Ventrilo - Server
Select
Ventrilo uses human readable names when selecting the desired server to connect to. This pull down is used for selecting which server definition that you want to edit the settings for.
New
This button is used for creating a new server definition. When pressed a new window will open where you can enter the display name for the server that you will define in the IP, PORT and PASSWORD fields. These server names will be displayed on the programs main window under the "Server" pull down list. The reason for the name is that it is easier to associate a name to a specific server rather then trying to remember what an IP number actually points to.
When using this button the IP / Hostname and Password fields will default to empty and the PORT number will be set to the programs default value.
Clone
This button is similar to the "New" button in that it will create a new server definition, except that it will copy the IP / Hostname, Password and Port number from the server being displayed in the "Select" pull down list.
Delete
This button will delete the server definition currently displayed in the "Select" list box.
Hostname or IP
This input field requires the entry of either an IP address (ex: 192.168.0.10) or a Hostname (ex: ventrilo.myserver.com). Contact the Administrator of the Ventrilo server if you do not know the IP address or Hostname. This input also supports SRV record lookup if the host server information has been configured for it. See SRV Record Lookup for more information. Note: MAC OSX will have a short delay before populating the IP/Port information while resolving the Hostname before connecting.
Port number
This input field requires the entry of the port number that the Ventrilo server is listening on. Contact the Administrator of the Ventrilo server if you do not know the port number.
Password
If the server you are defining requires a password then this is where you need to enter it. Login passwords and their usage will vary from one server to another and is entirely under the control of the Server's Administrator. Contact the Administrator of the Ventrilo server for details about what the password field should be set to.
Please note that the password will always be displayed as 8 dots (or stars) even if you enter a password that is longer than 8 characters. This is a common computer security technique so that people won't know the length of your password and try to guess it.
Update
This option allows you to change your password if you are a registered user.
Create Signature
This feature replaces your current password, or an existing signature, with a new Digital Signature that will make it impossible for anyone to guess your login information. (IMPORTANT Note: The Digital Signature is stored locally on your PC as well as the server. You will not be able to login from another PC using the same login name)
Default channel
This option allows you to configure a default channel to jump into when the connection is established. This option also applies when auto-reconnecting unless you have the "Restore last active channel" option enabled in the Setup Network area.
Note: If your account on the server has a default channel assigned to you, then this entry will be ignored.
Accept page requests from other users.
Controls whether or not you want other Users to be able to send a "Page" to you in order to get your attention. This will be the default setting when connected to this server.
Accept User-to-user communications.
Controls whether or not you wish to allow other Users to initiate private conversations with you, instead of just channel based public conversations. This will be the default setting when connected to this server.
Accept Private Chat requests
Controls whether or not you wish to receive private chat sessions from other Users. This will be the default setting when connected to this server.
Allow others to record my conversation.
Controls whether or not you wish to permit other Users to record your conversation. This will be the default setting when connected to this server.
Show login name in remote status requests
If you would like your name to not be displayed when someone sends a remote status request to this server then uncheck this option.
However, you should understand that the Server Admin has an option in the Server Properties window called Require remote status "Show login name". If that feature has been enabled and you have unchecked this option in the server editor then you will get an error message when you try to connect to the server and you will be kicked off the server. At this point you will have no choice but to turn this feature back on or chose not to use this server.
Click image to change Avatar
This option allows you to change the Avatar that will be displayed for all Users on the current server. Each Username per server can have a unique Avatar.
Using and Configuring SRV Records.
An SRV Record is an easy way for someone who owns their own domain name to redirect a network service, such as a Ventrilo server, to the domain name and a specific port number of a server hosted by a licensed hosting company. For example, the Ventrilo.com domain has an SRV record assigned that will redirect to a different Hostname and port number.
In the Ventrilo client click the “Server” button and then create a new server definition. In the Hostname field enter “ventrilo.com” without the quotes, leave the port number unchanged and then click the OK button.
