This guide will explain in detail how to set up your own Ventrilo server at home. This guide will cover all bases, unlike most guides that just tell you how to click next on an installer.

Difficulty: Intermediate
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of your home network configuration. Knowledge of any firewall software installed on your computer
Requirements: Windows based computer. Computer connected directly to the internet OR Access to your router’s admin interface

1) Download and install.

Go to http://www.ventrilo.com/download.php and download the Server Program: Windows i386 – 32bit. Click the I Agree button at the bottom to start download. Save to a known destination. After download is complete, run the program and complete the install with default settings.

2) Configure your server INI file.

Click on Start > Programs > VentSrv > Edit INI File. Here you need to configure a few things. The first few lines that need to be modified are listed below. Leave all others blank unless you know what they are.

Name=(your server name)
Phonetic=(server phonetic name, just leave blank)
Auth=(0 for no password to server, and 1 to require a password to connect to this server)
Duplicates=(0 to disallow duplicate usernames and 1 to allow, just set to 1)
AdminPassword=(type the server admin password here, this is important for creating channels and such)
Password=(if you selected 1 for Auth, enter the password to connect to your server here)

VoiceCodec=3
VoiceFormat=32

*note: codec 3 format 32 is the highest quality Speex codec available and is the recommended choice; MAC users can only connect to servers running Speex codec’s; for a full list of codec’s enter the command ‘ventrilo_srv -?’ in the VentSrv command prompt

3) Decide on how to run the server

There are two ways to run your Ventrilo server. You can open it manually each time you need it, or you can set it to run as a system service, that will run in the background each time windows starts.

3A) If you want the Ventrilo server online when ever your computer is on, then you want to run it as an NT Service.

To install the Ventrilo server as a NT Service, simply go to Start > Programs > VentSrv > Service > Install. Ventrilo is now installed as a NT Service and will run next time you start/restart your computer (note: don’t forget to restart your computer for the next step if you chose to install as a service).

3B) If you only want the Ventrilo server to be online when you choose, then you will want to open it manually each time.

To run the Ventrilo server manually, simply go to Start > Programs > VentSrv> Ventrilo Server. You will see the server open, display some statistics, then say READY:. Do not close this window, as that will close your Ventrilo Server, just minimize it and close it when your done.

*note: the server will need inbound and outbound access to the outside internet. When you first run the server, make sure you click allow on any firewall notifications that may come up and set it as a rule to always allow this type of communication.

4) Test your server

Now that your server is installed, configured and running we need to connect to it.

Open up your Ventrilo Client and add a new server.

server: 127.0.0.1
port: 3784
password: (enter your server password if you created one above, if not leave blank).

Press OK and click connect.

You should be able to connect to your new Ventrilo server at this point with the above information. If not, you need to go back over step’s 1-3

*note: this will only work on the computer the server is running on, you need to continue with the other steps and finish the guide to connect from other computers

5) Connecting to your server part one

Chances are you are connected to the internet ONE of TWO ways (only do5A or 5B, NOT both):

5A) Your computer is directly connected to a cable or DSL modem that provides you internet (IF THIS DOES NOT DESCRIBE YOU, skip to 4B).

This is the easiest way to set up any server to accept incoming connections because you do not have to deal with port forwarding. The only issue to deal with here is Dynamic DNS. Do not get discouraged, you don’t have to know what that is, but you do have to understand how it affects people connecting to your server.

*note: if you choose not to install a DynamicDNS service, you will have to retrieve your sever ip each time you run the server, and give your friends the new IP and have them enter it in each time they want to connect. This is NOT recommended!

NOT RECOMMENDED: If you want to skip installing a DynamicDNS service and let your friends start connecting now; you can simply get your IP address from here: http://www.whatsmyip.org/ Give your friends that IP, use port 3784, and the password if you chose one and your done (shame on you, keep reading lazy).

RECOMMENDED: Continue to step 6 =D

5B) Your computer is connected to a router (wired or wireless) that is connected to a cable or DSL modem that provides you internet.

This is the hardest way to set up a server connection as you must set up port forwarding, and a static local IP address. This requires no prior knowledge, just a little common sense =D

To start, lets log in to your router. To find your router’s address, go to Start > Run > type ‘cmd’; then in the command prompt window that opens, type ‘ipconfig’. Take note of your default gateway as this is your router’s address. Now open up Firefox (or your favorite browser) and type in the default gateway in the address bar (ex. Address: 192.168.1.1) and press enter (or click go); now type in your router’s username and password (most default to admin/admin).

