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<title>Setting up and running a dopewars server</title>
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<h1>Setting up and running a dopewars server</h1>
<p>Multiplayer games of dopewars require a running dopewars server; this
mediates the interactions between each player (each player runs a
<a href="clientplay.html">client</a> which connects to this server). The server
runs the game, generating drug prices and the like, and instructs the clients
accordingly. The server can be run on any machine that can be reached over
the network by clients (so you don't have to run it on the same machine that
you run your client on, for example, unless your firewall blocks the dopewars
port).</p>
<p>Single player games do not require a server (although you can still connect
to one if you like) as a "virtual server" is run by the dopewars client.</p>
<p>The dopewars server can be heavily customised by means of the
<a href="configfile.html">configuration files</a>. For example, you can
change the names of all the game locations so that the game is set in your
home city rather than New York. Any players that then connect to your
customised server will play this customised game.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#server">Running a server</a></li>
<li><a href="#interact">Interacting with the text-mode server</a></li>
<li><a href="#ntservice">Running as an NT service</a></li>
<li><a href="#metaserver">Private and public: the dopewars metaserver</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><a id="server">Running a server</a></h2>
<p>All the code for the dopewars server is included in the same binary as the
standard client. To run the binary in server mode, specify the <b>-s</b> or
<b>-S</b> <a href="commandline.html">command line option</a>. The type of
server that runs depends on how you configured the binary; by default, on
Windows systems a simple graphical window containing the server output and
a line for entering <a href="servercommands.html">server commands</a> is used
(an "interactive" server) while on Unix systems a text-mode server that
accepts no input ("noninteractive") is used.</p>
<h2><a id="interact">Interacting with the text-mode server</a></h2>
<p>Once started, the text-mode server does not accept commands directly. This
is problematic if you want to adjust settings, eject players, etc. To send
commands to a running server, run dopewars with the <b>-A</b>
<a href="commandline.html">command line option</a>. (This should only work
from the machine running the dopewars server, not over the network, and only
for the user that started the server, as it uses a Unix-domain socket for the
communication.) Also, by default the text-mode server sends its log output to
standard output; you may wish to instead log to a file with the <b>-l</b>
option.</p>
<h2><a id="ntservice">Running as an NT service</a></h2>
<p>On Windows systems, the graphical server has one major drawback; it can
only run while you are logged on. As soon as you log out, the server is
killed. To get around this limitation, dopewars supports being run as an
"NT Service" under Windows NT and later systems (e.g. 2000, XP). The install
program should set up the service; users with suitable access rights can then
start or stop the service via. the Control Panel. The disadvantage of the
server in this configuration is that server commands cannot be issued once
the server is running. This limitation should be fixed in a future release
of dopewars.</p>
<h2><a id="metaserver">Private and public: the dopewars metaserver</a></h2>
<p>By default, a server reports its status to the dopewars
<a href="metaserver.html">metaserver</a>. It does this on startup and
shutdown, and whenever players join or leave the game. In addition, you
can force a report (under Unix systems) by sending the dopewars server
process a SIGUSR1 signal. The server will "remind" the metaserver that it
exists by ensuring that a report is sent at least once every 3 hours or so,
regardless. A "status report" comprises contact details for the server,
a count of the number of active players, and current high scores.</p>
<p>The metaserver also has a web interface, which is used by dopewars clients to
obtain the list of servers, and can also be viewed with a web browser
<a href="http://dopewars.sourceforge.net/metaserver.php?getlist=2">here</a>.</p>
<p>Whether your server connects to the metaserver can be configured with the
<a href="configfile.html#MetaServerActive">MetaServer.Active</a> configuration
file setting, or the <b>-s</b> and <b>-S</b> <a href="commandline.html">
command line options</a>.</p>
<p>N.B. Your machine may have trouble connecting with
the metaserver in some circumstances, most notably if you are using an
enforced proxy server or your DNS does not correctly resolve your IP address
to your domain name. In such cases, you may be unable to connect to the
metaserver, or it may register your server with an incorrect name. For
information on getting round these difficulties, see the
<a href="metaserver.html">metaserver</a> page.</p>
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