Requirements

Running a server can really be a lot of fun, but you must ask yourself one question before doing so, and you must give an honest answer.  "Do I have the mojo to run a server?"  Which, in non-Geronimo terminology, means, "Do I have the hardware and connection to run a good server?"  And you must be honest, because although running your own server is fun, it is not fair to the clients (players) if you do not have the hardware or connection necessary for an optimized server.  Here is what Valve says are the three most important factors in running a server (although personally I think the CPU Power and the RAM recommendations should be a bit more rigorous):

High Bandwidth Connection

The most important factor in how well your server will run is how fast your connection to the Internet is. When people connect to your server to play, you have to share that bandwidth with them. Ideally a server will be running through a DSL or T1 connection. If you do have DSL, we suggest having at least a 512K upload. Anything less than that and you are more likely to have a laggy server with anything more than 4 players. Of course, the ideal bandwidth situation is to have it sitting behind that phat pipe at work, but a lot of us aren't in that situation, so do what you can with what you have. If you run a server and the bandwidth you are providing to the people that connect to you isn't enough, they are going to experience lag because your machine can't send them enough information. That being said we highly suggest no to use a cable connection for a server.

CPU Power

Your computer is going to be doing a lot of work when people connect to it, and the amount of work that it needs to do increases dramatically as more people connect to your game. To be able to service a full game, you are going to want at least a Pentium II 266, but the more CPU power the better. We generally recommend something in the vicinity of a 400MHz processor or better for decent to above average performance. While a P200MMX can be a very stable server (I've run one), the pings will not be very good.

RAM

RAM is something that you really can never have enough of. Any time your machine doesn't have enough RAM it will start using a swap file, which is much slower. At the minimum you are going to want 128 MB of RAM, but 256 would be ideal. Stick with nothing less than 128MB of RAM. If you are running win9x, it's not going to make a tremendous amount of difference once you get over 96MB, but we'll go ever that in the next section.

Operating Systems

This is one of the most overlooked parts of setting up a server. The operating system can also make or break your yearning for running a server. While you can use any supported OS (Win9x, Win NT, Linux), there are multiple differences between each one, and pros and cons to each as well. Let's start with the least desirable OS you can run your server on: Win9x. Bad idea to run on this OS, although it will not run poorly. Major reasons for not running a server on this OS are CPU management (poor compared to the other 2 options), Memory management (was only set up to effectively use 96MB of RAM; above that is mostly taking up your precious space), and security (Win9x has the poorest security of all 3). The obvious pros are that most people are running some form of Win9x, and that makes it all the easier to set up a server. Next up: Win NT. Much better CPU management and memory management with this choice. Security is also much better, since NT is a networking OS, inherent precautions and measures where taken to make it more secure. Cons being not many people have it, or aren't willing to pay the price tag for it. Final choice, and the best of the bunch: Linux, in all it's flavors and glory. Best CPU and memory management of the bunch. Most stable to run your server on as well. Cons are requires separate knowledge of a completely different operating system in order to run it. Also, for all you Linux server runners out there, please don't run your server will you are in XWindows. You're killing your resources! That covers the 3 things that Valve says are important and the one extra thing that we think is important.

 

