Help understanding packet capture log entry ICMP upd port unreachable

mellowed

Hello! Networking newbie requesting help understanding the output of the packet capture log. I have a meta quest 3 that is trying, and failing, to establish communication with a game server. It is able to reach the game's nameserver at port 5058. But that is about as far as it gets. The game's main servers are at ports 5055 and 5056, but I don't see any log entries for those ports. I get this error after it connects to the game's name server at port 5058:

The quest 3 is at 192.168.1.153
The game server is at 216.120.180.23

16:57:06.462754 IP 192.168.1.153.32886 > 216.120.180.23.5058: UDP, length 56
16:57:06.485653 IP 216.120.180.23.5058 > 192.168.1.153.32886: UDP, length 76
16:57:06.502486 IP 192.168.1.153.32886 > 216.120.180.23.5058: UDP, length 85
16:57:06.524839 IP 216.120.180.23.5058 > 192.168.1.153.32886: UDP, length 47
16:57:06.545155 IP 192.168.1.153.32886 > 216.120.180.23.5058: UDP, length 159
16:57:06.566665 IP 216.120.180.23.5058 > 192.168.1.153.32886: UDP, length 32
16:57:06.596237 IP 216.120.180.23.5058 > 192.168.1.153.32886: UDP, length 150
16:57:06.648604 IP 192.168.1.153.32886 > 216.120.180.23.5058: UDP, length 62
16:57:06.674133 IP 216.120.180.23.5058 > 192.168.1.153.32886: UDP, length 78
16:57:06.678684 IP 192.168.1.153.32886 > 216.120.180.23.5058: UDP, length 44
16:57:06.700142 IP 216.120.180.23.5058 > 192.168.1.153.32886: UDP, length 32
16:57:06.703454 IP 192.168.1.153 > 216.120.180.23: ICMP 192.168.1.153 udp port 32886 unreachable, length 68

It's that last line that I'm not understanding. Is it saying that the game server is trying to ping my quest 3 and failing? Is there a firewall rule I can build that will allow this?

thanks!

johnpoz

@mellowed that icmp unreachable is not a pfsense thing, that is that box 1.153 sending that..

stephenw10

And it's not ping. ICMP can be a number of things. Here your client device is replying to the server that the port is no longer available. Since it was using that port it appears the client has closed the connection before the server expected it to.

johnpoz

Yup what @stephenw10 says, with udp there is not tcp handshake, and no fin and fin,ack closing of the connection.. so for whatever reason the 1.153 stopped answering on that port.. And send the 216.x guy hey that port isn't reachable..

mellowed

Alrighty! Thank you so much for the explanations... and for writing it in a way I can understand. That message makes sense now. I really appreciate everyone's help!