Frequently Asked Questions » The GTVd FAQ
Does GTVd do anything on my machine that you wont tell officially?
Simple answer - No.
In addition to that gtvd will never run as root (you can install and start as root but it will change to a normal user) and it will never mess with anything outside its own directory.
GTVd is talking to cron - why?
When you start the daemon it installs a cronjob that will check every 15min if the node is still running - if it is not it tries to get it running again. If you use `gtvd-manager stop` this cronjob will also be removed completely.
Who is already using GTVd and how many are there?
Check here: http://www.gamestv.org/admin.gtvd.php
How does ETTVoD work with GTVd?
oD servers are real servers now - you can just add them to your node and adjust their usage settings and you're ready to go. To see which oD servers are currently running, you can check http://www.gamestv.org/live
What about the "star stuff" on oD servers?
They actually work - you can set how many stars a match needs to be replayed on your on demand servers
How are live servers picked (for broadcasting matches)?
1. Servers that were manually added to the prefered list
2. Usage setting, high to low
3. Fitting size for the job
4. Putback score
What's this putback score?
Every time your server *could* be picked for a task but isn't, your server is awarded one putback point. When GTVd has the choice, it will pick the server which has a higher score. When a server is picked, the score is returned to zero.
So GTVd tries to hub every match - whats that about?
Unlike ettvd - gtvd does not use recorders - instead it hubs every match and uses the hub for jobs that the recorder used to do before - for example recording the official demo for the match.
Using a hub also reduces load on the matchserver when we need more than 1 Tv server.
Does gtvd try to use ettv from same node as hub
Currently no, but we might add that in future if it plays well together with other usage settings
What are private demos
Private demos are normal demos like you had on ettvd. They are bound to your system and gtvd will not share them with other server owners. Private demos can however become an official demo if the owner allows it - this is a server setting.
What are official demos
Official demos always have a match associated with it - there can only be one official demo per match. Official demos can also be shared freely between gtvd systems. With official demos we try to pick one demo that we know works and associate it to a match, like that we can provide a much better quality of service for on Demand services as official demos are the prefered demotype used by oD servers. The gtvd system will also make sure than any official demo is on at least 2 systems at the same time, so that if one goes down we dont lose the demo.
What about my ettvd demos?
You can simply move or copy your ettvd demos into gtvd's demo directory. When you're done click the demo resync button in your servers demo-list. The system will now register the demos with a unique ID in the database. Demos imported like this will always be private demos. A background task will also try to assign the correct match to your demo based on the demoname, this may take some time though - we do it in small steps to avoid overloading the database. Be noted that registering a large amount of demos might cause a high load on your system as we need to generate a hash for each demo to see if anyone else has exactly the same one - this hashing and registering task is however only done once.
I've added some servers to my node but I dont see any server processes in my processlist - whats wrong?
We don't just keep unused servers running for no reason anymore. When a server is marked as "standby" it could be running, but currently isn't - this saves a lot of ram. As soon as a server is needed, it will automatically be started up and will then also show up in your process list.
What port does gtvd listen on?
Your gtvd node does not listen on any port - when it starts up, it is connecting to the gtvd master server though a secure and encrypted ssl connection. It will keep this connection open for as long as it is running so that master and node can send commands and status updates. GTVd also uses this connection for auto updates and demo transfers - it doesn't use any other (potentially insecure) connections and does not connect to anything other than the gtvd master server.
When and how does gtvd connect servers to live matches?
The first tv server and the first hub will be connected automatically at around 15minutes before the scheduled match start. Which server is picked first depends on quite a number of factors explained in a different faq. As soon as the first server has less than 10 slots available, the system will automatically and almost instantly connect a second server. This can happen as often as needed and also works for hubslots.
If I copy a demo to my node, where does it come from?
The master will make a list of other nodes that have the demo and look for the one that has the most traffic to spare (admin setting). It will then copy it from that node back to the master. From there it will then send it to you.
The master also stores some demos itself in its democache - it contains about 20GB of demos that have been recently transfered, so if the demo is in there the master wont need to get it first and will send it to you directly.
What exactly does the Priority on servers do? How should i set it?
This field mainly controls if you want to let others go first instead of casting yourself. If you set this any lower than "max" you say that everyone that did set their server to max may go first. So if you actually do want to cast with this server, you probably want to set it to max ;-)
I want to add or edit a lot of servers - do I have to do that one by one?
Currently yes. We plan to add mass adding and editing later, but its not an easy task, thats why its not available yet. If you need a change on a lot of servers (like adding the same Info to each one of them) we can do it directly in the database for you.
How about custom maps?
