?? Weird: Cannot Connect using Routable IP ??

Hello all,

Sorry about the cross-posting but I'm not sure of the best group. If you
have any suggestions for a better group, please let me know.

The problem I'm having is easy to describe: I have a home network that's
behind a router. I have set up one of my machines to be a web server and
I've configured the firewall to point to this machine for incoming requests
on port 80. Using a web browser, I can browse to the router's IP address and
sure enough, I'm forwarded to my web server, it works great, but only if I
am NOT on my local network!

For example, if I am at work or at the coffee shop, I *can* browse to my
router's IP address and I see the web page. If, however, I am at home,
behind the firewall, I *cannot * use my router's IP. From home I have to use
the web server's local IP: http://192.168.254.68. Can someone explain what's
going here? Why can I only use the router's IP if I am outside my network?

Here's the configuration:
Web Server Machine:
Virtual machine running Windows Server 2008, IIS 7

Web Browser Machine:
XP Pro running IE 7

Thanks very much.
--
Tom Baxter

That is the way it works. Always has.

If you are on the local network, you make a direct connection to the server
using its local IP. You do not go out through the router to its public NIC
and then be redirected back to the web server.

If it worries you, set up a host file to point your web server's name to
its local IP and use http://servername . (Or do this through DNS if you are
running a local DNS).

"Tom Baxter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%23YYrT$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hello all,
>
> Sorry about the cross-posting but I'm not sure of the best group. If you
> have any suggestions for a better group, please let me know.
>
> The problem I'm having is easy to describe: I have a home network that's
> behind a router. I have set up one of my machines to be a web server and
> I've configured the firewall to point to this machine for incoming
> requests on port 80. Using a web browser, I can browse to the router's IP
> address and sure enough, I'm forwarded to my web server, it works great,
> but only if I am NOT on my local network!
>
> For example, if I am at work or at the coffee shop, I *can* browse to my
> router's IP address and I see the web page. If, however, I am at home,
> behind the firewall, I *cannot * use my router's IP. From home I have to
> use the web server's local IP: http://192.168.254.68. Can someone explain
> what's going here? Why can I only use the router's IP if I am outside my
> network?
>
> Here's the configuration:
> Web Server Machine:
> Virtual machine running Windows Server 2008, IIS 7
>
> Web Browser Machine:
> XP Pro running IE 7
>
> Thanks very much.
> --
> Tom Baxter
>

Hi,

It seems that your router does not support this feature. Some routers do,
some don't.


--
Regards,
Kristofer Gafvert
http://www.gafvert.info/iis/ - IIS Related Info


"Tom Baxter" <(E-Mail Removed)> skrev i meddelandet
news:%23YYrT$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hello all,
>
> Sorry about the cross-posting but I'm not sure of the best group. If you
> have any suggestions for a better group, please let me know.
>
> The problem I'm having is easy to describe: I have a home network that's
> behind a router. I have set up one of my machines to be a web server and
> I've configured the firewall to point to this machine for incoming
> requests on port 80. Using a web browser, I can browse to the router's IP
> address and sure enough, I'm forwarded to my web server, it works great,
> but only if I am NOT on my local network!
>
> For example, if I am at work or at the coffee shop, I *can* browse to my
> router's IP address and I see the web page. If, however, I am at home,
> behind the firewall, I *cannot * use my router's IP. From home I have to
> use the web server's local IP: http://192.168.254.68. Can someone explain
> what's going here? Why can I only use the router's IP if I am outside my
> network?
>
> Here's the configuration:
> Web Server Machine:
> Virtual machine running Windows Server 2008, IIS 7
>
> Web Browser Machine:
> XP Pro running IE 7
>
> Thanks very much.
> --
> Tom Baxter
>

"Bill Grant" <not.available@online> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...

> That is the way it works. Always has.

Ahh, now I undertand...


