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TCPIP connection in c# and data sending/receiving in another threads

I have a problem with my TCPIP connection Form programm.
I have a code, where I'm trying to send and receive some data from server.
The main problem of my app is how to reconcile some threads:
myListenThread - to listening data from server
myReadStreamThread - to read data from server
System.Threading.Thread - main thread eg. to write data to server
captureThread - to do another things like capturing images from camera
Part of my code:
private void buttonConnect_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
try
{
Connect();
Connected = true;
this.myListenThread = new Thread(new ThreadStart(Listen));
this.myListenThread.Start();
}
catch
{
MessageBox.Show("Invalid host! Try again.");
}
}
private void Listen()
{
this.myReadStreamThread = new Thread(new ThreadStart(ReadStream));
this.myReadStreamThread.Start();
while (Connected)
{
if (!myReadClient.Connected)
{
Connect();
}
}
}
private void Connect()
{
IPAddress IP = IPAddress.Parse(textboxIP.Text);
int PORT = Convert.ToInt32(textboxPORT.Text);
this.myReadClient = new TcpClient();
this.myReadClient.Connect(IP, PORT);//SOMETIMES HERE'S AN ERROR
this.myStream = this.myReadClient.GetStream();
Properties.Settings.Default.IP = Convert.ToString(IP);
Properties.Settings.Default.PORT = Convert.ToString(PORT);
Properties.Settings.Default.Save();
}
private void ReadStream()
{
while (true)
{
try
{
this.myReadBuffer = new byte[this.myReadClient.ReceiveBufferSize];
this.myBufferSize = myStream.Read(myReadBuffer, 0, this.myReadClient.ReceiveBufferSize);
if (myBufferSize != 0)
{
this.myString = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(myReadBuffer);
//myDelegate myDel;
//myDel = new myDelegate(Print);
//richtextboxRead.Invoke(myDel);
}
}
catch
{
break;
}
}
}
All is working correct when I'm connecting to server, but when I want to send some string the problem appears because of threads.
I decided to send string, by clicking Button3 and waiting until I receive string "1" from server using while loop:
private void button3_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.captureThread = new Thread(new ThreadStart(() => this.newGame()));
this.captureThread.Start();
}
private bool newGame()
{
string command = "12345abc";
if (Connected)
{
WriteStream(command);
}
while (myBufferSize == 0 && myString !="1") { }
Thread.Sleep(2000);
...//doing other things
}
private void WriteStream(string command)
{
Connect();
this.myWriteBuffer = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(command);
this.myStream.Write(this.myWriteBuffer, 0, command.Length);
}
And the problem with connection and data send/receive problem appears, when it should write my string "command" - it doesn't react. MyBufferSize is always 0 and myString is always null. Sometimes an Error about connection appears when I click Button3 (assigned in code). I think it is because in captureThread I can't see any data from another threads. How to solve it?

