Instant Web Publishing/Macintosh

[Tamaltree]

I am having trouble using the 'Instant' Web Publishing. I am using Filemaker Pro 7.0 on a Macintosh OSX 4.2. I am connected to the Internet via Airport. I have my IP Address and have assigned the port 591. I have been able to view my database on my own computer, and on one other computer at my apartment. No one else outside my apartment has been able to access the database. I'm sure it has something to do with the set up of my computer, however, I have no idea how to solve it. I've tried some of the suggestions by other people on this forum, however it still does not work. Has anyone else had this problem and managed to solve it? I called the Filemaker Pro help line but they were of no assistance. Would it be better to contact Apple? It's very frustrating and time-consuming.

Would really appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

[Reed]

Probably the best place to call would be your internet service provider to see if they are allowing traffic on that port. You might also try to use the web server built in to OS X, and see if users can access that. (port 80 by default)

If they can't, then it must be something with your ISP, or your home network. If users can access port 80, then turn of the OS X server and change IWP to use port 80.

[Tamaltree]

Thanks for the fast response!! I'll definitely give it a go.

[Tamaltree]

So, I changed my settings and am now using Port 80 and I spoke with my ISP and they do not block Port 80 or 591. But still no one seems to be able to access the database remotely. I can still preview it locally. Could it have something to do with using Airport? If so, does anyone know the best way to use Instant Web Publishing with Airport?

[Reed]

If you're using Airport, then you probably have an local IP address that is not routed out of your house. You would probably have to hook the computer up directly to the modem, so you get an IP that is assigned by the ISP.

Is your IP address something like 10.0.0.1 or 192.168.0.1? These are handed out by the airport base station, not the ISP, so they will not be visible outside your network.

[CyborgSam]

Here's the sequence to setup an Airport to allow access from the Ethernet side. These instructions don't include how to setup security or the rest of the Airport, I have those in PDF if needed.

This assumes that the Airport is already connected to the Internet and that computers connected to the Airport can read web pages, etc.

In the Applications folder, open the Utilities folder and then open the Airport Admin Utility. Click on the Airport's line in the list, and then click the Configure icon.

Click the Networking tab, Distribute IP Addresses should be checked and below it the radio button Share a single IP address (using DHCP and NAT) should be selected. The popup lets you choose a subnet, I suggest using 10.0..., because it's easier to remember and type then 192.168.... Click the Update button, wait until the Airport has fully restarted and the Airport's line appears in the list, then click the line, and then click the Configure icon.

Click the Port Mapping tab, FileMaker needs to be entered so the Airport knows to allow outside computers to send uninitiated (meaning your computer didn't request the info) traffic to your Mac's FileMaker. Click Add. In both the Public Port and Private Port fields enter one of the following:

* 5003 for FileMaker's Peer-to-Peer sharing

* 80 for normal IWP

* 591 for IWP if FileMaker cannot use 80 (usually when FM Server is also running on the computer).

In the Private Address, enter the last digit of your Mac's IP # (you get this in the Network System Preference by double-clicking the Airport line and then clicking the TCP/IP tab).

Let us know if this doesn't work.

Sam

[Tamaltree]

Thanks Reed. I tried it using the cable and it worked. I appreciate your help.

[Tamaltree]

Thanks, I will try it. I am really hoping to make the database work using Airport. Will be annoying to have to plug into the cable every time I want to publish the web page.

[Tamaltree]

Hi Sam,

I have tried adding these ports to Airport via the Airport utility but it didn't seem to make a difference. Everything else was already set up the way you suggested. Reed, in the previous post, suggested that using the Airport IP address can only be accessed by people in the area of the AIrport base station. In a perfect world I would love to be able to publish my database using Airport, so that if I go on the road, I can change the IP address which is linked to my webpage, and remote users can still access it. Do you know if this possible? Thanks for your help.

[CyborgSam]

Is you Airport plugged directly into a cable/DSL modem or does it plug into a router/firewall? The answer determines how the Airport & router/firewall need to be setup.

Open System Preferences -> Network. Double-click the Airport line in the list and then click the TCP/IP tab. If your IP starts with 10., 192.168, or 172.16, your Mac is getting an IP address from either the Airport or a router behind a cable/DSL modem. If your IP address is anything else (that works...), your Mac is getting an IP address from the cable/DSL modem.

Let me know the answers & I can give you more complete instructions.

Sam

[Tamaltree]

Hi Sam,

It's my Airport generating the IP address - it begins with 10.0.1. etc

My Airport is connected directly to the cable. When I disconnect the Airport and connect my computer to the cable, it generates a different IP address, and I am able to successfully publish my FMP database remotely. But I would love to be able to use my Airport.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Sam!

[CyborgSam]

Hmmm. The procedure in my previous post should have worked... Did you enter the right # in the Private Address?

