Setting Up A Server

[Biohazard]

I've read the tutorials on how to set up a server, and thought I had everything set up correctly, but it doesn't seem to work. When I launch the dedicated server, and start up Thievery, I can see my game under the LAN tab, but not the Internet tab.

I have two firewalls that may be blocking me, but I don't think this is the problem. I have a Lynksis router, which I have opened the ports 7777-7799. (I wasn't sure which ports exactly were the Thievery ones, so I opened all of them in this range.) And I have Zone Alarm running as well. But the same problem occurs even with Zone Alarm off so I don't think this is the case.

I have also been asked whether I checked the box to Advertise, and yes, I have. What can I do to get this to work? :? Thanks in advance for any help. :thumb:

[LaughingRat]

First off, you only need ports 7777 through 7782 open for the server. Closing off the rest will marginally improve your security while not affecting your server at all. Next, open port 27900. That's the master server query port. If the master server doesn't see the server, it doesn't matter if you have it set to advertise or not. Lastly, if you want to enable webadmin, open whatever port you have set for webadmin. The default is 80. Since that's the default port for IE, you probably already have it open, but if you've specified a custom port for webadmin, you'll need to open that port as well.

[Biohazard]

Hmmmmm. Already had 27900 opened up because that's the same as the UT port. Ok, I changed it to 7777-7782 and opened up 80. I'll give that a go!

[LaughingRat]

Hmmmmm. Already had 27900 opened up because that's the same as the UT port. Ok, I changed it to 7777-7782 and opened up 80. I'll give that a go!

If I'm understanding the way the master server works, it also takes a while before a new server shows up. The master server only updates its database of servers every hour oro two hours or something like that. Keep it running for half a day, and if it's still not showing, something else is the problem.

[Biohazard]

Hmmmmm. Already had 27900 opened up because that's the same as the UT port. Ok, I changed it to 7777-7782 and opened up 80. I'll give that a go!

If I'm understanding the way the master server works, it also takes a while before a new server shows up. The master server only updates its database of servers every hour oro two hours or something like that. Keep it running for half a day, and if it's still not showing, something else is the problem.

Yeah, it showed up eventually.

[LaughingRat]

Yeah, it showed up eventually.

Yep, saw it. Congrats!

[Biohazard]

I won't be able to continue to host it however. It's great for other people to be able to play, but I can't join without bogging down the server.

I called my ISP, and they informed me the type of connection I signed up for has excellent d/l speeds, and below average upload speeds. Guess I should have looked at that before getting it. Oh well. I guess I'll have to try to get Nemesis to put up his server again.

*Goes off to find Nem and beat him with The Wooden Stick.*

[Biohazard]

Our avatars blend together well! Just scroll up and down the page a few times. :lol:

[LaughingRat]

You may still be able to, just with a smaller number of connections allowed. It IS the upstream speed that matters most for a server. How much upstream bandwidth do you have?

[Biohazard]

You may still be able to, just with a smaller number of connections allowed. It IS the upstream speed that matters most for a server. How much upstream bandwidth do you have?

Yeah, I knew that. And the problem is I only have 128 upstream. :o :sweat:
Lousy ISP telling me how "fast" it was...

[Biohazard]

Hmmmm. After talking with my ISP some more, they told me it wouldn't cost much more to lower my d/l speeds (which is 1.5 now) and up my upload to 256. Do you think overall this would be worth it, LR?

[LaughingRat]

Hmmmm. After talking with my ISP some more, they told me it wouldn't cost much more to lower my d/l speeds (which is 1.5 now) and up my upload to 256. Do you think overall this would be worth it, LR?

We are taking a dedicated server, right? If so, with 256K up you should be able to support a 6-7 person server quite nicely, and possibly even 8. Mind you, if this is your ONLY connection, having that many people on your server will lag your own internet access all to hell. Likewise, you web-browsing while people are on your server will lag the hell out of them.

