Minetest Forums

I've enabled port forwarding on my router config.
I've enabled DMZ.
I've set public my server on windows firewall.
Yes, I've added the ip address (using a host).
server_announce = true
servers.minetest.net
Windows Firewall open.
... Everything should run.
Then why my server won't be run on Minetest?

Please, don't send me links about "how to config a server on Windos" - because I've already explained that I've done all of this... What am I doing wrong? It would be useful for other players to find another reasons why mintest server won't run...

You most likely have a conflict enabling both DMZ and port forwarding. Some routers can do both with port forwarding having higher priority, but not if both the DMZ host and port forwarding host are the same. Remove the pc from DMZ and just use port forwarding. also remember minetest needs the udp protocol port open
server_announce = true
server_address =
your public wan ip or host name. you can ask google "what is my ip" for the result of your WAN ip or use dynamic dns service like no-ip, dyndns you can create a hostname to translate the ip
port = 30000

trainwrecktony wrote:You most likely have a conflict enabling both DMZ and port forwarding. Some routers can do both with port forwarding having higher priority, but not if both the DMZ host and port forwarding host are the same. Remove the pc from DMZ and just use port forwarding. also remember minetest needs the udp protocol port open
server_announce = true
server_address =
your public wan ip or host name. you can ask google "what is my ip" for the result of your WAN ip or use dynamic dns service like no-ip, dyndns you can create a hostname to translate the ip
port = 30000

Thanks for your answer. Yeah, I use no-ip host, and I know where to find my IP. I don't know where's the conflict on my router... I've got another options: SAMBA, DLNA, DHCP, UPNP, NAT-PMP, and Secured Mode (are enabled) . I don't know if those options are conflicting.

Now I'm going to restart my PC to see if any changes take effect.

Edited - nope. I'm still having the same issue. It won't recognize it.

The services you listed do not conflict, but I can't tell what "Secured Mode" exactly does.
How do you see that it's not working?

1) Did you test whether the server is reachable from another network?
2) Did you port-forward UDP, port 3000? TCP is not needed, but both can be enabled.
3) There's a bot on freenode (IRC) called "MinetestBot". Use "!up ADDRESS PORT" to check whether it's reachable
4) Does your router give you an IPv6? If so, try "ipv6_server = true" https://github.com/minetest/minetest/bl ... mple#L1174
5) Any change if you use "bind_address = LOCAL.IP.ADDRESS.MAYBE"?

Krock wrote:The services you listed do not conflict, but I can't tell what "Secured Mode" exactly does.
How do you see that it's not working?

1) Did you test whether the server is reachable from another network?
2) Did you port-forward UDP, port 3000? TCP is not needed, but both can be enabled.
3) There's a bot on freenode (IRC) called "MinetestBot". Use "!up ADDRESS PORT" to check whether it's reachable
4) Does your router give you an IPv6? If so, try "ipv6_server = true" https://github.com/minetest/minetest/bl ... mple#L1174
5) Any change if you use "bind_address = LOCAL.IP.ADDRESS.MAYBE"?

Yes, it has ipv6 option.

on bind_address use IPV4, ok.

Ok, I'll try your advisement.

Thanks.

Krock wrote:The services you listed do not conflict, but I can't tell what "Secured Mode" exactly does.
How do you see that it's not working?

1) Did you test whether the server is reachable from another network?
2) Did you port-forward UDP, port 3000? TCP is not needed, but both can be enabled.
3) There's a bot on freenode (IRC) called "MinetestBot". Use "!up ADDRESS PORT" to check whether it's reachable
4) Does your router give you an IPv6? If so, try "ipv6_server = true" https://github.com/minetest/minetest/bl ... mple#L1174
5) Any change if you use "bind_address = LOCAL.IP.ADDRESS.MAYBE"?

Yeah, I port forwarded by following these instructions viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8924 .

If it still doesn't work, check to see if your router has a separate "firewall" option.

