EditOverview
WebGuide allows you to remotely view your picture library.
EditDocumentation
EditWebGuide Ports
WebGuide uses 2 ports to communicate with users - web and video. The web-port is the main port used by WEbGuide to serve pages. The video port is used during "live streaming" of video.
- Web Port: The port used by WebGuide's built-in web-server - UltiDev Cassini. At first install, this will be a random port. WebGuide will show if the port is available for use. The most common port used on the web is port 80. This port is always the assumed port when you type in an HTTP address in a browser. If you don't have another web-server running on your PC or network, you can choose port 80. If you want to connect to an alternate port, you will need to append the port on the end of the URL when entering it in a browser. For instance: http://web-server:1234
- Video Port: This port will be used when a user requests a TV program to be streamed. The port will only be "open" by WebGuide when needed for streaming. This can be any port you like as long as it is not in use on your PC or network.
EditRouter Configuration
If you would like WebGuide to be accessable from the internet, your router will need to be configured to allow requests to be passed to your Media Center machinel Most routers include a feature called UPnP. This is a standard that allows applications like WebGuide to automatically configure the router. Note that you may need to enable this feature in your router's configuration.
- The WebGuide configuration tool scans your network, looking for a router supporting UPnP. If found, WebGuide will display the name of the router it found and offer the ability to automatically configure it. This will create 2 port-forwarding rules on your router to forward requests on the set ports to your Media Center PC.
- If WebGuide does not find your router, or it does not configure it correctly, you will need to manually configure the router to forward those 2 ports. This is a straightforward task in most routers. Look for a section called "port forwarding" or similar. You will be offereed the option to forward a specific port to a machine on your network. Enter the web-port you specified above and the IP address of your Media Center PC. If you don't know the address of the machine, simply open a command prompt on the PC ("cmd" from the start menu) and type "ipconfig". This will list all of the addresses for your machine. Most likely, the address you are looking for looks like "192.168.?.?".
- Repeat this process for the video port if desired.
If you have questions on this step, it is recommended you check the manual that came with your router, or visit a site such as "portforward.com", which lists common information for router configuration.
EditTroubleshooting
Remember that in order for the router to be able to forward both ports to your machine, your machine must not be configured to have a dynamic IP address. Configure your machine to have a static IP address in order for this to work reliably. In order to do this, follow the steps below:
- Open the Control Panel from the start menu.
- Open the Network Center
- Click on Manage Network Connections
- Right-Click on your connection
- Click Properties
- Click on the item "TCP/IPv4" and then on the "Properties" button
On the following dialog, you can choose:
- your static IP address (For example, take your router's IP address and add 1 to the last number)
- the Subnet mask (usually 255.255.255.0)
- the default gateway (the IP address of your router)
- You DNS servers (You can usually get your DNS servers from the "Status" page of your router).