Hello,
does anyone know the actual differences and be able to provide a reliable pro/cons analysis between using the connection type Direct or Relay when consuming content externally/remotely?
In order to make the right decision, it would be very useful having/deriving a factual analysis (not speculations please) of different typical use cases and how they will run against the two different types of connection.
Typical cases that come to mind would be file transfer and video/music/photo streaming (you are all free to add and discuss others).
It would be extremely beneficial if @WDStaff community members would also contribute to this discussion.
My Cloud supports Port Forward, Proxy Relay and Local Area Network connection types.
Connection Type
Connection Type
Direct
Port Forward
Relay
Proxy Relay
Local
Local Area Network
Direct - Port Forward Connection
The direct connection to the Cloud Services is established whenever the my Cloud is powered on and UPnP is supported and not limited on the network. When direct connection cannot be made, My Cloud will default to the relay connection type.
Relay - Proxy Relay Connection
The relay connection to the Cloud Services is establish whenever the My Cloud is powered on and a direct port forward connection cannot be established. Relay connections will generally occur when the My Cloud is:
connected to a router that does not support UPnP
connected to a router that has UPnP disabled or not functioning correctly
connected to a router that limits UPnP Port Forwarding to a single device
connected to a router that is Double NAT (behind a second IP address severing router)
web and mobile app clients are on another remote network
router has DNS Rebinding enabled, or not resolving local Domain Names
Local - Local Area Network Connection
The local connection type is established between the My Cloud OS 5, Client Web or Mobile App anytime both are attached to the same Local Area Network (router). The local connection is establish regardless of proxy or port forward connection status.
Hi @Keerti_01,
and thanks for your reply, it is really appreciated.
Based on your comments I understand that my router’s (Asus RT-AX92U) UPnP capabilities seems to be limited as My Cloud defaults always to relay connection type.
Therefore I would need to manually configure the opening of ports to allow a direct connection.
Hence my questions:
Do I need to configure port fowarding both on the router and on the My Cloud device (My Cloud EX2 Ultra, Under settings->Network->Port Forwarding)? I am asking you this since I have other devices in my network that are already using Port Forwarding but the port configuration happens only in the router.
Which ports exactly do I need to configure/open and eventually in which ones in which device (router and/or My Cloud device)? I am asking you this based on the information reported in this WD KB item (My Cloud OS 5: Port Usage and Assignments - Subject 1: My Cloud Ports) and this other item (My Cloud OS 5: Port Usage and Assignments - Subject 3: Router Port Scan and UPnP Results).
I am sure that answering to these questions would definitely clarify the matter for me and the rest of the community.