The main display of the Ventrilo window should now say “SRV Record resolves to:” followed by the Hostname that is translated to an IP address, Port number and the Pri / Wht fields. When you press the Connect button the Ventrilo client will be connected to this IP address using the displayed Port number. In essence, only the Hostname “ventrilo.com” is required in the server definition.
If your gaming team, business or organization has its own domain name then that is all your Ventrilo Users need to remember. It has the added advantage of enabling the Owner of the domain name to move the server to a different hosting company which would have a different Hostname and most likely a different port number. But the Users of the server who you have given your domain name to do not need to change any of the server information because you, as the domain owner, simply redirected your Ventrilo SRV record to the new Hostname and port number.
A note about Pri / Wht. The SRV Record specification has two fields called Priority and Weight. This is a mechanism for providing multiple Hostname / port definitions for the same SRV record. While this might be useful for services such as Web and Email for finding backup servers, it is not practical for live real-time systems like Ventrilo. The Ventrilo client will see all Pri/Wht definitions that you create but the program will always use the lowest priority value and with the highest weight value in that order. So there is no reason to create multiple definitions in the SRV record. A single definition should be created and with the values for Priority set to 1 and Weight set to 1.
Create an SRV record in your DNS table.
When creating an SRV record in your domain name DNS table there are several fields your editor will require you to enter. Please note that it is beyond the scope of this document to teach you how your specific DNS editor works. The following is general information about what you must provide.
DNS Record type: This should be set to SRV Record.
Service (or Server): This should be set to “_vent” without the quotes. Some DNS editors will require you to enter this value without the leading underscore and might even display it without the underscore. While other editors will require that you enter the underscore.
Protocol: This should be set to “_udp” without the quotes. Some DNS editors will require you to enter this value without the leading underscore and might even display it without the underscore. While other editors will require that you enter the underscore.
Target: This will be the Hostname provided to you by your licensed hosting company.
Port: This will be the port number provided to you by your licensed hosting company.
Priority: This value should be set to 1.
Weight: This value should be set to 1.
TTL: This is the Time-To-Live field and specifies the number of seconds a DNS record exists before it is refreshed from the higher authority. A value of 900 specifies 15 minutes. If you move to a different hosting company then it will take approximately 15 minutes before all connecting clients will pick up the new information.
Testing an SRV record.
The following are examples of commands that can be used from a command prompt or terminal window (depending on your Operating System). Example 1 should work on all platforms, whereas examples 2 and 3 will work on Linux / UNIX / Mac style operating system.
In the following examples you should replace the “ventrilo.com” with your own domain name. NOTE: these examples have additional spaces between parameters to prevent them appearing as one long option.
1) nslookup -querytype=srv _vent._udp.ventrilo.com
2) dig _vent._udp.ventrilo.com srv
3) host -t SRV _vent._udp.ventrilo.com
Please keep in mind that if you make a change to your SRV Record it will take at least X number of seconds for that change to propagate to all DNS servers as dictated by the TTL value specified in the record. If you specified 900 then you must wait 15 minutes after the change before you issue these tests or use the Ventrilo client to display the updated information. The default of 86400 seconds will take 24 hours before your changes will show up.
Also be aware that if you already had an SRV Record that was initially created with a value of 86400 then you will still need to wait 24 hours for your change to 900 to take effect. Thus is the nature of DNS so be sure to initially create it with a value of 900.
Why does the Mac take so long to resolve?
If you are using a Macintosh to run the Ventrilo client you might have noticed that it takes approximately 5 seconds for the client to determine the IP address of a Hostname. This is because the Macintosh does not give an indication to the program that the SRV record is not available for the specified Hostname. Because of this the program has no choice but to use a timeout value to determine if the record exists.
This problem does not exist on the Windows platform because the Operating System will determine almost immediately that the SRV Record is not available and will pass that information on to the Ventrilo client.