I use SKYPE with a handful of family and old pals. Just plain, 'install', make my setting choices and IT WORKS.

I am doing some experimenting with cascading routers when it dawned on me...HOW DOES AN INCOMING SKYPE CALL GET THROUGH MY ROUTER(s) ??? I know there are 'the more advanced' that dedicate ports in the router FOR Skype; I do not. So, incoming SKYPE packets are 'un-expected' and the router should dump them [according to my knowledge of the stuff]. But.... my SKYPE rings and I 'cure the World's problems' with old pals...

Anybody have info for me on this ??

That complicated, eh? I don't feel so bad 'not knowing' then !

It might be using your Browser settings or port 80

But how does it get IN to my Grey Box.... past the Router ????

I don't know for sure, but SKYPE is essentially a Peer to Peer service. With routers, when a program makes a successful OUTBOUND connection, that port is automatically opened for some period of time for an Inbound connection. As a P2P service, it is possible that SKYPE keeps an outbound connection open so any inbound connections are allowed.

WHOOHOO!!! I AM RIGHT!!!!

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/10/08/how_does_skype_get_through/

Fabulous! Thank you very much. I knew the SKYPE system was essentially that when you placed a call, 'Skype HQ' told the RECEIVER one was coming, RYRYRY... then when contact was established, SKYPE backed out of the arrangement and let the Peer to Peer go at it. I had HEARD of the Super-Node business...but didn't comprehend. According to the TWIT guys, assigning open router ports dedicated to SKYPE both speeds the UDP connection as well as improving 'quality'; can't say a thing about that. In all it's sort of like having the pantry food of grub...means not too much to ME, but Mrs.Bill makes GREAT use of the technical parts!!

It will be curious to see how my cascaded routers respond to SKYPE... [Still waiting for my second Gigabitter to show up]


[P.S. {Used to maintain mechanical teletypes} The shift from R to Y and back reverses every possible lever. If a machine will RYRYRY indefinitely, it is reliable...]

More...

http://blogs.skype.com/en/2010/12/skype_downtime_today.html

http://chris.pirillo.com/are-you-a-skype-supernode/