Alright. id first like to thank you for your time in reading this. i need help so bad, and i cant tell you how much i appreciate this.

I want to port forward, and i think theres a big step im missing, which im surprised isnt covered by port-forward.com.

forwarding specific ports is easy enough, but it says yuou need a static ip address. this is where my confusion kicks in. i realize that your ISP provides you with an ip, and your router provides you with anbother ip. i also realize that the one from the router needs to eb static in order to port forward to it.

but what about DNS servers?

i followed the instructions, and everything was fine, but when i used ipconfig in the command box, my dns server things were th same as my ip? this didnt work when i inputted the information into the internet protocol properties box. my internet didnt work anymore

portforward.com said i could call my ISP about getting a DNS server, because they "answer these questions all the time".

then i fidn out getting my DNS number would require a static ip.

which requires BIG MONEY

so....does everyone who has.........basically, jsut...properly configured internet, and a portforwarded router pay big money every month?

or can i do this with a dynamic IP that doesnt cost as much?

is there something i dont understand?

no, you don't NEED a static IP, just watch it and make sure you know when it changes. my friend has cable with dynamic IP and he went 3 months without needing to reset his modem or router and kept the same IP the whole time.

Yeah, no need for static IPs or anything like that. Just use a service like dyndns, no-ip or the like (it will "follow" your IP). There are clients that will automatically update it for you (some routers have this built-in too). It's easier to remember (words) than an IP too.

thnx guys!

To port forward don't worry about your external IP being static, it just your internal IP staying the same that matters. As then the rules would not be correct.