Getting your server name to show up on metaserver

[Big_Juan_Teh_Furby]

Berendol, how did you get your server's name to show up on the metaserver?  I know there's a configuration to set where you can tell what to report to the metaserver, but Angus tried that, and it only shows our IP address...not the name we're specifying.

(And yes, we're doing a regular name...www.bigjuan.net, to be precise).

[Berendol]

Ehhhm, I don't know, that's the name you'd get if you did a reverse DNS lookup on that box's IP. It was actually registered by campus ITS under the .RIT.EDU domain. See if that's the problem: try performing one from another machine.

I had everything in the server config set up the way it should be, and I presume you can figure out what that should be - the (sparse) informational texts and comments are clear on the process.

[Jug]

If you start a server and only your server's IP address shows on the Meta Server list then the server doesn't have a reverse DNS record.  This is not uncommon, particularly on shared hosting.  

The Meta Server only uses reverse DNS as a fall back if it isn't passed a symbolic name.  So the solution to your problem is to pass the Meta Server the name you want it to display in the server list.  This name must resolve via forward DNS to the IP address of your server, obviously.

To pass the symbolic hostname to the Meta Server don't use the settings in the  mangband.cfg file, they don't work.  What you need to change are the defines in config.h, BIND_NAME and (optionally) BIND_IP.
                                               
So in config.h you have:
                                               
[pre]#define      BIND_NAME "my.servername.com"[/pre]

Then recompile the server.

I hope that helps.

- Jug

[Big_Juan_Teh_Furby]

Are you (or anyone else) 100% sure this is correct?

I've modified (as Angus had before me) this numerous times and recompiled to no avail.

I've got DNS records in for http://www.bigjuan.net (and I just put one in for mangband.bigjuan.net, just to be sure), yet when I change the option in config.h and recompile, I sill only get an IP address.

Do I need to specify something in the bind_ip field as well, or can I just leave that blank?  The MAIN issue with my server is that I don't have a static IP, and since my ISP sucks, I can change IP addresses every week or so...so, if people see "mangband.bigjuan.net", they'll know it's my server regardelss as to what IP I'm on.

(I've already got a program that sees IP address changes and updates my DNS records, btw).

[Berendol]

I'm pretty sure your ISP is at fault here. It's working for everyone else who has a DNS entry. Wonder if Crimson has any insights?

[Domino]

Welp the strange thing is that this is with a different ISP than we were using last time.  Currently it's Centurytel (which blows large donkeys) and previously it was Comcast.  I remember trying to set up the bind_ip as well as bind_name and it never worked for us.

[Berendol]

Seems like your server is getting rejected. Maybe if you talk real nice to the meta-server, buy it dinner, and send it flowers?

Have you tried DynIP? I see they have a 30-day free trial and I am curious to see if it would work out for you.

Anyways, it does seem like your ISP might be either deliberately blocking you from setting that sort of thing up, or they are really so incompetent that something in their infrastructure is broken. I'd send them a nice polite email asking if you can host your own website on your computer, and see if they can get your DNS troubles figured out. Don't mention "game server" when you're talking to them because usually that means something that invites hackers and high bandwidth usage.

You could fill in the IP field. Does that fix it? Maybe the network code needs an examination. You could have a script run whenever you know your IP should change that: replaces it, deletes any object files that are altered by that redefinition, and remakes the server or maybe once/twice a day. (As an aside, do your testing and development outside that source tree.)

[Big_Juan_Teh_Furby]

I've actually already have a free dynamic dns thing...zoneedit.com.  Hooray for free dns!

That also leads me to believe it's not really an ISP issue, as my domain resolves just fine to my box.

[Domino]

Also I have filled in the IP field.. It didnt work either.  When we were using Comcast we got an extremely stable 2 week lease.  It rarely if ever gave up the lease prior to that and in fact we generally got the same IP back again.  I think at one point we had the same IP for something on the order of 8 months or so wasn't it Furby?

[Big_Juan_Teh_Furby]

Aye...it was for a looooooong time.