Your Server

[Kentexcitebot]

"I've started the dedicated server, but I don't see it listed in the master server. What's wrong?"

You need to add the line

TALK_TO_MASTER 1

to your configuration files to publish your server on the internet. The server needs to be up one or two minutes before it can appear in the server browser, the master server checks whether it is reachable before it gets published.

"I did that, but my server still is not listed. What else can be wrong?"

Get your server's IP address; if it is running on the same computer you use for browsing right now, check http://www.whatismyip.com to get it. Fire up the Armagetronad client, enter the internet server browser, wait half a minute, exit the server browser, enter it again, and look for your server's IP. If it appears (having the list sorted by server name my pressing "right" once helps), you really want to ask the question 'I see my server's IP in the master server browser, but it says "Unreachable". What's wrong?' Otherwise, this is the right section for you. This is also the right section if you see your server just fine, but nobody else does.

If your server is connected to the internet via a router box and not directly via a "modem" of sorts, it is likely that network packages from the internet can't get to your server because the router blocks them. You need to tell your router to forward UDP port 4534 (or whatever SERVER_PORT is set to) to the server. On http://www.portforward.com, there are nice instructions how to do that for a lot of router models. If the UDP port 4534 thing confuses you, just follow the instructions for a different game that uses a similar connection method. Of course, you need to find out what router model you have, some under-the-table-crawling and cable following may be required for that if you can't remember what you bought or got the router from your ISP.

"My server still isn't listed. This sucks, it's hard to find out where the problem is. What can I do?"

See Short Firewall Troubleshooting http://wiki.armagetronad.org/index.php/Server_Administration_Guide#Firewalls and Short Port Forwarding Troubleshooting (http://wiki.armagetronad.org/index.php/Server_Administration_Guide#Port_forwarding). If this does not solve your problem, read on.

You can ask people to connect to your server directly by giving them your IP and the port your server is running on. A perfect place to ask is our IRC channel(#armagetron on irc.freenode.org) because you'll get a real-time answer there. Less perfect is the support section of the forums; you'll need to make sure your server is up and running when people read your post, which can be well 48 hours after you post it. If people can't connect to your server that way, it means you probably need to set up port forwarding (see last question) correctly.

"Gaaa! This troubleshooter is useless! Can't YOU help me get my server up?"

Post your trouble on the support section of the Armagetron forums. Be sure to

    -  describe exactly what you already tried, and please don't just say "everything the FAQ told me"
    -  state the IP your server is running on, they need that to check the master server's logs
    -  state your port if you modified SERVER_PORT
    state your server's name, others need that to check for your server in the browser
    -  post the complete output of your server from the moment it is started

Without that information, they can't help you.

Setting up a server is complicated sometimes; don't be too shy to admit you didn't understand some part of the process. A lot of trouble comes from people silently skipping steps they don't understand.

"I see my server's IP in the master server browser, but it says "Unreachable". What's wrong?"

Probably, the answer is "Nothing is wrong". A bug in some routers or the NAT specifications (at least, that's how Z-Man sees this) causes the response to the server query packet used in the server browser to come from the LAN address of your server, not the public address it was sent to. The packet gets ignored then. A workaround will be available in 0.2.8.3, but right now, that means most people can't see their own servers. Come to the IRC channel (#armagetron on irc.freenode.org) and ask people there if they can see your server.