I don't understand how this works...

[curtd]

When I start HLDS, the log states:
>Server IP address 192.168.1.88:27015

Which is my internal IP address. My external IP address, on the other side of my Cisco PIX firewall, is 64.114.229.189.

Does when the CS Game Server IP is stored on the Master Server, does it use the IP it senses on startup (the internal ip) or does the master server detect the IP address?

And, what do I need to do, if anything, to make sure the correct IP is broadcast to the master server, so that users can find my CS box?

Thanks

[Kik]

http://server.counter-strike.net/forums/showthread.php?&threadid=27569

[curtd]

This thread, and the rest of them that I have searched, do not answer the question I am asking. (With that many servers, I can't believe that no one else is behind a CISCO or other serious firewall.)

I can connect to my server thru the firewall from a variety of clients. HL and CS work fine. I can play CS by myself, from my home to the server at our office, just fine. It's just lonely.

THE PROBLEM
WON/STEAM is not seeing my server. It does not appear in the server lists. I am suspicious that it does not appear there, because HLDS sends to WON/STEAM, the IP address that it finds locally, which is the internal address, rather than the external address and WON/STEAM ignores my IP because of that.

This is merely a supposition.

SO:
a) is that true and can I fix it if it is?
b) if not, how do I get my server on the server lists so that it can be played upon?

Thanks

[Horsepower300]

Just make sure port 27015 is open through your firewall. And that its forwarded to your box. It stores the outside ip. btw


(With that many servers, I can't believe that no one else is behind a CISCO or other serious firewall.)

No offense but I can't believe that someone who owns an PIX can't administrate it.

[curtd]

Argh.

It's not a question of administering the firewall. It's not a question of port forwarding. It's not a question ABOUT firewalls, ports, IP addresses or the like.

The question is HOW DOES HLDS NOTIFY WON/STEAM of it's IP address, and how does WON/STEAM register the server's IP address?

This is a question about WON/Steam and HLDS, not about the firewall.

My server does not show up in the list. As such, I would like to know WHY?

[Milenko]

WON takes your external IP, regardless if it's your LAN ip in the server window.

[curtd]

Thanks for the response. Now all I have to figure out, is why it's not showing up in the server list.

[Dark Knight]

Propably a lession in MCSE A+ / Networking, CCNE or similar is required for you?
There are also very good books, which handle those topics.

[curtd]

Originally posted by Dark Knight
Propably a lession in MCSE A+ / Networking, CCNE or similar is required for you?
There are also very good books, which handle those topics.

I hope you're kidding.

Or you're trolling. In which case I'm nibbling.

Or you haven't read the thread. Which is most likely.

But the issue was just understanding how WON/STEAM registered the IP. The correct answer, supplied so kindly above, is that: a) No, your hlds server does not pass the IP to the WON/STEAM servers. It could. But it does not. (thankfully)
b) WON/STEAM does detect your external ip address. c) the solution to the problem is to place a "heartbeat" entry, and an sv_region entry, in your server.cfg file. Something that needs to be documented so that it is preserved, and other poor fellows are saved from this sequence of questions.

FWIW: I have seen plenty of RTFM posts on this board. But, there need to be a few more RTFP (read the freaking posts) messages as well. :)

Anyway. Thanks for the help. Even if it is mildly insulting at times. :)

[Dark Knight]

Neither Trolling,, nor kidding ( to old to do that)
If you are familiar with tcp/ip/udp you woudnt rise this question.

/me confessing: rushed over this thread.

Well - shame on me :D

Do not try /even think to argue with me: i gave you an hint, an suggestion -> follow or die.
insulting? ahem -> seems my favorite prediction ( you guess)

btw: do not forget, any mod is replying for nothing -> in Cents

:p

Anything else, basic knowledge, explanations, links -> if there is time and willing .-.-.-.--------........-.. you get the picture?

[curtd]

LOL

Discretion is the better part of valor. I will follow then.

But FWIW, no, that assumption does not necessarily follow. :)

(OMG, what am I DOING????)

