Port Forwarding in a TP-Link Router

This is a guide to setting up port forwarding in TP-Link router (Archer C9). You may need to do this if you are running some kind of server behind your router. 

1. Since port forwarding is an application of NAT, we need first to ensure NAT is enabled on the router. Login to your TP-Link router, go to Advanced Tab and you will see different categories on the left side. 

2. Under System Tools category, select System Parameters and it will show you different sections. Scroll down and you will find a NAT section. Ensure the Enable NAT box is checked and Save if needed.

3. Next is to reserve the IP address of the computer/server running the service so that DHCP doesn't allocate it to another device. In the Advanced tab, choose Network category then go to DHCP Server. Under Address Reservation section, you will see a table of reserved IP addresses. 

4. Select Add above the table and setup will show. You will need to find the MAC address of the device you are forwarding the port to.

  • MAC Address:  MAC Address of the server (format should XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX)
  • IP Address:       IP address of the server
  • Description:      Name of the service         

    Ensure to check the box in-line with Enable This Entry then click OK.

5. Once done, on the left side category, click NAT Forwarding then Virtual Server. Now you will see a table listing the services you have port forwarded. 

6. Click Add at the right portion above the table and the settings will appear. Fill in all the fields. See below picture for sample setup.

  • Service Type:      Name of your service (Or you can use the pre-configured setting under View Existing Services and select your choice/service type)
  • External Port:     Port number or a range of ports that the remote users will connect to. 
  • Internal IP:          Local IP address of the computer running the service (IP address you reserved in DHCP pool)
  • Internal Port:      Port number used by your server (By default, Web server e.g Apache uses port 80)
  • Protocol:             Protocol used by the service application. (Web service (HTTP) uses TCP. But you can select ALL if you are not sure which protocol your service is running)

     After all the inputs, make sure that the "Enable This Entry" box is checked, then click OK. You will see then your entry is now added to the table.

7. If you have questions, you can click on the (?) logo above the table, inline with the title section and you will see a detailed information about the settings.

You can test your port forward entry by accessing the service through a web browser that isn't on your RISE connection. Type your public IP address with the external port in the address bar. In this example, it should be 43.226.6.128:92.