• OpenRPG Network Troubleshooting Guide

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CLIENT:

(The OpenRPG "client" is the program you use to connect to OpenRPG servers, to play games, chat, etc.)

Clients receive the server lists using the typical web-browser protocol (http). If your client gets no server list, then chances are either it can't make web-requests due to a firewall or it can't reach openrpg.com to retrieve the data due to a network issue. Sometimes this means that your local internet connection is malfunctioning, but sometimes the OpenRPG.com metaserver goes down. There are a couple of backup servers, so try hitting "Refresh" and see if the list comes back.

If the server list is down, you can still try to connect to a server using its IP address or DNS name. For example, openrpg.wrathof.com:6774 will connect to the OpenRPG Dev II server, and 127.0.0.1:6774 or just localhost:6774 will connect to a server on the same computer as the client.

If the client can see a server on the metalist but cannot connect to it (connection errors or times out) then most likely the server's firewall has not been configured to allow connections on port 6774. Alternatively the client machine either cannot reach the server IP or the IP is blocked by the clients on firewall perhaps due to operations of a security application. Failed DNS resolution can also cause this. Check that DNS is operating correctly by typing "www.openrpg.com" into your web browser. If it fails, either you have a DNS issue or OpenRPG.com is down. Try www.google.com as well; if that's down, the fault is probably on your end.

SERVER:

Servers 'register' with the meta using web protocols (http) as well. If your server is not registering with the meta, then it cannot reach openrpg.com on port 80 either due to firewall settings or network issues as for the client. DNS can also affect server registration. Check the DNS resolution on the server side using a web browser as mentioned for the client or (on linux) try the 'dig' or 'nslookup' commands. On linux you can manually add openrpg.com to your etc/resolv.conf (or equiv) file to avoid the DNS lookup entirely.

If your server is visible to clients but does not accept connections it is normally a firewall (port access) or NAT (network address translation) issue. Servers must be configured to accept connections on port 6774 and their IP must be publicly accessable (or properly NAT'd). Routers and firewalls (software and hardware) can be responsible in this case; on rare occasions, an ISP may have some sort of firewall set up on their end (you'll have to contact them for more info if this is the case). Note, modern firewalls (like iptables on *nix) can control both directions of network traffic; make sure you know how your firewall works and how to configure it properly. The "ping" and "traceroute" commands are your best friend when debugging a connection issue. The use of a port scanner can greatly simplify your trouble shooting. If you don't know what these programs are or how to use them, learn. On linux, unix type man {program name}. On MacOSX use the Network Utility application (Applications->Utilities) as it inclues ping, traceroute and portscans in one application. The "ping" command is also available in Windows' console (DOS) prompt.

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