Chat service application

I am making a chat service for a game,
I am using a TCP listener an client for the account information, some sort of login service. I'm wondering if i can keep the socked the client connected to the server with, to check if he is still online, and keep sending him messages if he has new messages.
I already tried making a list of sockets for the login queue, but it disconnected the previous socket to to server as soon as i accepted a new socket.
byte[] usernameByte = new byte[100];
int usernameRecieved = s.Receive(usernameByte);
//guiController.setText(System.DateTime.Now + " Recieved Login...");
byte[] passByte = new byte[100];
int passRecieved = s.Receive(passByte);
//guiController.setText(System.DateTime.Now + " Recieved Password...");
string username = "";
string password = "";
for (int i = 0; i < usernameRecieved; i++)
username += (Convert.ToChar(usernameByte[i]));
for (int i = 0; i < passRecieved; i++)
password += (Convert.ToChar(passByte[i]));
if (DomainController.getInstance().checkAccount(username, password))
{
ASCIIEncoding asen = new ASCIIEncoding();
s.Send(asen.GetBytes("true"));
s.Send(asen.GetBytes("U are succesfully logged in, press enter to continue"));
guiController.setText(serverName,System.DateTime.Now+"");
guiController.setText(serverName, "Sent Acknowledgement - Logged in");
}
else
{
ASCIIEncoding asen = new ASCIIEncoding();
s.Send(asen.GetBytes("false"));
s.Send(asen.GetBytes("U are NOT logged in, press enter to continue"));
guiController.setText(serverName, System.DateTime.Now + "");
guiController.setText(serverName, "\nSent Acknowledgement - Not logged in");
}
This is the code i currently use to check the account information the user send me. Right after i send this the user dropd the connection and i move on to the next one.
I have tried making 1 list of seperate sockets and processing them one by one, but that failed because the previous socket's connection dropped, even tho it were 2 different machines that tried to connect.
Does anyone have a sollution / a way to save sockets, that I can use to make the program keep all the connections alive? so i can send a message from user 1 to user 2, and just use the socket they connected with? or do i need to add an id every time they make a connection?
EDIT
The client Code: (this is just a test client)
while (true)
{
TcpClient tcpclnt = new TcpClient();
Console.WriteLine("Connecting.....");
tcpclnt.Connect("xx.xxx.xxx.xx", 26862);
// use the ipaddress as in the server program
while(!(checkResponse(tcpclnt.GetStream())))
{
Thread.Sleep(1000);
}
Console.WriteLine("Connected");
Console.Write("Enter the string to be transmitted : ");
String str = Console.ReadLine();
if (str == "")
{
str = " ";
}
Stream stm = tcpclnt.GetStream();
ASCIIEncoding asen = new ASCIIEncoding();
byte[] ba = asen.GetBytes(str);
Console.WriteLine("Transmitting.....");
stm.Write(ba, 0, ba.Length);
Console.Write("Enter the string to be transmitted : ");
String str2 = Console.ReadLine();
if (str2 == "")
{
str2 = " ";
}
Stream stm2 = tcpclnt.GetStream();
ASCIIEncoding asen2 = new ASCIIEncoding();
byte[] ba2 = asen2.GetBytes(str2);
Console.WriteLine("Transmitting.....");
stm.Write(ba2, 0, ba2.Length);
if (str == "false")
{
blijvenWerken = false;
}
byte[] bb = new byte[100];
int k = stm.Read(bb, 0, 100);
for (int i = 0; i < k; i++)
Console.Write(Convert.ToChar(bb[i]));
byte[] bb2 = new byte[100];
int k2 = stm.Read(bb2, 0, 100);
Console.Write("\n");
for (int i = 0; i < k2; i++)
Console.Write(Convert.ToChar(bb2[i]));
Console.WriteLine("\n");
tcpclnt.Close();
Thread.Sleep(1000);
}
Server getting the sockets:
This bit of code is on the loginserver, its because i can only accept 1 socket every time to keep the connection alive, that i put queueCount on a maximum of 1.
I want to be able to make a list of Sockets that i accepted to add to a User account.
while (loginServerOn)
{
if (queueCount < 1)
{
if (loginServer.getLoginListener().Pending())
{
loginQueue.Add(loginServer.getSocket());
ASCIIEncoding asen = new ASCIIEncoding();
Socket s = loginQueue.First();
try
{
s.Send(asen.GetBytes("true"));
queueCount++;
}
catch
{
loginQueue.Remove(s);
}
}
}
}
The function that returns the accepted socket.
public Socket getSocket()
{
return myList.AcceptSocket();
}
EDIT: Essence of the question
I want to add the socked or client recieved to my Account object, so every connection has an Account its linked to, when i want to send a message to a certain account, it should send a message to the socked or client bound to that account, can you help/show me how i can achieve this?

