ARC Port Forwarding

ARC Port Forwarding

Overview


Roon ARC is designed to connect to your Roon Server from outside your home. This allows you to access your server on the go so you can play your files and streaming content, in addition to updating your library, playlists, favorites, and more.

In most cases, Roon will automatically configure your network so that Roon ARC can securely access your server from outside your home.  

WarningWarning
Whatever you do, don’t take the “easy” way out and activate the DMZ setting on your router! Activating the “DMZ” setting on your router/firewall has the effect of placing the target machine on the internet with absolutely zero security. Rather than open up one port for ARC you end up exposing all of the ports on that machine, which is a huge surface area for a hacker to exploit. If you activate this setting and use your Roon Server as the target then your server will be completely exposed. If you are having trouble getting port forwarding to work then enter the Technical Support troubleshooting module, which will automatically post on our Port Forwarding Help Category should your issue remain unresolved. 

Troubleshooting Automatic Configuration 

If Roon ARC can’t communicate with your server from outside the home, you’ll see a message like this in Settings:



This is because Roon wasn’t able to automatically configure your network for port forwarding. 

There are two solutions. The first solution is to manually configure your network to support port forwarding. This article will guide you through that process.

The second solution is to bypass port forwarding entirely by installing Tailscale on your RoonServer and ARC devices. To learn more about Tailscale, see here: https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/kb/articles/arc-and-tailscale-connect-to-roonserver-without-port-forwarding

Configuring your Network to Support Port Forwarding

Confirm your router supports automatic configuration 

To automatically configure your network for remote access, Roon uses either UPnP or NAT-PMP. 

Most modern routers support this kind of automatic configuration, but you can confirm that your router supports this kind of configuration by consulting the documentation or contacting the manufacturer.

Confirm that automatic configuration is enabled

Some routers support UPnP or NAT-PMP configuration but need this functionality enabled. 

The easiest way to check this setting is to log into your router’s configuration screen. This is different for all routers but you can find more details about finding your router’s IP address here.

Once you’ve logged into your router, look for UPnP or NAT-PMP on your router's web interface (this is usually in the Advanced, Administration, Connectivity or Network settings – you may need to consult your routers manual or search google for your router model and “UPnP” to find the exact steps). 

After enabling UPnP or NAT-PMP, save your new router settings and go back to the Roon ARC tab in Roon’s Settings. If everything is working, you should be able to run the test again (press ↻) and confirm everything is working! 

Common UPnP issues can display similar messages to these in the Roon ARC diagnostics tab. If you see these errors, please try to do Manual Port Forwarding instead.

  1. {
"connectivity": {"status":"NetworkError","status_code":502,"error":"error: Error: connect EHOSTUNREACH xxx.xx.xx.xx:55002, response code: undefined, 
body: undefined"}, "external_ip": {"actual_external_ip":"xxx.xx.xx.xx","router_external_ip":null},

"natpmp_autoconfig": {"server_ip":"xx.x.x.x","found_natpmp":true},
"upnp_autoconfig": {"status":"NotFound"}
}
  2. {
"connectivity": {"status":"NetworkError","status_code":504,"error":"error: Error: ETIMEDOUT, response code: undefined, 
body: undefined connected? undefined"},"external_ip": {"actual_external_ip":"xxx.xx.xxx.xxx","router_external_ip":null},

"natpmp_autoconfig": {"status":"NotFound"},
"upnp_autoconfig": {"status":"NotFound"}
}

Other Tests 

If you’ve confirmed your router has UPnP support enabled (or if you’ve set up port forwarding manually) and Roon is still telling you your network isn’t configured properly, there are some other tests you can try to get automatic configuration working. 


  1. Try turning UPnP or NAT-PMP off and then on – this may resolve the issue on some routers or networks
  2. If your server or router has firewall software, anti-virus, ad-blocking, VPN software, you can try disabling this software temporarily, to see if Roon is able to properly configure your network. If this works, you may need to set an exception or contact the software publisher or manufacturer to ensure remote access works with your existing configuration. Be sure to re-enable your firewall or security settings after the test!
  3. Contact your ISP or router manufacturer to see if updated firmware is available 

Port in use

If you get an error saying the port is in use, that means that the current port is already being used by another program on the same computer as your Roon Server.  You’ll need to enter another port in Roon, in the Roon ARC tab of Settings. You can enter any available port in the 10,000 to 65,000 range.


Still having issues?

