Port Forward Not working on MAC - ok on PC

[pesto126]

Hi all.. experienced Calibre user here with a big problem I cannot figure out. I have been running a calibre server (headless on PC via bat file at startup) for many years... have my PC setup to port forward 8080 for UDP/TCP for my local IP via Verizon FIOS router.

Recently switched to a MAC and setup Calibre server there via Automator script file upon login... server works great via my local IP address and port 9090 - but I cannot access from outside the network using my "real" IP address. The port forward is setup the same as it was on my PC (except for the port switch).. can't figure this one out and was hoping for some ideas...

Have Little Snitch running but turned off to test and still no dice to access via real IP address. No other "firewall" running on MAC that I am aware of.

Last piece of the puzzle to move completely over to MAC... thx

[theducks]

Originally Posted by pesto126

Hi all.. experienced Calibre user here with a big problem I cannot figure out. I have been running a calibre server (headless on PC via bat file at startup) for many years... have my PC setup to port forward 8080 for UDP/TCP for my local IP via Verizon FIOS router.

Recently switched to a MAC and setup Calibre server there via Automator script file upon login... server works great via my local IP address and port 9090 - but I cannot access from outside the network using my "real" IP address. The port forward is setup the same as it was on my PC (except for the port switch).. can't figure this one out and was hoping for some ideas...

Have Little Snitch running but turned off to test and still no dice to access via real IP address. No other "firewall" running on MAC that I am aware of.

Last piece of the puzzle to move completely over to MAC... thx

Port forward is a function of your router and nothing to do with Calibre other than it is the target.

The 'port' (eg 9090) is important, having the correct IP is more important.

If you run DHCP, you wil not always get the sam IP unless you set a reservation in your router for your MAC

[pesto126]

thx but I am aware of all that and mentioned it works perfectly on my PC (same network/same router/same external IP address/different port).. but the MAC doesn't so I was looking for advice from anyone who has been able to get this to work outside the home for a MAC... the router is obviously not redirecting to the 9090 port for the MAC for some reason.. internal address all work perfectly from multiple devices within the network using 9090.

My external IP address hasn't changed in over 2 years... and my internal IP address is known by the router (it comes up with the name and IP address - it too hasn't changed since I set it up). I setup port 9090 as the UDP/TCP port and to forward to the same... no dice trying to access outside the local ip address (in fact, I can't access it using the external address even from within the network - which I can do on my PC).

I know the router can communicate with the MAC because it has ports setup automatically via NAT-PMP (something I wish Calibre adds by the way - auto port setup for the server!!) for Skype and Folx.. It remains a mystery!!

Guess no one really uses the server function all that much... truly a shame as I think it is a fantastic way to visually search and get your books in a library style format. Guess I'll have to go the dropbox route and just use the author / title approach.. also surprised there aren't more PHP or other software online to do the same... is there no market for an amazon/B&N style "store" for personal documents, etc?

thx anyway...

[JSWolf]

Check on the MAC is you have any sort of firewall running.

[pesto126]

Nope... firewall has been off since day 1. The only thing that is running is Little Snitch but even turning this off causes a fail upon trying to reach the address. Again - local IP load calibre server just fine... its only when I try outside IP (from inside OR outside) that it fails on MAC only.

Might just need to shift this whole thing over to my windows machine and just have it running 24/7 to host the books... silly since my MAC is already on 24/7 but I just can't figure this out and frankly.. I'm getting tired of trying.

[davidfor]

Have you tried using a different external port? Your ISP might be blocking 9090. Or the place you are testing from could be blocking it. Maybe you should try 8080 as you know it works. Or point 9090 to the Windows machine to see if you can reach it.

[pesto126]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Have you tried using a different external port? Your ISP might be blocking 9090. Or the place you are testing from could be blocking it. Maybe you should try 8080 as you know it works. Or point 9090 to the Windows machine to see if you can reach it.

That was a really good thought... unfortunately - 8080 didn't work either. I think I'm just going to move the whole thing to my windows machine... it works there and that's ok.. wish it worked on my MAC as well but I'm about out of thoughts and ideas here.

Of course - if any mac users have figured this out and can help further.. I'd love to solve this problem!

I should note that using the external address with either port form within my network brings me to the FIOS router sign on page... externally (from my iPhone using 4G or from my work network) I just get a page not found timeout screen.

[davidfor]

Have you tried to telnet to the port? The response can give an idea of what is happening.

From what you have said, it seems it can only be one of:

- Router is configured to port forward to the wrong internal IP or port.

- Router has some firewall rule preventing it from sending external comms to that internal IP address.

- Something on the MAC is blocking access to that port from the router.

- The return route the MAC is using is wrong. That means the reply could be being lost.

The last one made me think of something. Have you looked at the calibre server logs? If the problem is that the reply is being lost, there should be something in the logs to show that the external IP reached it.

[pesto126]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Have you tried to telnet to the port? The response can give an idea of what is happening.

- The return route the MAC is using is wrong. That means the reply could be being lost.

The last one made me think of something. Have you looked at the calibre server logs? If the problem is that the reply is being lost, there should be something in the logs to show that the external IP reached it.

Of all the things I tried and tried... viewing the logs didn't even dawn on me! So, I took a look at the logs and found that port 9090 was not accessible. So, based on your last statement, I played with the server until I found a port that did work and VOILA! Using Automator, I built a headless bash script to start the server upon login and now I can access my library from both inside and outside the network.

What little Karma I had sent your way and I thank you for not giving up on me and my problem. Easy solution... but when you think you've tried everything... sometimes looking a log slips your noggin!

Thx again my friend!