How to Port Forward on a DLink router for your server

It just hit me that most people in the world use Windows, (duh) so i had better do a quick tutorial on
port forwarding for various servers on a non-apple router, i will be using a DLink as an example.
Port forwarding on a Dlink is just as simple and straight forward as on an Apple Time capsule
or Airport Extreme.
Why would you need to Forward a port?
Simple answer: so people can access you server from outside you LAN or Local Area Network.
So lets get to it.
Note: this tutorial was requested by a Minecraft player i know by the name of Veyleus. ~Hope this helps :)

What you will need >>>

• Username and Password to your Dlinks admin page
• 5 minutes of time if all goes well
• 7 minutes if you have trouble and need to ask a question on the mini-forum

Step 1, how to access the routers admin page:

First you need to determine if your Dlink will let you access the admin page via wifi.
Some dont allow this for security reasons. But you can change that setting.
Open up and browser and type in 192.168.0.1 this is the default address for a Dlink router
For a Linksys and most other router its 192.168.1.1

If you get a page not found or and you cant connect and itsnot prompting you for a username and
pasword, then its probably not allowing wireless administration. To fix this find an old Ethernet back in the back of your desk drawer and plug in one end to your computer and the other to the back of your router in the Ethernet port. (Assuming that you have a laptop and can go to where your router is or have a long enough Ethernet cord)

Then just enter the same address: 192.168.0.1 in your browser.
It should supply you with 2 fields to enter you password and user name.
The default to Dlink routers is Username: admin Password: private

But normally the password is not the default one, you have to know that password or ask someone who does.

If all go well the admin page should be served up.

Step 2, forwarding the port:

Click the "Port Forwarding" button on the side, a page similar to this should be displayed

Move down to where you see a table like this:

Pick and name of you choice. e.g. Mincraft server.

Then for IP Address put the local ip or you computer, you should know how to find the local ip of your computer but if you don't, drop me a comment. 

Under ports to open:

Put a range of ports instead of just one port, i find it works better for server FTP servers and Minecraft.

For Minecraft i would put the ports like this: 24000-26000 assuming you Minecraft server is running at the default port of 25565.

Put the same port range both the TCP and UDP fields.

You can leave the "Schedule" and "Inbound Filter" selection boxes as they are shown in the image.

Step 3, saving changes and testing:

Click save changes at the top and let your router do its thing and reconfigure.

After that to test it, turn on your server and test it with your local ip to confirm it is working and serving.

Then find your external IP and whatismyip.com and then you that ip to connect instead.

If you can connect to your server using your external ip then grab a bag of pretzels and a glass of Koolaid and just marvel at how you were able to get it to work the first time you tried it :)

But things never work the first time with me so if you have any trouble, drop me a comment and i will see if i can help.

Trouble Shooting:

Some routers may not support ranged port forwarding, so instead of putting 24000-26000 for the ports, just put 25565 or whatever port you are looking to forward.

Some routers may also not allow outside connections from your local network. So you might need to go a to a friends house or an internet cafe to test it. But this is rarely the case.

Make you that you server is running on the port you think it is and that you port forwarded that port.