connection problems

[Jonfs1890]

I recently got a new Belkin F5D8231-4 v2 router and ever since it has been installed my SRCDS dedicated server has been acting very funny. It always appears in my LAN servers list in cs:s but sometimes is not in the main game server list. when I give my friends my external ip they are able to see my server but it sometimes does not respond when they try to connect. Also, sometimes when I am in-game using rcon commands there is no response from the server.

My server works perfectly when my pc is directly connected to my modem, so I know it is my router

I have made sure the correct ports are fowarded, tried to DMZ and shut off all my firewalls, but this does not solve the problem. I also contacted Belkin technical support, and the problem seemed to be fixed, but the next day the server was not responding again.

If I had to guess I would say the problem it my Belkin router's NAT firewall interfearing with the server (my previous router did not have this feature) but I do not know why this would only block my server some of the time, or how to fix it if this is the problem.
can anyone help me get my server to work like it is supposed to?

[Jonfs1890]

I figured out how to fix the problem: I need to shut off windows firewall. Apparently, when I am directly connected to my modem windows firewall does not block anything, but when I am connected through a router windows firewall blocks the server, or at 90% of the time. A new problem that has come up is now when windows firewall is off, my server is extremely laggy, even if I am the only one playing. It also was blocking my rcon commands for a short time, but then decided to stop blocking them and hasn't blocked them since. If anyone knows why this is or why windows has just decided to start blocking my server when a router is connected I would really appreciate it.

[Drocona]

are you by any chance playing and hosting from the same machine?

[Jonfs1890]

Yes, I have been hosting and playing on the same pc ever since I installed srcds, but the problem only started when I got the new router

[Drocona]

Well probably bad timing then, since a few updates back everything will lag immediatly after playing and hosting on the same PC.

Solving this is rather easy, get a second pc and run the server from that on and play on your good pc.
You can also set the SRCDS priority somewhere higher than normal.

But I'll say it again, SRCDS is a DEDICATED server and should be hosted on a seperate machine, if you play and host on the same pc you'd be better off running a listenserver from within the game.

[Jonfs1890]

ok I guess I have to get another pc then. I haven't played cs:s for a few months so I assume they did the updates when I wasn't playing. Thanks for the help.

Just one more question: Is it because of the updates that srcds was not responding to the rcon commands from in-game cs:s? Based on what you said I'm guessing yes.