What is the upnp protocol? UPnP. What is UPnP: how to enable and configure it

Before we learn how to enable upnp, let's talk a little about the theory.

So, what is Upnp? This is a set of network protocols presented by the organization of the same name. The main goal is to automate as much as possible the process of setting up network nodes and devices in a variety of networks, from home to large office.

The set of protocols is based on popular technologies and network architectures: TCP/IP, HTTP, etc.

Enabling upnp in Windows 7

The algorithm is extremely simple. First of all, you need to go to the control panel: Start-> Control Panel.

We need to get to the section that contains all the settings and parameters of the network environment. If you have selected display by category, click the " Network and Internet". If all the icons are displayed in front of you, then immediately launch “ Network and Sharing Center". The main network settings window will appear in front of you. On the left side there will be a settings menu. In it we find and click “ Change advanced sharing options«.

We will see a list of available options. We are interested in the Network Discovery area:

Select the item “ Enable network discovery"(this is Upnp). Press the button " Save changes", then " OK". All you have to do is restart your computer. The next time you start the Upnp function will turn on automatically.

When using a router, users sometimes have problems accessing torrent files, online games, ICQ and other popular resources. This problem can be solved by using UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) - a special service for direct and quick search, connection and automatic configuration of all devices on the local network. In fact, this service is an alternative to manual port forwarding on the router. You just need to enable the UPnP function on the router and on the computer. How to do it?

If you don’t want to manually open ports for various services on your router, then you can try UPnP. This technology has both advantages (ease of use, high data exchange speed) and disadvantages (gaps in the security system). Therefore, approach the inclusion of UPnP thoughtfully and consciously.

Enabling UPnP on the router

In order to enable the UPnP function on your router, you need to log into the web interface and make changes to the router configuration. This is not difficult to do and is within the capabilities of any owner of network equipment. As an example, consider such an operation on a TP-Link router. On routers of other brands, the algorithm of actions will be similar.

Enable UPnP on your computer

We have figured out the router configuration and now we need to enable the UPnP service on a PC connected to the local network. For a clear example, let's take a PC with Windows 8 on board. In other versions of the most common operating system, our manipulations will be similar with minor differences.

Finally, pay attention to one important detail. Some programs, for example, will also need to be configured to use UPnP. But the results obtained may well justify your efforts. So go for it! Good luck!

Enabling UPnP to work with Torrent and DC++ services

Attention! This article applies to the following categories of clients:
+ Individuals of Minsk, adsl-access, configured according to a routed scheme for connecting several computers through the server: modem in ENET_ENCAP mode, and VPN connection on the server computer;
+ Home network users with ethernet access who use a router to access the Internet.

For reference: Service UPnP(The Universal Plug and Play) allows the computer to automatically find, connect and configure devices to work with local networks. Using UPnP is more convenient than port forwarding on a router (or modem that acts as a router).

The setup will be performed in two stages.
I. On a router (router) or modem;
II. On PC.

Stage I. Enable UPnP support on the router (modem)

For ZyXel brand modems and routers

1. ZyXel 660 v.1 (TR EE, RU EE, HTW EE)
Advanced Setup –> UPnP . On the page that opens, put a tick Enable the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) Service and press the button Apply to save.

2. ZyXel 660 v.2 (RT2 EE, RU2 EE, HTW2 EE)
We go to the modem through the web interface in the section Advanced –> UPnP . Place all the markets as in the screenshot and press the button Apply to save.

3. ZyXel p334W EE
Advanced –> UPnP Apply to save.

4. ZyXel 330W EE
Go to the router section WAN , put a tick Enable UPnP and press the button Save to save.

For D-Link modems and routers

1. D-link 500T
Go to the modem, bookmark Advanced ->UPnP , put a tick Enable UPnP and enable DHCP_1_34, then click Apply to save.

2. D-link 2500U/2540U/2600U/2640U
Go to the modem, section Advanced Setup ->LAN , put a tick Enable UPnP. Click Save to save and Save/Reboot to overload the modem.

3. D-link 2740U
Go to the modem, section Setup ->LAN , put a tick Enable UPnP. Click Save Settings to save. Next we go to the subsection Save/Reboot and press the button Save/Reboot to overload the modem.

4. Router D-link DIR 300
Go to the router settings, section Advanced –> Advanced Network . Put a tick Enable UPnP and press Save Sett ings to save.

For Acorp modems

1. Acorp lan 120/420
Go to the modem settings, section Advanced –> UPnP and mark the marker Enable UPnP . Click Apply to save.

2. Acorp lan 410
Go to the modem settings, section Services –> UPnP and mark the marker Enable against UPnP . Click Apply Changes to save.

