Clients connecting & getting "Connection failed" due to NAT Negotiation failed -Err 2

[texastoby]

Greetings,

normaly I dont register on Forums as google pretty much knows most of the answers I need for my every day Problems with setting up certain Software. But oh boy... ArmA 2: OA Dedicated Server (For Windows) sure gives me a run for my money.

I think I read pretty much every thread in this (and other forums for that matter) regarding the topic and it seems that there is no solution whatsoever to that Problem.
Also one side is blaming Gamespy, the other BIS. Infinite Loop comes to mind... oh well, I am already this close doing some physical harm to my server that I had to post this to relieve some stress.

I try to provide as much Information on the matter as I can remember.

1.) The Game is bought via Steam.

2.) I downloaded it via Steam on my Windows Server 2008 RC 2 (incl. the dedicated Server)

3.) I set the Windows Server Firewall to accept every incoming AND outgoing TCP & UDP Port for ARMA2OASERVER.exe

4.) I configured my Router to forward Ports (UDP, UDP & TCP) 2302, 2303 and 2305 to my Server.

5.) I even tried opening the Ports needed for the Gamespy Servers. Also both TCP & UDP.

6.) The Dedicated Server is configured with TA2DST (Port 2302). No Mods are installed. Vanilla installation.

7.) The Clients are Vanilla aswell.


8.) Connecting via LAN works like a charm

9.) Internet Searching in the Gamespy Server list, works. BUT The Ping is either "?" or 2500

10.) Connecting results in "Connection Failed" and the RPD (I think it was called) says
NAT Negotiation failed - unable to communicate with the server
NAT Negotiation failed (NNThink - result 2)

11.) Doesnt matter if I try to connect or my friends. We all get the same error.



I hope that is something to work with.

Some of the solutions I have found contain thinks like "Open UPNP Ports" or "Enable UPNP"
Well... not an option realy. Also, my Router has no ICMPv4 nor ICMPv6 settings.

Oh yeah, it's a Alice Modem WLAN 1421.

Like I said before, I am this close to loosing it so this is pretty much my last shot at getting it somehow fixed.
Suggestions are highly appreciated!

kind regards
Toby

[iOGC_Aenigma]

The only way I got around this was a new router. I have no idea what caused the issue but the only way I could solve getting a NAT negotiation error was to use a new router.
Am I right in thinking you are running a dedicated server through your router at your end?
I started getting this error a few beta patches back.

[Lokyi]

Have you set up server configs etc?

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/server.cfg
http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/arma2.cfg

are a good place to start. Sounds like a router issue though, NAT can be a b*tch if your router is junk.

[texastoby]

First off, thanks for the replies!

Heavens... buying a new router is not realy an option.
Just to host a dedicated Server for the occasional coop game does not justify buying new hardware.
Especially since this is the ONLY Server that has ever given me any trouble with it.

Oh, yes the server is configured and running the dedicated windows variant.
Like I said, I start it (and configure it) with TA2DST and at least for LAN connections
it works just fine.

Doesnt bode well for my plans to get some coop games underway.

Also, just as a personal and slightly disgrunteled side note, implementing a solution in a game
that makes it impossible for a lot of people to even host simple none dedicated games is just
bad form. Be it BISs or Gamespys fault. At the very least there should be an alternate method
somewhere in there too. Kind of dissapointing.

Oh well... maybe the solution will come in the form of a reply at some point.

[Lokyi]

If it's NAT it's nothing to do with either BIS or Gamespy dude, it's your hardware that's the issue. Guaranteed.

Especially if the error explicitly says NAT.

Of course it will work fine on a LAN, the switching side of your router doesn't use NAT!!!!

NAT is designed to convert your external IP to an internal network IP. Hence the term "translation".

Playing on LAN it's just talking from LAN IP to LAN IP. No sweat.

[texastoby]

If it's NAT it's nothing to do with either BIS or Gamespy dude, it's your hardware that's the issue. Guaranteed.

Especially if the error explicitly says NAT.

Of course it will work fine on a LAN, the switching side of your router doesn't use NAT!!!!

NAT is designed to convert your external IP to an internal network IP. Hence the term "translation".

Playing on LAN it's just talking from LAN IP to LAN IP. No sweat.

