TF2 server & NAT

[Y0urDaddy]

Hello all...

As you can tell I am new to this forum. I have been searching around for informaion on how to run a TF2 server that is behind a router using NAT. I think that I have a fairly common problem, my server lists itself fine as a LAN server but does not show up in the internet server list.

Of the threads I have looked at so far I have not seen one that shows a way to fix this (if there is a way). I have been able to run other servers behind the NAT (BF2, UT2004, ect) and they have worked for the most part.

Any help you guys could offer would be great.

Thanks.

YD

[Spartanfrog]

Well can you join your server and can other people join it? If you are on the same network as your server (which i am assuming is true) then you will see your server as only LAN.

[Y0urDaddy]

Spartanfrog Wrote:Well can you join your server and can other people join it? If you are on the same network as your server (which i am assuming is true) then you will see your server as only LAN.

I am on the same network as the server. I can join it with no issues. I do not think that anyone outside can join the server but I have been unable to verify that. Most of my friends who have TF2 are at a big LAN party today.

Since the server console reports the local IP I don't think that anyone from the outside can see it. If you have the chance to try and join it the first part of the server name is my user name (YourDaddy). External IP should be 68.3.227.64

[skeletor]

Your server is online. view game-monitor at

http://game-monitor.com/GameServer/68.3.227.64:27015/YourDaddys_Load_of_ManShake.html

Just because the server shows the lan ip doesn't mean no one can connect to it. that just means the server bound itself to the lan ip, which it will always do. thats why you forward the ports to that lan ip.

[Y0urDaddy]

Thanks... I did not know about that web page.

Most of my server experiance is from running UT servers (99, 2003, and 2004). As you all know those servers have a web admin tool that you can set up to make on the fly changes to the server. Are there similar admin tools for TF2, or other source dedicated servers?

Thanks again.

[Drocona]

not like UT, hardly any of the major settings of the SRCDS can be changed on the fly. You don't have any kind of webadmin for the srcds, just the server.cfg.

[Y0urDaddy]

ok... Thanks for the info.

I talked to one of my friends who is at the LAN party. He told me that it can take a while for a server to show up in the steam browser. I know that people can connect to my server by IP as I have tested that. I would just like to get it online in the steam browser. So far all I see in the log is a line that says 'old challenge from <random IP & port here>'

YD

[Drocona]

Yes it's taken 30 minutes one time for me, sometimes it's instant sometimes it takes very long.

the old/bad challenges can be ignored
But having those means it is on teh list somewhere, those queries mostly come from gamesearch engines

[Y0urDaddy]

Cool...

I will let it run overnight and see if anyone ever connects to it. The info to find it is above, if any of your are bored and want to see if you can hit it go for it. I am going to set up some custom counters in perf logs & alerts. I want to collect some data to figure out how much upload it is going to use & how much of the servers resources will be used.

[thezfunk]

you just mapped incoming ports...anything outgoing?

[Mooga]

skeletor Wrote:Your server is online. view game-monitor at

http://game-monitor.com/GameServer/68.3.227.64:27015/YourDaddys_Load_of_ManShake.html

Just because the server shows the lan ip doesn't mean no one can connect to it. that just means the server bound itself to the lan ip, which it will always do. thats why you forward the ports to that lan ip.

WOW! Thanks a MILLION for that website O_O

[Spartanfrog]

Lol Mooga, you've never heard of Game Monitor? There are actually quite a few websites that do that. There fun. There is even one website that you can download a module and place it on your website that shows the stats, amount of players, and even a picture of the map.