In order to be able to reliably say which maps will or will not work with ettv, there is an official set of maps that are supported by every gtvd ettv server. These maps are kept uptodate through the auto update system. The current list of maps is as follows:
1v1dm, bremen_b2, frostbite, multi_huntplace, sp_delivery2, sw_fueldump_b3, the_station, adlernest_b7c, ctf_multi, karsiah_te2, sp_delivery_te, sw_goldrush_te, adlernest, ctf_well, missile_b2, supplydepot2, sw_oasis_b3, base12_b6, et_beach, missile_b3, supply, tc_base, braundorf_b4, et_ice, reactor_final, sw_battery_b4, te_valhalla, bremen_b1, et_village, mp_sillyctf, sos_secret_weapon, sw_battery, the_station_final
If you think we forgot an important one, please let us know ;-)
Whats the timeout for unused oD servers?
Unused servers are automatically shut down again after 3 minutes
GTVd is using my 100+ slot servers on 0 star matches - that makes no sense
Yup, doesnt make much sense - if you dont want your large tv's or hubs to be used on low importance matches, please adjust the servers usage settings.
So if GTVd only adds as many servers as needed I actually cast less than before right?
Yes and No. Yes if you count how many matches you cast, No if you count how many viewers you cast for. With GTVd you wont cast as many games as before (but can still get the demo through the system), but if you do cast, it ensures that you're casting (almost) exclusively. So the total number of viewers has not changed, they are just distributed in a more sensual manner. The putback score also plays a big part in keeping the distribution fair.
My Node is on standby - whats that about?
There is a node update pending and your node didnt update yet - in the standby state the node will not spawn any new servers and wait for old ones to finish what they are doing in order to restart itself and update.
The gtvd/servers directory is huge - do you copy the files around every time you start a server?
No we don't copy any files around when starting servers - what you see in the servers directory are only hardlinks to the actual files in the packages directory - they do not take up extra space on your harddrive because they all point to the same original file. This has the advantage that we can update a package without changing anything for servers that are already running.
On GTVd ettv servers the r_drawfoliage and r_shownormals settings are cheat protected - wth?
Unfortunately we had to learn that this was a drawback of the way we manage ettv now - if you directly connect the servers (which saves a lot of resources) instead of recording it to a demo first then these restrictions somehow leak towards ettv viewers. Their local etpro will then enforce these restrictions.
GTVd actually tries to set sv_cheats to 1 but most if not all matchservers it connects to will force it back to 0, thus causing these effects.
Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about that - thats just the way ettv works - if you want to use these "cheats" you'll have to use our oD feature after the game as these will run off a demo again.
Whats the settings file in my gtvd folder?
This file contains a few settings that can only be stored on the node itself - currently that is your node id and the secret used to auth with the master server. If you switch servers, you can copy this file in order to keep your node id with all its settings.
We'd apreciate if you'd recycle node id's as much as possible to avoid useless spam in the database.
Simple answer - No.
In addition to that gtvd will never run as root (you can install and start as root but it will change to a normal user) and it will never mess with anything outside its own directory.
GTVd is talking to cron - why?
When you start the daemon it installs a cronjob that will check every 15min if the node is still running - if it is not it tries to get it running again. If you use `gtvd-manager stop` this cronjob will also be removed completely.
Who is already using GTVd and how many are there?
Check here: http://www.gamestv.org/admin.gtvd.php
How does ETTVoD work with GTVd?
oD servers are real servers now - you can just add them to your node and adjust their usage settings and you're ready to go. To see which oD servers are currently running, you can check http://www.gamestv.org/live
What about the "star stuff" on oD servers?
They actually work - you can set how many stars a match needs to be replayed on your on demand servers
How are live servers picked (for broadcasting matches)?
1. Servers that were manually added to the prefered list
2. Usage setting, high to low
3. Fitting size for the job
4. Putback score
What's this putback score?
Every time your server *could* be picked for a task but isn't, your server is awarded one putback point. When GTVd has the choice, it will pick the server which has a higher score. When a server is picked, the score is returned to zero.
So GTVd tries to hub every match - whats that about?
Unlike ettvd - gtvd does not use recorders - instead it hubs every match and uses the hub for jobs that the recorder used to do before - for example recording the official demo for the match.
Using a hub also reduces load on the matchserver when we need more than 1 Tv server.
Does gtvd try to use ettv from same node as hub
Currently no, but we might add that in future if it plays well together with other usage settings
What are private demos
Private demos are normal demos like you had on ettvd. They are bound to your system and gtvd will not share them with other server owners. Private demos can however become an official demo if the owner allows it - this is a server setting.
What are official demos
Official demos always have a match associated with it - there can only be one official demo per match. Official demos can also be shared freely between gtvd systems. With official demos we try to pick one demo that we know works and associate it to a match, like that we can provide a much better quality of service for on Demand services as official demos are the prefered demotype used by oD servers. The gtvd system will also make sure than any official demo is on at least 2 systems at the same time, so that if one goes down we dont lose the demo.
What about my ettvd demos?
You can simply move or copy your ettvd demos into gtvd's demo directory. When you're done click the demo resync button in your servers demo-list. The system will now register the demos with a unique ID in the database. Demos imported like this will always be private demos. A background task will also try to assign the correct match to your demo based on the demoname, this may take some time though - we do it in small steps to avoid overloading the database. Be noted that registering a large amount of demos might cause a high load on your system as we need to generate a hash for each demo to see if anyone else has exactly the same one - this hashing and registering task is however only done once.
