OK - this feature sounds like just what I need! Firstly, how do I turn on "MC in Library Server mode?"
Two things in Tools > Options:
1. Options > Media Network: Check the Use Media Network box to enable the Library Server. You can generate your key here, and send yourself an "invite" email that includes the web addresses I mentioned above. Click on the little ... button next to the Access Key for options.
2. Options > Startup: Set Windows Startup to either
Media Server or
Media Server and Media Center (depending on if you want MC to auto-start in "background" Library Server only mode, or in full-blown MC is running mode automatically at boot).
Next I'm assuming I have to spend about $30 for PFConfig which will allow me to port forward?
Nah. That's just the lazy way.
This procedure is common for all sorts of applications that can act as servers.
You just need to figure out what kind of Router you have there, and then look that router up on their website to find instructions on how to get into the router's admin interface and set the settings. The vast majority of home-consumer targeted routers out there run a little web server for administration, so you just visit this special web site that only works from inside your network, log in, and set the proper settings.
So, for example, if you happened to have the venerable Linksys WRT54GL wifi router, you'd find this page here:
http://portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/Linksys/WRT54GL/Now, MC isn't listed in their list, but it doesn't matter... You only need to forward one TCP port for MC, so you can just use any of the application guides that forward a single TCP port and replace the port number they suggest with the one MC needs. The HTTP example is probably a good one to use if they have one written up for your router, but really anything will do if it changes one TCP port.
MC uses TCP port 52199 by default (I believe), but you can find yours in that same Options > Media Network dialog, under Advanced.
You will probably also need to (depending on the capabilities of your particular router) set your server to always get the same IP address from your router (assign it a static IP address). Usually the way it works is that you set up Port Forwarding to do essentially this logic:
If the Router receives traffic it doesn't know about from the Internet on TCP Port 52199, then instead of ignoring/blocking it (the default behavior of a NAT firewall) then instead send it to this particular machine inside the network that is listening for traffic on that port (the computer running MC).But the problem is that if your router only lets you set the machine it will be forwarded to by an IP address (192.168.0.16, for example) then that will work as long as the IP of your server doesn't ever change. This shouldn't happen normally, but if you shut your server down (or your network goes down or your power goes out) for an extended period, then your computer can get a different address when it boots back up and asks the router for one.
The guide there will probably cover setting the server with a Static IP (if needed), but if not, then you can often do this right from on your server machine without setting anything on the router itself.
Go to the Control Panel (the real one, not the PC Settings thing if you happen to be on Windows
, and open:
Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections
Then, follow these instructions:
http://blog.mclaughlinsoftware.com/2009/11/26/windows-7-static-ip/Make sure you set the static IP to be in the same "range" as the ones your router would give out anyway. So, if your router is at 192.168.0.1, then you probably want to set the computer to be something in the range 192.168.0.2 - 192.168.0.255, set the Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0 (almost certainly) and the Default Gateway to the router's address (192.168.0.1).
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