Call of Duty 4 Dedicated Servers

Dedicated server, where you go after loading up cod4. there are literally thousands to choose from, so which one do you pick? Maybe you need a server for your clan, or just don't like any of the CoD servers that you've been to. I have been playing in and buying dedicated servers for the past 7 years, heres some info that might help.

Server Browser Stuff

You click on join game and click push refresh list, you probaly have a giant list of servers to look at. Make use of the "Filter Servers" feature i recommend the following settings...

View Empty - no
View Full - no
With password - no
Dedicated only - yes
Mods - all
Friendly Fire - all
Killcam - all
Punk Buster - all

The dedicated server filter should always be on so you dont end up in a laggy listen server. Once your list is trimmed down pick a game type and amount of players you feel like gaming with. I recommend finding a game with 12-20 players, 32 man servers are just a randy fest. Xbox and PS3 guys you aren't missing any thing special in those games, I prefer the 16 player servers.

Why get a Dedicated Server?

There are 2 kinds of servers; Listen server, and Dedicated server. Listen servers are hosted by a player in game, so CPU resources are being shared which causes lag. In a dedicated server you get the entire box. If you buy a cheap server from a small company theres probably more than one server on that box. Some times its not noticeable some times it is.

Don't like any servers that are up and running now? Go buy one and put your dream game up. If your clan/team is thinking about getting a server you should go for it, servers are extremely valuable to teams.

Most servers you see in your list are clan bought. A competitive team needs one no question, its essential. You need a place to practice as a team and break down maps. Scrimming and matches become so much easier when you don't have to rely on the other team. Going over every map with your team in a server builds chemistry and team work, essential for a successful clan.

Good news
Theres a ton of server providers now. All the competition between server companies means you can get a not only get a cheap server but quality and value also. If you don't like one check out the next there is no shortage.
Bad News
There are a ton of server providers... The perfect server is out there some where even if it takes you years to find it...

Rent Dedicated Servers

The first thing you should look for is a test server. If they don't have a test server up they probably aren't worth checking out, know what your paying for before you buy it. Most hosts charge by the slot, public servers are more expensive than private.

CoD4 servers usualy cost in the $1.50 - $2.60 range per slot, the higher priced games are public servers. For a team its possible to get a private call of duty 4 server for about $20 a month, they are totally worth it if you compete.

Its hard to say what companies are "good" and which are "bad". Every year it changes, a company that was good and sold lots of servers some times become bad because over sell their boxes. Test the waters and see which test servers are smoothest for you.

Look every where and check out as many server companies as you can. Having a large field of hosts to choose from means you increase your chances of getting the most for your money. start turning up rocks look every where!

Basic CoD4 RCON Commands

You need a way to communicate with your dedicated server. this is where rcon commands come in. Ill give you some of the basic commands to get your server rolling. Bring down your console and type these commands
/rcon login (yourpassword)
This is where you enter the password you've set for the server. This command will need to be typed before every rcon entry (without the password, you only need to enter that once).
status
This command will show you each players information, you will need this to kick/ban players from your server.
banclient
The good old ban hammer. This form of the command bans a player by his client id which you get from status. You can also use "banuser" and type in the players name (/rcon banuser "playername").
kick
Like ban kick has a client variant (/rcon clientkick "playername") or you can use "/rcon kick "playername".
map
typing /rcon map mp_strike will change the map to strike (or what ever map you want in its place).
devmap
If you do /rcon devmap mp_strike you can use commands like /god /give all /noclip these are great for figuring out nade spots.
map_restart
"/rcon map_restart" will reload the map.
quit
Entering "/rcon quit" will restart the entire server not just the map.

Installing a CoD4 Server Mod

All most all leagues and ladder for CoD4 require a mod. This is how you get the Call of Duty 4 mod up on your server (I will use PAM in this example).

The league your playing in will have the mod file some where on its site.

Once you have the files go on your server and open up the mods folder in the cod4 root. Create a folder in this directory named "pam"

Now go back to the files frome earlier(.iwd and .ff) and upload them into the pam folder you just created.

Then go in game and set "/fs_game mods/pam" and restart the server.

Replace "pam" with what ever mod you need to install. The folder names are case sensitive make sure they are typed perfectly. This should have you up and running, happy fragging.

footer for dedicated server page