Here's another way to set this up, but it has the disadvantage of allowing only 1 computer to use the Aiport since the cable modem will supply only a single address. In the Airport Admin Utility on the Networking tab, Distribute IP Addresses should be UNchecked. When unchecked, the Airport will get the IP address from another source, in this case your cable modem. If this works, I suspect something went amiss when following my previous post.

Either way, let us know!

[Tamaltree]

I tried again and it still didn't work. Basically, the Airport was already set up like this except for the addition of Port 591. I added this.

The end numbers for the private address were just generated automatically. 201 came up, however, my end number was just 2. Would this make a difference? I could try it with just the 2.

Would it work to change the IP address to one beginning with 192. etc? Does using the IP address beginning with 10 just work for those in the Airport zone as Reed mentioned in an earlier post or can you bypass this? Sorry for all the questions I'm just a little confused by all the IP address possibilities.

Using the technique where I would be the only one who can access Airport won't be any better than just plugging the cable in. Basically I'd like to be able to publish the database if I'm on the road using AIrport connections, or in my house where I have an Airport base station. Unfortunately I'm not the only only who uses Airport in my house, and others will want to access the database and the internet. Arrrgghhh, it's so frustrating. Any more ideas?

[CyborgSam]

The end number MUST be the same value from what the Network System Preference says your IP address is. So if you Mac's IP is 10.0.1.2, use 2.

If that doesn't work, read my instructions very carefully and verify that you're doing every step exactly.

To restate the theory: someone on the Internet will send packets to port 591 at your Internet address. Without the Aiport, your Mac's IP address is provided by the cable modem, and the Mac accepts the packets (the cable modem does not filter any packets.

With the Airport, one configuration has the Airport's IP address provided by the cable modem, and your Mac's IP address supplied by the Airport. This is when your Mac has the address 10.0.1.x. In this scenario, the Airport acts like a router between the WAN (cable modem/Internet) and LAN (Airport wireless network).

The other way to configure the Airport was in my previous post: the Airport has the IP address provided by the cable modem, but it doesn't filter or do anything with them other than pass them on to the Mac. In this scenario, the Airport simply acts as a bridge between two networks (the Ethernet and the Wireless), so your Mac is directly on the Internet.

[Tamaltree]

Hi Sam,

I re-tried the first technique and had no luck.

I just wanted to run through the steps again to make sure that I'm doing it right.

1. Opened Airport Utility

2. Clicked Network tab. Everything was already set up. The only problem I has having here was that when I pressed the "Update" button, it was not coming up in the Airport line. But do I have to re-"Update" it anyway as it is already set up?

3. I clicked the Port Mapping and added Port 591 to the Public and Private Ports and entered the last digit of my Mac's IP #.

The other computer in my house is still able to access the database when it is connected to my airport. If it uses another, it cannot connect to my database.

I will try your second idea however, I would still like to try to work out how to connect more than one computer to the Aiport at the same time, while still being able to public the database successfully.

Thanks for your help.

ps. I didn't quite understand your entire previous post. Would you be able to explain what a "packet" is?

[CyborgSam]

Clearly we're missing something. I'm going to setup my Airport to mimic how yours should be setup and take screenshots. I'll either post them here or on my web site (they may be too big...). Either way, I'll reply again when they're ready.

Sam

[CyborgSam]

OK, I threw together a new tutorial & uploaded it to my web site. the URL is: How to Setup Airport Express

Let me know if this helps, and certainly report any errors...

Sam

[Tamaltree]

Thank you Sam so much for taking the time to put that all together. Your instructions were very clear and easy to follow. This forum is an amazing resource.

Unfortunately I realize now that maybe the problem is that I have an Airport Extreme Base Station and you are using Airport Express. I didn't realize they were so different. I noticed that your Apple Base Station is V 6.2 while mine is V5.6 (even though I have downloaded and installed the latest version). Also when I click on my Base Station Options, I don't even have an option to "Enable Ethernet Port".

Do you know if it can be set up using an Airport Extreme Base Station?

Thanks again for all your help.

[CyborgSam]

I don't have another Airport to test, so I don't know what the differences are in the SW. The main thing you need is to be able to do NAT and DHCP on the Airport (the Network tab) and the Port Mapping.

You can ignore the option to Enable Ethernet Port. Also ignore anything else that doesn't apply to your Airport.

Try it, the worst that can happen is that you have to reset your Airport to the factory settings (not as painful as it sounds).

[Tamaltree]

It works! I finally figured it out. I didn't realize I was supposed to be using the Ethernet IP address rather than the Aiport IP address to access it online. Thank you for all your help! I can have my icecream now!

[CyborgSam]

Great! Send me a pint, I prefer Mint Chocolate Chip ;)