Getting Started ‐ Requirements - MarechJ/hll_rcon_tool GitHub Wiki

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• Minimum skills
• Install it on a VPS, not on your home PC
• Hardware
• Software
  • (optional) git
  • Docker Engine
  • Compose plugin for Docker
  • (optional) Any text editor that supports syntax highlighting

"I don't know anything about VPS, Linux, console commands, coding and such..."

Relax :

• You'll only need very limited shell skills. Every step is explained in detail, with examples.
• A lot of usual CRCON related questions have already found an answer on the CRCON's Discord.
• Most usual Linux commands/error messages can be Googled.

CRCON is designed to run permanently (24/7) as a website, being accessible on the Internet for your players (to access public stats) and game server admins (to manage the games).

Why is it designed this way :

• Your users only need a web browser to access CRCON ;
• You don't have to give access to the game server's provider services or RCON password
  (you should never give these, as any admin action taken outside CRCON won't be logged) ;
• It provides a centralized database for game server data (logs, etc.) ;
• It allows to keep a record/log of all admin actions.

So, we strongly suggest you rent a (cheap) VPS to host your CRCON !

If you still decide to install it on a home computer, keep in mind you'll have to :

• run your computer 24/7
  Think about noisy fans, hardware maintenance and electricity bills.
  Sum it up : renting a low-end VPS will be cheaper ;
• open your home internet access and let people connect to your computer.
  This requires real network management knowledge and could lead to security risks.

These values are a bit on the high side : "Better safe than sorry" ;)

CRCON mainly uses Python, that is known for not being multithreaded.
To circumvent this, we use several Python instances to parallelize some processes.
Some features (searches in logs, automoderation tools) are pretty CPU hungry and can degrade user experience, or even delay some commands results, if there's not enough CPU power to feed them.

A CRCON that manages only one game server can run (with some features limitations) on a VPS having only 4GB RAM.
But as VPS plans aren't always upgradable, you'll be forced to migrate to another (beefier) one if you intend to manage another game server or to use third-party custom CRCON plugins.

The CRCON database of a game server where 95+ players connect for 10 hours per day may grow up to 20 GB in a year.
There is a way to shrink it, but it implies losing some data (server logs).
So :

• Aim for some comfy (150+ GB) storage, as this isn't the most costly option in VPS plans.
• If you have the choice between "HDD" and "SSD" drives, prefer "SSD".
  Slower HDDs drives should now only be used for very large storage needs (thousands of GBs).

You can install CRCON on any operating system/architecture that is able to run Docker engine and Docker Compose plugin.

Unless you have a really good reason not to do so, you should use Linux.
This will ensure better tech support when you'll search for help on Google,
as Docker and CRCON userbases are very scarce on Windows.
If you really need to run it on Windows and have no other option, try using Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Let's verify you've got what CRCON needs.

See this guide to get into a SSH terminal prompt.

(optional but highly recommended)
Website : https://git-scm.com/

You can check if git is installed by entering this command :

git version

You should get a reply like git version 2.34.1

If not : install git by entering this command :

apt install git-all

(Community edition) : https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/

You can check if Docker engine is installed by entering this command :

docker version

You should get a (multiline) reply like Client: Docker Engine - Community - Version 26.1.0...

If not : install Docker following the instructions on :
https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/debian/

Source : https://docs.docker.com/compose/

You can check if Docker Compose plugin is installed by entering this command :

docker compose version

You should get a reply like Docker Compose version v2.26.1

If not : install the Docker Compose plugin by entering this command :

apt install docker-compose-plugin

(optional but highly recommended)

The instructions given in the Installation guide use nano, which is a tiny "text only" editor that can be difficult to work with.

You (really) should try Visual Studio Code :

• it's free.
• available on Windows, macOS and Linux.
• allows you to remotely edit files over SSH which is very handy when editing files on your VPS.
• has a built in SSH terminal, in which you can enter any command to be executed on the VPS.