The best replacement for port forwarding is port triggering.

The best alternatives to port forwarding are rated as following:
★★★★★  port triggering
★★★  dmz
★★★  virtual server
★★  upnp
★★  nat
★★  port range forwarding
★  vpn
★  triggering
★  port mapping
★  qos
★  reverse proxy
★  hamachi
  opening port
  static nat
  static route
  port mirroring
  virtual servers
  opening a port
  dmz xbox live
  1 to 1 nat
  port filtering
  tunneling
  port trigger

Your alternative for port forwarding is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about port forwarding, one probably shouldn't forget about ssh.

Other search terms related to port forwarding and their ratings are:
★★★★★ ssh
★★ nat
★★ vpn
★ hamachi
★ upnp
★ utorrent
access
nat cisco
You have in mind a companion for port forwarding and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of port forwarding in all years. Click on graph for more.
port forwarding
port triggering
dmz