How to Connect to a CCcam Server: Full Config Guide

If you're trying to figure out how to connect cccam server credentials to your receiver, you're not alone — this is where most people get stuck. You've got a hostname, a port, a username, and a password, and now you need to translate that into a working config. This guide covers the full process: CCcam.cfg syntax, OScam reader blocks, troubleshooting log errors, and the network-level issues that silently kill connections.

No fluff. Just configs, commands, and things that actually matter.

Understanding CCcam Connection Basics Before You Start

Before touching any config file, you need to understand what you're actually configuring. CCcam uses a simple client-server model over plain TCP — the client dials out to the server, authenticates, and then the server pushes ECM (Entitlement Control Message) responses back. That's it. The protocol isn't encrypted by default, though some setups wrap it in SSL.

What a CCcam C-line and N-line Actually Contain

A C-line is the client-side connection definition. Format is always:

C: <hostname> <port> <username> <password>

So a real example with placeholder values looks like:

C: myserver.example.com 15000 myuser mypassword

The N-line is the server-side mirror of this — it's how the server registers a peer that's allowed to connect. You don't configure N-lines as a client; those live on the server. When someone gives you a C-line, they've already added the corresponding N-line on their end. If they haven't, your connection will be refused at auth even if the TCP port is reachable.

How the CCcam Protocol Works (Client-Server Model Overview)

The client initiates an outbound TCP connection to the server on the specified port. After the TCP handshake, CCcam does its own application-layer authentication exchange. The server then announces which cards (CAIDs and provider IDs) it can share. From that point, your receiver sends ECM requests and gets CW (Control Word) responses back.

The whole thing runs on one persistent TCP connection. If that connection drops, the client has to reconnect and re-authenticate from scratch, which is why keepalive settings matter more than people think.

Required Information: Hostname/IP, Port, Username, Password

You need exactly four things. No exceptions. If your provider gave you a C-line, those four elements are already in it. If they gave them to you separately, construct the C-line yourself. Double-check that there are no trailing spaces, especially in the password field — CCcam's parser is not forgiving about whitespace.

Also watch for special characters in passwords. Hash symbols (#) in a CCcam.cfg line will be interpreted as a comment delimiter and silently truncate your password. Spaces obviously break the field parsing entirely. If your password contains either, ask for a replacement credential or quote-handling will need to be verified against your specific CCcam binary version.

Difference Between CCcam Client Mode and Server Mode

When you add a C-line, you're running in client mode — you're consuming shares from a remote server. When you add N-lines and configure local card readers, you're running in server mode and sharing cards downstream. Most end users only need client mode. The two can run simultaneously on the same CCcam instance, but that's an advanced setup most readers here don't need right now.

Default port for CCcam is 12000, but this is purely convention. Server operators regularly run on 15000, 17000, 20000, 25000, or anything else. Always use the port in your credentials — don't assume 12000.

Configuring CCcam.cfg on a Linux-Based Receiver or Server

This is the most common path for Enigma2 boxes running images like OpenATV, OpenPLi, or similar. The CCcam binary reads a single config file on startup and applies everything in it.

Locating the CCcam.cfg File Path (/var/keys/CCcam.cfg or /etc/CCcam.cfg)

On Enigma2 receivers, the file is almost always at /var/keys/CCcam.cfg. On some older setups or non-Enigma2 Linux installs, it lives at /etc/CCcam.cfg. If you're not sure which path your binary uses, check the startup script:

cat /etc/init.d/CCcam

Look for a line referencing the config path. That's definitive. Some images also let you symlink one path to the other if you want consistency across installs.

Adding a C-line to Connect as a Client to a Remote Server

Open the config file in a text editor (nano works fine on most Enigma2 images) and add your C-line. A minimal working config looks like this:

# CCcam client config
# Connect to remote server
C: myserver.example.com 15000 myuser mypassword
# Logging
DEBUG: 0
LOGFILE: /tmp/CCcam.log
# Hop settings
ALLOW HOPS: 2

Save the file. Make sure it's saved with Unix line endings (LF only, not CRLF). If you edited it on Windows and transferred via FTP, there's a real chance it has Windows line endings — run dos2unix /var/keys/CCcam.cfg before restarting CCcam or you'll get parse failures that look random.

Setting NEWCAMD and CCcam Cascade Options in the Config

If your server uses the NEWCAMD protocol instead of native CCcam, the C-line syntax is different and you'd use an N-line format. But for standard CCcam-to-CCcam connections, the C-line above is what you need. The ALLOW HOPS directive controls how many hops of reshared cards your client will accept — set it too low (like 1) and you'll see the server as connected but with zero cards available, which is one of the most common gotchas in this whole setup.

For cascading — where your box acts as both client and mini-server — you'd also add CARDSERVER PORT: 12000 to listen for downstream clients. Leave this out if you're purely a consumer.

