What is LowID and HighID?
Each client is assigned an ID (Identification) number which is unique and will distinguish the client from all other clients on the server. If this ID is below 16777216 (16 million) then you have a LowID and anything over is a HighID. Whether your client receives a high or low ID will depend on your client and whether or not the Client TCP port is open. Client TCP Port is an customisable option located in Preferences -> Connection. The default port is 4662 which is fine. If you understand what ED2K is, odds are you'll understand the chances that clients with LowIDs may be unable to connect to other clients with LowIDs which reduces transfer rates significantly. This is the reason why having port 4662 TCP (or the one set in Preferences) is so important. Some of the larger servers refuse clients with LowIDs and disallow connections since LowID clients have data transfered through the server, rather than directly from the other client, which in turn adds more overhead for the server.
For clients with a HighID, their ID is the result of a mathematical operation with their IP which corresponds to A + 256*B + 256*256*C + 256*256*256*D, where the IP is A.B.C.D. Keep in mind that this ID has identification purposes as well. Apart from having an ID over or under 16777216, it does not matter if the ID is bigger or smaller. This means a client with an ID of 50000000 isn't any better than a client with an ID of 49999999. The only exception is at times servers are either incorrectly configured or are very busy and issue LowIDs to clients even though port 4662 TCP is open. These are rare exceptions but it can happen sometimes.
If you're unsure about having proper port settings, you can test your ports here.
Which ports do I have to configure in a firewall or router to run aMule?
aMule works even with no specific ports opened, but you won't get a HighID in this case. As mentioned above, to be given a HighID, port 4662 TCP (or the one set in the Preferences) must be listening (i.e. opened in your firewall and forwarded in your router).
Apart from that port, to have an optimal ED2K experience, two more ports should be enabled as well. First, the UDP port 4672 (which can also be changed to any other number in the Preferences) and secondly, the secondary UDP port which can't be set in the Preferences. This UDP port is your TCP port + 3 (e.g.: TCP=4662 then UDP=4665).
What does each port do?
Well, since most ports can be configured to be set to any other number, the defaults will be listed:
4662 TCP
Client to client transfers.
4665 UDP
Opened on client, used for global server searches and global source queries. This is always Client TCP port + 3.
4672 UDP
Extended eMule protocol, Queue Rating, File Reask Ping
4661 TCP
Opened on server. Allows connection to server.
4665 UDP
Opened on server. Allows asking for sources. It is always Server TCP port + 4.
4711 TCP
WebServer listening port.
4712 TCP
External Connection port. Used to communicate aMule with other applications such as aMule WebServer or aMuleCMD.
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