This is still c# and sockets but my approach is different to yours.
I went with the concept of a "connectedCleint" which is similar in purpose to what you've called an account.
I have a class called ServerTerminal which is responsible for accepting and top level management of socket connections. In this i've got:
public Dictionary<long, ConnectedClient> DictConnectedClients =
new Dictionary<long, ConnectedClient>();
So this is my list of connected clients indexed by the sockethandle.
To accept connections i've got a routine:
public void StartListen(int port)
{
socketClosed = false;
IPEndPoint ipLocal = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Any, port);
listenSocket = new Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork,
SocketType.Stream, ProtocolType.Tcp);
//bind to local IP Address...
//if ip address is allready being used write to log
try
{
listenSocket.Bind(ipLocal);
}
catch (Exception excpt)
{
// Deal with this.. write your own log code here ?
socketClosed = true;
return;
}
//start listening...
listenSocket.Listen(100); // Max 100 connections for my app
// create the call back for any client connections...
listenSocket.BeginAccept(new AsyncCallback(OnClientConnection), null);
}
So when a client connects it then fires off:
private void OnClientConnection(IAsyncResult asyn)
{
if (socketClosed)
{
return;
}
try
{
Socket clientSocket = listenSocket.EndAccept(asyn);
ConnectedClient connectedClient = new ConnectedClient(clientSocket, this, _ServerTerminalReceiveMode);
//connectedClient.MessageReceived += OnMessageReceived;
connectedClient.Disconnected += OnDisconnection;
connectedClient.dbMessageReceived += OndbMessageReceived;
connectedClient.ccSocketFaulted += ccSocketFaulted;
connectedClient.StartListening();
long key = clientSocket.Handle.ToInt64();
if (DictConnectedClients.ContainsKey(connectedClient.SocketHandleInt64))
{
// Already here - use your own error reporting..
}
lock (DictConnectedClients)
{
DictConnectedClients[key] = connectedClient;
}
// create the call back for any client connections...
listenSocket.BeginAccept(new AsyncCallback(OnClientConnection), null);
}
catch (ObjectDisposedException excpt)
{
// Your own code here..
}
catch (Exception excpt)
{
// Your own code here...
}
}
The crucial part of this for you is:
// create the call back for any client connections...
listenSocket.BeginAccept(new AsyncCallback(OnClientConnection), null);
This sets up the serverterminal to receive new connections.
Edit:
Cut down version of my connectedclient:
public class ConnectedClient
{
private Socket mySocket;
private SocketIO mySocketIO;
private long _mySocketHandleInt64 = 0;
// These events are pass through; ConnectedClient offers them but really
// they are from SocketIO
public event TCPTerminal_ConnectDel Connected
{
add
{
mySocketIO.Connected += value;
}
remove
{
mySocketIO.Connected -= value;
}
}
public event TCPTerminal_DisconnectDel Disconnected
{
add
{
mySocketIO.Disconnected += value;
}
remove
{
mySocketIO.Disconnected -= value;
}
}
// Own Events
public event TCPTerminal_TxMessagePublished TxMessageReceived;
public delegate void SocketFaulted(ConnectedClient cc);
public event SocketFaulted ccSocketFaulted;
private void OnTxMessageReceived(Socket socket, TxMessage myTxMessage)
{
// process your message
}
private void OnMessageSent(int MessageNumber, int MessageType)
{
// successful send, do what you want..
}
public ConnectedClient(Socket clientSocket, ServerTerminal ParentST)
{
Init(clientSocket, ParentST, ReceiveMode.Handler);
}
public ConnectedClient(Socket clientSocket, ServerTerminal ParentST, ReceiveMode RecMode)
{
Init(clientSocket, ParentST, RecMode);
}
private void Init(Socket clientSocket, ServerTerminal ParentST, ReceiveMode RecMode)
{
ParentServerTerminal = ParentST;
_myReceiveMode = RecMode;
_FirstConnected = DateTime.Now;
mySocket = clientSocket;
_mySocketHandleInt64 = mySocket.Handle.ToInt64();
mySocketIO = new SocketIO(clientSocket, RecMode);
// Register for events
mySocketIO.TxMessageReceived += OnTxMessageReceived;
mySocketIO.MessageSent += OnMessageSent;
mySocketIO.dbMessageReceived += OndbMessageReceived;
}
public void StartListening()
{
mySocketIO.StartReceiving();
}
public void Close()
{
if (mySocketIO != null)
{
mySocketIO.Close();
mySocketIO = null;
}
try
{
mySocket.Close();
}
catch
{
// We're closing.. don't worry about it
}
}
public void SendMessage(int MessageNumber, int MessageType, string Message)
{
if (mySocket != null && mySocketIO != null)
{
try
{
mySocketIO.SendMessage(MessageNumber, MessageType, Message);
}
catch
{
// mySocketIO disposed inbetween check and call
}
}
else
{
// Raise socket faulted event
if (ccSocketFaulted != null)
ccSocketFaulted(this);
}
}
}
}
Some useful links:
This is where I started:
http://vadmyst.blogspot.com.au/2008/01/how-to-transfer-fixed-sized-data-with.html
http://vadmyst.blogspot.com.au/2008/03/part-2-how-to-transfer-fixed-sized-data.html
And..
C# Sockets and Multithreading
Cause a connected socket to accept new messages right after .BeginReceive?
http://nitoprograms.blogspot.com.au/2009/04/tcpip-net-sockets-faq.html
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/83102/C-SocketAsyncEventArgs-High-Performance-Socket-Cod
I can't post my entire solution just now; there is a flaw in my server code I need to debug; plus there are parts which my employer may not want published. But i based my code on what Vadym had for variable length messages.