The Basics

Before you get too ahead of yourself, let's take a minute to set up a couple of things.  Inside your Half-Life directory (which means, assuming you hard drive is the letter C, go to the C:\Sierra\Half-Life directory) you will find the dedicated server program, named hlds.exe. You can also download the program specifically designed to run your hlds from the FilePlanet. The file is 83MB, and there are periodic updates, but it is your best bet to run your server with this You need to make a shortcut to it, so right-click on the hlds.exe icon and choose "Copy".  You will place the shortcut on the desktop so that you can easily access it.  Let's get back to the desktop, right-click on an open area of the desktop and choose "Paste Shortcut".  Now, right-click on the new shortcut located on the desktop and choose "Properties" to open the properties sheet, then make sure that you select the "Shortcut" tab.   With this tab in the forefront, you can see the "Target" field which lists the target path leading back to the hlds.exe.  You can append this target line with commands, which will be executed along with the hlds.exe.  For example, the target line for my shortcut is: "C:\Sierra\Half-Life\hlds.exe -game cstrike -port 27016 +maxplayers 10 +map cs_backalley".  The "-game cstrike" sets the mod for my server as Counter-Strike.  "-port 27016" sets the server port to 27016 so that I can run a server and play CS as a client from the same machine.  The "+maxplayers 10" sets the maximum number of players allowed in my server to 10, and the "+map cs_backalley" command runs the map cs_backalley as the initial map upon server start-up.  And, yes, you must run a map (usually the first one in the mapcycle.txt list) for the server to begin.  The "+maxplayers <number>" and "+map <mapname>" commands can go into the autoexec.cfg instead of the hlds.exe shortcut target line, but because I run the server out of the same directory that I play the game, I place these commands into the target line.  The reasoning behind this is that the autoexec.cfg is executed both when I run a server and when I try and join a game.  If the "+map <mapname>" is in the autoexec.cfg and I try to join a game, the autoexec.cfg starts up map <mapname> and I cannot join the intended server.  Instead, I am standing alone in the map that the autoexec.cfg executed.   Hope that made sense.  Anywho, when you finally run your server, the last basic thing to look for are the words "WON Auth Server" to tell you that you have obtained authorization from WON and you are ready to roll.  If per chance you instead see "WON Server", then this is a message from the WON gods that either you have an outdated version of the server software or possibly a firewall or proxy is hindering your attempts to reach the WON servers.   But basically, it's just not working properly.  As long as you are getting the first off the two messages, then your server is properly sending out heartbeats to the WON master server, and you will be listed in the Half-Life launcher.  Well, you have just taken your first baby step.   This brings us to the next step - modify the config files.

The Configs

When a server runs, it reads from four basic configuration files - autoexec.cfg, server.cfg, motd.txt, and mapcycle.txt.  For examples of these configs, go to the Files page and check out the possibilities.  The autoexec.cfg is used for commands only, such as "setmaster half-life.east.won.net 27010", "maxplayers 12", "log on", or "map cstrike".   From what I have seen, the setmaster is not a necessity - if there is no "setmaster" command, it will automatically connect to the default WON master.   The "maxplayers <#>" and the "map <mapname>" commands can either go here into the autoexec.cfg, or else into the target line of your hlds.exe shortcut.  The benefit to putting them into your target line is if you run both the server and the client game out of the same directory.  If you do, then when you try to join a game, the autoexec.cfg executes and starts up whatever map is in the command line, and you find yourself standing in an empty map that your autoexec.cfg executed, and you cannot join the original server that you intended to join.  But if you do place the "map <mapname>" command in the autoexec.cfg, then it MUST be the very last line of the file.  The autoexec.cfg executes only once when running a server, when the server is first initialized.  The server.cfg, on the other hand, runs everytime the map changes.  The server.cfg takes advantage of both commands and variables, such as turning off decals, turning on weapons stay, or setting the flags for your multiplayer game.  This is where you set the name of your server, using "hostname <servername>".  The motd.txt file contains the text that people will read when the map changes - information like "Welcome to So and so's server - Have a fraggin' good day!".  Each line of text in the motd.txt will be centered on the client's screen.  To change the amount of time in seconds that these messages are displayed, add the "motd_display_time <#>" line in your server.cfg.  Last is the mapcycle.txt.  All of the maps you want rotated on your server should be placed in this file.  Use the mapname without the ".bsp" extension.  So, to place the map "cs_backalley.bsp" into the mapcycle.txt, simply add "cs_backalley" into the file.  Also, each mapname goes on it's own separate line of text.

Although these are the four basic config files that a server uses, you can create other configs to run as well.  There are some server manager type programs out there that will create their own config files, so don't be afraid of these files or wonder why they exist as the server manager program runs them in it's own execution.