[Dabosman]

Hey curtd. Don't feel bad. Even though *some* of these moderators try to act like they are MCSE and Network gods .. they are far from it. And the fact that they more than likely have not even experienced your situation is even more likely. They enjoy reading over your post, assuming your are a n00b, and then posting to try to insult you and make their lives seem more important. (I've experienced this on more than one occasion so don't even try to defend it)

ANYONE who has been behind a TRUE firewall routing with NAT, WITHOUT the option of DMZ, will know that it is a total pain in the ass to get your server to show up in the WON list, if at all possible. The problem lies in the fact that WON gets your Internal IP from the Server and not the external. This is a problem with NAT and not WON itself.

Curt, you were mentioning some good info about a 'heartbeat' and 'sv_region' cvar. Did you get these to work and is your server showing up in the WON list now?

Thanks,

Dabos

[Kik]

Dabosman: For the record, there's 'at least' 3-4 of us here who are MCSE's, including Dark Knight who you're aiming the comments at ( longer than he can remember no doubt :D ) . The day you need an MCSE to run a CS server, you need to start worrying. He knows what he's talking about, there's no question about that. A big % of the advanced faq's you read on the site were written by DK FYI :) 80% of Moderators on our forums are more than advanced in what they're preaching, and the other 20% are knowledgeable in other areas, which is why they've been made Moderators.

DK is just making his point here, which is, if you're going to buy a Cisco router, at least know how to configure the very basics >> otherwise, stick to something simple. He could no doubt answer your question, but at the end of the day, we're here to 'help' you, not to read a manual for you... it can get abit tiresome repeating yourself to the unwilling on occasions. Sometimes people are better left to their own devices rather than be spoon fed the answer ;)

Cisco routers as no doubt you're aware are another kettle of fish when it comes to actually configuring them.. apart from the fact that the majority, if not all of them require command line configuration, which is where the CCNA comment comes into play :)

If we can't answer your question on how to configure a piece of hardware, that's not our problem.. I don't think it's pysically possible to know how to configure every piece of hardware out there, but that doesn't change the fundamentals in any case. :rolleyes:

Back onto topic:

hlds will bind to the default IP address which is on the local servers NIC, which you're already aware of, so, you've got to configure a nat rule on the router itself to tell it where the service is located which you have listening on the specified port. DMZ isn't required to run ANY service on your network, and if you read the pinned topics, you'll see we advise users not to use it.

The following syntax should work with most Cisco routers. If not, post your router model # for me.

set nat entry add <lanip> 27015 <wanip> 27015 udp

That will apply the port rule onto your Router to foward packets destined for 27105/udp to the server on your network.

[curtd]

That wasn't my question. If we forward the port, yet the HLDS exe is sending the IP of the local interface to WON/STEAM, then the fact that we forward the ports is immaterial. I was asking how it worked. What I got was a non-sequitur response that made a fairly naive assumption. Since I've also been in the business of writing router managment software for ATM networks, I am aware that one can handle it either way. It's isn't a question of good practice, and, given steam's other (numerous) faults, it seems intelligent to verify the method they chose before running experiments whose outcome has no verifiable result.

In other words. RTFP.

Finally, thanks to Dobos for the information. And thanks to Kik for the port forwarding syntax. Btw: edge router is cisco 2500 and it does very little, pix 520 handles everything inside the edge.

One more thing: the new steam software is not taking enough time with it's ping results. The truth is, that going thru both routers takes a bit of time to establish a connection. It is more time than steam allows. So, unless you register a server with your favorites, and refresh it manually, the server will appear. I don't konw what they changed, but that's one of the problems.

[Kik]

If we forward the port, yet the HLDS exe is sending the IP of the local interface to WON/STEAM, then the fact that we forward the ports is immaterial.

The work around for that is the port forwarding configuration that i listed :) If you have any other questions regarding this, post back. @ the broadcast IP issue -- steam will pickup your WANIP as normal since that info is attached @ packet header level at your router.. so it's seamless to Steam.

/Kik