My old router had a "firewall" that could be set to either enabled or disabled (there was no other configuration). If it was enabled, it would block all incoming traffic even if port forwarding was configured. Disabling it was no security risk because traffic would only be allowed on forwarded ports anyway (unless you have a default port forward address set, which you shouldn't have because then that machine will be completely exposed).

Did this option serve any purpose? No. Was this a dumb design? Yes. Did it cause me to spend about 15 minutes of troubleshooting, and get me locked out of my home server by accident one time when I was away from home? Yes.

Also if you could give the make and model of your router that might help people to find more specific instructions or information for you.

Krock: Now my server is running by using the ipv4 - lol. But I cannot use my host... And... Yes, it's running. It doesn' appear on servers.minetest.net , but I can run it in the serverlist with my admin account.

There are people that say that the server_announce glitch in 5.0 ver still in the 5.1.0 version...

https://github.com/minetest/minetest/issues/8375

What does it say in your server log about the announce list? It attempts to contact at startup of the server and there should be a few lines of information in there.

I don't think you need to add the server to the DMZ list, that's a bit of a shortcut for people getting familiar with port forwarding, but its not necessary if you properly forward your ports. By default you only need port 30000 TCP/UDP for Minetest.

FreeGamers wrote:What does it say in your server log about the announce list? It attempts to contact at startup of the server and there should be a few lines of information in there.

I don't think you need to add the server to the DMZ list, that's a bit of a shortcut for people getting familiar with port forwarding, but its not necessary if you properly forward your ports. By default you only need port 30000 TCP/UDP for Minetest.

yes, that's what I did. But it doesn't work. I don't know if it's an error of the router, or if I'm missing something...
Do I need to add 2 port forwarding rules: one for tcp and udp?

Zalera wrote:There are people that say that the server_announce glitch in 5.0 ver still in the 5.1.0 version...

https://github.com/minetest/minetest/issues/8375

this could be possible,but unlikely. are you running the official download stable build or say sfan5's dev builds? check that forum section try the latest dev build. There have been like 3 updates to CuRL since the stable release, even the the current windows buildbot is 1 CuRL build behind.
Post your server address, even if not listed on announce server we can try to connect.

i still believe conflict with router DMZ and port forwarding. remove all/disable DMZ host and just use port forwarding. also since you didn't mention if trying to run server on port other than 30000 some ISP block specific ports.. usually 25, 53,80,135,7,8,9,443,445,8080 some will block 1-1024 some even further to 49151

FreeGamers wrote:What does it say in your server log about the announce list? It attempts to contact at startup of the server and there should be a few lines of information in there.

Some suggestions:

Review your log to see if there are errors about the server announce list!

Also, set a static IP on your minetest server, and add a port fowarding for UDP and TCP for port 30000 to that IP.

name based resolution isn't as robust sometimes on home routers.

Disable the DMZ and just use port forwarding. Since you're running a windows server, you don't want all your ports open to the world like 3389 and any other ports that can be used to administrate the server that might get opened by accident.

once these rules are applied, just restart everything.

Your minetest server might not be getting DNS service if you didn't specify a correct DNS server to resolve for the server announce list.

Enabling DMZ is a security risk. You should just portforward UDP on the correct port to your PC

rubenwardy, freegamers, trainwrecktony - thank you for your answers... Yes, I've removed DMZ but I still having the problem...
One question: could these options block the ports?








Yes, I've got minetest.exe with public permissions on firewall options...

Turning the firewall level to "off" or whatever the lowest setting is might help. Try doing this and see if it fixes it. If it does fix it then there might be another solution that doesn't require disabling the firewall completely. If it doesn't fix it then we know to look elsewhere.

Giving minetest.exe permissions in the firewall on your computer is irrelevant here. This is the firewall on your router which is completely separate from the firewall on your computer. Minetest needs to be allowed through both the firewall on your computer (which you said you've already done) and the firewall on your router (which it should be by default if you've added the correct port forward on the router but some silly routers might not do this).

You still didn't check your log? If you're going to run a server, you will need to eventually familiarize yourself with your log eventually...

Anyways,

Windows doesn't allow much to happen if you have your network labeled as a public network. I'd advise you set your network to private then allow the minetest server through the firewall for windows.

