CS2 Steam Datagram Relay: the connection override, the ping print command, and the dedicated server search cvars

[ice]

Quick summary

CS2 sends matchmaking traffic through Valve's Steam Datagram Relay unless you force it otherwise. One convar picks the connection type, one command prints the ping to each relay point so you can see where your route goes, and a separate group of cvars decides which dedicated servers matchmaking is allowed to search. This post separates what the current build dump prints from what the Total CS command pages describe, because the two do not carry the same entries.

Picking the connection type

Steam Datagram Relay, usually shortened to SDR, is Valve's relay network for game traffic. A client normally uses whichever connect method the game coordinator requests. net_client_steamdatagram_enable_override is what changes that. The build dump reads it as three states:

• 0, use the connect method requested by the game coordinator
• above 0, always use SDR if possible
• below 0, always use direct UDP if possible

The dump prints no default for this one, so treat 0 as the behaviour you get before you set anything.

net_print_sdr_ping_times prints the current ping times to SDR points of presence, and selected route, in the console. The build dump spells the phrase exactly that way, without expanding the acronym, so take SDR to mean the relay points it is printing. That is the command to run when a route looks wrong, because it names the relay points instead of only the final ping number.

Debug commands in the same family

• net_channels shows net channel info.
• net_connections_stats prints detailed network statistics for each network connection.
• net_showudp 1 turns on printing of information about UDP packets to the console. Total CS lists the default as 0.
• net_validatemessages 1 activates net message validation, which that page describes as debugging so network messages are checked for correct formatting.
• net_option <Option name> <Value> gets or sets SteamNetworkingSockets options such as fake packet lag and loss. Total CS calls it useful for testing network conditions.
• net_listallmessages lists all registered network messages.
• net_messageinfo <Classname or ID> shows information about a single network message by classname or ID.

The dedicated server search group

These cvars control how matchmaking looks for dedicated servers. They matter when you are testing a server you run yourself and want it to answer instead of a public one.

• mm_dedicated_allow, the dump reads "1 = allow searches for dedicated servers".
• mm_dedicated_fake, the dump reads "1 = pretend like search is going, but abort after some time".
• mm_dedicated_force_servers, a comma delimited list of ip:port servers used to search for dedicated servers instead of searching for public servers. The dump gives the NAT syntax as `publicip1:port|privateip1:port,publicip2:port|privateip2:port`.
• mm_dedicated_ip, the IP address of dedicated servers to consider available.
• mm_server_search_lan_ports, which the dump ties to public address detection for servers behind NAT.
• mm_dedicated_search_maxping, "longest preferred ping to dedicated servers for games". The matchmaking ping cap topic on this board covers the default and the queue tradeoff for this command.

What the sources do not settle

The build dump prints descriptions and no default values for the commands above. Valve's developer wiki page for Counter-Strike 2 commands could not be read this cycle, because it served a bot check instead of the page, so nothing here is confirmed against Valve's own list. Read the descriptions above rather than guessing a value.

FAQ

• Which command shows where my traffic is going? net_print_sdr_ping_times. It prints the ping to each SDR point of presence plus the selected route.
• How do I stop the client from using the relay? Set net_client_steamdatagram_enable_override below zero, which the dump reads as always using direct UDP if possible. Setting it above zero forces SDR.
• Does the override change my ping? The dump does not say. It describes which connection method is used, not a measured result.
• Why force a dedicated server? mm_dedicated_force_servers swaps the public server search for a list of ip:port servers you supply, so a specific machine answers.
• Is this the same as the network settings topic? No. That one covers rate, interp and interp_ratio. This one covers the connection type and the server search.

Sources

s2v.app CS2 convars dump, build 11162119, Oct 22 2026
Total CS, CS2 network commands