Thanks again for the reply. I may have chosen a couple of wrong words to describe it. Despite having "texas" in my nick I am not actually
from the US, hence I sometimes mixup english words or phrases. That may have caused some confusion.

I know what NAT is and what is for. And here comes the but.
BUT: The NAT Negotiation is part of the Gamespy API to make the server browser work correctly. Hence it has something do to with gamespay aswell as BIS as BIS had to implement it usding their SDK.
But that is besides my point. I agree that the Problem is on my side. Crappy Router probably. What I meant to say is, that there are a lot of people who have this problem that you would think that BIS or Gamespy would actually come up with an alternate Method of making it work. That is all I tried to day and also what I am trying to find.

Me saying LAN works fine was meant to show that the ArmA2 dedicated Server itself was configured correctly enough to actually play on. Nothing more.
That the LAN IP has nothing to do with my public WAN IP... well that is a gimme

Quick Edit: I gave in and ordered a new Router. Wish me luck that it will fix my ever so annoying problem with creating a reachable dedicated server.

[Lokyi]

Yesssss... but neither BIS nor Gamespy have any influence on router manufacturers' firmware! Thus I don't see how you can expect them to help in that regard, or implement any other kind of solution, because it's just not possible! If you want to host a server, you need to know howto operate the hardware as well.

I think you'll find the problem could be whatever port Gamespy/BattleEye etc uses, which would be separate from the 2302 port Arma2 runs on. So you'll need to make sure that's mapped correctly as well.

Unless you and the client are running IPv6 where you can avoid NAT altogether, then sorry, you're gonna have problems.

[texastoby]

Yesssss... but neither BIS nor Gamespy have any influence on router manufacturers' firmware! Thus I don't see how you can expect them to help in that regard, or implement any other kind of solution, because it's just not possible! If you want to host a server, you need to know howto operate the hardware as well.

I think you'll find the problem could be whatever port Gamespy/BattleEye etc uses, which would be separate from the 2302 port Arma2 runs on. So you'll need to make sure that's mapped correctly as well.

Unless you and the client are running IPv6 where you can avoid NAT altogether, then sorry, you're gonna have problems.

I think we are in agreement on the basics, but differ in opinion in the details. But hey, that is what makes discussions fun right?

1.) I never said they had any influence on the manufacturers firmware. I agree with you that if the Router, for whatever reason, isnt able to complete a request or drops some packeges, etc., etc, BIS nor Gamespy have any influence on that and also it is not their fault. But since Gamespys API has a function implemented that is called NNThink (and granted, I havent read through the whole documentation) that supposedly processes any NAT Negotiations... well, you see how I got on the track that it may be a Gamespy / BIS Problem?

2.) And if that is the case, the combination of a crappy router and an specific funtion causing problems... I would assume that another solution is implemented at some point. They have fixed NAT Negotiation errors in the past and I highly doubt by that they meant sending out fixed firmwares for routers.

3.) Why did I think another solution is implemented? Well, there are more than enough servers (game and otherwise) on my Machine that run perfectly fine even though my router is a lot less manageable than most others. Its NAT Table is working just fine (or at least it is working as the packages are modfied or it wouldnt work at all). For example, my Visual SVN Server, MS SQL 2008, Open Sim Simulator and Day of Defeat Server run perfectly fine and without problems when people try to connect.

4.) Granted I am not an Network Administrator and I dont have a perfect knowledge of the layers 1 through 4 but I know my basics. I am working as a software developer that gives me a good enough overview. Why bring that up? You said If I want to host a Server I have to know how the hardware works. Well, I do to a certain degree, but someone who does not have any insights doesnt have to know that if he wants to run a none dedicated game on his machine to play with his friends. He would, in this state, run into the same problems as I have.

My final thoughts on the matter:
I guess the whole ordeal is caused by a Tri-Factor of Problems. Shady Router, Shaky Development of the API by Gamespy, maybe unclean implementation of the API by BIS.
OR I have overlooked something and I am to blame. We will see. Router should be here on monday.

Quick Edit: I am not saying you are wrong and that I am right, I am just trying to paint a picture of my thought process. That is all. Maybe complete rubbish. I just hope the new router will do the trick. Any thoughts on settings to avoid this maybe (any new ones I havent already taken into account in my first post)?

