Page 1 of 1

How to get Poker Mavens running in Windows Azure

Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:38 am
by jgrovert
Here is how to get Poker Mavens running in Windows Azure. I'm saving up for my first Gold license and running my own Windows Azure server, so if this was helpful for you I would appreciate a tip at Bitcoin: 12uXNFKWkpvS1N4AhpQvk5uLnQwxRF335A or Paypal: [email protected] - any amount is appreciated!

This is actually pretty easy so don't be afraid to try. I was a bit verbose because I won't be there with you trying this, but if you need help please feel free to PM me or email me at [email protected] and I can help.

Step 1 - Sign up for Windows Azure - http://www.windowsazure.com.

You will need an account, and a subscription. They "Pay As You Go" subscription is fine if you're just hosting Poker Mavens - there are other subscriptions that you can save some money in return for committing to use Azure for a long time - you can always switch to that subscription later too.

There is no cost for signing up for an account and selecting the "Pay As You Go" plan - currently Azure charges only when you use the service. Just so you know we will end up using the "Virtual Machine" capability of Windows Azure - essentially running a Windows Server in the cloud. You can see the pricing details at http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/prici ... -machines/ - and picking either the "Small" or "Medium" option. "Extra Small" could work, but it's very light on memory resources so you may not get a good experience. Anything past a Medium and Poker Mavens won't be able to use the extra resources. Currently a "Small" Virtual Machine costs ~$67 / month and a Medium costs ~$134 / month. Aside from just the CPU and memory differences between Small and Medium, there is an IO and Network difference between the two detailed at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library ... 97896.aspx

Step 2 - Create a Virtual Machine

Once you create your account and pick your subscription, go to the Windows Azure portal at https://manage.windowsazure.com

The Windows Azure portal is where administrators (like you are now!) go to manage their different Windows Azure services. This is where we will create the Windows Azure Virtual Machine as well as do some configurations so other people can connect.

To create your Poker Mavens virtual machine, click on "Virtual Machines" on the left hand side, and click "+ New" on the bottom left. This will open a panel that "Compute" and "Virtual Machine" are already selected. Click "Quick Create".

Here you will be providing some information to get your Virtual Machine initially configured and setup.

DNS Name: Provide a name for your server. It needs to be unique in the Windows Azure world, and will be setup as _____.cloudapp.net where _____ is the name you provide.

Image: Pick "Windows Server 2012 Datacenter image". I've been running this for awhile with no issues. You can always pick "Windows Server 2008 R2 ..." but with Windows Azure you will get more life out of the newer version of their OS. In addition, 2012 has been continued to be engineered that it could be a virtual machine running in the cloud and is very optimized for that.

Size: Pick "Small" or "Medium". If you don't know, pick "Small". Keep in mind that you only pay for what you use, so if after all this you only have the server running for 24 hours you will only be paying ~$2 if you pick Small. Not a bad cost to try something out!

Username / New Password / Confirm: This is the username / password you will be using to Remote Desktop to your server. I would recommend picking something that is different, and secure than you use elsewhere.

Location: Well this is interesting! You can pick where in the world your Virtual Machine will live. Currently the choices are "West Europe", "West US", "East US", "Southeast Asia", "East Asia", and "North Europe". The distance between your players and the server can be a cause of the perception of the server running slow so all other things considered if you pick a location that is closer to your users it will be the better choice.

Subscription: This should be the subscription that you created earlier.

Once done, click "Create A Virtual Machine".

Step 2b - Wait - usually only a few minutes!

Well you've gotten this far - congrats! Windows Azure is busy setting up your Virtual Machine in their datacenters in the cloud. Now is a great time to show me some appreciation for getting me this far and tipping at Bitcoin: 12uXNFKWkpvS1N4AhpQvk5uLnQwxRF335A or Paypal: [email protected] (shameless plug - I thought you forgot already! :))

Step 3 - Configure Virtual Machine

OK once the Virtual Machine is created we need to configure it from the Windows Azure side to let Poker Maven traffic in. To do this, in the "Virtual Machines" tab of the Windows Azure portal, click on the name of your new virtual machine.

This is where you can see all things about your new virtual machine. Things like the "Dashboard" help see the usage of your Virtual Machine across things like CPU, Disk, and Network over time. There's also some great information in the Dashboard / Quick Glance section like the name, public / private IP's assigned, size and disk configuration.

