status in server console shows rate

[boxer82003]

status in server console shows rate at far right. its always 25000
or 5000 why the 2 different numbers and not the same for each player what difference does it make

[HankScorpio]

That is the player's chosen network connection type from the multiplayer options screen. DSL/Cable/LAN sets the rate at 25000. ISDN sets it at 5000. <=28.8k, 33.6k, and 56k all set it to 2000, 2500, and 3000 respectively. The rate is used by the netcode on the client and server to optimize the connection. You are basically telling it the maximum number of packets you can handle up and down on your network connection. If someone is on dial-up and chooses a rate of 25000, they are going to ping badly and warp all over the place. Likewise if you are on cable and set it to 5000 then you are only going to perform as well as a player on ISDN would.

The sv_maxrate cvar on the server can cap off the rate which the netcode uses for everyone. For example, even if everyone has a rate of 25000 and you set sv_maxrate to 9000, 9000 will be the rate used by the clients and server for optimization. The ideal sv_maxrate is based on the server's connection and the max number of players. We have another thread around here somewhere where we discussed what the equation for finding that may be. I think the reason that it isn't an issue is that the netcode of CoD is so good that messing with sv_maxrate isn't neccessary.