B.net | Index Server 2
A community-maintained fork that adds IPv6 support, better SQL optimization, and a web-based admin panel to monitor the index server in real-time.
You might ask: "With modern remasters (StarCraft Remastered, Diablo II Resurrected) and Discord, why bother with a 20-year-old index server?" B.net Index Server 2
Here are the compelling reasons:
From a 2024 perspective, the B.net Index Server 2 seems dangerously naive. Because it publicly broadcasted host IPs, anyone with a packet sniffer could harvest IP addresses of thousands of players in real-time. This led to: A community-maintained fork that adds IPv6 support, better
Blizzard attempted fixes—such as "Toggle IP visibility" modes and proxy gateways—but the core P2P model persisted. The Index Server 2 remained a necessary weak link until the launch of Battle.net 2.0 with StarCraft II (2010), which abandoned P2P entirely in favor of server-authoritative hosting. better SQL optimization
To understand the magic, you need to understand the architecture. When you run a server using PvPGN, the B.net Index Server 2 operates as a multi-threaded service managing several key functions:
| Command | Purpose |
|---------|---------|
| bnetadmin -start | Start the IS2 service |
| bnetadmin -stop | Stop the service |
| bnetadmin -status | Show current load, active queries |
| bnetmerge | Merge two index partitions |
| bnetopt | Reorganize index (like defragmentation) |
| bnetckdb | Validate database integrity |