> If you are on the local network, you make a direct connection to the
> server using its local IP. You do not go out through the router to its
> public NIC and then be redirected back to the web server.
>
> If it worries you, set up a host file to point your web server's name to
> its local IP and use http://servername . (Or do this through DNS if you
> are running a local DNS).
>
> "Tom Baxter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:%23YYrT$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Hello all,
>>
>> Sorry about the cross-posting but I'm not sure of the best group. If you
>> have any suggestions for a better group, please let me know.
>>
>> The problem I'm having is easy to describe: I have a home network that's
>> behind a router. I have set up one of my machines to be a web server and
>> I've configured the firewall to point to this machine for incoming
>> requests on port 80. Using a web browser, I can browse to the router's IP
>> address and sure enough, I'm forwarded to my web server, it works great,
>> but only if I am NOT on my local network!
>>
>> For example, if I am at work or at the coffee shop, I *can* browse to my
>> router's IP address and I see the web page. If, however, I am at home,
>> behind the firewall, I *cannot * use my router's IP. From home I have to
>> use the web server's local IP: http://192.168.254.68. Can someone explain
>> what's going here? Why can I only use the router's IP if I am outside my
>> network?
>>
>> Here's the configuration:
>> Web Server Machine:
>> Virtual machine running Windows Server 2008, IIS 7
>>
>> Web Browser Machine:
>> XP Pro running IE 7
>>
>> Thanks very much.
>> --
>> Tom Baxter
>>
>

"Kristofer Gafvert" wrote:

> Hi,
>
> It seems that your router does not support this feature. Some routers do,
> some don't.
>

Are you sure about that????? What does a router do? Answer: It routes
network traffic from ONE subnet to ANOTHER subnet. Bill Grant has explained
pretty well about the problem which is realated to DNS not routing. Either
create an entry in a LMHOST file, or if you have a DNS server just create
another A record for the web server with the router's IP address.

"Dragon Without Wings" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:296B3A54-34F6-4DDD-BC89-(E-Mail Removed)...
: "Kristofer Gafvert" wrote:
:
: > Hi,
: >
: > It seems that your router does not support this feature. Some routers
do,
: > some don't.
: >
:
: Are you sure about that?????

Yes, my router supports this feature.

: Can someone explain what's
: going here? Why can I only use the router's IP if I am outside my network?

Because your router's web interface is on port 80, perhaps?

"Uncle Kenny" <news.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>: Can someone explain what's
> : going here? Why can I only use the router's IP if I am outside my
> network?
>
> Because your router's web interface is on port 80, perhaps?
>


Yes, my router Iinterface is indeed on port 80, but that is on the local
subnet. My router config as at http://192.168.1.254:80. My web site is also
port 80 but the IP address is the router's external address. I think it
makes a difference, right?
--
Tom Baxter

"Tom Baxter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:udL%(E-Mail Removed)...
:
:
:
: "Uncle Kenny" <news.microsoft.com> wrote in message
: news:(E-Mail Removed)...
: >: Can someone explain what's
: > : going here? Why can I only use the router's IP if I am outside my
: > network?
: >
: > Because your router's web interface is on port 80, perhaps?
: >
:
:
: Yes, my router Iinterface is indeed on port 80, but that is on the local
: subnet. My router config as at http://192.168.1.254:80. My web site is
also
: port 80 but the IP address is the router's external address. I think it
: makes a difference, right?
: --


So you mean you enter the external IP from within the local network and you
get... not what you want?

"Uncle Kenny" <news.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Tom Baxter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:udL%(E-Mail Removed)...
> :
> :
> :
> : "Uncle Kenny" <news.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> : news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> : >: Can someone explain what's
> : > : going here? Why can I only use the router's IP if I am outside my
> : > network?
> : >
> : > Because your router's web interface is on port 80, perhaps?
> : >
> :
> :
> : Yes, my router Iinterface is indeed on port 80, but that is on the local
> : subnet. My router config as at http://192.168.1.254:80. My web site is
> also
> : port 80 but the IP address is the router's external address. I think it
> : makes a difference, right?
> : --
>
>
> So you mean you enter the external IP from within the local network and
> you
> get... not what you want?
>

Yes, exactly correct. If I enter http://99.141.170.98:80 (that's the
router's external IP, although it's dynamic so don't bother trying to hit
the server) from within my local network I do *NOT* get to the web server.
If I enter the same URL from Starbucks I *DO* get to the web server. In
order to hit the web server from my local network I need to use the local IP
of the web server itself: http://192.168.1.68

I know the pattern of what's happening: It's just what Bill Grant said in
the original response: "You do not go out through the router to its public
NIC and then be redirected back to the web server." This is the behavior I'm
seeing so in that sense, Bill's right. But no one has really been able to
explain why this behavior happens or if it's something I can byass or
disable.