Beyond The Basics

You are now master of setting up your server and are confident in your basic server and config knowledge, but want to know a bit more.  Well, let's look at some commonly used variables and what they mean.  To toggle the autoaim feature, which causes the crosshairs to turn red when placed over a player, use "sv_aim 1" to turn it on, or "sv_aim 0" to turn it off.  "pausable 1" allows the clients to pause the server, while "pausable 0" disables this capability.  You can set the maximun player run speed with "sv_maxspeed 320".  The higher the number, the higher the maximum speed.  You can make the server change maps when a time limit is up or when a frag limit is hit.  To set the time limit (in minutes), use "mp_timelimit 30".  Set the frag limit with "mp_fraglimit 100".  Most server admins do not set a fraglimit, but rather rely on the map changing when the round timelimit has been reached. This way your players can play and frag to their hearts content and rack up as many frags within the time allotted.  These can be used together, so that the map will change if either the time limit or frag limit occurs.   If you want the players to be able to use the silent but deadly tactics, then turn off their footsteps, so they can silently sneak around - "mp_footsteps 0", and "mp_footsteps 1" turns them back on again.  Your server may run many a dark map, so to help your players better get around those dark places, give them the flashlight capability "mp_flashlight 1", or make them suffer and take it away "mp_flashlight 0".   "mp_falldamage 1" creates realistic fall damage, while "mp_falldamage 0" lets the players keep more of their health - good for newbies who back off a ledge because they were in the middle of a firefight and forgot they were standing on a ledge.  You can use "mp_friendlyfire 1" to turn friendly fire on, or if you are tired of all those TK's invading your server, use "mp_friendlyfire 0" to turn it off.  .  "mp_friendly_grenade_damage 1" sets the server to allow that if you throw a grenade and the debris hits one of your teammates, it will hurt them.  If your server seems a bit lagged out, try reducing the number of decals (tags, blood, bullet holes, etc.) allowed to show at one time on your server - the default is "mp_decals 300", but try 250 or 200.

Be sure to check out all of the CStrike specific cmds & cvars.

Map Stuff

Next thing, in order for your map to have a map cycle, you have to create one.  This is what is called the mapcycle.txt file.  There should already be, within your cstrike dir, a file called exactly that.  It will have in there what yours should look like, but just in case you delete yours, or it's empty for some reason, we're going to go ever what it takes to make this file, and some commands to use in relation to maps while running your server.  In here is where you put the maps that you want your server to cycle through.  When I say put in the maps, I mean the names of the maps, not the maps themselves.  I'd be really impressed if you put the actual maps inside a txt file.  At any rate, you put the map names minus the .bsp part of the map name in the text file, with one map name per line.  In effect, your mapcycle.txt should look something like this:

as_oilrig
as_tundra
cs_747
cs_assault
cs_backalley
cs_estate
cs_italy
cs_militia
cs_office
cs_siege
de_aztec
de_cbble
de_chateau
de_dust
de_dust2
de_inferno
de_nuke
de_piranesi
de_prodigy
de_storm
de_survivor
de_torn
de_train
de_vegas
de_vertigo

Now if you wanted to know how many spawn points each map has you can look below:

as_oilrig.bsp 36
as_tundra.bsp 25
cs_747.bsp 26
cs_assault.bsp 20
cs_backalley.bsp 20
cs_estate.bsp 20
cs_italy.bsp 20
cs_militia.bsp 20
cs_office.bsp 20
cs_siege.bsp 20
de_aztec.bsp 32
de_cbble.bsp 32
de_chateau.bsp 35
de_dust.bsp 32
de_dust2.bsp 40
de_inferno.bsp 32
de_nuke.bsp 20
de_piranesi.bsp 32
de_prodigy.bsp 20
de_storm.bsp 32
de_survivor.bsp 20
de_torn.bsp 32
de_train.bsp 24
de_vegas.bsp 20
de_vertigo.bsp 32

Now, some of the newer players and admins might not know what cs, de, as, and es are.  Well, it's simple.  cs_ is a hostage map (CT's job to rescue the hostages, T's job to make sure they don't), de_ is a defusion map (T's job to plant the bomb at selected targets, CT's job to eliminate the T's or defuse the bomb, whichever comes first), as_ is assassination (CT's job to guard the VIP so that he can escape, T's job is to eliminate the VIP), and es_ is an escape map (T's trying to escape from a prison scenario, CT's making sure they don't).  You can customize your server so that it runs only a specific type of maps (hostage, defusion, etc) if you so choose.  The file can be edited at will if your tastes change, even if it's every hour.  If you're not sure what map is next in the mapcycle.txt, and you want the server to move on to the next map, type  mp_timelimit 0 in the console, and the server will go to the next map in the file.  If you just want to change it to another map period, the map has to be on the server for you to change it to.  Let's say you want to change it to cs_doggydoo.  You type changelevel cs_doggydoo, but it tells you it can't find the map, because you don't have it.  The only maps that you can change to on the server are the ones that are within the cstrike/maps directory.  Very important about this changelevel thing.  If you use map <map> to change the map, you will drop all the players off the server in changing the map.  If you use changelevel <mapname without the .bsp>, then the server will change maps and retain all it's clients in the process.  If you choose to add a new map to your server and the zip file that you got has two files, a .bsp and a .wad, we know where the .bsp file goes.  But what about the .wad????  Well, that's easy.  Put that lil wad file in the cstrike directory.  That's all.  You'll notice it will have happy lil friends there if some of the other maps you are running have .wad's, too.  
 

