slimserver and firewall

[Mike Klinke]

On Tuesday 31 January 2006 12:32, Gerhard Magnus wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> 	I'm trying to understand how the client/server interacts with
> ports and firewalls by exploring a non-essential application on
> my home network. The boxes are running FC4 and are connected to a
> router behind a DSL modem.
> 	The application is slimserver which streams mp3 files over a
> network to a piece of hardware called a Squeezebox Network Music
> Player, which I don't have.  It can also steam the same files
> over the Internet to an mp3 player like xmms running anywhere on
> the network, which is how I want to use it.
> 	The documentation says that slimserver (which I have installed
> on one machine) must be reachable via port 9000.  I program the
> slimserver playlist (which can include Internet radio) at
> http://localhost:9000. The clients (xmms) access the stream at
> http://localhost:9000/stream.mp3, where "localhost" is now the
> name of the box where slimserver is running.  So far I can play
> music on the server machine but not remotely.

"localhost" is somewhat synonymous with "the machine you're sitting 
in front of" so if you're trying to connect using "localhost" the 
only machine that will work is "the one you're sitting in front 
of".  To connect over the network you'll have to know the IP 
address of the server; i.e. http://192.168.1.1:9000/stream.mp3.

For this to work, you'll have to make sure that your machine running 
the slimserver program has port 9000 available to the other 
machines on your network.  A quick test is to just turn off your 
iptables firewall if you have it running; i.e. 
"/etc/init.d/iptables stop" from a console prompt on the machine 
with the slimserver program.  If you want to re-enable a firewall 
there are several applications that will make configuring a 
firewall easier; e.g 'webmin'.

For machines on the Internet to connect to your slimserver machine 
you'll have to configure your router to forward port 9000 to your 
machine running the slimserver program.  How this is done will vary 
on the kind of router you are using.

Setting this up may require you to learn how to troubleshoot network 
connections.  Learning to use ping. netstat, tcpdump, iptraf, nmap, 
etc. won't be a waste of time.


Regards, Mike Klinke