i just wanted to game with my friends using parsec and the isp support made me question the existence of tech support.
parsec needs a direct peer-to-peer connection between pcs to work. with cgnat parsec simply cant make that connection and throws error 6023/6024. and when u look at the error details the secondary codes -11002 and -11012 show up, which in the official parsec docs literally say that, cgnat blocks the connection.
i already knew that. so i grabbed my phone, called the isp and said it super directly. "hi, i wanna remove cgnat and get a fixed public ip pls".
the rep went silent for like 3 seconds and answered "what?".
i explained and she still understood nothing.
then the call dropped and i tried again.
another rep, another one who had no idea what cgnat was much less how to remove it.
thats when i gave up.
i wonder how these people get jobs at a telecom as customer support without knowing the bare minimum of networking. cgnat isnt hacker stuff, its a basic ip distribution technique that everyone who works with internet should have at least heard of. (T_T)
but im sure the isp hr prefers referrals or "commercial skills" instead of the obvious, technical knowledge.
what is cgnat
normally ur house has a unique ip on the internet. like an address. but isps got lazy giving an ip to each customer and invented cgnat. then several houses share the same ip.
to browse twitter it makes no difference. but to game online, do p2p, use parsec, or access ur own home from far away, it becomes a nightmare. its like living in a building where everyone shares the same mailbox. (T_T)
the solution that worked in 5 min
gave up on the isp right away. opened zerotier, created a network, sent the link to my friends, everyone joined and done. we were gaming like we were on the same local network.
zerotier is like a mesh vpn. it creates a virtual network between pcs and makes a direct tunnel between them. parsec sees it as if it were lan. because of encryption and encapsulation latency usually stays the same or a tiny bit higher than a direct connection, but sometimes zerotier finds a better route than the isp itself and then it even improves. depends on the case.
no need to configure router, no need to ask anything from the isp, no need for public ip. just install and put the network id. (⌐■_■)
zerotier has a free plan up to 25 devices. to play with friends its more than enough.
sometimes the easiest solution is simply to work around the problem instead of solving it. i could have spent 2 weeks fighting the isp, sending screenshots, waiting for a home technician. or i could install a program and be happy.
i chose to be happy~
ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