On your router, disable DMZ, allow port 30000/udp to your server's IP address.

Make sure your static IP address on your server is set and that you have correctly specified your network gateway and DNS server (usually same IP as your gateway). Make sure you have the proper subnet mask, usually, 255.255.255.0

I've set public my server on windows firewall.

Check out this page... https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hel ... ic-private

I think you have the usage of Private vs Public networks backwards on Windows.

Public does not mean its available to the public. Windows interprets Public as "Oh this is a public network like a public hotspot at a coffee shop, so we'll lock down everything."

Private does not mean the network is closed off to the world. It means that you are operating on a trusted network and that there is less of a risk of an attacker on this network, so Windows will lower security and allow more network communications in this configuration.

I used to have a Windows Server system that needed the network to be set to private to work properly. I remember the easiest way for me to do this was setting up a network share on a folder (Right click folder, share, set the network, then delete the folder & share), which would cause Windows to prompt me and ask what type of network I wanted, public vs private.

By the way, that dynamic DNS option you have is extremely helpful for running servers from home. Most residential IP addresses change occasionally. So your server will get a new IP and people will not know what IP your server is at anymore and all the bookmarks your players have saved will be incorrect and invalid. They will have to search your server manually in the server list again.

If you set the Dynamic DNS and use that dynamic DNS hostname as your main server address, you won't have that problem. Your main server address will be that DNS name. The dynamic part is a check your router does occasionally. It checks it's IP address then lets a registrar know what IP address it has so it can associate the dynamic DNS name with your IP adderss so your players can still connect when you get a new IP.

I think there are still free DNS services. You should see which ones your router has in that dropdown menu and hook up to it. Its handy. Don't pay for one. At that point, the money is better spent to register your own host name or shared server.

Since youre hooking up to the net, playing with NAT and firewalls, just make sure you have your security stuff in order and don't disable your firewalls...

micheal65536 wrote:Turning the firewall level to "off" or whatever the lowest setting is might help. Try doing this and see if it fixes it. If it does fix it then there might be another solution that doesn't require disabling the firewall completely. If it doesn't fix it then we know to look elsewhere.

Giving minetest.exe permissions in the firewall on your computer is irrelevant here. This is the firewall on your router which is completely separate from the firewall on your computer. Minetest needs to be allowed through both the firewall on your computer (which you said you've already done) and the firewall on your router (which it should be by default if you've added the correct port forward on the router but some silly routers might not do this).

When I do those changes, do I need to restart my computer to make those changes valid? Because I change all that I can, and I'm still having this issue. :\. I've found some forum discussions about the model of my router, and they have the same issues.

FreeGamers wrote:By the way, that dynamic DNS option you have is extremely helpful for running servers from home. Most residential IP addresses change occasionally. So your server will get a new IP and people will not know what IP your server is at anymore and all the bookmarks your players have saved will be incorrect and invalid. They will have to search your server manually in the server list again.

If you set the Dynamic DNS and use that dynamic DNS hostname as your main server address, you won't have that problem. Your main server address will be that DNS name. The dynamic part is a check your router does occasionally. It checks it's IP address then lets a registrar know what IP address it has so it can associate the dynamic DNS name with your IP adderss so your players can still connect when you get a new IP.

I think there are still free DNS services. You should see which ones your router has in that dropdown menu and hook up to it. Its handy. Don't pay for one. At that point, the money is better spent to register your own host name or shared server.

Since youre hooking up to the net, playing with NAT and firewalls, just make sure you have your security stuff in order and don't disable your firewalls...

Hi. I usually use no-ip service to have a host... So I don't have ip issue. My problem it's that port forwarding and DMZ options are being ignored by the router... And I've tried all your advises - to stay DMZ on - only, or to establish a port forwarding udp (30000 port) only. And nothing works... I'm guessing that the problem it's the freaking router. 1 year ago I had a better router - just because it was pretty old (5 years with me), I decided to ask for a new router for my internet provider... I guess it was a very huge mistake. Well, I'm forced to buy a new one.