I've added some servers to my node but I dont see any server processes in my processlist - whats wrong?
We don't just keep unused servers running for no reason anymore. When a server is marked as "standby" it could be running, but currently isn't - this saves a lot of ram. As soon as a server is needed, it will automatically be started up and will then also show up in your process list.
What port does gtvd listen on?
Your gtvd node does not listen on any port - when it starts up, it is connecting to the gtvd master server though a secure and encrypted ssl connection. It will keep this connection open for as long as it is running so that master and node can send commands and status updates. GTVd also uses this connection for auto updates and demo transfers - it doesn't use any other (potentially insecure) connections and does not connect to anything other than the gtvd master server.
When and how does gtvd connect servers to live matches?
The first tv server and the first hub will be connected automatically at around 15minutes before the scheduled match start. Which server is picked first depends on quite a number of factors explained in a different faq. As soon as the first server has less than 10 slots available, the system will automatically and almost instantly connect a second server. This can happen as often as needed and also works for hubslots.
If I copy a demo to my node, where does it come from?
The master will make a list of other nodes that have the demo and look for the one that has the most traffic to spare (admin setting). It will then copy it from that node back to the master. From there it will then send it to you.
The master also stores some demos itself in its democache - it contains about 20GB of demos that have been recently transfered, so if the demo is in there the master wont need to get it first and will send it to you directly.
What exactly does the Priority on servers do? How should i set it?
This field mainly controls if you want to let others go first instead of casting yourself. If you set this any lower than "max" you say that everyone that did set their server to max may go first. So if you actually do want to cast with this server, you probably want to set it to max ;-)
I want to add or edit a lot of servers - do I have to do that one by one?
Currently yes. We plan to add mass adding and editing later, but its not an easy task, thats why its not available yet. If you need a change on a lot of servers (like adding the same Info to each one of them) we can do it directly in the database for you.
How about custom maps?
In order to be able to reliably say which maps will or will not work with ettv, there is an official set of maps that are supported by every gtvd ettv server. These maps are kept uptodate through the auto update system. The current list of maps is as follows:
1v1dm, bremen_b2, frostbite, multi_huntplace, sp_delivery2, sw_fueldump_b3, the_station, adlernest_b7c, ctf_multi, karsiah_te2, sp_delivery_te, sw_goldrush_te, adlernest, ctf_well, missile_b2, supplydepot2, sw_oasis_b3, base12_b6, et_beach, missile_b3, supply, tc_base, braundorf_b4, et_ice, reactor_final, sw_battery_b4, te_valhalla, bremen_b1, et_village, mp_sillyctf, sos_secret_weapon, sw_battery, the_station_final
If you think we forgot an important one, please let us know ;-)
Whats the timeout for unused oD servers?
Unused servers are automatically shut down again after 3 minutes
GTVd is using my 100+ slot servers on 0 star matches - that makes no sense
Yup, doesnt make much sense - if you dont want your large tv's or hubs to be used on low importance matches, please adjust the servers usage settings.
So if GTVd only adds as many servers as needed I actually cast less than before right?
Yes and No. Yes if you count how many matches you cast, No if you count how many viewers you cast for. With GTVd you wont cast as many games as before (but can still get the demo through the system), but if you do cast, it ensures that you're casting (almost) exclusively. So the total number of viewers has not changed, they are just distributed in a more sensual manner. The putback score also plays a big part in keeping the distribution fair.
My Node is on standby - whats that about?
There is a node update pending and your node didnt update yet - in the standby state the node will not spawn any new servers and wait for old ones to finish what they are doing in order to restart itself and update.
The gtvd/servers directory is huge - do you copy the files around every time you start a server?
No we don't copy any files around when starting servers - what you see in the servers directory are only hardlinks to the actual files in the packages directory - they do not take up extra space on your harddrive because they all point to the same original file. This has the advantage that we can update a package without changing anything for servers that are already running.
On GTVd ettv servers the r_drawfoliage and r_shownormals settings are cheat protected - wth?
Unfortunately we had to learn that this was a drawback of the way we manage ettv now - if you directly connect the servers (which saves a lot of resources) instead of recording it to a demo first then these restrictions somehow leak towards ettv viewers. Their local etpro will then enforce these restrictions.
GTVd actually tries to set sv_cheats to 1 but most if not all matchservers it connects to will force it back to 0, thus causing these effects.
Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about that - thats just the way ettv works - if you want to use these "cheats" you'll have to use our oD feature after the game as these will run off a demo again.
Whats the settings file in my gtvd folder?
This file contains a few settings that can only be stored on the node itself - currently that is your node id and the secret used to auth with the master server. If you switch servers, you can copy this file in order to keep your node id with all its settings.
We'd apreciate if you'd recycle node id's as much as possible to avoid useless spam in the database.
