Strange Solution to Game Play

[bustr]

After checking my computer adnausium for viruses, adaware, spyware, etc. Updating drivers, patches and Bios. Defragging, disabling unneeded startup programs and dll's. Reducing the number of active services...so on and so forth. I still had problems making other planes blow up at point blank range recently. During game play I have no antivirus or firewall running. I have set my antivirus to exclude the game folders, Siatek folders and TrackIR folders.

Then I remembered a problem I had with utorrent on my downlad speeds, 12k-25k. I forgot to open a port on my Netgear FVS114 router for the utorrent client. My router is open by default both ways so I was confused, but, my downloads increased to 125k-175k.

My varyence delay had been a thick line below the zero line made up of tiny square waves. My host queue had packed together spikes. I opened ports 1999-6001 and suddenly I could shoot down other planes. The varyence line is now a thin straight line and the host queue has small spikes, but they are spaced out.

I am confused but happy. My router is completely open. Why did setting a rule to open that specific port range for TCP/UDP make a difference?

[wrag]

Interested in the replies!

[Skuzzy]

The game uses a random subset of ports in the range of 2000 to 6000 for both UDP and TCP.

[bustr]

The game uses a random subset of ports in the range of 2000 to 6000 for both UDP and TCP.

Skuzzy since the day I took the router out of the box, I never implimented any rules until I created a rule for the utorrent client. The router is totaly open both ways. I use it to share my internet connection with another computer. How did making a rule for the random port range the game uses on a totaly open router improve my connection? Did setting a rule to open a specific port for my utorrent client make the router start impacting all other ports because they then did not have rules associated with them? Do the firewalls in home use routers like mine operate by the boolean rule:

either every port is open by default - OR - once you set a rule for a single port you now have to set rules for any other port to allow a connection through

I'm confused.

[Skuzzy]

It is a consumer grade router.  Never underestimate how they are supposed to act in relationship to how they are documented to act.  I am not surprised by your description of events.

I do not have access to any Netgear routers or I could give you more detailed information.