Automation Settings

There are several tasks that are automated with GameCP. These include daily billing, server monitoring, data caching and e-mail importing.

This feature is related to Server Graphs. You should read there to install RRDTool to enable server and machine graphs.

PHP Note

Ensure that your command line version of PHP also has ioncube installed. Its easy to locate and update all php.ini's

find / | grep php.ini

Windows users can use their search feature.

Contents 1 Install Automated Tasks 1.1 Manual Configuration 1.1.1 Linux/FreeBSD 1.1.2 Windows 1.2 Automatic Configuration 1.3 What was created? 1.4 Windows Servers 1.5 Linux Servers 1.6 Direct Testing 2 Server Monitor 3 Server Graphs 3.1 Alternative methods to run Server Monitor 3.1.1 Manaully run using a screen (linux/bsd) 3.2 Server Monitor Settings 4 Daily Billing 5 Data Caching 6 E-mail Importing 7 Queue System

Install Automated Tasks

The default method is to allow your systems cron to run your tasks. Windows users rely on the Scheduler in Windows.

Does your web-server have cron?

If it doesn't then contact support and we can have your tasks executed from our license server, securely and automatically.

Manual Configuration

Linux/FreeBSD

• Browse to Settings
• Click Cron Tasks
• Copy the cron tasks to your cron job (crontab -e)

Windows

• Create a .bat file for each service in cron.

# Example gamecp-monitor.bat
C:\GameCPRemote\gamecp-monitor.bat:_:cd C:\wamp\apps\gamecp\includes\cron && php servermonitor.php
# Example gamecp-monitor.bat
C:\GameCPRemote\gamecp-graph.bat:_:cd C:\wamp\apps\gamecp\includes\cron && php graph.php
# Example gamecp-cache.bat
C:\GameCPRemote\gamecp-monitor.bat:_:cd C:\wamp\apps\gamecp\includes\cron && php cache.php
# Example gamecp-billing.bat
C:\GameCPRemote\gamecp-monitor.bat:_:cd C:\wamp\apps\gamecp\includes\cron && php auto.php 1

• Create a Scheduled Tasks in Windows Task Scheduler for each item
  • servermonitor ran every 10minutes, cache ever 3, billing every day

Automatic Configuration

GameCP requires your Master Server (your web-server) to be listed in Manage Machines to utilize this feature.

• Browse to Manage Machines
• Add your Web-server machine
• Edit your web-server machine
• Click Install CRON Job

 

What was created?

• Windows users will see changes in
  • C:\GameCPRemote\crontab (a text file)
• Linux users will have the following files
  • /etc/cron.daily/gamecp-daily
  • /etc/crontab
  • /etc/cron.d/gcp-sched (if scheduler is used)

Windows Servers

GameCP uses Windows Tasks Scheduler to manage its automation - there are 3 scripts created with the automatic install (above)

• C:\GameCPRemote\gamecp-graph.bat
• C:\GameCPRemote\gamecp-monitor.bat
• C:\GameCPRemote\gamecp-cache.bat
• C:\GameCPRemote\gamecp-billing.bat

Be sure Path to PHP in Settings > General is set to the FULL PATH + EXE for php:

# Example
c:\wamp\bin\php\php5.3.5\php.exe

Also be sure that Ioncube is installed into ALL locations php.ini - in the case of wamp this is in the php and apache bin folders.

Linux Servers

On Linux we log the monitors - check the following files to make sure the tasks are running.

/var/log/gamecp-graph
/var/log/gamecp-billing
/var/log/gamecp-cache
/var/log/gamecp-monitor

Direct Testing

• Login to your server via ssh or RDP
• Browse to your "includes/cron" folder using the terminal, or "cmd" on Windows
• Test the programs

php servermonitor.php
php queue.php
php auto.php

Server Monitor

GameCP can monitor your servers and services - it monitors player limit, private status, branding & load (on linux).

Server Graphs

This feature is related to Server Graphs. You should read there to install RRDTool to enable server and machine graphs.

Server Graphs will run by default when you configure the automation settings, graph.php.

Alternative methods to run Server Monitor

Manaully run using a screen (linux/bsd)

• Login to your server via ssh

# EXAMPLE: Replace /path/to with the path to your GameCP web folder.
echo "logfile /var/log/monitor" > /usr/local/gcp/.screenrc.monitor ;
echo "log on" >> /usr/local/gcp/.screenrc.monitor ;
screen -c /usr/local/gcp/.screenrc.monitor -mdLS gamecp-monitor bash -c "cd /path/to/includes/cron ; php servermonitor.php 1" ;

Server Monitor Settings

Adjust the monitor settings in Settings > Server Monitor

Usage: php -q  
  servermonitor.php 
    <1 constant scan>  blank = cron, 1 = screen

Typical usage: php -q servermonitor.php

Daily Billing

GameCP will automatically create new invoices, cancel over-due accounts and notify users/admins of billing information.

Data Caching

GameCP will cache player status to increase browsing speed. The cache system also helps monitor server installs & updates in the case that nobody is browsing.

E-mail Importing

GameCP can automatically import imap based e-mails for its trouble tickets.

More information @ E-mail Importing

Queue System

GameCP can queue new users and pending orders - once the orders are marked as paid the automated queue system will create them.