Totally Off Topic - Windows XP firewall - port forwarding + reverse port forwarding

Nothing to do with Hercules / VM, but since there are some very smart
people here, I'm wondering if any of you are knowledgeable about TCPIP
/ UDP  port forwarding + reverse port forwarding, specifically on Win
XP.

The issue we finally solved from the following link, was how to get a
game / simulation (Live for Speed), to allow a multiplayer host to be
*started* from behind a firewall / on a private network.

The interesting thing was that if I started the multiplayer host
(which connects to Live for Speed's central server),  then my buddy
*WAS* able to connect to my "host" (via the LFS's servers).

But when he created a host (which the LFS server apparently was able
to do ... as I *was* able to *find* his host name on the central
server  (and NOT receive a "host not found" (as I would get if I typed
in a non-existing host name), I would then receive a "connect error".
Apparently because the "reverse port forwarding" was not in place.

From googling "linux / windows reverse port forwarding  / port
forwarding", it seems that the windows firewall "unblock" dialog only
creates a *port forwarding*  "path", but not a "reverse port
forwarding path".

I would guess that this all boils down to socket API calls / routing
software internals.   I'm somewhat (a little knowledge is a dangerous
thing ;)) familiar with all of the concepts, it's the port forwarding
/ reverse port forwarding "guts", that I'm trying to understand, and
where it fits into the OSI network layer model,  where it gets
connected to XP's  internals.

Any hints tips / links / info greatly appreciated.

Mike
--------------
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com...1-1056226.html

The magic keywords "reverse port forwarding" led me to the article.

"Configuring Server Publishing" and "Creating new Service Definitions"
are the Microsoft terms for "reverse port forwarding"