How much bandwidth does TeamSpeak require?

Especially the time and the mostly unknown factor how many people will speak at the same time for how long makes is nearly impossible to give a detailed result of how much bandwidth and traffic is required. Basics: Each person speaking sends one voice stream to the server The server decides based on who's in the same channel to whom the stream has to be sent. If 12 persons in the same channel speak at the same time, the server receives 12 voice streams and sends 12 voice streams to every one in the same channel. The server does not mix the voice streams. The server sends a heartbeat packet (66 Bytes) to each client each second which answers with a packet (62 Bytes). The bandwidth and traffic requirement is depending on: The amount of channels and users Selected codec in the channels People speaking at the same time in same/different channel The server's uptime This FAQ can only show you how you can calculate the bandwidth/traffic requirement for your server as only you know your specific setup and how often and how long people will talk on your server. Bandwidth calculation for the server We'll divide this into several examples which hopeful explain the calculation somewhat better. The first is a simple example we'll explain a little bit more in detail. For each example we use the following syntax: DOWN: people_speaking_atm * selected_codec UP: people_speaking_atm * (people_in_channel - 1) * selected_codec The following would be a server with one channel set to Speex 25.9, 10 people in the only channel and one person is speaking: DOWN: 1 * 25.9 Kbit/s = 25.9 Kbit/s UP: 1 * (10 - 1) * 25.9 Kbit/s = 233.1 Kbit/s As you see in this example, the DOWN bandwidth is usually not a problem but the UP bandwidth can be one - especially with home Internet access as they usually have asymmetric bandwidth where the DOWN bandwidth is much higher then the UP bandwidth. Here's another example with one channel set to Speex 12.3, 10 people in the only channel and two persons are speaking: DOWN: 1 * 12.3 Kbit/s = 12.3 Kbit/s UP: 2 * (10 - 1) * 12.3 Kbit/s = 221.4 Kbit/s The last example shows how the bandwidth requirement explodes when more then one people are speaking at the same time. In TeamSpeak 2 there is no setting to stop simultaneous speaking. Client bandwidth calculation Lets look at the bandwidth requirement for the client. We'll explain this by looking at the two examples above. UP and DOWN bandwidth are now contrary when looking at the client. We always assume that the client we are looking at is the one or one of the speaking person. If he is listening, there is only DOWN bandwidth required. DOWN: 0 * 12.3 Kbit/s = 0 Kbit/s UP: 1 * 12.3 Kbit/s = 12.3 Kbit/s DOWN: 2 * 12.3 Kbit/s = 24.6 Kbit/s UP: 1 * 12.3 Kbit/s = 12.3 Kbit/s Bandwidth requirement for the client are usually not a big issue, unless you're in a Speex 25.9 channel with an analog Internet access. But when hosting a server at home, you have to be aware, that especially the UP bandwidth is the limiting factor. Keep in mind, that a game or other application you run in parallel to TeamSpeak requires as well bandwidth and with several open connections you can not use 100% of your bandwidth. The connection quality will decrease which will be easily heard in a time sensitive application such as a voice-communication tool.

My server is getting hacked, is there a vulnerability?

There is no known security flaw in TeamSpeak that may be abused to gain SA rights. This is regardless to the version you use. There has never been such an exploit. There are two ways that have been found the answer to the "my server has been hacked" reports: Connecting users faking a SA account. "Myname (U SA) (U)" is what you would see. This means the user is unregistered and his nickname is "Myname (U SA)". You try to revoke this permission... at which point the attacker has SA. Weak passwords, that are tried by brute force. If your password is some easy word, it might be easy for an attacker to guess it. If the password is personal to you, and the attacker knows you, it is even easier. Use the newest server version and switch on the logging capabilities. Also give SA (or even superadmin) to as few clients as possible. And if you ever find something suspicious, post the logs and all relevant info to our forums.

How can I use a DNS hostname instead of a (dynamic) IP?

Your ISP assigns an IP address which changes every time you reconnect. This is called a 'dynamic' IP address. As the name suggests there are also 'static' IP addresses. If you have a static IP address then it is always the same and never changes. You probably have seen some people using a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) instead of an IP address to connect to a TeamSpeak server. Take the three public TeamSpeak servers for example. You can connect using the domain name 'voice.teamspeak.org' or the IP address to which 'voice.teamspeak.org' resolves to (currently 213.202.254.115). Requirements: You have to own the domain (voice.teamspeak.org in this example), obviously. You need someone running a DNS server. Your server must have an IP which is accessible from the internet. If you use a router you just need to set up a port forwarding. However very few providers only assign RFC 1918 addresses (LAN IP addresses), in that case you're thoroughly boned, sorry. For step 1) and 2) you could ask a professional hoster (e.g. your ISP) who will register the domain name for you and provide you with means of changing the relevant DNS record fields (IP address, and some more). This is out of the range of this FAQ! Since you probably have a dynamic IP at home, the DNS entry needs to be changed each time you get a new IP. Your hoster will either not do it or charge you an obscenely large amount of money.

