NAT loopback is disabled by default on most routers, and without it the Lan machines cannon connect to each other by public IP.thul wrote:The situation describes is exactly how it is yes. Unfortunately we have 0 control over the router and we have no idea what kind of router it is either.
By the way, I think you can fool the system by rerouting IPs via hosts file on windows PCs.
For example lets assume that:
Server IP 1.1.1.1
Clients A external IP 2.2.2.2:34197
Clients B external IP 2.2.2.2:34198
Clients A LAN IP 192.168.0.1
Clients B LAN IP 192.168.0.2
Try to add the following to hosts file of client A
2.2.2.2 192.168.0.2
and the following on hosts of client B
2.2.2.2 192.168.0.1
This way when Client A tries to connect to 2.2.2.2:34198 - it will in reality connect to 192.168.0.2 even without NAT loopback.