Hosting Convoy on Second Machine = Fail

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riverty
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Hosting Convoy on Second Machine = Fail

#1 Post by riverty » 23 Aug 2021 23:38

The intent is I want to host a convoy on a dedicated host machine and be able to play the game on my game machine with friends.

I have two machines (really 3 but I'll get to that) in my home. One is what I will call the host, one is my game box. I have two (2) different Steam accounts and I have purchased the game twice, once for each account. Both machines are Windows 10, both are running a purchased copy of the game on different Steam accounts. I fire up the host machine, log in to Steam using my "host account" and fire up ATS and host a convoy, all good. Then, I fire up my game machine, log in to Steam, of course using my "game account", fire up ATS and log in to the host machine's convoy. By all rights, this should work. However, my friends and I frequently get disconnected from the host. Sometimes we can run 1000 miles, other times we get disconnected right away. It's hard to pinpoint why as there seems to be no consistency on why the disconnects.

In an effort to troubleshoot, I have tried using two different machines as the host with the same results. I've also tried different network cables, going through a switch, going direct to my Fiber Router. All with the same inconsistent results.

So I ran a test. I cleared (deleted) the log files on both the host and the game machine, got the host running and joined via my game machine. Within say, 15 seconds the game machine gets disconnected. The host machine is still running fine. So, I shut everything down and checked the log files. The hosts game.log.txt file shows: "[MP] Remote client disconnected - 10". The game machine's game.log.txt shows: "[MP] Session closure requested (reason - 23). I sure with I knew what these "reason codes" are.

Now, my host machine's Steam account does not own all of the DLC maps offered by SCS, just the base game. In my search to find answers, some people say that the host needs to have the same DLC as the clients but I don't buy it. We've had some successful runs this way. I would think if the DLC were the issue, we wouldn't have ANY successful runs.

So, any ideas? I see others with what they call "dedicated servers", which I'm guessing is a Windows box running a copy of the game, hosting a convoy 24/7. How else would this get done?

A side note: I've also used a Linux machine as the host with the same results.

Thanks for your time on this.
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GinXeng
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Re: Hosting Convoy on Second Machine = Fail

#2 Post by GinXeng » 24 Aug 2021 02:45

Might be a router or firewall issue, I host a 24/7 Dedicated server (=PgT=) and I play on a separate computer on my main Steam account and I dont have those issues although my "Server" has all the DLC's too. Try opening your last_session_config.sii located in your steam_profiles folder and change the port number to something else, default is "port: 100" just it do whatever for example "port: 27015" and see what happens.
riverty
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Re: Hosting Convoy on Second Machine = Fail

#3 Post by riverty » 24 Aug 2021 17:48

GinXeng, Just letting you know that when I change the port # in last_session_config.sii to 27015 (or anything other number) it changes it back to port 200!
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GinXeng
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Re: Hosting Convoy on Second Machine = Fail

#4 Post by GinXeng » 25 Aug 2021 02:05

Changing the port and launching the server uses the new port, but when you close it and start another session it reverts back to 100 or 200 which seem to be the default ports. Did changing port have any different affects or still getting the same?
riverty
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Re: Hosting Convoy on Second Machine = Fail

#5 Post by riverty » 25 Aug 2021 19:50

GinXeng, sitrep:

Server machine is on a static (reserved) internal IP. Port 200 (TCP) is routed to server through firewall. Port 200 is reported being used in the game as well. I tried 27015 with the same results - BTW so left it at 200 for now. My client machine is on the same network (DHCP) but don't think that would matter. Anyway, 3 of us got on this morning and tried to make a 1700 mile run. All 3 of us (2 external players, 1 internal player) showed a healthy < 50ms connection on the server. External player # 1 got disconnected within a few minutes but then reconnected right away. All 3 of us ran roughly 1000 miles with no issues. Then, player # 1 suddenly got disconnected. Less than a minute later, I (on the internal network) got disconnected. Player # 2 stayed on the server with no issues. It took several attempts for player # 1 to get reconnected but finally did. I tried 5 times to connect. Each time I would connect, then within seconds I was disconnected. I never did get connected to the server until I shut down the game (on the client) and fired it back up. Once I did that, I was able to reconnect and stay connected. We finished out our run without further issues. Keep in mind, the server knows no difference. It just runs without complaints, crashes, or other.

My 35 years of IT experience tells me firewall issues aren't wonky, you either get connected or you do not. There is no "connected for a while" scenario I've ever encountered. So, I doubt it's a firewall issue. Network? Well, maybe. Does it matter that I've run several other game "servers" on this same network without any issues in other games, including webserver, application server, SSH, Samba, etc.?