For now, click on "Endpoints" at the top of the screen. We need to create two endpoints for port 8087 and 8088 (default Poker Maven File / Packet ports). To do that click on "Add" at the bottom of the screen. Keep "Add Endpoint" selected and click the "->" arrow in the bottom right of that window. Give it a Name: "PM8087", keep TCP as the protocol, and enter 8087 as the public port and private port. Click the Checkmark and let it complete. When it's done, create the second one Name: "PM8088", keep TCP as the protocol, and enter 8088 as the public and private port.

Step 4 - Connect to Virtual Machine

OK it is time to Remote Desktop to your new Virtual Machine. If you haven't done this before, it lets you see the screen of the remote computer you're connecting to as if you were there! Windows 7 / 8 already has Remote Desktop built into the operating system. Microsoft provides a Remote Desktop download for the Mac at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download ... x?id=18140 - or your can search Google for other Remote Desktop clients.

Make sure you are on the "Dashboard" section in Windows Azure (up at the top is where you click Dashboard, near where you clicked EndPoints) click on the "Connect" option at the bottom. This will download a .RDP file to your computer - save it somewhere that you remember as it has all the connection information (which is really just your ____.cloudapp.net server name and port that they've assigned) preconfigured for you.

Once it's downloaded, click on it and it should launch the Remote Desktop client. Click Connect. Any security warnings are OK to click Accept / Yes to. They're just warning you that you're connecting to a new server. That's ok - since you just created it!

Remote Desktop will ask you for your username / password. Enter the username / password you entered on Step 2. Click OK - and you should be in!

Step 5 - Configure the Virtual Machine Firewall

Almost done, just as we configured the EndPoints for port 8087 and 8088 we need to allow those ports in through the Windows Firewall. To do this, we need to load the "Windows Firewall with Advanced Security" program. To do this, move your mouse to the upper right corner of the Remote Desktop screen (you may need to scroll if you're not able to see the full screen in your Remote Desktop window. This will display the charms on the right hand side - click on the "Start" button (the one in the middle on the right with the Windows Logo". On the Start menu you can start typing "Windows Firewall with Advanced Security" and you'll see the program. Click it.

We need to create 1 Inbound rule that covers both ports. Highlight "Inbound Rules" and on the right hand side click "New Rule". For the first rule, change the Rule Type to "Port" and click "Next". Leave TCP selected, make sure "Selected Ports" is selected and enter: "8087-8088" for the ports. Click Next. Leave "Allow the connection" selected and click Next. Leave Domain, Private, and Public checked and click Next. Give it a Name: "PM 8087 8088" and click Finish.

Step 6 - Install Poker Mavens

Well you're done! At least with the server part... :) You're now at the point that you would be if you were installing Poker Mavens on your desktop at home. You've got a new Virtual Machine running in Windows Azure. You've done the configuration in Azure and Firewall to allow traffic in through the default Poker Maven Ports. And... you've got a Remote Desktop connection so you can manage your Virtual Machine remotely. Pretty cool! --- and congrats!

Next steps are to download Poker Mavens (go back to the Start button, type Internet Explorer, go to http://www.briggsoft.com/ , add that site to the Trusted Sites Zone by clicking "Add" to the popup that will come up when you first go to the site, and download your software).

When you install Poker Mavens, make sure and select the "Internet IP address" and "Local IP address" - both should show on your Windows Azure Dashboard for that virtual machine. Poker Mavens detects the correct IP address for both, and the "Local IP address" is *not* 127.0.0.1.

Once Poker Maven is installed (and make sure it's started), you will go to http://_____.cloudapp.net:8087 to access it from another desktop.

Enjoy! ... and like I said earlier I would really appreciate any and all tips to Bitcoin: 12uXNFKWkpvS1N4AhpQvk5uLnQwxRF335A or Paypal: [email protected] - it took me awhile to figure this all out and I hope I've saved you some time (and gotten your Poker Mavens server running in the cloud!) with this post.

If you have any questions - or need any further help, please reply to this thread, PM, or email me at [email protected].

Re: How to get Poker Mavens running in Windows Azure

Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:12 am
by Kent Briggs
Nice writeup. I made this a "sticky" topic so it will remain near the top.

Re: How to get Poker Mavens running in Windows Azure

Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 2:58 am
by zxzx10r
just FYI, Azure does NOT allow any type of Casino software - including poker.

My azure account was closed & i was not allowed on Azure anymore for running Poker Mavens 5.01 Gold on a server.

their comment was i violated the terms regarding Casino software.

Re: How to get Poker Mavens running in Windows Azure

Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 9:19 am
by Kent Briggs
zxzx10r wrote:My azure account was closed
Were you running a real-money site? No American company is going to allow that without a government issued license.