NetValve™

NetValve™ is a latency equalization tool for CS2 servers. It applies Linux Traffic Control (tc netem) delays to low-ping players so matches feel fair and consistent.

Quick Install

Run:

curl -fsSL https://netvalve.hvh.gg/install | sudo bash

to launch the interactive setup with the latest version.

To pin a specific release, use this:

NETVALVE_VERSION=1.0.0 curl -fsSL https://netvalve.hvh.gg/install | sudo bash

Features

• Traffic control based on live player ping data
• Strict mode: raise all players below target to the plugin-provided target ping
• Relaxed mode: raise players to the highest current ping, capped by target
• Bidirectional shaping on inbound and outbound traffic via IFB
• WebSocket ingest with HTTP fallback from the CS2 plugin

Ping Modes

Set runtime behavior using plugin cvars:

• netvalve_targetping
• netvalve_pingmode

Shaping stays off until the plugin exports a non-zero netvalve_targetping value.

Examples with target 20:

• strict with players 5ms and 25ms -> 5 is raised toward 20ms, 25ms is unchanged
• relaxed with players 5ms and 13ms -> 5ms is raised toward 13ms
• relaxed with players 5ms, 13ms, and 25ms -> 5ms and 13ms are raised toward 20ms

Configuring Servers

Multiple Servers Setup

The setup script asks how CS2 servers should authenticate:

1. Shared token (default, recommended for many servers): one token for all servers. Every plugin uses the same config and is identified by its game port. See Shared Binary / Auto ServerId Mode.
2. Per-server: a unique ServerId and token for each server.

Leaving a token prompt empty auto-generates one. The script prints the resulting plugin config(s) at the end.

In per-server mode, enter the count of servers you want to connect. For each server, set:

• ServerId (unique)
• AuthToken
• Port

On each CS2 server, configure:

{
  "ControllerUrl": "ws://host-ip:8443/ws",
  "AuthToken": "server-token",
  "ServerId": "server-1"
}

Important: use the host machine IP, this might not always be 127.0.0.1. In BareMetal + Docker setups, plugins run inside containers and must reach the host network address.

Shared Binary / Auto ServerId Mode

If multiple CS2 servers share the same plugin config, leave ServerId empty:

{
  "ControllerUrl": "ws://host-ip:8443/ws",
  "AuthToken": "shared-token",
  "ServerId": ""
}

The plugin auto-generates ServerId from port (example: port-27015).

Example controller config (/etc/netvalve/config.json) for one shared token:

{
  "Ingest": {
    "Servers": [
      { "ServerId": "", "Token": "shared-token" }
    ]
  }
}

Plugin Runtime Settings

Set these in the server console or a cfg file after the plugin is loaded:

• netvalve_targetping 50
• netvalve_pingmode strict

netvalve_targetping 0 disables shaping for that server.

Requirements

• Linux kernel modules: sch_netem, sch_htb, sch_ingress, cls_flower, act_mirred, ifb
• curl, tar, tc (usually from iproute2, iproute, or iproute-tc)
• aspnetcore-runtime-8.0
• Metamod:Source
• CounterStrikeSharp

Install .NET 8 Runtime

Debian / Ubuntu

. /etc/os-release
wget "https://packages.microsoft.com/config/${ID}/${VERSION_ID}/packages-microsoft-prod.deb" -O packages-microsoft-prod.deb
sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y aspnetcore-runtime-8.0

For other Linux distributions, use Microsoft’s official .NET install docs: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/install/linux

Manual Install

1. Controller Service

• Copy netvalve-X.Y.X-linux-x64.tar.gz to the server
• Extract it in a working directory on the server
• Run NETVALVE_VERSION=X.Y.X sudo ./install.sh --local from that same directory
• Start service: sudo systemctl start netvalve-controller

2. CS2 Plugin

• Download NetValve.Plugin-X.Y.X.zip
• Extract to addons/counterstrikesharp/
• Edit addons/counterstrikesharp/configs/plugins/NetValve/NetValve.json
• Restart CS2 server or reload the plugin

Credits

• HvH.gg
• Metamod:Source
• CounterStrikeSharp