When a server gets ready to accept TCP connections, it creates a new TCP socket, Bind() it to a port and uses the Listen() method. When a connection request comes in, the Listen() method returns a new socket that the server and client use for communication. The server and client can pass data back and forth using Send() and Receive() at this point. If the client disconnects, the server's Receive() terminates with 0 bytes of data.
If you want to wait for another connection request once you've accepted the first connection (i.e., while you are interacting with the first client) this can be done. At this point, you'll need to use something like threads or asynchronous methods so you can handle more than one connection. Basically, you will be able to Accept() connection requests from your listening socket.
Mike

UDP Connection Between Client and Server

Here is the server code of my program this is working, but after it sends data it gets stuck. I need it to be refreshed and ready for sending data again.
Server code:
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
try {
String text = textBox1.Text;
UdpClient udpc = new UdpClient(text,8899);
IPEndPoint ep = null;
while (true) {
MessageBox.Show("Name: ");
string name = textBox2.Text;
if (name == "") break;
byte[] sdata = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(name);
udpc.Send(sdata, sdata.Length);
if (udpc.Receive(ref ep)==null) {
MessageBox.Show("Host not found");
} else {
byte[] rdata = udpc.Receive(ref ep);
string job = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(rdata);
MessageBox.Show(job);
}
}
} catch {
MessageBox.Show("Error Restarting");
}
Client code:
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
try {
UdpClient subscriber = new UdpClient(8899);
IPAddress addr = IPAddress.Parse("127.0.0.2");
subscriber.JoinMulticastGroup(addr);
IPEndPoint ep = null;
for (int i = 0; i < 1; i++) {
byte[] pdata = subscriber.Receive(ref ep);
string strdata = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(pdata);
MessageBox.Show(strdata);
textBox1.Text = strdata;
pass = strdata;
}
subscriber.DropMulticastGroup(addr);
} catch {
Refresh();
MessageBox.Show("Not Found");
}
}
The Server can send data to one client . I want to send one client at a time. But after sending the data, the server gets stuck.
I need it do refresh and send data again for a client.

If I understood your code, from the server your sending data, then waiting for an answer. In the client, your just getting the data, but not sending anything back. And unless you provide timeout to the socket, it will wait indefinitely until something arrives.

You shouldn't use udpc.Receive() in the main UI thread (inside button1_Click). If you do, your aplication will hang until something arrives. Using a timeout isn't a solution either. The application will just hang until the timeout expires. Instead You must use a multiple threads. You can do so by using BeginReceive instead of Receive or by explicitly creating a new thread and using Receive there. If you google for "asynchronous udp sockets in c#" or something like that, then you will find plenty of examples on how to set it up correctly.

The udpc.Receive() Method on your server side, will Block Until a datagram receive from client.
UDP in not reliable. it means that server doesnt expect any ACK from other side. so you can simply remove this part of code. or if you need to ensure message arrival, run a separate thread for each client as follow:
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
System.Threading.Thread Server_thread = new Thread(My_Send_Function);
Server_thread .Start();
}
private void My_Send_Function() {
try {
String text = textBox1.Text;
UdpClient udpc = new UdpClient(text,8899);
IPEndPoint ep = null;
while (true) {
MessageBox.Show("Name: ");
string name = textBox2.Text;
if (name == "") break;
byte[] sdata = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(name);
udpc.Send(sdata, sdata.Length);
if (udpc.Receive(ref ep)==null) {
MessageBox.Show("Host not found");
} else {
byte[] rdata = udpc.Receive(ref ep);
string job = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(rdata);
MessageBox.Show(job);
}
}
} catch {
MessageBox.Show("Error Restarting");
}
}

How do I get all servers' IP which are listening on specific port LAN?

