP Address: I can’t stress enough “create yourself a Static IP”. Here you input your current IP.
Like was saying before; you complete this process and reboot your PC, the IP might change.
Therefore, this setting would not be accurate and your ports will no longer be forwarded.
*Enable: Self Explanatory

Here is one good thing about the forwarding part. Let’s say you have a range of 10 consecutive
ports to forwards (1100 – 1110). For the router settings you just type the start and finish but
you’ll have to do each individual one and if the selection is both for all, you just doubled your
work. No biggie, right?!
Save your settings and restart your system.