 

Server & Client On Same Machine

To answer everyone's emails - Yes, you can play HL from the same machine that you run your HL server.  By default, both the HL client and HL server run on ports 27015.  This is why everyone has problems when they first try to play on their own server.  We can take care of this simply by adding a quickie to the shortcut you created for your hlds.exe.  Just add "port -27016", which manually sets the server port to 27016.  Now with the client on port 27015 and the server on port 27016, you are capable of playing on your own server, or at least playing HL from the same machine that you are running your sever  However, keep in mind that anyone else connecting to your server is going to have a good amount of lag because your system resources are being split between the client and server.

Minimum / Maximum Rates

Some server admins dislike having LPB's (Low Ping Bastards) or HPW's (High Ping Whiners) on their servers.  In the past, there was no way to set these options.  But with the introduction of HL server versions 3.0.1.3/4.0.1.3, this issue has been addressed using the two cvars: "sv_maxrate <#>" and/or "sv_minrate <#>".  This does not disallow people with a rate not within the range specified on your sever from joining, but forces them to use an appropriate rate set by you.

For example, if you run a large maxplayer server, and do not want cable jockeys stealing all the bandwidth and irritating the HPW's, then you can set the maximum rate allowed on the server to 6000 by using "sv_maxrate 6000".  This will not boot any LPB's from the server, but does force them to a rate of 6000 or below, allowing for a more even spread of the bandwidth between players.

Similarly, if you wanted to run a server specifically for a handful of LPB's, you can set the minimum rate allowed to around 9000 using "sv_minrate 9000".  This obviously will not kick any HPW's from the server, but it does force their rate to 9000 and above, which will make their game almost unplayable, and maybe they will drop on their own.

You can also use both in combination with each other.  In playing around with some servers, I found some interesting combinations.  I have a Counter-Strike server running with an 18 maxplayer limit.  It was fascinating playing with these settings and watching how they dramatically affect player's pings.  After a few hours, I found the best combination for this particular server was sv_maxrate 6500 and sv_minrate 2000.  With a server with a larger maxplayer limit, you may want to lower your maxrate to keep the bandwidth reasonable for all the players.  On the other hand, if you run a smaller more personal server for you and a few friends in the neighborhood, you may want to make sv_maxrate 20000 and sv_minrate 9000.  Similarily, if you run a LAN, you may want to skip using the sv_maxrate variable and only set sv_minrate 10000 or above.  Also, if you run a server on a cable connection, you may have already noticed how much cable connections seem to fluctuate.  You may want to set sv_maxrate 8000 and sv_minrate 4000.  Whatever the number for the cable server, keep them closer together to lessen the fluctuating rates.

**NOTE: I have got a bunch of emails (even some flames - sheesh, settle down kids!) about my mention in the last paragraph of how I noticed a change in people's pings when I played around with the settings.  Although these newly introduced settings do limit rates, they CAN affect ping as well.  Prime example: the server I did all of my testing on has an OC3 connection which I can regularly connect to with an average 60 ping - yes, I am an LPB.  For this reason, I have always had my client rate set to 20000.  I began playing with the maxrate on this server and set it to sv_maxrate 6000, at which point my 60 ping shot up to 250, and I was getting major slideshow action.  The server would only allow me to play at a rate of 6000, but my game was pushing to get a rate of 20000.  My ping did not return normal until I manually set my client rate down to 5500.  Then I was back to the ole 60 ping whoopin' up on everyone.  Later I went to another server that had a maxrate of 40000 and my client rate was set to 3500.  My ping was at 190, but after resetting my client rate to around 30000, my ping went back down to 68.  If the difference between the server rate and the client rate settings are too large, then a conflict occurs, and in some cases makes the game unplayable.  You can manually change the client rate, but if your connection does not allow you to match the server allowed rates, then you may choose to drop from the server due to unplayability.  Get it?  Got it??  Good!!!

