Need help with Real VNC...

[balloonpilot]

Hi all:

Either I'm missing the forest for the trees or I'm just drunk but I can't get Real VNC to work on my webserver. Here's the scenario:

d-link di-604 4 port router
2x Win XP systems behind the router. Both running Norton Personal Firewall.
I've opened ports 5800 and 5900 on the router and created a rule in NPF for VNC but can't log in with their viewer.

I've tried going to www.gotomyvnc.com and it says that 5900 is not listening.

I can sort of connect using a browser from off-site but can't get in. It goes to the Java applet for login and displays the name of the system I'm trying to log in to so I'm assuming its making it past the firewall to get that info. When I try to enter the password, it won't connect and times out. (Yes, the password is correct.)

I'm trying to set up a portfolio webserver at my Dad's place on cable since I live out of the city and only have dialup. I've successfully managed to thread access through the all the security stuff to Apache and my FTP server but can't seem to get real VNC to work so I can administer the system from remote.

Any suggestions?

JP

[Reddman]

Welcome to Windrivers JP!

Have you tried disabling NPF and see what happens? Did you setup the rules in NPF manually or automatically? In my experience, NPF rules don't work correctly or are buggy when they're setup manually. It's best to let NPF auto-generate the rule when RealVNC tries to access the workstation.

Good luck and keep us posted!

-R

[balloonpilot]

Welcome to Windrivers JP!

Have you tried disabling NPF and see what happens? Did you setup the rules in NPF manually or automatically? In my experience, NPF rules don't work correctly or are buggy when they're setup manually. It's best to let NPF auto-generate the rule when RealVNC tries to access the workstation.

Good luck and keep us posted!

-R

Hi Reddman... I've tried setting up the rules in NPF both manually and automatically. I've set up so many damn rules now, I'm not sure if they're all cancelling each other out or not!!! I know that things don't work either if I disable NPF. I'm fairly certain that it's the firewall in the router. I think my next step is to do a factory reset on the router and start fresh. The FTP port forward and the webserver port forward both worked fine. Maybe something is just gone buggy in the router.

Will keep you posted.

Any other thoughts would be appreciated, though.

JP

[Reddman]

Thanks for the update JP, sorry to hear it's still not working.

I've found that the consumer routers (Linksys & D-Link) sometimes need a soft reset after configuring port forwarding. For some reason, only the router Gods know, a soft reset will often times clear up the buggy behavior. As a last resort, I do a factory reset.

Make sure you have the latest firmware revision for your router as well. Which can be found here

So...a recap:
1) Verify lastest firmware revision and flash if necessary
2) Factory reset your router
3) Configure router (firewall and port forwarding)
4) Soft reset router

Good luck and let us know!!

-R

[balloonpilot]

Thanks for the update JP, sorry to hear it's still not working.

I've found that the consumer routers (Linksys & D-Link) sometimes need a soft reset after configuring port forwarding. For some reason, only the router Gods know, a soft reset will often times clear up the buggy behavior. As a last resort, I do a factory reset.

Make sure you have the latest firmware revision for your router as well. Which can be found here

So...a recap:
1) Verify lastest firmware revision and flash if necessary
2) Factory reset your router
3) Configure router (firewall and port forwarding)
4) Soft reset router

Good luck and let us know!!

-R

Hi. I'm happy to report that the problem's solved. I took the big jump and did a full factory reset as opposed to a soft reset. I think clearing out some of my attempts at port forwarding was probably a good thing. At any rate, I re-assigned stuff and it's all working fine now. If you're a veggietales fan, 'slick as butter on a bald monkey'.

Now I can finally get a portfolio site up and running - only 3 years after graduating from 'my real expensive university level e-commerce web programming course' that hasn't gotten me out of 25 years of television production yet. Am I bitter, Nooooooo.

Any tips on how I can relate the two to each other so I can improve my resume would be appreciated.

Sorry for the rant, thanks for the advice, though.

JP

[Reddman]

Now I can finally get a portfolio site up and running - only 3 years after graduating from 'my real expensive university level e-commerce web programming course' that hasn't gotten me out of 25 years of television production yet. Am I bitter, Nooooooo.

Any tips on how I can relate the two to each other so I can improve my resume would be appreciated.

Breaking ground into the computer field can be quite challenging at times. In my opinion, a lot of companies were snatching up certified (e.g. MCSE) candidates, only to find out that they were book smart and not capable of actually applying what they learned. This is why the term "Paper MCSE" came about.

Don't get me wrong, certifications and degrees have tremendous value, but you need the experience to back it up.

Again, in my opinion, companies aren't looking so much at the certifications, but at your accomplishments. What can you do for a company looking for an e-commerce web programmer? Can you walk in the door and provide solutions or is there a learning curve for you? Learning curves and downtime cost a company money.

Please don't take this wrong and I mean no disrespect, but what have you done in the three years since you've graduated from your e-commerce course? Looking at it from an employer's stand-point, that's the question I would ask. Have you completed any projects or provided solutions to companies looking for an e-commerce solution?

If you expected a job after completing your course, that wasn't very realistic. Some people luck out and land jobs right away, but there's usually a cost associated with it. For example, if you're young and single, you can generally take less pay in exchange for the experience. If you're older, taking a pay cut may not be possible and companies aren't going to pay top-dollar for someone who has little to no experience.

So what can you do to apply your e-commerce degree?

For starters, offer your services to small and medium sized companies at a reduced rate. If the going rate for e-commerce programming in your area is $150 dollars, then charge $75 to $100. Don't go too low on your rate or businesses will question your abilities. Be up front and honest with them. Tell them you're trying to build up your experience and to compensate for that, you're giving them a killer rate.

There are tons of home based, small and medium sized business trying to get a web presence. You might have to do something less glamorous, such as, creating web pages for ebay sellers, but you're building experience.

It's all about accomplished projects and solutions. Start building your portfolio and resume and you'll get that e-commerce job.

I wish you all the best JP.