Setting a static local IP address to PC

[Relztrah]

I read elsewhere that I can improve the performance of Skype on my PC by assigning my PC a static IP address on my home network. Then I select a port to forward from my router to my PC's IP address (all protocols). Finally, I configure Skype to use this same port.

OK, I'm into unfamiliar territory here, so I'm going to take this a step at a time. First, how do I assign my PC a static IP address? I have a D-Link EBR-2310 wired router. No wireless connections.

Then, in simple terms, how do I select a port (which one?) to forward from the router to my PC's static IP address?

I looked at the Skype options, and I think I can figure out how to use a specific port for Skype.

Is this going to effect any of the other PCs on my home network? They don't need static IP addresses, and can continue getting them from the router's DHCP.

Thanks for any suggestions. Please keep your reply understandable for a nonprofessional.

[Variable]

Where ever you read to open all ports to your PC... they should take that site down. VOIP is UDP traffic, UDP is best effort. Best effort basically means it UDP packets are sent in order and there is no attempt to resend dropped packets. UDP is used when speed is needed.

What they probably mean is that Skype uses a certain UDP port. You can use the default port Skype already uses. If you statically assign your IP address on your PC you can the go in to the router and forward THAT port to your IP address. This bypasses PAT. How it all works is probably not worth going in to but suffice to say, it can speed up traffic on a port but this would only matter if your router was overloaded. If your router is overloaded you will have other issues.

In my experience, none of this is necessary. If your using file sharing apps at the same time your using skype and you notice that you have quality issues, a port forward may help a tiny bit. If your router comes with a tab for VOIP that may be worth looking in to. This function can give VOIP traffic preference over other traffic.

[Relztrah]

Here's the complete quote from the other board:

You can increase Skype quality by assigning your laptop a static IP address in your office. Select a port (like 13556) to forward from your firewall/router to your laptop's IP address (all protocols). Configure Skype to use this same port. This enables your computer to connect directly to call recipients without the need for a Skype Supernode between you and the other connection(s).

Does that make any sense to you?

[Variable]

Naw not really. I don't claim to be an expert on how Skype works but I am an expert on a lot of things networking wise. Let's discuss how you communicate with someone else on the internet. Let's assume you have an application that allows you to talk to someone else. You can be the arbiter of how the application works for you of course, but when communicating with someone else, the other person would need to have a similarly configured system and know how to talk to you directly, just as you would need to know how to talk to him directly. Remember, you can have a program or software configured any way you like on a computer you control, however, communication between two machines is a two way street.

Let's assume you can make yourself a host server using Skype, then the person you are connecting to would need to connect to you directly and not use Skype's server. I imagine, if it is possible, what happens is both ends connect to an intermediate server and then connect to each other directly. Whether you forward ports or not is irrelevant to this, both would work the same. The act of using PAT is invisible. There is no packet that says you are using a port forward forward or not. That part is .... dumb.

Think of yourself as using a walkie-talkie to talk to someone. Before you can communicate, you both need to agree upon a channel and you both must have a walkie-talkie that talks on the same frequency.

You can think of the frequency as each knowing as knowing each others IP, the channel would be the port. Unfortunately for you, your public IP is probably dynamic, in which case it changes periodically. So the far side will need to know your IP has changed. This is where intermediate servers comes in to play.

Just know this, opening ports on your local machine can speed things up if your router is under load - for you. It doesn't help any communication, speed, access, for anything that you don't control. So you can can make whatever changes you want on your router. It only affects your router. You can't control what someone else does or what some intermediate server does.

The quote you pasted is a big assumption and leaves things out of the equation. On the face of it is sounds silly, but the person may be leaving out details that the layman wouldn't understand anyway.