So is there a "free" way to get a DNS name even behind a dynamic IP?

Yes there is. This kind of service is called dynamic DNS. It works like this: You register a user account at a dynamic DNS provider's page. You download one of the client programs the dynamic DNS provider offers. This program is used to update your domain(s) with your IP address. You set up the dynamic DNS client program on your machine to match your account data. To find Dynamic DNS providers, search the web for "Dynamic DNS".

Can I display the server's status on my homepage?
Through TeamSpeak's built-in TCP query interface, you're able to display your server's status on your website by using a scripting language (i.e. PHP or Perl/CGI). You'll find some working scripts in our Forums.

What are codecs, and how do they differ?

A codec is a property that every channel (room) on a server has, it's a technical word that describes what technique is used to compress the voice data before transporting it over the internet. To change the codec of a channel, you right click on it and select 'Edit Channel', there you can set the codec that will be used for all further communication in the selected room. Note: You will probably need administrative priviledges [server admin (SA) or channel admin (CA)] in order to change the codec of a channel. Codecs are usually a trade-off between bandwidth usage and quality, the bandwidth usage (in KBits/sec) is part of the name of each codec that TeamSpeak offers; following we have ordered codecs by quality. Note that quality can not be measured, so the following is just the opinion of the writer of this text. Quality: (best quality comes first) Speex25.9 > Speex19.5 > Speex16.3 > Speex12.3 > GSM16.4 = GSM14.8 > Speex9.3 > Speex7.2 > WinCELP5.2 > Speex5.2 > CELP6.3 = CELP5.1 > Speex3.4 What codec for which internet connection? DSL/Cable or better For talking Speex 16.3 is easily good enough, if you want to transmit music, go Speex 25.9. ISDN Speex 12.3 sounds alright, limit your download to 14 KBit/s if you want to game. Speex 16.3 with download limit on 17 might also be OK. Modem Speex 9.3 is still quite good quality. Limit your download to 10 KBit. Note that if you want to game its way to high a setting, go as low as you can bare (Speex 5.2, or even Speex 3.4, limit your download to 6 respectivly 4).

Where can I find technical support?
Free technical support is ONLY available via our Forums or FAQ. Paid, licensed customers may use Triton's Ticket System for priority technical support, and may also request telephone callback assistance if needed.

Is there a Mac client/server for TeamSpeak?

There is no official Mac client/server for TeamSpeak 2, but there is an unsupported, unofficial 3rd party client for Mac named 'TeamSpeex'. You can find this client on our Downloads page. Upon the release of TeamSpeak 3, both server and client will immediately be available for Mac. All platforms (Windows, Linux and Mac) will be 100% feature compatible and feature rich so regardless of which platform you use, all new features will be available across all platforms.

What is the meaning of DNS and how does it work?

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a system that stores information associated with domain names in a distributed database on networks, such as the Internet. The DNS associates many types of information with domain names, but most importantly, it provides the IP address associated with the domain name. It also lists mail exchange servers accepting e-mail for each domain. DNS is useful for several reasons. Most well known, the DNS makes it possible to attach hard-to-remember IP addresses (such as 213.202.254.115) to easy-to-remember domain names (such as 'voice.teamspeak.org'). Humans take advantage of this when they recite URLs and e-mail addresses. Less recognized, the DNS makes it possible for people to assign authoritative names, without needing to communicate with a central registrar each time. To use DNS your computer has to know at least one working DNS server. Your ISP usually provides you with one. This is part of the negotiation that goes on between your modem and your ISP when you connect to the internet and as such completely transparent to you. Example: An example may clarify this process. Suppose an application needs to find the IP address of TeamSpeak.com. It puts this question to a local DNS recursor. Before starting, the recursor has to know where to find the root servers; administrators of recursive DNS servers manually specify (and periodically update) a file called the root hints which specify recently known IP addresses of these servers, from which the DNS server can obtain a current complete list. The process starts by the recursor asking one of these root servers the question "What is the IP address for TeamSpeak.com?". The root server replies with a delegation, meaning roughly: "I don't know the IP address of TeamSpeak.com, but I do know that the DNS server at A.B.C.D has information on the com domain.". The local DNS recursor then asks that DNS server the same question it had previously put to the root servers, i.e. "What is the IP address for TeamSpeak.com?". It gets a similar reply - essentially, "I don't know the address of TeamSpeak.com, but I do know that the DNS server at A.B.C.D has information on the TeamSpeak.com domain." Finally the request goes to this third DNS server, which replies with the required IP address.