Information about the ports that you must open in Windows Firewall to play or to host a Flight Simulator X multiplayer game

INTRODUCTION

This article describes the ports that you must open in Microsoft Windows Firewall to play or to host a Microsoft Flight Simulator X multiplayer game. Additionally, this article describes the advantages of enabling UPnP. This article also lists the port addresses that must be open on computers that are not running Windows Firewall but instead are using a proxy server, a router, Network Address Translation (NAT), or Internet Connection Sharing.

The ports that you must open for multiplayer games are as follows:

Port	Protocol	Inbound / Outbound
23456	UDP	Both
6073	UDP	Both

More Information

The Multiplayer menu option will not be listed on the main menu until you activate the product.

Only internal clients of Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition Internet Connection Sharing can see a game that is hosted on an Internet Connection Sharing server. Clients external to a Windows 98 Second Edition Internet Connection Sharing-based computer cannot see or join games that are hosted on an Internet Connection Sharing server.

Multi-byte characters may not be displayed correctly if the following conditions are true:

You are using a Microsoft Windows-based computer or a Microsoft Windows Millennium-based computer.
You type multi-byte characters in a multiplayer chat session by using the in-game scrolling chat text. For example, you type Korean, Japanese, or Chinese characters.

To display these characters correctly, use the Multiplayer chat window.

Known router issues

The Asante FR3004C Non-Universal Plug & Play router is not supported unless you manually set your IP addresses.

The Asante FR3004C Non-Universal Plug & Play router is not supported and cannot connect both internal and external clients to the same game that is hosted inside the NAT.

Multiplayer voice communications

If Flight Simulator X is running, and you plug in a USB headset, the headset is not detected for voice communication use until you restart the program.

Multiplayer connections

You should have a high-speed connection if you are hosting a large Internet Multiplayer session. Conversely, if you connect to the Internet by using a dial-up modem, you will have to keep your sessions smaller.

Microsoft Windows firewall

Windows Firewall, previously known as Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), is a protective boundary that monitors and restricts information that travels between a computer and a network or the Internet. This boundary provides a line of defense against someone who might try to access your computer from outside the Windows Firewall without your permission. By default, Windows Firewall is turned on when you are running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). When you use Windows XP SP2, you do not have to manually create port exceptions in the firewall. You can create exceptions for the program itself. To do this, follow these steps.

NoteDo not open a port for a program that you do not recognize.

Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
In Control Panel, click Windows Security Center.
Click the Exceptions tab.
On the Exceptions tab, click Add Program, and then click Browse.
Locate the game's executable file, and then click Open. By default, the game is installed in the following folder:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator X\FlightX.exe
Click OK.
Click OK to close the Windows Firewall dialog box.

For more information about Windows Firewall settings, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

875357Troubleshooting Windows Firewall settings in Windows XP Service Pack 2

UPnP

With the addition of Device Plug and Play capabilities to Windows XP SP2, it is easier to set up, to configure, and to add peripherals to a computer. UPnP extends this simplicity to include the whole network by enabling discovery and control of networked devices and services, such as network-attached printers, Internet gateways, and consumer electronics equipment. UPnP is more than merely a simple extension of the Plug and Play peripheral model. UPnP is designed to support zero-configuration networks and automatic discovery for a variety of device categories from many vendors. Together with UPnP, a device can perform the following tasks:

Dynamically join a network.
Obtain an IP address.
Communicate its capabilities.
Automatically learn about the presence and the capabilities of other devices.

Devices can subsequently communicate with each other directly. This makes peer-to-peer networking possible by using UPnP.

To enable UPnP, follow these steps:

Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
In Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs, and then click Add/Remove Windows Components.
In the Components list, click to select the Networking Services check box, and then click Details.
In the Networking Services dialog box, click to select the Internet Gateway Device Discovery and Control Client check box, click to select the UPnP User Interface check box, and then click OK.
Click Next.
Click Finish.

For more information about UPnP, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457049.aspxNoteYou may have to enable UPnP on any external router hardware that you may have as part of the network. To make sure that your hardware supports UPnP and for instructions about how to enable UPnP, see the documentation that came with your networking hardware.
For more information about UPnP, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

821371Capabilities of the Internet Gateway Device Discovery and Control Client and of Universal Plug and Play

886257How Windows Firewall affects the UPnP framework in Windows XP Service Pack 2

Port listing

If you do not use the Windows Firewall program, you can still open the ports that are used by Flight Simulator X when you configure the network. To make sure that these ports are open or to open these ports, contact the network administrator or your Internet service provider (ISP). If you are the administrator of the network, view the documentation that is provided with your networking software to determine how to open these ports. The following list explains the port configuration specifications for the game:

Port forwarding must be enabled on the UDP ports that are in the range of 2300 to 2400 from the router to the computer that is hosting the game.
Incoming and outgoing traffic must be configured for the following GameSpy ports:
- 6667 (IRC)
- 27900 (Master Server UDP Heartbeat)
- 28900 (Master Server List Request)
- 29900 (GP Connection Manager)
- 29901 (GP Search Manager)
- 13139 (Custom UDP Pings)
- 6515 (Dplay UDP)
- 6500 (Query Port)

GameSpy Arcade client

Flight Simulator X uses technology that is powered by GameSpy for in-game multiplayer matchmaking. GameSpy Arcade client is a separately available product from IGN Entertainment, Inc. and is not required to play Flight Simulator X online. For more information about GameSpy Arcade and the ports that GameSpy Arcade requires, visit the following Web site:

http://www.gamespyarcade.com/support/firewalls.shtmlMicrosoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.
The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.