Domain: Set up game server forwarding
This guide was created with the following products:
(Details may vary with products from different providers but the main concepts remain the same)
Introduction
You can either forward your domain completely or only a subdomain to your game server. This is useful because it allows people to connect to your game server via a domain, instead of having to remember complicated IP addresses composed of numbers only. In this guide, we will cover the process of setting up a domain to forward to your game server via DNS records.
Please note that it can always take up to 24 hours until changes to DNS entries become active!
Functionality
For forwarding the IP address, either a subdomain is created which forwards to the IP address of the game server, or you forward the entire domain without a subdomain. This would be sufficient if the game server uses the default port of the game. If the game server uses another port than the default port of the game, you need an additional SRV entry to forward the subdomain to the game server.
Not all games support the forwarding of a domain to the game port via SRV entry, so inform yourself beforehand if your game supports SRV entries.
SRV Service
The service name depends on the game and always starts with an underscore. For example, the service name for a Minecraft game server is always _minecraft and for a FiveM game server _cfx.
SRV protocol
As protocol we specify the internet protocol used for the connection. Here UDP and TCP are available. Which protocol is used here also depends on the respective game, the specification of the protocol also always begins with an underscore and is either _udp or _tcp.
Preparation
To forward your domain to a game server without creating a subdomain, you first open your domain by in the dashboard, then open the DNS management from the menu on the left.
There you can see all existing DNS entries for your domain.
Domain forwarding (Minecraft)
First you have to find out the IP and port of the Minecraft server you want to redirect to. With this information, the following steps can be followed.
In our example we use testserver-domain.de as domain name, 123.123.123.123 as server IP and 25500 as PORT.
Create A Record
To create a new record, use the New entry button.
This opens a window with four fields that must be filled:
The Name is the main- or subdomain over which the forwarding to the IP takes place, this name is freely selectable. The Type is left at A in this step. At the Value only the IP of the Minecraft server has to be entered which was searched out before. In our example it looks like this.
Once saved this entry will be displayed correctly:
Create SRV Record
Now you have to create a SRV record, this is used for port forwarding which is necessary if you don't have the default port. Therefore click again on the button New entry.
At Name you have to enter the protocol and the connection domain. The domain name which is entered there will be used later for the connection to the server. As Type the value SRV is selected in this step through the drop down menu:
At the Value now three values have to be entered, first the priority which can be left at 0 by default, then as second the port of the game server in our example 25500 and last but not least the domain name of the just created A-Record.
In our example it looks like this:
Troubleshooting & Result
At the end of the entry a dot must be written, without this dot the system tries to append the domain.
If this hint is not followed, the system will redirect minecraft.testserver-domain.de to minecraft.testserver-domain.de.testserver-domain.de and the redirection will fail.
Domain forwarding (FiveM)
First you have to find out the IP and port of the FiveM server you want to redirect to. With this data the following steps can be followed.
In our example we use testserver-domain.de as domain name, 123.123.123.123 as server IP and PORT 30300.
Create A-Record
To create a new record, use the New entry button.
This opens a window with four fields that must be filled:
The Name is the main- or subdomain over which the forwarding to the IP takes place, this name is freely selectable. The Type is left at A in this step. At the Value only the IP of the FiveM server must be entered which was searched out before. In our example it looks like this.
Once saved this entry will be displayed correctly:
Create SRV Record
Now you have to create a SRV record, this is used for port forwarding which is necessary if you don't have the default port. Therefore click again on the button New entry.
At Name you have to enter the protocol and the connection domain. The domain name which is entered there will be used later for the connection to the server. As Type the value SRV is selected in this step through the drop down menu:
At the Value now three values have to be entered, first the priority which can be left at 0 by default, then as second the port of the game server in our example 30300 and last but not least the domain name of the just created A-Record.
In our example it looks like this:
Troubleshooting & Result
At the end of the entry a dot must be written, without this dot the system tries to append the domain.
If this hint is not followed, the system will redirect fivem.testserver-domain.de to fivem.testserver-domain.de.testserver-domain.de and the redirection will fail.