Half-Life Dedicated Server

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The Half-Life Dedicated Server or HLDS is an application to run a dedicated server for GoldSrc games, without the client component.

Connectivity

No matter which type of server you are using, your computer must be able to receive unsolicited incoming connections. This is exactly what routers and software firewalls exist to prevent, so if you are using either you will have to reconfigure. Refer to the manufacturer instructions for how to do this.

The ports HLDS officially requires are:

1. 27015 TCP/UDP (game transmission, pings and RCON)
2. 27020 UDP (HLTV transmission)

HLDS has also been spotted opening connections on 27005 to 27030 UDP/TCP, but some of these may be outbound only.

Tip:Pinging your own server will fail with some routers and/or ISPs. The most reliable way to test whether your connection is open is either to get a friend to try connecting, or to install the Microsoft Network Monitor (apply the filter Udp.Port == 27015) and watch for requests coming in from random people around the world. Note that the heartbeats you will see being sent to the two master servers do not mean that the connection is open.

Note:A residential internet connections may not have the upload capacity to support large games.

Installation

See HLDSUpdateTool.

Known Issues

• If you have a HLDS and Steam install on the same machine, the server will not connect properly to the Steam Masters Servers due to an incompatibility between Steam and HDLS.

Solution: uninstall Steam, and force HLDS to install new files from online servers, using -verify_all.

See Also

• Source Dedicated Server
• Server Plugins
• Open Source Server Plugin List
• Command Line Options

External Links

• What is Steam (bottom right of page)
• Half-Life Dedicated Server article on Wikipedia
• Official Dedicated Server Discussion Forums