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TICKET ARCHIVE -> VNC server not working

mikedfunk - Aug 6, 2006 - 12:09 pm

I am trying to get VNC working with a dynamic DNS and I can't get it to work. Here's what I've done:

1. Signed up at Dyndns.org
2. Downloaded the dydns updater client with dashboard widget
3. Configured it with my account and set it as a startup item, set the interface to external
4. Downloaded OSX VNC server
5. Configured it as a startup item on port 5900
6. Forwarded TCP and UDP on port 5900 to my internal IP of the computer running the VNC server

i still can't seem to connect to the server at all. It just times out from any computer. I have another mac on the LAN and I've been trying to connect to it with that, but can't seem to do that either. Any ideas?

ScottW - Aug 6, 2006 - 12:47 pm

Hi Mike,

You can't connect to yourself using a VNC client. I know, I have tried this before. You can't even connect to yourself through a SSH tunnel via another system looped back to your own.

But, what you can do is connect form other systems on your LAN to test it out, which you said you did.

The key is to not use your dyndns.org name to do this. Chances are, that dyndns.org IP address is your public address, while your internal machines will communicate with your private address.

You will want to direct your connection to your 192.168.x.x address or whatever you might be using as your internal network. If your doing this and its still not working, then check to see if you have the firewall running on your Mac in the "Sharing" preferences pane. Either enable 5900 to pass through or disable your firewall completely for troubleshooting purposes.

Your external IP will only be good to those who are on the Internet, not to your internal address. I'd be happy to test it out for you, as I will be around today. Just reply back with your public ip address and name (so I can verify your dyndns.org is working properly) and help you out.

Once I connect, you can edit your response to remove that information so it doesn't get stored in a public format.

Hope that helps!

Scott

mikedfunk - Aug 7, 2006 - 3:40 am

I was able to connect with another computer on a local network by typing in the 192.168.x.x address. Can you try to connect to my server? The address is ***REMOVED***. It's password protected so it won't let you in, but please confirm that it will even let you connect at all. I've also confirmed that my software firewall is not running.

I followed the instructions here to set up port forwarding to my computer's internal IP:

http://portforward.com/english/route...DI-524/VNC.htm

ScottW - Aug 7, 2006 - 6:11 am

Mike,

I attempted to connect, but it just timed out. So, you are forwarding port 5900 to your local 192.168.x.x address on port 5900? If so, that should work. Hmmm... maybe your machine is running VNC the moment I tried?

mikedfunk - Aug 7, 2006 - 6:48 am

Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing with the portforward.com method above. I also have an internal static DHCP set up and I'm sure that is working. The address I gave you should report a different IP with a ping every now and then because of the shifting external IP. I think the problem with the whole process is that the port is somehow just not forwarding to my internal IP despite the fact that it seems to be set up properly. I'm not connected to the VNC now (and wasn't when you tried) since I'm not home and I can't connect remotely. I'm stumped!

I had a coworker suggest that I try to serve VNC on a different port like 10,000 or something and try it that way in case my ISP (BellSouth DSL) is blocking that port for some reason.

ScottW - Aug 7, 2006 - 10:12 pm

If you want to send me your router information and allow remote admin, I will be happy to take a look at your settings and see if you have it setup right. Just be sure and tell me what IP your computer is at, that has VNC setup on it.

You can email me at [EDITED] the information.

mikedfunk - Aug 10, 2006 - 3:41 am

Well Scott, you figured it out. It was because my bell south DSL modem was acting as a router which means I had a router connected to a router, so the port couldn't forward through the first router to the second. I followed some instructions on bellsouth.net to change the first router into bridge mode. it said to reset it. i did and it asked me for my bell south password, which bell south assigns to me and i didn't have. their customer service didn't open until right when i got to work. so at home my computer is without internet, but when i get there i'll call bellsouth, get the password, and set it in bridge mode. hopefully that will fix the problem.

ScottW - Aug 10, 2006 - 7:04 am

(information for future reference)

Offline Mike and I did some troubleshooting back and forth to see what was going on. It was finally determined that his DLINK wireless router was behind his DSL modem which was also acting as a router. His configuration of port forwarding on the inside router was mute, since the insider routers (public IP) was really a internally assigned 192.168.0.x address.

What I advised was to setup port forwarding, not only on the inside router which pointed to the computer, but also port forward the same port to the IP address of the outside IP of the inside router. He has a 192.168.0.x network behind his DSL modem (which in this case is acting as a router) and a 192.168.1.x network, behind his internal DLINK router which all computers are hooked too.

What Mike has decided to do, was to place the DSL Modem/Router in bridge mode. This basically turns off the "router" mode of the DSL modem and public IP addresses will be passed through the DSL Modem/Router to his DLINK and should resolve all/most of his issues.