[Biohazard]

What would upgrading my upload do for me besided let me host a server in games. I can already do this for a small number of people in other games, so this should expand that capacity and allow me to host Thievery. But would a better upload speed be better for anything else? I'm afraid I don't know much when it comes to all of this. :?

[LaughingRat]

What would upgrading my upload do for me besided let me host a server in games. I can already do this for a small number of people in other games, so this should expand that capacity and allow me to host Thievery. But would a better upload speed be better for anything else? I'm afraid I don't know much when it comes to all of this. :?

Do you understand the difference between upstream and downstream speeds? Downstream is the speed at which information comes into your computer, upstream is the speed at which it's capable of sending. Most broadband ISP's cap your upstream speed because most users aren't sending that much information out, it's mostly coming in in the form of email, and code and graphics and such from websites and so on, and that saves their network from becoming overloaded. That's why upstream is so important for a server. A server is constantly sending out information to the client machines attached to it. The more clients, the more bandwidth it needs.

So higher upstream speed will affect you any time you're sending information out. Uploading files somewhere, or sending large attachments on email will be affected by this, as will remote desktopping.

I switched to DSL for this reason. I took a small hit in downstream speed (about 200K), in order to almost quadruple my upstream. Since my server is remote (I'm something like 1200 miles away from it), when I want to add maps or other utilities to it, they have to be sent, and higher upstream speed helps a lot there. Also, the remote desktop software we use to admin the machine itself is dependent on upstream speed, and the difference there is ENORMOUS.

[Carpe Noctum]

I'm interested in hosting a game, at least for playing with a friend to whom I've introduced the game.

(1) Where are the tutorial for setting up a server that Biohazard mention? Do I need to read them?

(2) My SMC Router is annoying "advanced" and demands not only knowledge of which ports to open but which "trigger port" to use for each range of open ports. Can someone please provide me with this information for Thievery UT?

(3) If there are other questions I should be asking, but from ignorance am unaware of, please help with those too! :-)

[LaughingRat]

Carpe, are you looking at setting up a dedicated server, or just a temporary listen server? The former is more involved, the latter is really very simple.

The default ports that ThieveryUT will use (the same for UT) are 7777-7782, plus port 27900 if you want your server advertised (so that it shows in the game's server browser) and port 80 for webadmin, if you want that enabled.

Check your router's documentation for information on setting trigger ports.

[Carpe Noctum]

Carpe, are you looking at setting up a dedicated server, or just a temporary listen server?

Either. The a temporary listen server would suffice. If I can manage a short-term dedicated server then why not allow others to join in? Or perhaps I am completely misunderstanding the difference?

The default ports that ThieveryUT will use (the same for UT) are 7777-7782, plus port 27900 if you want your server advertised (so that it shows in the game's server browser) and port 80 for webadmin, if you want that enabled.

Check your router's documentation for information on setting trigger ports.

I can send an e-mail to my router's company asking for help, but there are no generic rules for which trigger port corresponds to which open ports.

If I understand this correctly, when a game wants to go through an open port it makes this request by first approaching the trigger port. For example, I know that for Age of Kings: The Conquerors I must set:

28800 (UDP) as a trigger port for 2300-2400, 47624 (TCP)
28800 (UDP) as a trigger port for 2300-2400, 47624 (UDP)
47624 (TCP) as a trigger port for 2300-2400 (TCP)
47624 (TCP) as a trigger port for 2300-2400 (UDP)
6667 (TCP) as a trigger port for 28800-29000 (TCP)

So the identity of trigger ports is game-specific, not something the router documentation would know.

I assume this makes my router's firewall much more secure, but it sure is a pain.

[Carpe Noctum]

I found something...

(this quote is from http://www2.farbot.com:81/linux/firewall_games.php)

DirectX DirectPlay ports

Many games use the DirectPlay feature of DirectX to play on the internet. The games below that require these ports to be forwarded will say so.

TCP port 47624, TCP port 6073, and both TCP and UDP for ports 2300 to 2400 must be forwarded.