All router web interfaces are different, but for the most part, provide similar functions. Now that we are logged into our router, and we know what our routers address is, we can start by setting up a static local IP. Open Network and Sharing Center, click Change adapter settings (in top left corner), then right click on the active (connected) adapter and go to Properties. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 and click Properties again. Now select Use the following IP address option. This will allow you to enter in an IP address, subnet mask and Default gateway manualy.

Here you need to enter in an available (not in use by another device) IP address within your IP range. Use this table to decide on an IP address:

10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255    subnet mask: (255.0.0.0)    16,777,216 available addresses    24 bits
172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255    subnet mask: (255.240.0.0)    1,048,576 available addresses    20 bits
192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255    subnet mask: (255.255.0.0)    65,536 available addresses    16 bits

Choose an IP address within the same range as your router, that is not the same as your router and use the subnet mask that corresponds. Press OK, and OK again. This will apply the settings. Give the network a second to request the IP you entered above. If accepted you should be back online.

Once back online, go back to the router web interface in your web browser and look for a menu or heading titled with something like NAT/QOS/Application/Gaming/Forwarding (this is where common sense comes in to play). There you should find the port forwarding page, or a submenu, continue to look for something called Port Forwarding Range or Port Forwarding (in DD-WRT its NAT/QOS >Port Range Forwarding). Here you will need to forward port 3874 to the static local IP you chose above and enable it.

*note: this is probably the hardest part of the guide, where I provide the least of information because it is different for every router; if you are having trouble with this step, you need to google for help on how to set up port forwarding with your router; in DD-WRT it looks something like this:

After everything is entered correctly, apply all settings.

NOT RECOMMENDED: If you want to skip installing a DynamicDNS service and let your friends start connecting now; you can simply get your IP address from here: http://www.whatsmyip.org/ Give your friends that IP, use port 3784, and the password if you chose one and your done (shame on you, keep reading lazy).

RECOMMENDED: Continue to step 6 =D

6) DynamicDNS service – connecting to your server part two

This will allow people to connect to your server, with a server name that will never change. There are many DynamicDNS services available, for this guide I will use No-IP. You will need to go to http://www.no-ip.com/, click on No-IP Free, and sign up with their service. After you are done signing up, they will send you a conformation e-mail (make sure you use a good e-mail address). While you are waiting on the email, you can download the software.

Once you are done downloading and installing the No-IP software (DUC), you need to retreive theh conformation e-mail and click on the corrosponding link to activate your No-IP account.

After your account is active, click login, and log in with the email and password you registered with. Then click on Manage Hosts from the menu on the side or icon at the bottom. Then click Add a Host from the bottom right below the Host list. Here you can type in what ever you want for a host name (if its not taken) and choose your top level domain from the drop down. Leave the rest default and click create host at the bottom right corner.

Now you can open the No-IP software by going to Start > Programs > No-IP DUC > DUC 3.0. Enter in your e-mail and password your registered with and press OK. This should open the software and bring up the Select Groups/Hosts window. Here select the host you just created and click Save. Now go to File, and select Options. Here you need to put a check in the box by Run on start-up and Run as system service, that way it runs when your computer starts, and runs in the background.

Now just give out your vent info to your friends and let them start connecting. Use the full hostname you created above. Example:

Server: example.no-ip.org
Port: 3784
Password: (blank or chosen above)

6) Setting up your new vent server’s channels and users (OPTIONAL)

If you want to have channels and administrators and all that good stuff, you need to set it all up your self. This is all done from within the Ventrilo Client by right clicking and going to server admin and channel admin. There is tons of documentation on using Ventrilo all over the internet, so I am not going to try and teach you the entire program on this post.

You can google it, or use these Ventrilo Tutorials from TypeFrag: http://typefrag.com/support/ventrilo-tutorials/

For the most basic set-up, go to server admin, and select Login, enter the password you created above for AdminPassword (not server password). If entered sucessfully you will see an “A” by the server name up top  appear. Now right click on the server name, that has the “A”, go to channel admin, and select Create. Simply type in the desired name for the channel and press ok. You now have a channel in your Ventrilo server.

CONGRATULATIONS! You now have a fully functional Ventrilo server, that runs when ever your computer is on, and a domain name that always points to your server, no matter what your IP is.

If you have any questions on this post, feel free to comment.

If you require professional assistance setting up a Ventrilo server, contact Shane @ http://www.futuretechwebdesign.com/contact/ for great prices…

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Simply download this hacked .dll file: http://shanesblog.net/downloads/npswf32.zip

Then copy it to your Flash directory, most likely located here:

C:\Windows\system32\Macromed\Flash\
or
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\

After your done, restart your browser, and enjoy full-screen on one display while doing work on the other display =D