Opening Ports for FileMaker Server Advanced 11 using Your Router

You might need to forward some ports in your router when you use FileMaker Server Advanced 11. The purpose of forwarding ports is to make a direct connection from the internet to FileMaker Server Advanced 11.

By default routers do not allow incoming network requests. By forwarding ports you can work around this limitation.

Make sure that you know these things before forwarding a port:

• The IP address of your router.
• The internal IP address of your computer.
• A list of TCP and UDP ports that need to be forwarded.

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.

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.

You can run our free Router Detector software to locate your router's IP address. It's a part of the Network Utilities suite of tools and it's completely free to use.

You can also follow our Find Your Router IP Address article.

A smart way to forward your ports is to use Network Utilities. With Network Utilities, you can easily forward ports and also un-forward ports quickly so that you can keep your network up to date with the ports that you need forwarded and maximize your network security.

Another option is to go through the process of forwarding ports one step at a time. The step-by-step process for forwarding a port is:

• You can start by logging in to your router.
• Locate the section in your router that deals with port forwarding.
• Put the IP address of your computer in the proper box in your router.
• It is now time to type the TCP and UDP ports that you are forwarding for FileMaker Server Advanced 11 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 FileMaker Server Advanced 11:

List of Routers - Customized for FileMaker Server Advanced 11

The following ports need to be forwarded for FileMaker Server Advanced 11:

FileMaker Server Advanced 11 - PC

• TCP: 5003
• UDP: 5003

That is the process required to forward ports in your router for FileMaker Server Advanced 11.

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