Open Ports in Windows Firewall

The choice of firewall technology implemented in an organization will vary, but to illustrate a configuration the following section shows how the administrator can configure the built in firewall supplied with Microsoft Windows XP.

Although simplified, the principles demonstrated in this section apply to all firewall vendors.

1. In Windows XP click Start > Control Panel.

2. Double click to open the Windows Firewall.

   

   Note: In some cases the Firewall configuration can be can be controlled by a Group Policy on the network Domain Controller. In this case the administrator can configure the firewall settings centrally on the domain controller. The same principles described here will apply.

3. Click the Exceptions tab.

4. Click Add Port.

   

5. Add a descriptive name and then specify the port that has been set up for the WCF Endpoint.

   Important: The administrator must repeat the process to add an open port to any satellite daemons on other machines in the network to establish a clear two way communication without being blocked by the firewall.

6. Click OK save the changes.