Two FL servers on one machine
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I would be interested in a solution for this, too. Tried several ways, but never got the second server to keep the port open for longer than a few ms. It just closes again and that’s it. OS is 2003 server.
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W0dk4:
Does this mean you can run 2 different mods on the same server?
Just start each in a different account and allocate a different port, e.g. 2303 for the 1st and 2304 for the 2nd?
I did try to do that on 2003 Server but the 2nd one to start was not being passed to the internet. I have one broadband port.
Is there a solution for my problem?
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Additional notes: i have used Windows 2003 Enterprise English 32 bit with Service Pack 2 and without Terminal Services component - only standard Remote Desktop. Without Service Pack 2 Freelancer Server does not accept connections from outside.
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I am quite sure it has nothing to do with rights and the Freelancer setup (well at least in my case…). Tried it even as administrator, without any luck. Installations were completely seperated, configurations too. Even a vanilla Freelancer without any server configuration would not keep the port open when the other server was running. Same thing the other way around.
Sp2 is installed. Tried updating directx (for directplay) but of course that did not help. -
Well, I cant give a lot of help here, because it always worked without me doing anything special. I installed Win2003, then on two admin user accounts with different installs+ports ran 2 FLServers.
I wouldnt know of any reason why this should not work. It most likely is some 3rd party software you have running on your server.
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Can you tell me please what ports you allocated for each one, maybe mine were too close together?
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OK, I tried again after this encouragement…
Same problem, only the first FLServer.exe that starts (any of the two) can be connected, the second one starts ok but the player gets the “Please wait. The requested operation is taking longer than expected.” message and cannot connect.
The first server continues normally and players can connect.
Here’s how I start the FL Servers…
I made a second account and gave it Administrator rights, installed plain Freelancer in a new folder, made a shortcut to FLServer.exe, edited it and added /P2303 to the second one’s shortcut. I switched accounts and added /P2302 to the first one’s shortcut.
I started the second one (plain FL) first and then the original (the mod).
The firewall window came up and asked if I wanted to continue blocking the new FLServer.exe - I clicked “Unblock”.
I connected to the new FL Server and played a while OK, then quit, switched to the mod, tried to connect to the original mod server - got the “taking too long” message. Switched to the new one - connected OK. Back to the original - “taking too long”.
Shut down both FL Servers and tried twice more - same.
I noticed something odd… in the new account when I changed the shortcut, I added double-quotes " before and after the command, and /P2303 outside the " … Windows deleted the " when I clicked Apply, so the whole line had no quotes " at all. I also tried no quotes at all, it was accepted.
In the old account, the command had accepted and retained the double-quotes " before and after the command, and the /P2302 was outside the ".
Maybe there is a problem here?
EDIT:No, it was because one path had spaces in it and needed the double-quotes, I was tired!
Update: Today I stopped the firewall completely, same results.
Both FL Servers are visible in the Global Server List.
Both show the same IP.
The first one to start (whichever one) is always OK.
The second one to start (whichever one) cannot be connected.
The server does not run antivirus or any other programs, only FLServer and the Windows 2003 Firewall.Any ideas / help please, since at least 3 of you have succeeded?
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Try to use 3 UDP ports for each server (as in offitial docs at cd).
Firewalls
Freelancer uses the standard DirectPlay ports, so your firewall needs to pass UDP ports 2302-2304 to the server machine.Windows Firewall or hardware router must redirect 3 ports to each server.
Do not forget to check on each server configuration: Make Server
Internet Available.Here is my working configuration.
Flaw:os:
- user1 with administrative rights
- server folder c:\…\FreelancerSrv
- users accounts folder C:\Documents and Settings\user1…\My Games\Freelancer\Accts\MultiPlayer\
- UDP ports from 2369 to 2371 are redirect from hardware router
- server command line: flserver.exe /p2369
DoD:
- user2 with administrative rights
- folder c:…\Freelancer
- users accounts folder C:\Documents and Settings\user2…\My Games\Freelancer\Accts\MultiPlayer\
- UDP ports from 2380 to 2382 are redirect from hardware router
- server command line: flserver.exe /p2380
Additional quote from ReadmeServer.htm on the Freelancer CD:
Tips for Firewalls and Routers
Freelancer uses the DirectPlay protocol for client/server communications. Therefore, the game client should work through most Network Address Translation (NAT) routers and works with the Windows 2000/XP Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) feature without requiring a configuration change. Special steps (described below) are required when using ICS on Windows 98/Me.
DirectPlay can coordinate with a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) NAT/ICS to open the proper ports for running a Freelancer server. However, if you have a hardware NAT or router that is not , you will most likely need to configure it in order to run a Freelancer server behind it. See the section below on the ports used by Freelancer for more information.
If you are running a firewall, you may need to configure it in order to play Freelancer on the Internet. If you are able to play other games that use the DirectPlay protocol through your firewall, you should be able to play Freelancer as well. For more detailed information, see the section below on the ports used by Freelancer.
Ports Used By Freelancer and the Freelancer ServerFreelancer uses the standard DirectPlay8 UDP ports 2300–2400. Ports are allocated starting at 2300, working toward 2400. Port 2300 is only used when connecting to the global server.
This port range is used by both the game client and game server. The game server uses it to connect to the list server and to accept incoming connections from game clients. The game client uses it to connect to both the list server and the game servers.
Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) on Win98/MeWindows98 ICS is not Universal Plug & Play (UPnP) compliant. This prevents Freelancer servers from negotiating with ICS to open the proper ports. If you want to host Freelancer games behind a Windows98 ICS system, you have to configure your ICS to allow the Freelancer server to be accessed from the Internet.
We have provided an INF file that contains special configuration instructions for Freelancer’s server with Windows98 ICS. This file is located in the Extras folder where you installed Freelancer and is called Win98ICS.inf. This file must be installed on the machine that serves as the ICS host (i.e. the machine with the real Internet connection).
If you are simply running a Freelancer server on your ICS host machine, you can use this file as-is. If you are running a Freelancer server on another machine on your network, or you’ve chosen a specific port with the /P option, you will need to edit this file before installing it. When you’re happy with the contents of this file, right-click on it and choose Install. You must reboot the ICS machine for the changes to take effect. This should properly configure your ICS to work with Freelancer.
Simple Fix for Most NAT/ICS/Firewall IssuesMany NAT, ICS, and firewall issues can be resolved by simply opening up ports 2300–2400 on your NAT/ICS server or firewall. If you just want to run a single server on your NAT/ICS network, this should work well for you.
How to Control the Port Number that the Freelancer Server UsesThe Freelancer server normally picks its own port (in the range of 2302–2400) when hosting a game. This works well in most cases. However, there are situations where you may want to control the port choice for the server. These situations are usually caused by running more than one DirectPlay game on your network at a time.
You can control the port selection with the /P command line option to the FLServer.exe program. For example, if you wanted to have the server host on port 1234, you would use the following command line FLServer.exe /P1234. You can easily modify the provided shortcut to FLServer.exe to include this option. Simply edit the Target line and add your own /Pxxx after the FLServer.exe text.
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Btw you may give also more ports to players:
Server 1: 2301-2350
Server 2: 2351-2400
