Running the Seamless3d Server from your computer

If when you click the link: worlds_open you do not see anyone and do not see a message stating the Seamless3d server is running, you can still open a world for chat by running the Seamless3d server from your computer.

You can download the seamless3d server from the download open source page

To run the Seamless3d server all you have to do is double click the run_server bat file:



Wait for the console to display the IP, Port and the Name your server will use before joining the world with the client:



You are welcome to use the default server url:

http://www.seamless3d.com

Which specifies the file:

http://www.seamless3d.com/smls_server.php

This file lets clients know where to connect to the Seamless3d server.

You can be compleatly independent of the Seamless3d site by uploading the contents of mu.zip (which contains the smls_server.php & worlds_open.php files) to your site and editing the run_server.bat file so that it commands the server.php file for your site. The folder you upload the mu files to must alow PHP to write files to it.

The run_server.bat file should specify on a single line the program seamless3d_server followed by a space and then the path to the smls_server.php file.



People can see if your server is running (and see what worlds it has open and who is in them) using their html browser (such as IE or FireFox) by going to your  worlds_open.php file.

If you want people to be able to view your worlds_open.php file from the seamless3d site please send me the link for your worlds_open.php file.

It is good world hosting etiquette to leave the server running until after the last client has logged out before closing the server. The server uses very few resources so can be left running in the background while you use your computer for other tasks.

Why the seamless3d server asks to join a session before it creates one

You may notice in the console that the seamless3d server tries to join the world as a client before it creates a session. It attempts to log into an already existing session to test if the world is already hosted by another server. If it succeeds in logging in as a client the server logs out immediately and displays a message in the console that the world is already served by another server. It then waits for the user to press any key for it to exit.

What if you dont have PHP ?


Most web hosting plans today offer PHP but you should not need PHP if you are prepared to manually update your server's IP address in the smls_server.txt file. The smls_server.php file will also need to be rewritten (simplified) but it should be very simple to do. Ask questions on the seamless3d forum if you need any help here.

Server restrictions

Unfortunately not everyone can run a server from their computer. Servers run from your computer face the same restrictions peer to peer applications do. Firewalls may need to be set to trust the server. If you share an IP address with another computer for the internet you may need to set things up so that computers on the net can connect to the computer running on your local network. If you are using dialup and you have 2 computers connected by only a network cable, run the server from the computer that contains the modem. If you use a router you will have to port forward the computer you wish to run the server from.

Real & Virtual Dedicated Servers

Ideally servers are left running 24 hours a day 7 days a week on a dedicated computer. This way the server does not get interupted by your home computer and keeps server security issues isolated from your home computer. Most commercial web hosting companies offer such a service but they are typically much more expensive than a shared hosting service which wont let you run your own server. Virtual private servers (VPS) also known as Virtual dedicated servers (VDS) offer many of the benefits of a dedicated server except they share resources with other VPSes. VPS technology has greatly dropped in price and should continue this trend.

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