How do I get all servers IP which are listening on specific port (Ex:9090) in LAN
I have already read some basics information about multicast,anycast ,unicast and broadcast and it seems like broadcast is the one meant for my application.
I am thinking of two ideas .. Use TCP protocol to Connect to all IP Addresses (192.168.1.1-254) in parallel on port 9090 and set a little time period to the connection timeout. just to check if there's any responce. (but it doesn't seem like a good idea)Use UDP protocol and broadcast a message like "hello" and check for response then get all IP Addresses which respond.
So which idea should I pick, are there better ideas to do it?
I would also like to know if my broadcast-ed message is received to the server and how to get the IP address of it.

I've done it with TCP to search all server that is listening on a specific port.
Its not an idle solution, but it worked for me.
I've created a userControl with a public function Initialize to pass the port that i want to scan for servers.
public ServerDiscovery()
{
InitializeComponent();
// statusLabel.Image = imageState.Images[2];
timer.Elapsed += timer_tick;
}
int port = 0;
bool busy = false; // to tell that the function is busy with scanning.
public void Initialize(int port)
{
this.port = port;
}
System.Timers.Timer timer = new System.Timers.Timer(5000);
List<SocketAsyncEventArgs> list = new List<SocketAsyncEventArgs>();
// this list to hold all sockets that created to connect to IP .. to DISPOSE it later
HashSet<string> usedIP = new HashSet<string>();
//usedIP will be explained later.
public IPEndPoint getAddress()
{ //this function to get the IPEndPoint of the selected server from listview.
if (listServer.SelectedItems.Count > 0)
{
if (listServer.SelectedItems[0].ImageIndex == 0)
{
ListViewItem item = listServer.SelectedItems[0];
IPEndPoint ep = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(item.SubItems[1].Text), port);
return ep;
}
}
return null;
}
public void Refresh() //to scan for servers
{
if (!busy)
{
usedIP.Clear();
listServer.Items.Clear();
// statusLabel.Text = "Scanning for servers.";
// statusLabel.Image = Image.FromFile("loading.gif");
// btnRefresh.Enabled = false;
busy = true;
timer.Start();
IPAddress[] IpA = Dns.GetHostByName(Dns.GetHostName()).AddressList;
for (int j = 0; j < IpA.Length ; j++)
{
if (IpA[j].AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork) // to make sure it's an IPV4
{
string scanIP = IpA[j].ToString().Substring(0, IpA[j].ToString().LastIndexOf(".")) + ".";
if (!usedIP.Contains(scanIP))
//usedIP is a hashset that holds the first 3 parts on an ip (ex:"192.168.1." from "192.168.1.30") i used this to avoid scanning the same ip addresses more than once .. like if i had a wireless network ip ("192.168.1.5") and an Ethernet Network ip ("192.168.1.5"). so with that hashset it will scan once.
{
usedIP.Add(scanIP);
Parallel.For(1, 255, i =>
{
Scan(scanIP + i);
});
}
}
}
}
}
private void Scan(string ipAdd)
{
Socket s = new Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork, SocketType.Stream, ProtocolType.Tcp);
SocketAsyncEventArgs e = new SocketAsyncEventArgs();
e.RemoteEndPoint = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(ipAdd), port);
e.UserToken = s;
e.Completed += new EventHandler<SocketAsyncEventArgs>(e_Completed);
list.Add(e); // add the created socket to a list to dispose when time is up.
s.ConnectAsync(e);
}
private void e_Completed(object sender, SocketAsyncEventArgs e)
{
if (e.ConnectSocket != null) //if there's a responce from the server [e.ConnectSocket] will not be equal null.
{
StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(new NetworkStream(e.ConnectSocket));
ListViewItem item = new ListViewItem();
string[] cmd = sr.ReadLine().Split('<'); in my server constructor this line will receive a string like "PC_NAME<Available" ..
item.Text = cmd[0];
item.SubItems.Add(((IPEndPoint)e.RemoteEndPoint).Address.ToString());
item.SubItems.Add(cmd[1]);
if (cmd[1] == "Busy")
item.ImageIndex = 1;
else
item.ImageIndex = 0;
AddServer(item);
list.Remove(e); //active server should be remove from the list that holds the sockets and disposed.. because there's no need to keep connection after showing that this server is active.
((Socket)e.UserToken).Dispose();
}
}
delegate void AddItem(ListViewItem item);
private void AddServer(ListViewItem item)
{
if (InvokeRequired)
{
Invoke(new AddItem(AddServer), item); //just to add an item from a background thread.
return;
}
listServer.Items.Add(item);
}
private void timer_tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
busy = false; //when time's up .. set busy to false so we can scan again
timer.Stop();
foreach (var s in list) //dispose all sockets that's trying to connect and waiting for a response
{
try
{
((Socket)s.UserToken).Dispose();
}
catch { }
}
//this.Invoke((MethodInvoker)delegate // for design
// {
// btnRefresh.Enabled = true;
// btnRefresh.BorderStyle = Border3DStyle.Raised;
// statusLabel.Text = "Ready.";
// statusLabel.Image = imageState.Images[2];
// });
}
private void btnRefresh_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// btnRefresh.BorderStyle = Border3DStyle.Sunken;
Refresh();
}
// private void listServer_KeyUp(object sender, KeyEventArgs e)
// {
// if (e.KeyCode == Keys.F5)
// {
// btnRefresh_Click(sender, (EventArgs)e);
// }
// }
}
Again this's not an ideal solution that works on any case but it worked fine with me.

