How to Forward Port for Counter-Strike 1.6 Server


If you're having trouble with people connecting to your server...1. You either are behind a router which doesn't have the nessecary ports open.
2. You're behind a firewall, which once again doesn't have the nessecary ports open.
3. In the server config or in the console, you need to set sv_lan 0.

1. Opening ports in your router.


Heres how to open the ports on your router to maximize packet input and output in CS 1.6 etc.
FIRST!! make sure you know an admin login for your router, the default login for admin should be:
Username: admin Password: admin
ALSO!!! You will need to know your Interal IP. in order to get this you must:
a) Press start and then press "Run" b) Type "cmd" into the little box that appears c) When and if the black box comes up type in there "ipconfig/all" d) Lots of crap should come up if entered correctly e) Sift through the crap and find your "IP Address" this will be your internal one.


Step 1) Type your router's IP into the address bar of your web browser (default is 192.168.1.1) if not then you can find out for yourself by:


a) Pressing start and then pressing "Run" b) Typing "cmd" into the little box that comes up c) When and if the black box comes up type in there "ipconfig/all" d) Lots of crap should come up if entered correctly e) Scroll down and stare at the crap you should find a line called "Default Gateway" and then an ip is your routers IP, or at least should be.


Step 2) Now that you have entered the IP in and hit the "ENTER" key a login box should appear; you must now login with your login details.


Step 3) Now you should have access to the router screen, depending on the router there should be a menu somewhere, that allows you to port forward, usually under advanced settings, Virtual Servers or NAT.


If you have any poblems with this step simply go to:



Select you router from the millions on the page, then find out how to access your port forwarding menu. Considering that you have done all of the above; you should:

a) Have full admin access to your router b) Be on the Port forwarding menu

Step 4) Right we should be at the port forwarding menu. We now need to add an entry to make the router open the ports we need to make our program fully functional, usually there is an add button or something similar.

Step 5) A page or pop up should now appear and you can type in the details of your port forward. An example is Screen shot.

Step 6) Put in the details of the port you wish to forward, (for servers the default port should be 27015) if not, you can go in game (on CS) and open up the console and type "port" this should tell you the port CS will run on.

Check the enable box Service name: hlserver Incoming ports: 27015 - 27015 Destination IP Address: "Your Internal IP here, for example 192.168.1.2" *Destination ports: 27015 - 27015 Port type: Check both UDP and TCP, or if its a drop down menu select "both" . Dont worry if yout input menu doesnt look like the one I have, just input everything you can and press submit and you are DONE.

Your external IP is Here, this is the one people will connect to.
so the IP for your server will be: For example
80.195.225.71:27015 for a server on the port 27015


2. Sv_lan 1
In rare cases, your server might have sv_lan set to 1. This is blocking all outside connections from being made to your server, and only allowing people inside the Local Access Network to connect. Now, to stop this, simply go into console and type sv_lan 0. Now for those who grow tired of doing this time after time. Specially on non-24/7 standalone servers. Their's an easy to make sure that your server, sets sv_lan 0, as its deafult settings. Locate your CS directory, in most cases is:
C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\username\Counter-Strike\cstrike\
There should be a file called server.cfg. Open this using Word, or any other simple typing applications. Now near the bottom there should be a line called '\\ Load Ban Files'. Above this simply add 'sv_lan 0'.
Read more »