Rcon

You are probably reading this section right because you have been playing on your own server and came across that situation where you decided it was time to kick another player, or else noticed a variable that you wish you had previously set differently, and are now wondering how to do it from the in-game console.  It is very simple, and some people make it much more difficult than it really is.  The first thing you need to do is add the line "rcon_password <password>" to your server.cfg found in the directory of the mod you run on your server, with <password> being any password that your imagination can create.  Next, when in the game, hit the   ~  (tilde) key to bring down the in-game console.  Before you can start typing server commands and variable changes, you must take rcon (remote control) of the server. If you are running a multiple port server, you must type in rcon_port <port#> first in order to access that specific port on your server. If you do not do this and you try to rcon your way into your server, you will not be able to. Go to our files/scripts for the rcon.cfg, a basic file you can put into your cstrike directory in order to access your rcon automatically when you log into your server. Edit the file with your server information and make sure the extension is .cfg. Then, when you join the server, type exec rcon.cfg, and you have instant access to your server via rcon. This comes in very handy if you run a multiple port server. You can then type in  "rcon_password <password>" into the in-game console.  If the password was correct, you now have rcon of the server.  All server commands and variables are typed into the game console just as in the server console, but you must add "rcon" before every command.  If you wanted to kick someone, for instance, you would need to type "rcon kick <playername>" or "rcon kick <userid>", or if you wanted to turn on friendlyfire, then you would type "rcon mp_friendlyfire 1".  When you run more than one server from one machine, then the rcon gets a little tricky.  Multiple servers on one ip address requires the specification of different ports.  Lastly, if you want to remotely administer your dedicated server when it is full, start your client Half-Life game as normal.  Without getting into a game, just open up the console and start with "rcon_address <ip address>", where <ip address> is the ip addy of your server.   Then input rcon_port <port#> of your server.  Next use "rcon_password <password>".  Then let loose with your "rcon <commands>".

Kicking / Banning

VERSION  3.0.1.3 / 4.0.1.3  AND  ABOVE

We have all come across those obnoxious people who purposely kill teammates, constantly spam messages or the obnoxious types who do not leave your server when you forgot to make your clan match private.   It is time to kick them.  But first, an important warning:  Do not be the obnoxious server admin who just randomly kicks people for fun or because you are a control freak.  The only thing worse than an obnoxious client, is an obnoxious admin.  Think before you kick - watch you server and people's actions and reactions.   If two people blame each other for something, either kick them both, or keep an eye on them for awhile until you can feel out the situation enough to make a fair assessment.

Before we get into the kicking and banning, we need to get familiar with how players are identified by the server.  The server assigns each player a "userid" (a number generated by the server) and a "uniqueid" (this number is unique per cd key and is assigned by WON, and will usually be around 10 digits).  To find these id's for a player, type "users" into the console.

Kicking Only

Obviously, the most common way to kick a player is to simply type "kick <playername>", and *poof*, they are gone.  Unfortunately, this may not always be the quickest way to boot a player, because some clients change their names to horrifically long names, or use characters that HL does not pick up on, hence making their name unusable in the kick command.  When this happens, you can use the other method of kicking by use of "userid" (this one I prefer).

First type "users" into the server console.  This will list all players and their corresponding "userid".  Find the id number of the player in question, and then type (make note of the spaces, because the spacing must be exact) "kick    #   <userid>" (as in "kick <space> # <space> <userid>", and once again, *poof*, they are gone.

Banning Only

Kicking a player is only temporary, though.  They can come back into the server immediately if they wanted to...   unless you ban them.  Use the "users" command to find their "uniqueid", and then ban them with "banid <minutes> <uniqueid>", where <minutes> is the number of minutes you want to ban the player from the server.  Use 0 minutes to make the ban permanent.  For example, if you wanted to permanently ban uniqueid 123456789, then you would type "banid 0 123456789".  If you want to make sure that someone is banned permanently even after your server has been restarted, be sure to "writeid" before you quit the server to write the banned uniqueid's to the banned.cfg.  Then, add "exec banned.cfg" to your server.cfg, so whenever you restart your server, it will read the uniqueid's listed in the banned.cfg and continue to ban them.

