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Internet Gateway Icon Missing

Hi All,

I'm having a problem with getting the Internet Gateway icon to show up in Windows XP SP2, and so far have only been able to find solutions for how to get rid of it. A few things I've tried:

1. Turning on DHCP in the router (Linksys);
2. Turning on DHCP in the local system (currently set up to use a static ip);
*Note: the above two used to work before something I'm unaware of happened*
3. Checking to make sure that upnp is enabled in the router;
4. Turning off the Windows firewall altogether;
5. Temporarily disabling the firewall in the router;
6. Checking to make sure that the unpn and SSDP services are running in the services;
7. Turning on Internet Connection Sharing;
8. Checking all of the items in Windows Add/Remove Components that pertain to networking...

Unfortunately the application I'm working on needs to use the port forwarding functions that the Internet Gateway icon provides for. In many cases the users of the system don't even have access to their office routers, and have no clue as to what the usernames/passwords are (and even if they did, guiding them through the port forwarding configuration isn't the best solution and is usually time consuming)...

Thanks in advance for the help!

Rob Williams

I am not very familiar with the service but a couple of thoughts:
-Make sure the SSDP service is started and set to automatic in the Services control panel (enter services.msc in the start/Run box) This is the service that discovers the UPnP devices
-Are you looking in the "network connections" window or the "My Network Places" windows. It does not show up in the latter by default.
-Also verify UPnP is installed on the PC, see:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821371/

cmjwebservices

ASKER

RobWill,

I've verified the above services are installed and running and have set them to "Automatic" (number 6 in my first post). I'm not sure that it's possible to have a static ip and retain the icon, but was wondering if there's a workaround or something I could install that would bring it back into view (or at least allow me to use the same port forwarding code that I wrote previously which relies on its availability)...

Rob Williams

Sorry I missed #6 above. Seem to be doing that a lot lately, must be an age thing <G>
As mentioned, I'm not familiar with this feature but looking at a list of related services you might want to "tinker" with the following.
Application Layer Gateway Service
Universal Plug and Play Device Host (assume this is the UPnP you verified already, above)

Also, are you in a domain environment or workgroup. I only deal with domains, and only vaguely remember this feature, but thought it was an interesting question. The fact that I haven't seen it on any domain makes me wonder if it might be disabled in that scenario, as it could cause some security concerns. Just a thought.

cmjwebservices

ASKER

Actually I have yet to try it in a domain either ;). The network I'm testing from is actually just using a standard Linksys router and the workgroup option.

However, there may have been a breakthrough to a certain extent. I took my desktop computer to my home and connected it there, and immediately the icon reappeared (!?). There are only a few differences I can think of between the two setups:

- My home computer connects directly into the router, whereas the office setup involves traversing through multiple switches before reaching the router (a possibility).

- My home router configuration has the following differences (the exact same model and make): MAC Address clone is disabled, DDNS is disabled, and under "Advanced Routing" the operating mode is set to Gateway. I believe the office setting is "Router".

In all other aspects they are virtually identical (we even use the same ISP). Tomorrow I'll check it out and change some of the settings so that they match my home network more closely.

Thanks for the continued input.

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Rob Williams

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Jay_Jay70

>>>Internet Gateway icon

forgive me for sounding stupid but what is that?

Rob Williams

Hi James. I only have seen it once or twice, and I was just questioning whether it will even work in a domain environment such as yours, but.... There is a feature in Windows that will make use of the UPnP functions of XP, and UPnP enabled devices, such as many residential routers, that "discovers" the device, and allows you to configure some basic features of the device, within Windows. So the "Internet Gateway icon" would effectively be your router.
SBS 2003 can even use it, though I don't think the icon shows up, to automatically configure the router for features such as SMTP, remote web work place and such. I think it is still a little finicky, but Vista is supposed to elaborate on it.
One week off snowboarding and you are already behind with technology. :-)

Jay_Jay70

ha! its true, the new zealand air has broken me..... thanks for the explanation, i havent dealt with it before so was somewhat confused :)

Cheers Rob! Behave........

cmjwebservices

ASKER

I tried using the same settings as my router for the office router, but could not get the icon to reappear. I guess I'll have to find a workaround for the problem that will allow me to forward the ports on the router without requiring the user to login and do it manually.

Thanks for the help.

Rob Williams

Thanks cmjwebservices, sorry we are not more help. Anything I have read about this feature indicates it doesn't work 100%, however the fact that you are not getting the same results on 2 identical units does sound odd. Perhaps when we are all Vista-cated it will be more of an asset.
--Rob