Oh, another note. It seems one does not need to have any DLC installed on the server. While the server player cannot travel to those states, the other players sure can.

Are you (or anyone else) experiencing random disconnects from the game (buggy network code in the game)? What ports have you opened on your firewall, assuming you are running an external firewall? Any other ideas I should try?

Regards and thanks for your time, all.
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GinXeng
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Re: Hosting Convoy on Second Machine = Fail

#6 Post by GinXeng » 26 Aug 2021 05:35

I play with a group of friends and well as a few randoms who join and leave the server along with a few regulars who return to the server on a daily basis and I've never heard of anyone being randomly dropped from the server unless the problem was their end. There are tons of many possibilities to explore as well. Try hosting on the machine your playing on and see if that problem persist. Try changing your servers Steam regional download setting to a different one, that affects on how the server connects to WOTs, if the server is losing connection to WOT's, it will drop clients too.
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VTXcnME
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Re: Hosting Convoy on Second Machine = Fail

#7 Post by VTXcnME » 29 Aug 2021 10:35

Had a friend do something like this, albeit it was not with this game.

It turned out his networking gear didn't have the appropriate bandwidth. His internet also lacked required speeds for streaming data to two separate machines. Very similar situation to you, sometimes he'd run for an hour or so and be fine, sometimes it would be 5 minutes.

It turned out he needed to upgrade his router (it was an older unit though) and move to the next tier internet speed.

Not sure if that'll be your solution, might be worth a check?
riverty
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Re: Hosting Convoy on Second Machine = Fail

#8 Post by riverty » 18 Sep 2021 13:23

So, I added a new piece of gear to my sim setup. I purchased a DOF Reality H3! Because of this, I needed more room than my office had available so, I had to relocate my setup to the basement. I now have 2 brand new CAT-6 cables going directly from my game and server machines to the Google Fiber router. Obviously I'm trying hard to eliminate possible network issues even though I have NO network issues on anything else on my network or other games I play. On my initial test runs with the server machine "hosting" and my game machine as a playing client, I am still getting booted out of the server at random times with no obvious reason. It's random. I've played for an hour or so and then get kicked, I've played for 5 minutes and then get kicked. Others connected to my host machine are experiencing the same things, disconnections at random times, all for no apparent reason. The server is still "hosting" and nothing but "the client disconnected" in the logs. The "server" machine has a static internal IP and I've opened the Steam ports to said machine in an effort to troubleshoot this. No avail there. If I host a convoy on my game client alone, it works without issues. Not sure what else I can try or what it could be causing this. I need more ideas?!!?

Cheers!
Some newbie driver
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Re: Hosting Convoy on Second Machine = Fail

#9 Post by Some newbie driver » 19 Sep 2021 17:28

riverty wrote: 25 Aug 2021 19:50My 35 years of IT experience tells me firewall issues aren't wonky, you either get connected or you do not. There is no "connected for a while" scenario I've ever encountered.
In most cases, you are right. Firewall rules per se are black or white: you pass them or you don't. But are we talking a pure firewall here, with no other security service? I mean, depending on what you have there, it could be some packet inspection or some other thing to consider that could be triggered at random times.

Also, the kind of problem you describe resembles vaguely to some kind of problems I had with old or cheap network hardware (like most ISP companies home routers are). In those cases, the ARP tables (mostly are those, but can be others) end saturated or even the CPU of the router/switch itself tops the 100% (the very first routers of OF in Spain were so cheap that they weren't able to manage all the contracted bandwidth + manage the wifi at the same time, go imagine :roll:). In those cases, random packet drops could happen and the party starts. Depending on how's programmed the application, it could be more or less sensible to those problems (let remember we can consider the MP as almost a beta).

I think you could try those tests to narrow down where the source problem could be:
1- Host the session with the SAME computer you are going to play with, turn off the second computer.
2- Do the same than on 1 but changing computers
3- Host the session with the main computer and play with the computer you used as server
4- Let other person of your group host the session and play only with the main computer
5- Let other person of your group host the session and play only with the second computer
6- Let other person of your group host the session and play with both computers connected to the session (of course, unless somebody helps you, one of those are just going to stay there)

And then, you should check if there had been some variations in the bad behavior of the connection. Like, for example, being you the only one disconnected and never your friends (something that is a possibility when another person is going to be the host)

Have luck
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