Kicking And Banning At Same Time

Sometimes we come across that player that needs to be kicked and banned at the same time, so they do not come back in after being kicked while we are frantically trying to type in the ban commands.  Now, we can do both in one fell swoop.  Type "users" to get the players "uniqueid".  Then use "banid <minutes> <uniqueid> kick".  And *poof* - the player in question has been both kicked and banned.  Again, be sure to "writeid" in the console next, and add "exec banned.cfg" to the server.cfg.

Getting List Of Banned Players

It is a good idea to keep a list of the users that you have banned permanently from your server.  The easiest way to do this is to "writeid" at the console before you quit the server to write the banned user "uniqueids" to the banned.cfg for.  You can then open up banned.cfg to see who all has been banned.  Also, be sure to add "exec banned.cfg" to your server.cfg so that everytime the map changes or the server restarts, it will reban those uniqueid's. 

Removing Player From Ban

If you want to remove a player from the banned list, use the "removeid <uniqueid>" in the console.  And be sure to remove it from the server.cfg found in the directory of the mod you use for your serverif you placed it there as well.

Banning Only Via IP Address

Kicking a player is only temporary, though.  They can come back into the server immediately if they wanted to...   unless you ban them.  Use the "status" command to find their ip address, and then band them with "addip <minutes> <ipaddress>", where <minutes> is the number of minutes you want to ban the player from the server.  Use 0 minutes to make the ban permanent.  For example, if you wanted to permanently ban ip address 24.95.92.138, then you would type "addip 0 24.95.92.138".  Also, be sure to "writeip" before you quit the server to write the banned ip address to the listip.cfg for later use.  Last, add "filterban 1" to your server.cfg so whenever you restart your server, it will read the ip addresses in the listip.cfg and continue to ban them.  Also, if the person you are trying to ban has a dynamic ip addy, and changes it so they can come back in to keep bugging you, then ban their entire subnet.  Back to our example, if you wanted to ban the entire subnet of the ip address 24.95.92.138, you would type "addip 0 24.95.92".  Notice that the last set of numbers was left completely out.  If you check your "listip.cfg" after you "writeip", you will notice that it shows "addip 0.0 24.95.92.0"  The zero on the end acts as a wild card, and anyone whose ip address falls within that subnet is banned.

LAN

So, you want to run a LAN server, eh?  Oh, wait....you don't know what a LAN server is?  Well, let's explain the difference between a LAN server, and internet server, and the difference between the two.  A LAN (local area network) is what you would find in an office, or someone at home who has WAY too much time on their hands.  It's a group of computers connected together via a hub, some cat5 cable, and a lil bit of IP configuring in your OS.  The benefit to this?  You are all connected to gether, and share all your stuff together.  You're like the Brady Bunch.  Since you are all on the same little network, one of you can create a LAN game, and the rest can join with the same happy ping that you have.  The difference is, people on the internet will not be able to see your game, because you aren't accessing the internet to run the server.  You're using your computers, ethernet cards, cat5 cables, and your hub to connect to each other, which doesn't require an internet connection. An internet game, however, lets all those hungry CS players out there see your server, and let's them join it.  How do you decide which to run?  Well, if you meet all the minimum "CS Server Team" criteria, as listed above, run yourself an Internet server.  If not, set that bad boy LAN up and rock it with your friends.  

We are now going to assume that you want to play on that nifty LAN  you've got going there.  Good job you!  Those 20 ping servers are the best ones to play on.  "How do I do it?" you might ask.  Well, it's simple enough.  In your server.cfg, add this line:  sv_lan 1.  Ok, cya later......

Hehe...it's not THAT simple, but pretty close to it.  Some other adjustments should be made in the server.cfg, but not many.  You need to adjust your sv_maxrate to 25000 or so...it will look like this:  sv_maxrate 25000.  Also, to ensure that your LAN server isn't trying to be sneaky and make itself an internet server too, add setmaster 0 in your server.cfg as well.  Those are the only real modifications that you need to make your internet server into a rockin LAN server.