Server Help

xrestassuredx

Okay, I'm running a server, currently hosting 9 zones, got everything going smoothly .. only now suddenly 3 of my zones have disappeared from the directory server lists, so people can't download them. I checked and triple-checked all the files, the server.ini for each zone, and I can't figure it out. The server files for each is identical, the directory server list, port (4991), and name password are unchanged. What could be making this happen?
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Purge · Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 8:59 pm Post subject:

Can you connect to it by adding it as Custom? If not, maybe the biller login password was changed, but it still can run solo.

xrestassuredx · Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 9:36 pm Post subject:

I can still connect to the zones just fine, as can everyone who already has them downloaded (or enters them manually), and they are showing up green in the list. They just won't download for new players, even though they seem to be set up exactly as all the others, they have downloaded fine in the past, and nothing seems to have changed..

CypherJF · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 2:48 am Post subject:

Directory Servers typically keep a small backlog of what zones have connected to it recently and with what password. I don't see why this would occur (the dir server part is independent of the biller) - unless they changed the directory password in their server.ini's.
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Maverick · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:02 am Post subject:

6 zones currently listed on the biller.
When a subgame server is up and all directory settings are set correct then it should send its server information to the biller every now and then right?
Maybe someone is using the same name password?
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A380 · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 5:40 am Post subject:

Make sure all your zone as the same NamePassword=w/e.

xrestassuredx · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 3:10 pm Post subject:

Yes, all the name passwords are the same and have been. It's as if some of the zones decide to stop working. Last night GW wouldn't download for a few hours, and then it was there again. I took a couple of zones offline to see if maybe there were was a problem with having too many zones on the same name or something (which makes no sense, but I'm at a loss). All the remaining zones then would download (this was last night), but now this morning another one of my zones is not showing up on the directory servers. I'm completely miffed ..

Maverick · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 3:22 pm Post subject:

Are you sure that multiple zones using the same namepassword is ok?
In my logical thinking, this sounds like very wrong to me...
Tryed it with different name passwords already?

Cyan~Fire · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:26 pm Post subject:

No, the matching NamePasswords is necessary. NamePassword is for the prefix, not the whole zone name.
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CypherJF · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:53 pm Post subject:

I disagree Cyan, because we've had this discussion before. Using Catid's Dir Server program as an example of implementation, it makes no detail to 'prefixes' and as far as I can tell, nor does Priitks. PriitKs directory server has an ability to disable zones that contain obscene names/words in them.

Just take a look at the dserv.cpp

- and I've tested this w/ my own directory server testing program with both catid's and priitks.

xrestassuredx · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 5:44 pm Post subject:

hm .. i thought the point of the namepassword was to protect the prefixed server name (SSCU, SSI, etc) so that some person couldn't just start a random zone and pretend it's on whatever server that is.

if that's not the case, what is the point of the name password? to keep someone from using your entire zone name, letter for letter? or something else? and in any case, why would having the same name password ever be a problem .. it's not as if the passwords are also protected from having multiple zones using them.

before, i was having trouble with any of my zones showing up, and making the name password the same worked, plus it makes intuitive sense as to how the directory servers should work. it was great for a few weeks or whatever it was, but for the past few days, though, they've been pretty whacked..

(here is the previous thread on the same subject)

CypherJF · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 6:10 pm Post subject:

Its used to stop people from taking zone names - more specifically because directory servers do not know when a server goes offline - they just 'expire'. It's to help eliminate a user putting their own zone entry w/ the same name as an existing zone during a time which the server hasn't updated the directory server that it is still alive. It also is designed that if your zone goes offline, you still maintain that zone name for a certain period of time before it becomes 'free' to be used. Make sense?

xrestassuredx · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:16 pm Post subject:

yes, it makes sense, but I had thought that it was used for protecting the server extension (probably because that what cf told me). it also doesn't explain why my zones wouldn't show up before with different passwords, or why the are disappearing now. is there anything else that could be the problem?

CypherJF · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:26 pm Post subject:

What are you directory servers you are trying to use?

xrestassuredx · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:56 pm Post subject:

the list i'm using is

Code: Show/Hide

[Directory]
IP=sscentral.sscuservers.net,sscentral.ds98.com,sscentral.subspacehq.com

CypherJF · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 9:25 pm Post subject:

What are all the zone names that this is effecting?

It appears sscentral.sscuservers.net isn't letting any of my zones on the directory server - maybe it's an issue PriitK needs to look at? Has anyone else been sucessful? I'd say check with other directory servers but all the ones that I had thought were up and running, are not.

Purge · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 11:10 pm Post subject:

CypherJF · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 11:17 pm Post subject:

I tried several names - from just random strings to complete names w/ known initials. Did you try unknown zone names?

Purge · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 11:25 pm Post subject:

No, unless it's only letting ASSS zones in or something. I even just tried commenting out all the other directory servers in the ASSS global.conf for Unreal Tournament and it still shows on the zone list and connects to the DIR server just fine.

xrestassuredx · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 12:28 am Post subject:

The zones that are not showing up, right now at least, are SSXR Extreme Reality, SSXR Blood Corps, SSXR Gundam Wing, and SSXR Agent Under Fire. At the time I made the first post, Gundam Wing and Agent Under Fire were both downloading properly, but SSXR Socom II was not (and it is now). It has no rhyme or reason to it. Nearly all of my other zones, SSXR Navarone, SSXR TraX Battle Zone, and the SSX Dev Zone, have disappeared from the download list at one time or another during the past week. SSXR Bounty SVS is the only zone (knock on wood) that has to my knowledge stayed on the directory servers the whole time. That's probably too much information, but it gives you an idea of how seemingly random this all is..

CypherJF · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:15 am Post subject:

@purge+: I mean try making a new zone title that hasn't been on the directory server for a long time -- see if it comes up like COMP XYZ Zone - and tell us if it works..

@xrestassuredx: it's weird. I don't know what to say. :/

Maverick · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 2:43 am Post subject:

My own dev zone always gets on the dir server just fine.

xrestassuredx, only thing I can think of is something is blocking packets from the servers to the directory server.
Another thing might be that so much zones at one server might cause the directory server to block you (and thus any future signups) for some minutes because its being spammed by signup packets. Names might expire in that time then. It would also explain the randomness because the zones randomly signup/refresh the directory server.

CypherJF · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 3:12 am Post subject:

Yeah I got mine to connect as the SSR Cypher - but not on the SSXR initials - funky. Oh well, I apologize to Cyan - it appears that PriitKs DirServer locks initials - however, catid's does not.

xrestassuredx · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 3:37 am Post subject:

do i have to do something special with port 4991 in my router setup? that may also explain why i often have trouble downloading the zone lists. since i am running zones on more than one computer, i can't use a normal port forward because all computers need to use it. and a port trigger, i believe, only opens on outgoing connections -- will that serve my purpose here? or do i need to do anything at all in that respect?

Cyan~Fire · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 7:48 am Post subject:

No, since your computer makes the original connection to the outgoing server, you don't need to do any port forwarding.

Have you tried disconnecting all zones, waiting an hour or so just to make sure the dir server has cleared all its data concerning your servers, and then restarting?