If you’re not able to get automatic configuration working, there are a few options for getting your server configured properly for remote access:


  1. Manually configure your network for remote access - if you’d like to configure remote access manually, see the Manual Configuration section below

  2. Resolve Multiple NAT issues - if you’re seeing multiple NAT errors in Roon (indicated by two different addresses for actual external IP address versus your router’s external IP address) check out the Multiple NAT section below

  3. Contact our support team - If you need additional help configuring your network or server for remote access, get in touch with our support team

Note that we strongly recommend against disabling your firewall for any extended period of time, beyond temporarily testing your configuration for troubleshooting purposes. We also recommend against using DMZ for configuring Roon ARC.  


Manual Configuration 

If automatic configuration is not working, or if you’re prefer to to configure port forwarding manually, you’ll need to follow these steps:

  1. Static IP - if you’re going to manually configure port forwarding, you’ll want to ensure your server is always using the same IP address. This can be done by setting a static IP address on your server or otherwise configuring your network to ensure your server always uses the same IP

  2. Configure Your Router - you’ll need to create a new port forwarding rule in your router that uses these 3 pieces of info
    1. IP address: The IP address of your Roon Server
    2. LAN/Private/Internal Port: Port 55000 
    3. WAN/Public/External Port: This port must be the same as the LAN/Private/Internal port

  1. Test Your Configuration

Roon ARC uses TCP to communicate


Using a different port 

Roon uses port 55000 by default, but you can pick a different port if you’d like. 

Feel free to use any available port in the 10,000 to 65,000 range. You’ll want to set this port in Roon, in the Roon ARC settings tab. You’ll also need to enter this port when setting any manual port forwarding rules in your router.

Multiple NAT 

NAT lets all the devices on your network share a single “external” address, via your router. 

However if there’s more than one device between your Roon Server device and the public internet which are both configured to do this “translation” process, Roon won’t be able to configure your network to allow access to your server. 

If you’re in this situation, you’ll likely see errors like this:


The important part is here:
“multiple_nat”: {“actual_external_ip”:“100.37.159.105”,“router_external_ip”:“192.168.1.108”}

As you can see there are two different external IP addresses shown – “100.37.159.105” and “192.168.1.108” which indicates that your server is running behind a multiple NAT configuration.

In this case, you’ll need to ensure that only one of your devices is providing NAT. 

There are two basic ways this can happen:

  • Case A - You can have two devices inside your home that are both configured to perform NAT

  • Case B -  Your ISP can perform NAT between your home network and the public internet


It’s also possible to have both at once.  The first step in resolving a multiple NAT problem is to find out which case applies to you.  

There’s no simple way to test for case B, so the recommended way is to check for case A and if you can’t find a second device on your home network assume that your ISP is performing NAT between your home network and the rest of the world.

Some ways to check for multiple NAT devices on your home network:

  1. Find the router or wifi access point your server is connected to.  Then follow the cable from that router’s upstream port.  If you encounter another router or an ISP provided modem, consult the configuration and/or manual of the second device to see if it is providing NAT.

  2. If your network was installed or configured for you by someone else, ask them

If you have multiple devices inside your home network performing NAT (referred to above as “Case A”) here are some ways to resolve this:

  1. The simplest way is to put your Internet Service Provider’s hardware (such as a cable modem) in “bridge mode” to ensure only your router is performing NAT. You may be able to configure this yourself, or you may need to contact your ISP

  2. Alternatively, you can set your router to “bridge mode” so that only your ISP’s modem/router is handling NAT

  3. You can ensure port forwarding rules are in place on both devices, so that external traffic reaching your ISP’s modem/router is forwarded to your router, which then forwards traffic to your server

Some ways to fix multiple NAT issues caused by case B, ISP NAT:


  1. If the double NAT is caused by your ISP, you will need to contact them.  Typically this means requesting a static public IP address, but they may offer other solutions.
Multiple NAT issues display similar messages to these in the Roon ARC diagnostics tab:
  1. {
"connectivity": {"status":"NetworkError","status_code":504,"error":"error: Error: ETIMEDOUT, response code: undefined, 
body: undefined connected? undefined"},"external_ip": {"actual_external_ip":"100.37.159.105","router_external_ip":"192.168.1.108"},
"status": "status": MultipleNatFound,

"natpmp_autoconfig": {"status":"NotFound"},
"upnp_autoconfig": {"server_ip":"192.168.1.1","found_upnp":true}
}

Still having problems?

If you need additional help configuring your network or server for remote access, get in touch with our support team. 

Info
We have a list of routers with solved port forwarding issues in this forum post: 
https://community.roonlabs.com/t/routers-and-isps/203656
Please check the list to see your router is on there and needs specific settings modified.


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