America's Army 3 Server Troubleshooting

In this final installment of the America's Army Server Guide we will be looking at some troubleshooting steps and common "Gotchas" when hosting and managing an America's Army 3 Server. We will be constantly updating this section with useful information as we come upon it.

Overview

Sometimes your server might not start up correctly the first time. The most common problems:

Log: WARNING: Not updating steam server data due to server not being authorized.

We have seen servers authenticate immediately, and we’ve seen them take up to 10 minutes to auth. Launch your server, wait 10 minutes. If it hasn’t authenticated, use ctrl-C to close the server and then try again. If this still doesn’t work, then it’s time to start double and triple checking your settings.

Router port forwarding misconfiguration

If your network uses NAT behind a router, then you’ll have to forward some ports from the outside IP to the inside IP so that your server will authenticate, show up in game browsers, and allow connections from clients.

● 8777 (UDP)

● 8778 (UDP)

● 1200 (UDP and TCP)

● 4380 (UDP and TCP)

● 9987 (UDP)

● 27000-27030 (UDP and TCP)

Firewall Misconfiguration

Specific ports must be open in your firewall so that your server will authenticate, show up in game browsers, and allow connections from clients.

● 8777 (UDP)

● 8778 (UDP)

● 1200 (UDP and TCP)

● 4380 (UDP and TCP)

● 9987 (UDP)

● 27000-27030 (UDP and TCP)

Command Line misconfiguration

If the values in command line are incorrect then your server will fail to auth and it will only work in LAN mode.

Command line options and examples can be found in the main Server Management GuideServer Management Guide.

Server Registration Misconfiguration

If the values in your MASAuthOptions.ini are incorrect then your server will fail to auth and it will only work in LAN mode.

Please make sure these values match those set when you registered your server. These details are also contained in the confirmation email you will have recieved.

Third party software interference

If you are using 3rd party software to configure and manage your server, and your server is failing, then your best course of action is to eliminate the 3rd party software from the equation and use the method above to see if your server will launch properly.

Server IP Information

America's Army servers can be set up to run as GLOBAL (servers that appear in the in-game and Steam browser) or as LAN servers.

LAN servers use (attach, or "bind to") the IP address specified in the "Server Authorization IP address" field shown on the main Host a Server dialog. However, GLOBAL servers can be set up to bind to a different IP address than that used for the authentication of your server using the "Use Multihome with IP" check box and the "Advanced IP Options" button. The "Multihome" option also lets users with systems that have more than one IP address force the game to use (bind to) a specific IP address. You might have this situation if you have more than one network adapter in your computer or you have a LAN network adapter and a USB based DSL or cable mode.

In the case where you need to check the "Use Multihome with IP" box be sure to enter your server's registration "Server Authorization IP Address" exactly as it appeared in the E-Mail you received when you registered your server. You must also click on the "Advanced IP Options" and enter the IP address you would like to have your server "bind" to.

Note that when registering your server you should provide the IP address of your cable modem (it's "Internet" address) and not the local LAN IP address of your PC (which is typically a number such as 192.168.x.x or 10.0.x.x).

America's Army 3 PunkBuster Setup

PunkBuster provides you with a tool to help protect your America's Army 3 game server by monitoring for players who cheat and automatically kicking them from your server. To protect your server with PunkBuster be sure and check the "Enable PunkBuster Anti-Cheat Protection" box.

You may use the "Update Server PB" button to open the Even Balance web page that has links to download the latest PunkBuster for your server. For more information on PunkBuster and America's Army including the administrator's guide click here.

America's Army 3 Server Registration

America's Army servers may be run as LAN servers that do not allow player's to gain rank or appear in the in-game Internet or Steam browser, as "authorized" servers that appear in Steam's browser as well as the in-game Internet browser, and as "honor bearing" servers that appear in both browsers and allow players to advance in rank.

You may register for an authorized or honor-bearing server browsing to the America's Army Server Registration Page.[americasarmy.com]

IMPORTANT: Note that when registering your server you should provide the IP address of your cable modem (it's "Internet" address) and not the local LAN IP address of your PC (which is typically a number such as 192.168.x.x or 10.0.x.x).

For further details see the Offical Guide for Server Registrations. Official Server Registration Guide

America's Army 3 Server Performance Options

America's Army servers are configured to work with very few changes required to their settings. The biggest changes you are likely going to need to make are specifying how many palyers and how many spectators you want to allow into your server simultaneously. Depending on your network connection and the CPU of your PC you may be able to host anywhere from four to 26 players at the same time.

The following table will give you a rough estimates for required CPU and available memory as well as bandwidth requirements to run an America's Army 3 server for various numbers of players:

Player Count	Reccomended CPU	RAM	Bandwidth (Up/Down
2-4	1.8Ghz (Dual Core or Better)	1Gb	256 Kbs DSL
5-8	2.2Ghz (Dual Core or Better)	1Gb	542 Kbs-768 Kbs DSL/Cable
9-12	2.2Ghz (Dual Core or Better)	1Gb	1Mbs Cable
13-16	3.0Ghz (Dual Core or Better)	1Gb	1.2Mbs Cable
17-20	3.0Ghz (Quad Core or Better)	1Gb	2.0Mbs Cable
21-26	3.0Ghz (Quad Core or Better)	1Gb	3.0Mbs Cable or Dedicated line

Note that these are estimates and depending on the map and what other applications are running on your PC you may require additional RAM. In general the upload speed of your system to the Internet is what will influence how well the game plays for those connecting to it.

Securing and Administering your America's Army 3 Server

America's Army servers can be set up to require players to enter a password to join your server. This is often done when servers are hosting tournaments or server operators just want to play only with those they share the password with. To enable requiring a password check the "Password Protect Server with Password" box and then enter the password in the field to the right. The password should be long enough to be secure (five or more characters and numbers recommended) and short enough that players can remember it so they can join your server.

You can also control who can join your server as a "super" administrator. A "super" administrator is someone who has access to all of the server's administrative functions which include both those shown in the in-game Admin Command Post (ACP) as well as all of the administrator console commands (type "AdminHelp" in the in-game console for a list). The "super" administrator password should be kept secret from all but those you trust completely. If you do not set an Administrative password you will not be able to join the server as a "super" administrator. To set the administrator password enter the desired value in the "Server Administrator Password" field.

Passwords may contain letters and numbers but you cannot use any symbols or spaces.

To join your server with the administrator password use the "Join Server As Admin" button or type "start <your server's ip>?AdminPW=<your admin password>" in the in-game console (activated by pressing F12 or the tilde key).

There is also another type of administrator you can set up called "Player Administrators". These are trusted players that you want to give access to the in-game Admin Command Post. To add Player Administrators join your server as the "super admin" and then use the ACP to add Player Administrators.

Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.

[(OSGS)John]

Hi guys, I hope you are having a grate day. One again I was contacted by my friends who run AA3 servers complaining that they are beeing attacked by hackers, I checked and yep all the servers are down.I knaw our comunity is small and shrinking but since Im not a teck expert only thing I can do is ask you for help. So yes help us please and well see to it that AA3 lives forever.
Best regards.