Unable to connect to other instances of the same program via TCP

I know this might have been asked a thousand times before, but I can't seem to find any specific information about my case.
I have a C# client program that has to connect to other instances of the client over a LAN. To connect one client to another, I use a TcpListener/TcpClient aproach. Both instances have a listener and are able to create a new client to connect/listen to one another (it is independant of which instance started the connection).
To create the listener, I use the following bit of code:
// In the constructor:
listener = new TcpListener(IPAddress.Any, 32842);
listenThread = new Thread((ThreadStart)ListenForConnections);
listenThread.Name = "ListenThread";
listenThread.IsBackground = true;
listenThread.Start();
// Listening for connections:
private void ListenForConnections()
{
listener.Start();
Console.WriteLine("Started listening for connections");
for (; ; )
{
if (listener.Pending())
{
using (TcpClient client = listener.AcceptTcpClient())
{
// My own layer over the TcpClient.
AsyncTCPClient other = new AsyncTCPClient(client);
Console.WriteLine("Connection from " + client.Client.RemoteEndPoint);
other.Received += DataReceived;
other.Exception += ExceptionOccurred;
connections.Add("Player", other);
other.Start();
}
}
else
{
Thread.Sleep(5);
}
}
}
To create and connect to another client, I use the following bit of code:
public void Connect(IPEndPoint other)
{
if (socket == null)
{
socket = new TcpClient(AddressFamily.InterNetwork);
socket.Client.ReceiveBufferSize = 2 * 1024 * 1024;
}
// Should force-close the socket after 5 seconds if it can't be closed automatically.
socket.LingerState = new LingerOption(true, 5);
socket.BeginConnect(other.Address, other.Port, ConnectionCallback, other);
IsConnecting = true;
}
The ConnectionCallback given as a parameter to BeginConnect looks like this:
private void ConnectionCallback(IAsyncResult result)
{
IsConnecting = false;
IsConnected = socket.Connected;
if (IsConnected)
{
IPEndPoint connectedTo = (IPEndPoint)result.AsyncState;
stream = socket.GetStream();
if (Connected != null)
{
Connected(this, null);
}
}
else
{
if (Exception != null)
{
RaiseException(new Exception("Unable to connect to host"));
}
}
}
However, everytime I get to the callback, the TcpClient failed to connect to the other instance and the Exception event is thrown. Now what I've found while searching around the internet (Google) is that it might have something to do with a firewall on either sides of the connection. But I've tested it with all firewalls off, so this can't be that.

I don't see Socket.EndConnect() being called in the callback.
See this in MSDN:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.net.sockets.socket.endconnect.aspx