Sunday, March 9, 2003
Firewalls, Messenger, and VoIP Software - Oh the Horrors!
Posted by Jason Dunn in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 08:00 PM
You know, I don't want to get off on a rant here [dim lights], but I have to get this off my chest. It staggers the imagination how badly big companies can screw up even the simplest of things.
Once again I find myself insanely frustrated with Microsoft and their software/hardware. :evil: Here's the short version: I have an MN-500 firewall/gateway device, which is touted as having a Universal Plug-n-Play firewall that dynamically opens up the correct ports for client-side apps that need access. Great in theory, works quite well most of the time. But I was unable to get file transfers working with a friend of mine. We were both using Windows Messenger 4.7, and he was behind a Linksys firewall. After months of struggling with this configuration, he went out and bought a Microsoft firewall/gateway (the MN-100). He also reformatted and installed XP Home, and I was on an install of XP only 24 hours old. We both had Messenger 4.7, UPnP firewalls, and tried to transfer a file. You'd think such an "out of the box" set up would work, right? No dice - no file transfers would occur, even though we confirmed that the correct port ranges were open.
We then bypassed our gateways, connected directly to the 'Net, sans firewall. The result? Perfect file transfers. I went behind my firewall, he stayed out in the open, and I was able to receive files from him, but not send. Augh! 8O I gave up and did something I very rarely do: called tech support. An hour later, we established that Windows Messenger 4.7 will cannot send files from behind a Microsoft firewall to another 4.7 user behind a Microsoft firewall. I upgraded to the much-reviled MSN Messenger 5.0, and I was able to send him files from behind my firewall. Huh? "Oh," says the tech "there are some problems with Messenger 4.7 not working properly behind a Microsoft firewall." Oh, ok, sure - I must have been naive to think that a Microsoft product would work well from behind a Microsoft firewall. Silly me. :roll:
Once we were both running MSN Messenger 5.0, each behind our respective firewalls, we were able to send and receive files without difficulty. Hooray! But as soon as he switched back to Trillian, he was unable to receive files from me. AUGH! :evil: So now he keeps MSN Messenger installed JUST for me, his one contact who needs send/receive file transfer access. How pointless is that? Ultimately that's a Trillian problem, but it underscores the complete mess that the instant messaging world is today. Nothing works with anything else!
Now we come to the really ugly part of the story: my pal and I play online games together (Diablo 2, Age of Mythology, Neverwinter Nights, etc.) and adding voice into the mix adds a great deal of fun. We've used a few different solutions, but for the past year we've been using Microsoft's free Game Voice 1.5 software. It integrates nicely with Windows Messenger, and works quite well. I installed it, fired it up, then tried to chat with my friend - only to have the buddy list window be blank. AUGH! :evil: After a bit more research, I discover that Game Voice 1.5 is a dead-end product. It's not compatible with MSN Messenger 5.0, and Microsoft has no plans to make it compatible. Grrr. MSN Messenger's voice chat functionality doesn't work through NAT firewalls.
Foiled at every turn! For the love of all things holy, what the HELL are the people at Microsoft thinking? The scenarios I described above seem quite mundane, yet the Microsoft solutions fail at every turn. Do they test their software before they ship it? If so, under what circumstances? Because it sure mustn't be "Person A wants to talk to Person B". Nooo, that would just be too CRAZY to even try, right?
Anyway, the point of this long rant is not only to make myself feel better, but also to ask a question: what voice chat software is out there that works well, especially over NAT-based firewalls?
Rant over, but I swear, if I ever encounter the Microsoft product managers responsible for these broken scenarios, I'll have some strong words to say to them.
Once again I find myself insanely frustrated with Microsoft and their software/hardware. :evil: Here's the short version: I have an MN-500 firewall/gateway device, which is touted as having a Universal Plug-n-Play firewall that dynamically opens up the correct ports for client-side apps that need access. Great in theory, works quite well most of the time. But I was unable to get file transfers working with a friend of mine. We were both using Windows Messenger 4.7, and he was behind a Linksys firewall. After months of struggling with this configuration, he went out and bought a Microsoft firewall/gateway (the MN-100). He also reformatted and installed XP Home, and I was on an install of XP only 24 hours old. We both had Messenger 4.7, UPnP firewalls, and tried to transfer a file. You'd think such an "out of the box" set up would work, right? No dice - no file transfers would occur, even though we confirmed that the correct port ranges were open.
We then bypassed our gateways, connected directly to the 'Net, sans firewall. The result? Perfect file transfers. I went behind my firewall, he stayed out in the open, and I was able to receive files from him, but not send. Augh! 8O I gave up and did something I very rarely do: called tech support. An hour later, we established that Windows Messenger 4.7 will cannot send files from behind a Microsoft firewall to another 4.7 user behind a Microsoft firewall. I upgraded to the much-reviled MSN Messenger 5.0, and I was able to send him files from behind my firewall. Huh? "Oh," says the tech "there are some problems with Messenger 4.7 not working properly behind a Microsoft firewall." Oh, ok, sure - I must have been naive to think that a Microsoft product would work well from behind a Microsoft firewall. Silly me. :roll:
Once we were both running MSN Messenger 5.0, each behind our respective firewalls, we were able to send and receive files without difficulty. Hooray! But as soon as he switched back to Trillian, he was unable to receive files from me. AUGH! :evil: So now he keeps MSN Messenger installed JUST for me, his one contact who needs send/receive file transfer access. How pointless is that? Ultimately that's a Trillian problem, but it underscores the complete mess that the instant messaging world is today. Nothing works with anything else!
Now we come to the really ugly part of the story: my pal and I play online games together (Diablo 2, Age of Mythology, Neverwinter Nights, etc.) and adding voice into the mix adds a great deal of fun. We've used a few different solutions, but for the past year we've been using Microsoft's free Game Voice 1.5 software. It integrates nicely with Windows Messenger, and works quite well. I installed it, fired it up, then tried to chat with my friend - only to have the buddy list window be blank. AUGH! :evil: After a bit more research, I discover that Game Voice 1.5 is a dead-end product. It's not compatible with MSN Messenger 5.0, and Microsoft has no plans to make it compatible. Grrr. MSN Messenger's voice chat functionality doesn't work through NAT firewalls.
Foiled at every turn! For the love of all things holy, what the HELL are the people at Microsoft thinking? The scenarios I described above seem quite mundane, yet the Microsoft solutions fail at every turn. Do they test their software before they ship it? If so, under what circumstances? Because it sure mustn't be "Person A wants to talk to Person B". Nooo, that would just be too CRAZY to even try, right?
Anyway, the point of this long rant is not only to make myself feel better, but also to ask a question: what voice chat software is out there that works well, especially over NAT-based firewalls?
Rant over, but I swear, if I ever encounter the Microsoft product managers responsible for these broken scenarios, I'll have some strong words to say to them.