Unreal Tournament

UDP ports 7777 to 7779 are required, with additional ports after that (e.g. 7780+) are needed for people to join into the game, with more ports needed for more players. Port 27900 must also be added for server query if master uplink is enabled on the server. I forward up to 7799 to support lots more players in the server. I also forward port 27500. Other experimentation shows that some firewalls need a "trigger port" to be set to UDP 7777. I do not know if these ports show the server on Gamespy.

Combining that with what I already know, it appears I should set:
6073 (TCP) as a trigger port for 2300-2400, 47624 (TCP)
6073 (TCP) as a trigger port for 2300-2400, 47624 (UDP)
47624 (TCP) as a trigger port for 2300-2400, 47624 (TCP)
47624 (TCP) as a trigger port for 2300-2400, 47624 (UDP)
7777 (UDP) as a trigger port for 7777 to 7799 (UDP)

And if I knew what Master Server Uplink was I might care about:
27900 (UDP) as a trigger port for 27900-29000 (UDP)
(UDP vs. TCP for this port was taken from another web page)

And maybe keep open:
28800 (UDP) as a trigger port for 2300-2400, 47624 (TCP)
28800 (UDP) as a trigger port for 2300-2400, 47624 (UDP)
6667 (TCP) as a trigger port for 27900-29000 (TCP)
since I have them open anyway for another game.

----------------

So... where's that "getting started hosting a game" document that Biohazard mentioned? :P

[Carpe Noctum]

Hm. Even with all that, my game is still not "out there". It has LAN functionality, but a friend cannot join by IP. :cry:

Any other ideas?

[LeatherMan]

The ONLY ports you need for UT/Thievery servers are:

TCP port 80 -------------------- Remote Web Admin (must be enabled in ThAux.ini)

UDP port 27900 ---------------- Master Server Advertising ("DoUplink=true" in ThAux.ini)

UDP port 7777 to 7782 --------- Server Query Ports

All of the other ports you mentioned are unnecessary. The only time these ports change is when YOU change them in ThAux.ini (Thievery server) or UnrealTournament.ini (UT server).

I can't help you get Port Triggering working, but the SMC router's help pages should help. One other reason it isn't working is if you have a firewall running on your host, in which case you either need to open the correct ports or disable it completely. Finally, I have heard that some ISPs will not forward certain ports to prevent games servers from their clients.

One final note: You need to add the external IP address to the [UWeb.WebServer] section of your ThAux.ini. See this page (http://www.theadminpage.com/behindalan.php) for details.

[LaughingRat]

Carpe, do you have your router set to forward those ports to the machine the server is running on?

[Carpe Noctum]

My router cannot "forward" ports. It can only "open" them. :(

[LaughingRat]

My router cannot "forward" ports. It can only "open" them. :(

How does it tell which machine on your network to route an incoming signal to then?

[modetwo]

My router cannot "forward" ports. It can only "open" them. :(
Then it's a MODEM, not a router.

You'll have to get yourself a router which can be used behind the modem (the modem will be the gateway, and the router will hand out local IP's.)

Or you can connect the LAN through a PC, and into the modem. The PC must then be used for port-forwarding and DHCP etc.

Also, either:

line --> modem --> router (nat) --> PC's (server whatever)
or:
line --> modem --> PC (used as a router) --> PC's

[LeatherMan]

My router cannot "forward" ports. It can only "open" them. :(

How does it tell which machine on your network to route an incoming signal to then?

Port Triggering (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,1020195;root=equip,16;mode=flat) is what it is called, and is a new and improved (more secure) way of forwarding ports. The ports stay closed until any one of the LAN comps requests the ports, which the router then opens for that comp only.

EDIT:

SMC forums (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/smc) hosted by DSLReports (http://www.dslreports.com).
SMC FAQs (http://www.dslreports.com/faq/smc).
Trigger Port (http://www.dslreports.com/faq/2124) and Out Port (http://www.dslreports.com/faq/2125) endless loop.

[modetwo]

Aha, thanks for that one LM.

Never heard of it. Damn . . .