For Linksys AG241V2 modem

Go to the modem settings, section Administration –> Management –> UPnP , mark the markers as in the screenshot and press the button Save Settings to save.

For Huawei modem

Go to the modem settings, section Advanced –> UPnP and mark the marker Enable . Click Submit to save.

Stage II. Enable UPnP on PC

Windows 7

1 . Let's go to Start –> Control Panel –> Network and Internet –> Network and Sharing Center.
Next, select the menu on the left Change advanced sharing settings.

2. In the editing window that appears, click on the arrow opposite General (current profile).

3. Let's put a point to the point Enable network discovery and press Save changes .

Windows XP
1. Let's go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Network Connections.
Next in the menu Additionally select Additional network components .

2. In the window that appears, select Network Services and press the button Compound …

3. In the lineup list Network Services tick the service UPnP User Interface and press the button Ok .

5. And wait for the installation to complete.

6. As a result, in Network connections you should have Internet Gateway , in the properties of which rules for file-sharing clients will automatically appear.

UPnP (an abbreviation for Universal Plug and Play) is a set of network protocols published by the forum of the same name. The UPnP Forum is an open association of industry representatives with the goal of developing standards for UPnP technology, the goal of which is to simplify the integration of smart devices, initially at the level of home and subsequently corporate networks.

UPnP is based on standards and technologies such as TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, XML and ensures automatic connection establishment between similar devices and their collaboration on the network. Thanks to this approach, setting up a network becomes simple and accessible to a wide user audience.

Setting up UPnP

Setting up UpnP may be necessary if the connection to the Internet is not made directly from a computer, but using a router. In this case, in order to give access, for example, to the resources of an FTP server located on a PC, it is necessary to perform a port forwarding operation on the router and assign a static IP address to your computer.

Note! Using the UPnP function on the router, all port forwarding settings are carried out automatically, so this method is suitable for people just starting to learn computers. The downside of UpnP is that it reduces the security level of your home network.

In most cases, the user receives a router with UpnP mode activated. Let's check the activation of this mode in the settings of our router. To do this, in any available browser you should write the IP address of your router (usually 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1), enter your login and password. Below are a few screenshots that will help you check whether this mode is activated on the most common routers.

TP-Link

Section “Forwarding”, subsection “UpnP” - “Status - Enabled”

D-Link

“Advanced” section, “Advanced Network” subsection, the “Enable UPnP” field is checked.

ASUS

“Internet” section, “Connection” tab - “Enable UpnP” checkbox is checked in the “Yes” field.

After UPnP mode has been enabled on the router, you must also enable it in the application that requires port forwarding. For example, to enable UpnP in Skype, you need to go to the “Advanced” section, the “Connection” subsection and check the box next to “Enable UpnP”.

Creating a DLNA home media server

DLNA is a technology that allows you to combine devices into a single digital network for the purpose of receiving/transmitting and viewing various media content online. In practice, it looks like this: there is a computer with a larger capacity hard drive on which photos, films, audio recordings and other media content are stored.

What if you want to watch one of the movies not on your PC screen, but on a large-diagonal TV? Or you have friends over and you want to show your vacation photos either on the big TV screen or on your phone because you don’t want to go into the house. What if each family member wants to watch their media files on their personal device (phone, tablet)? The problem is solved by creating a PC-based media server and combining all devices into a single network using a router.

Please note that routers supporting the 802.11N standard (data transfer speeds up to 300Mb/s) do not always cope with transmitting large volumes of high-quality video streaming via Wi-Fi and fading occurs on the TV screen. In this case, we recommend using a wired connection.

The free program “Home Media Server UpnP, DLNA, HTTP” will be used as the software with which the media server will be created. Download and install the program.

After installation is complete, you should indicate from which directory and what type of content will be broadcast to the network (the “Add” button on the right panel of the program). The selection is made by placing green dots next to the corresponding directories and content type. To add resources located on network or removable drives, you must check the appropriate boxes at the bottom of the window.

Probably, many users of computers, laptops and mobile gadgets would at least once like to watch their favorite films, photographs, TV shows, say, on a large screen television panel or, conversely, synchronize the Internet broadcast of the same TV, radio with a mobile device, and also listen to music on a good sound system. For this we need a so-called UPnP media server. What it is and how to configure it, we will now look at. There's nothing complicated.

UPnP - what is it?

In general, UPnP is an abbreviation of the term Universal Plug & Play. In other words, this is a kind of virtual system that combines connections of smart devices located on the same network with each other based on TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, etc. protocols.

