Multiple Servers PB setup

[Gremlin]

I have a few small issues I would like to ask help on..

 

On our Dedicated Server box we run 5 instances of COD4, all ranked

 

all run in the C:\COD4 directory..

 

I have no problems with any of the servers firing up and running, I have had no problems tweaking each server config file, these are labled srv1.cfg srv2.cfg and so on..

 

what I am having problems with is :-

 

the Rcon utility released by codhq will log into any of the servers, however if I try and get rcon access while playing I cannot connect..

 

I have tried reading 3 COD4 Forums and found no hint to why this is..

 

after hitting the ~ while playing I enter the following syntax

 

rcon login xxxxx

rcon_password xxxxx

login xxxxx

I have also tried all 3 with a slash in front, none of these will get me into the system to remove a troublemaker, so untill now I log out of my game, remote to the server box and kick troublemaker from there.

As you can see this isnt the best way to do things.. so what am I doing wrong here.. and once logged in, how do I know I am actually in??

 

This brings me to my second question.

 

I banned a foul mouthed abusive player a day or so ago, he is listed in the ban.txt in the main dir, but can log straight back in.

the console gives me a message that the ban.txt is in the wrong directory or something simular..

 

Now, from what I have read on PB each of my servers needs to run a seperate PB per server instance..and I need to add something to the start script to do this..

I have no idea how at this point in time..

 

Ideally I would like all 5 servers to use the same ban list if possible, ergo if we have a idiot on one server they loose access to all cod servers we host..

 

Would someone please be so kind as to help with these 2 issues please..

 

Thank you in advance..

[RodeoBob]

For starters you should get on the bandwagon and get em streaming to PBBans ;)

[Buzzed]

As Bob said stream to PBBANS. You won't regret it. I tried the Rcon utility from codhq but came accross a better one at rconfiles. It is in Beta still but it is updated quickly and you can setup mutiple servers so you can point click and logged in.

 

Hope this helps.

[Gnu_UKC-X]

Hi

 

The correct rcon command format for COD4 is :-

 

/rcon then your command

 

Some commands will not work unless the rcon is open fullscreen, to open fullscreen you press the SHIFT-Console Key (tilde)

 

For instance to get a list of the all the players in the server with their slot numbers and GUID's :-

 

SHIFT-Tilde

/rcon status

 

What I have never liked about in game rcon is that if you make a mistake with the command, it is transmitted on screen for everyone one to see, really bad if it is a password you are trying to enter.

 

You should try the setup we use for our admins, that is that we put the RCON password in our game shortcuts (on our desktops) to automatically log us into our rcon when joining the server. So the target box in our shortcut is like this for all our servers, except the port changes :-

 

"C:\Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare\iw3mp.exe" +rcon login ourpassword +connect xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:28960

 

So then you just bring up your console an issue commands.

 

As for banning via the console, they really cocked that up, when you ban via the rcon it creates a ban.txt file in the 'main' folder, BUT TO READ IT, it MUST be in the 'players' folder ..... doh! So you have to copy and paste it.

 

I know nothing about having to have a punkbuster for every server instance, because I opted to have 3 servers running from 3 folders, so that's 3 copies of COD4 like this :-

 

C:\Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare 1/

C:\Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare 2/

C:\Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare 3/

 

So each of these DO HAVE their own punkbuster. Also missing out the video folder will save about 1.25 GB per install.

 

At the moment, apart from streaming to PBBans, using the CVAR & MD5 checking, highly recommended, I like to use Punkbuster itself to do the kicking and banning, whether it's temporary or permanent. So I use their Webtool.

 

If you look in the pb folder, you should see a pbsv.cfg file, this is punkbuster's config file. If you don't have this file, use the rcon to issue a pv_sv_write.cfg command, this will create one for you.

 

If you open this file with a text editor, look for these lines :-

 

pb_sv_HttpPort (pick an unused port) //[Port #]

pb_sv_HttpAddr "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" //[External IP Address]

pb_sv_HttpKey "yourpassword" //[Password]

pb_sv_HttpRefresh 30 //[seconds]

pb_sv_HttpMaps "" //[Map list (separate by spaces)]

pb_sv_HttpMapsPath "" //[Path where maps are loaded from in WebTool]

pb_sv_HttpColText1 "FFFFFF" //[Text Color #1 in WebTool (default=FFFFFF)]

pb_sv_HttpColText2 "FFF000" //[Text Color #2 in WebTool (default=0000FF)]

pb_sv_HttpColBack1 "000000" //

pb_sv_HttpColBack2 "808080" //

pb_sv_HttpColLine1 "FF0000" //[Line Color #1 in WebTool (default=FF0000)]

pb_sv_HttpColLine2 "0000FF" //[Line Color #2 in WebTool (default=0000FF)]

pb_sv_HttpColMsg "FF0000" //[Message Color in WebTool (default=FF0000)]

pb_sv_HttpShowGuid 1 //[0=No, 1=Yes (default=0)]

 

Edit it by inserting an unused port for example 9000, the IP of your server, and input a password of your choosing (punkbuster will call this a 'webkey'.

 

Now go to your browser and type this :-

 

http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:9000

 

This is your server's IP and the port you selected in the config. This doesn't work well for me with Firefox (I keep losing the webkey), but works well in IE7.

 

A Punkbuster webtool for COD4 will open, and you enter the password (webkey) you put in the config file. Click one of the buttons (or double click) and you are in.

 

Within a short time (30 seconds or so) the webkey you put in will change into a great big long kind of hash key. Once the address bar in your browser shows this long webkey as part of the address, you can now save the page as a favourite, so you can come back any time to admin your server. As you waited for the webkey to change in the address bar (b4 making it a favourite), you will not need to enter the webkey again.

 

For mutiple servers on the same IP, but in different folders (like mine), I just change the port number in that server's config eg. 9001, then do the same again (same password if you want), and save that as a favourite.

 

Now when I start Internet Explorer, it opens (homepage) with 3 tabs and 3 servers. This is good for me because I hate Internet Explorer and use Firefox ...... so finally I have a use for IE7 .... :D

 

I might move this to my laptop, so I don't need to tab out of COD4 to do any kicking etc.

 

Hope this helps

Gnu_UKC-X

 

EDIT: As a side note - Be careful when kicking/banning if you are mixing rcon with punkbuster. The player slot numbers start at 0 (zero) in game, but punkbuster starts at 1. So if you had one admin on the in game rcon telling you to kick slot 5, and you are on the punkbuster tool, you need to kick slot 6 - So confirm the names first ...... lol

Edited December 7, 2007 by jumpjet

[Gremlin]

Thank each and every one of you for your prompt and concise replies,

 

I shall now, duplicate the cod4 dir and reconfigure to run 5 seperate instances of the code.

 

As for streaming these to PBbans, sounds like a great idea, is there a tutorial for this?

 

I have set up servers for many games Landwarrior, DF DF2 BHD teamsabre Joint ops.. but this is the first time I have run servers that are configured like COD4 is.

 

I shall return once I have re-configured as suggested..

 

Thank you again..

[-mRx-]

http://www.pbbans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19266 :)