[Suma]

3.) I set the Windows Server Firewall to accept every incoming AND outgoing TCP & UDP Port for ARMA2OASERVER.exe

4.) I configured my Router to forward Ports (UDP, UDP & TCP) 2302, 2303 and 2305 to my Server.

5.) I even tried opening the Ports needed for the Gamespy Servers. Also both TCP & UDP.

6.) The Dedicated Server is configured with TA2DST (Port 2302). No Mods are installed. Vanilla installation.

What you did should effectively disable the port mapping and NAT traversal should be very easy. I have no idea why it did not help.

Debugging NAT traversal failures is often hard, as some routers are very unpredictable in their mapping behaviour. Still, chance is we might be able to learn more.

This is really strange. Does the .rpt file contain more details about how NAT Negotiation worked? Can you copy the relevant part here?

[texastoby]

### Quick Edit ###

For some reason unknown to me a clean install of the arma 2 OA server people can now connect to the server
without problems. FINALLY!

Though I on the other hand can only connect via LAN. Connecting through the gamespy server wont work for me. But that I can happily ignore.
Only downside is that the ping shows to me and my friends as "?" or 2500 AND the server dissapears after a few minutes
from the gamespy server list. Dunno why.


### original post ###
Hey,

I dont understand it either.
I tried connecting with RCon to my Server from work today. It worked perfectly, but connecting a game is still not working. Even with the new router.
Putting it in the DMZ had no effect either.

The .rpt Files containt the following:

Server: Nothing, it is empty.

Client:

The last Stable Patch:

================================================== ===================
== d:\games\steam\steamapps\common\arma 2 operation arrowhead\ArmA2OA.exe
== "d:\games\steam\steamapps\common\arma 2 operation arrowhead\ArmA2OA.exe"
================================================== ===================
Exe timestamp: 2012/07/20 23:30:49
Current time: 2012/07/22 22:10:56

Version 1.60.87580
NAT Negotiation failed (NNThink - result 2)
ca\missions\MPScenarios\MP_Deathmatch.chernarus: string @str_mpdeathmatch_subname cannot be localized client-side - move to global stringtable
Client: Nonnetwork object f71d2840.
Client: Nonnetwork object f71d2700.
Client: Nonnetwork object f71d25c0.
NAT Negotiation failed - unable to communicate with the server
NAT Negotiation failed - unable to communicate with the server
NAT Negotiation failed (NNThink - result 2)

The Current Stable Patch:

================================================== ===================
== d:\games\steam\steamapps\common\arma 2 operation arrowhead\ArmA2OA.exe
== "d:\games\steam\steamapps\common\arma 2 operation arrowhead\ArmA2OA.exe"
================================================== ===================
Exe timestamp: 2012/07/25 17:59:16
Current time: 2012/07/25 22 : 31:53

Version 1.62.95248
Warning: looped for animation: ca\anims\characters\data\anim\sdr\mov\erc\wlk\non\ non\amovpercmwlksnonwnondf.rtm differs (looped now 0)! MoveName: amovpercmstpsnonwnondnon_amovpercmstpsraswpstdnon
Warning: looped for animation: ca\anims\characters\data\anim\sdr\mov\erc\wlk\non\ non\amovpercmwlksnonwnondf.rtm differs (looped now 1)! MoveName: amovpercmrunsnonwbindf_rfl

With the new Betapatch:

================================================== ===================
== D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\arma 2 operation arrowhead\Expansion\beta\arma2oa.exe
== "D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\arma 2 operation arrowhead\Expansion\beta\arma2oa.exe" -mod=Expansion\beta;Expansion\beta\Expansion
================================================== ===================
Exe timestamp: 2012/07/26 22:11:15
Current time: 2012/07/27 19:22:11

Version 1.62.95389
Warning: looped for animation: ca\anims\characters\data\anim\sdr\mov\erc\wlk\non\ non\amovpercmwlksnonwnondf.rtm differs (looped now 0)! MoveName: amovpercmstpsnonwnondnon_amovpercmstpsraswpstdnon
Warning: looped for animation: ca\anims\characters\data\anim\sdr\mov\erc\wlk\non\ non\amovpercmwlksnonwnondf.rtm differs (looped now 1)! MoveName: amovpercmrunsnonwbindf_rfl