Understanding the topic “UPnP: what is it?”, in simple terms we can describe this as creating the ability to transmit and receive data by all devices that support this standard. The simplest example is, say, viewing photos on the same TV instead of a smartphone. As is already clear, it is enough to simply synchronize devices with each other to provide mutual access to data.

Windows Presets

Before you begin to consider how to configure and enable UPnP, you should make some preliminary settings in the operating system itself.

In Windows OS, depending on the version, this is done in slightly different ways, but the general principle is the same.

So, you need to activate the UPnP server (Windows 7). How to enable it? Nothing could be simpler. You just need to go to the programs and features section (in previous versions of Windows, the add/remove programs menu) located in the standard Control Panel, and then select the Windows feature installation options. Here you select the network services item, check it, and on the right you use their composition item. When entering this menu, be sure to enable the discovery and management client, and also check UPnP. Then the changes are simply saved and take effect without a reboot. This applies equally to XP, Vista, 8 or 10 systems.

It’s worth noting that in some cases you may need a Windows installation disc.

How to enable UPnP on a router

But that's not all. If you plan to use a wireless connection between devices, you will have to check the UPnP settings on it as well.

Although, as a rule, almost all the most common router models come with the UPnP service already enabled, it is nevertheless better to check the settings. For most models, you can enter the router menu by entering the address 192.168.1.1 in any Internet browser. Depending on the model, menus may differ in names or location of individual controls. But in any case, you need to find the “Enable UPnP” option or make it available (in the English version - the Enable UPnP Protocol or Enable UPnP Settings menu).

Enable UPnP in Skype

Now let's look at an example of the popular program for communicating using IP telephony Skype. UPnP technology is also used here. What is this in relation to the application itself? This is the same system for establishing communication with another device. It is much more pleasant to communicate with friends, seeing their image, say, on a large TV screen.

Enabling UPnP is very simple. Here you need to go to the main settings of the program and select additional parameters, and then use the “Connection” menu. It has a special field for enabling UPnP, opposite which you need to check the box and then save the changes.

The simplest utility for creating a home media server

Actually, here we come to the main issue of setting up and enabling a UPnP server. To begin with, as is already clear, you need to decide on the program (UPnP client). As the simplest utility that does not require manual configuration, we can recommend Samsung PC Share Manager.

In this program, almost all settings are automated; determining devices and connection methods does not require user participation, but the only thing that is required is specifying shared folders with multimedia files stored in them. By default, the application selects its own parameters, but directories preferred by the program can be deleted or you can set your own instead.

Here it is important to check whether the same general access is open to them. This is done from the properties menu, which is called up by right-clicking on the directory. Well, after starting, the UPnP server will turn on automatically, and all devices currently present on the home network will be synchronized. Sometimes you may need to add a program to the firewall exclusion list.

The only drawback of the application, perhaps, is the inability to watch online television or listen to the radio. You can only play content stored in shared folders.

Using Home Media Server

Another thing is to use the more serious Home Media Server application (Russian development). Here, however, you will have to delve into the settings.

Although automatic detection is enabled, in some cases you will have to add devices manually. For example, the program clearly identifies the desired computer terminal on which it is installed, as well as the router responsible for the connection. If you need to transmit a signal, say, to an IPTV set-top box with subsequent broadcast to a television panel, you will have to enter the IP or MAC address of the device yourself.

Next is the issue of transcoding. In most cases, the “Movies (main)” mode is selected, but if a special utility Ace Stream (one of the Ace Player components) is installed on the system, it is better to use it.

With shared folders, everything is also simple here, but on the issue of television broadcasting you will again have to strain your brains. So, for example, to watch torrent television, you will need to register on a certain resource, and then download so-called podcasts from it, which must be added to the list and then updated. Only after this will it be possible to watch television programs.

Along the way, it is worth noting that on the set-top box you will also have to manually enable the use of the UPnP server. Most often, LAN mode is used to enable it. It may be different, it all depends on the modification of the console itself.

In general, there are a lot of settings in the program. The main ones can be dealt with without problems. But if you need to use any additional parameters, you will have to spend some time. But then the user gets at his disposal a powerful tool for synchronizing devices of any type. In passing, we note that for mobile devices you may need to install special applications and activate UPnP. Without this, there can be no talk of any synchronization.

Yes, and pay attention to one more thing. Unlike the previous utility, the server can only be turned on manually using a special start button or, if required, a restart.

Instead of an afterword

So we briefly looked at the topic “UPnP: what is it?” Here are the most common situations and rules for setting up and working with a home media server. Naturally, you can use any other utilities, but the initial principles of configuration and enablement are the same for almost all UPnP clients. If you study at least a couple of the simplest programs, understanding the rest will not be difficult.