FreeGamers wrote:You still didn't check your log? If you're going to run a server, you will need to eventually familiarize yourself with your log eventually...

Anyways,

Windows doesn't allow much to happen if you have your network labeled as a public network. I'd advise you set your network to private then allow the minetest server through the firewall for windows.

On your router, disable DMZ, allow port 30000/udp to your server's IP address.

Make sure your static IP address on your server is set and that you have correctly specified your network gateway and DNS server (usually same IP as your gateway). Make sure you have the proper subnet mask, usually, 255.255.255.0

I've set public my server on windows firewall.

Check out this page... https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hel ... ic-private

I think you have the usage of Private vs Public networks backwards on Windows.

Public does not mean its available to the public. Windows interprets Public as "Oh this is a public network like a public hotspot at a coffee shop, so we'll lock down everything."

Private does not mean the network is closed off to the world. It means that you are operating on a trusted network and that there is less of a risk of an attacker on this network, so Windows will lower security and allow more network communications in this configuration.

I used to have a Windows Server system that needed the network to be set to private to work properly. I remember the easiest way for me to do this was setting up a network share on a folder (Right click folder, share, set the network, then delete the folder & share), which would cause Windows to prompt me and ask what type of network I wanted, public vs private.

Yes, I've done all of this - in firewall options on windows minetest is public, but... the static ip... Well... the server allows me an option to establish an static lease. I don't know what it means... Maybe should I create one.

Don't worry about DynamicDNS until you get your port forwarding figured out and your server properly configured.

Have you confirmed its *really* your router or are you assuming its your router based off of forum posts you have read and now you're jumping to conclusions? Don't get frustrated. Have some patience.

Try some of the suggestions in my previous posts.

See: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previo ... l-profiles

Windows Firewall offers three firewall profiles: domain, private and public. The domain profile applies to networks where the host system can authenticate to a domain controller. The private profile is a user-assigned profile and is used to designate private or home networks. Lastly, the default profile is the public profile, which is used to designate public networks such as Wi-Fi hotspots at coffee shops, airports, and other locations.

Static lease reserves an IP for a client based on a mac address. Its similar but its better practice to have the server request the proper IP address from the router. Use one that outside the range of your router's DHCP pool of IP addresses.

FreeGamers wrote:Don't worry about DynamicDNS until you get your port forwarding figured out and your server properly configured.

Have you confirmed its *really* your router or are you assuming its your router based off of forum posts you have read and now you're jumping to conclusions? Don't get frustrated. Have some patience.

Try some of the suggestions in my previous posts.

See: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previo ... l-profiles

Windows Firewall offers three firewall profiles: domain, private and public. The domain profile applies to networks where the host system can authenticate to a domain controller. The private profile is a user-assigned profile and is used to designate private or home networks. Lastly, the default profile is the public profile, which is used to designate public networks such as Wi-Fi hotspots at coffee shops, airports, and other locations.

Static lease reserves an IP for a client based on a mac address. Its similar but its better practice to have the server request the proper IP address from the router. Use one that outside the range of your router's DHCP pool of IP addresses.

If you mean this: I've done this much before when I configured my router. Even on advanced firewall options - inbounds and outbounds. And nothing happens. That's why I'm surprised...

set a static ip for your server: 10.0.0.100 or something specific
set windows firewall to allow minetest.
set windows network and profile to private network.

on router, port foward port 30000/UDP to your server IP, 10.0.0.100

restart router and server just to be sure rules are applied.
that is all that should really be necessary.

optionally, configure a dynamic DNS hostname for your router and server once the server is accessible to the internet.

FreeGamers wrote:set a static ip for your server: 10.0.0.100 or something specific
set windows firewall to allow minetest.
set windows network and profile to private network.

on router, port foward port 30000/UDP to your server IP, 10.0.0.100

restart router and server just to be sure rules are applied.
that is all that should really be necessary.

optionally, configure a dynamic DNS hostname for your router and server once the server is accessible to the internet.

I've done all this you've mentioned - except.

Restart the router after I've made those changes. kek.