Opening Ports for FileMaker Server 7 using Your Router

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Port Forward Staff
July 22, 2021 (Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 1 minutes

When you use FileMaker Server 7 you may need to forward ports in your router. A port forward allows incoming connection requests from the internet to go straight to FileMaker Server 7.

Routers generally do not allow incoming connection requests from the internet. Forwarding ports can work around this limitation.

Before You Forward a Port

Before you can forward a port you need to know the following things:

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:

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.

NordVPN is the fastest VPN!

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.

Find the IP Address of Your Router

The easiest way to locate your router's IP address is to run our free Router Detector utility. The software is part of our Network Utilities suite of tools and it is completely free to use.

If you do not want to run the software, you can follow our Find Your Router IP Address guide.

Forwarding a Port for FileMaker Server 7

The easiest way to forward your ports is to use our Network Utilities software. 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.

You can also choose to set up port forwards manually. The normal process for forwarding a port is:

You probably will need to reboot your router for the changes to take effect.

You can choose your router from our list to see exactly how to forward ports for FileMaker Server 7:

List of Routers - Customized for FileMaker Server 7

Set Up a Port Forward for FileMaker Server 7

Here is a list of the ports that need to be forwarded for FileMaker Server 7:

FileMaker Server 7 - PC

  • TCP: 5003, 50003, 50006
  • UDP: 5003

That is the process required to forward ports in your router for FileMaker Server 7.

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