You may need to forward ports in your router when you use a Defender 21101 DVR. A port forward allows incoming connection requests from the internet to go straight to a Defender 21101 DVR.
Routers are not designed to allow incoming network requests. A port forward can overcome this limitation.
Before You Forward a Port
You need to know the following things before you can forward a port:
- Your router's internal IP address.
- The IP address of your DVR.
- The list of the TCP and UDP ports that you need to forward.
Use a VPN Instead
Have you considered using a VPN instead of forwarding a port? For most users, a VPN is a much simpler and more secure choice than forwarding a port.
We use and recommend NordVPN because not only is it the fastest VPN, it includes a new feature called Meshnet that makes forwarding a port no longer necessary for most applications. With NordVPN Meshnet, you can connect to your devices from anywhere in the world, completely secure, over a highly encrypted VPN tunnel.
When shopping for a VPN, make sure that they meet the following criteria:
- Your VPN provider should have a no-logs policy. This means that they do not keep any logs of any kind.
- Make sure that your VPN provider has lots of exit nodes all around the world.
- Check that your VPN will not affect your speed.
- Verify that your VPN provider uses WireGuard as the underlying protocol.
- Many people prefer a VPN provider that is not based in the United States.
This is the list of requirements that we used when we were shopping around for a VPN provider. There are lots of free, shady VPN providers out there that we looked at and dismissed.
Based in Panama, using diskless servers, and with over 6,100 servers in 61 countries, we can safely say that NordVPN satisfies all of these requirements.
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Once you've set up your NordVPN account on multiple computers and enabled Meshnet, you can seamlessly access all of your devices as if they were on the same network. You don't even have to log in to your router. It's very simple.
Every time you click on one of our affiliate links, such as NordVPN, we get a little kickback for introducing you to the service. Think of us as your VPN wingman.
Locate Your Router's IP Address
You can run our free Router Detector software to locate your router's IP address. Our Router Detector tool is free to use and is part of our Network Utilities software.
You can also follow our Find Your Router IP Address article.
Forwarding a Port for a Defender 21101 DVR
We have Network Utilities software that can forward ports for you. Since Network Utilities allows you to both forward and un-forward ports easily you can keep your network security maximized, and then forward ports only when you need them.
Another option is to go through the process of forwarding ports one step at a time. The way to forward a port is:
- Log in to your router.
- Look for the port forwarding section in your router.
- Put the IP address of your DVR in the proper box in your router.
- Put the TCP and UDP ports that you are forwarding for a Defender 21101 DVR in the correct boxes in your router.
Some routers need to be rebooted in order for the changes to be saved.
You can choose your router from our list to see exactly how to forward ports for a Defender 21101 DVR:
List of Routers - Customized for Defender 21101
Forward Ports for a Defender 21101 DVR
The incoming ports that need to be forwarded for a Defender 21101 DVR are:
Defender 21101 - PC
- TCP: 80, 5000, 9000, 18004
- UDP: 80, 5000, 9000, 18004
Those are the steps for forwarding ports in your router for a Defender 21101 DVR.
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