Restarting CCcam After Config Changes (init.d and systemd Methods)

On SysVinit-based Enigma2 images (most of them):

/etc/init.d/CCcam restart

On systemd-based systems:

systemctl restart CCcam

After restart, immediately tail the log:

tail -f /tmp/CCcam.log

You should see connection attempts within a few seconds. If the log file doesn't appear at all, CCcam either didn't start or the LOGFILE directive isn't set in your config.

Verifying the Connection with CCcam Info Page (Port 16001)

CCcam has a built-in HTTP status page. Open a browser on any device on the same network and go to:

http://<receiver-ip>:16001

This shows connected servers, cards available, CAIDs being shared, and hop counts. If your C-line connected successfully, the remote server will appear here with card counts. If it shows connected but 0 cards, that's a HOPS issue or the server-side CAID filtering is excluding everything you'd need. The info page is your primary diagnostic tool — use it before anything else.

One edge case: if you have both CCcam and OScam installed on the same box and OScam has already bound port 12000, CCcam won't start its listener. They'll conflict silently. Check with netstat -tlnp | grep 12000 to see what's holding the port.

Connecting via OScam as a CCcam Client (oscam.server Setup)

OScam is honestly the better choice for client-side operation if your image supports it. It handles reconnects more gracefully, has significantly better logging, and the web interface on port 8888 gives you real-time ECM timing data that CCcam's info page just doesn't match.

Why OScam Is Preferred Over CCcam for Client-Side Decoding

The CCcam binary is old and largely unmaintained at this point. OScam is actively developed, handles multiple protocols in the same instance, and its reconnect logic is smarter. When a CCcam connection drops, the binary often needs a full restart to recover cleanly. OScam will attempt reconnection automatically based on your reconnecttimeout setting without intervention.

oscam.server Reader Configuration for a CCcam Protocol Connection

Your /etc/oscam/oscam.server file needs a reader block like this:

[reader]
label = myremote
enable = 1
protocol = cccam
device = myserver.example.com:15000
user = myuser
password = mypassword
cccversion = 2.0.11
ccckeepalive = 1
reconnecttimeout = 30
cccmaxhops = 10

The cccversion field matters more than people realize. If your server runs an older CCcam version and you declare 2.2.1, authentication can silently fail. Common safe values are 2.0.11 and 2.1.4. Try 2.0.11 first. If auth fails and you're sure the credentials are right, try dropping the version number.

Setting ccckeepalive = 0 is a common mistake — with keepalive disabled, the reader will drop after an idle period and not reconnect until OScam decides to retry. Leave it at 1.

oscam.user and oscam.conf Settings That Affect CCcam Connectivity

Your oscam.conf needs the global section configured correctly. At minimum:

[global]
logfile = /tmp/oscam.log
nice = -1
WaitForCards = 1
[webif]
httpport = 8888
httpuser = admin
httppwd = admin

In oscam.user, make sure the local user your receiver's softcam is authenticating as has group = 1 and that the reader above also has group = 1 — OScam's group system controls which users can access which readers. Mismatched groups mean your local decoding request never reaches the remote reader, and the log won't make this obvious.

Using the OScam Web Interface (Port 8888) to Monitor Reader Status

Navigate to http://<receiver-ip>:8888 in a browser. The Readers tab shows your CCcam reader's status: connected, disconnected, or reconnecting. The "Last ECM" column shows response time in milliseconds. Under 300ms is solid. Over 800ms and you'll notice zapping lag. Over 1200ms and channels may time out before the CW arrives.

Converting a CCcam C-line to an OScam Reader Block

The mapping is straightforward:

Add protocol = cccam and the keepalive/version fields shown above and you're done. Special characters in passwords that broke CCcam.cfg parsing generally work fine in OScam's config format, though you should still verify after saving.

Troubleshooting CCcam Server Connection Failures

The troubleshooting process for how to connect cccam server issues has a logical order: verify TCP reachability first, then authentication, then card sharing. Don't jump to blaming your config when the server might just be down.

Connection Refused: Port, Firewall, and Server-Side Issues

Test raw TCP reachability before touching any config:

telnet myserver.example.com 15000

Or with netcat:

nc -zv myserver.example.com 15000

If you get "connection refused," the TCP port isn't open. Either the server is down, the wrong port, or a firewall is blocking it at the server end. If you get no response and the command hangs, a firewall is dropping packets silently — common with stateful firewalls on high ports above 30000, where some routers trigger DPI inspection and effectively kill the connection.

Client-side firewalls rarely block outbound TCP, but if you're on a corporate network or behind a restrictive router, this is worth checking. Most home routers pass all outbound TCP by default.

Authentication Failed: Wrong Username, Password, or C-line Format Errors

In /tmp/CCcam.log, look for strings like:

• login failed — TCP connected, auth rejected
• connection refused — TCP didn't connect at all
• authentication error — credentials wrong or account disabled

"Login failed" in the log is almost always one of: wrong password, trailing whitespace in the C-line, account expired on the server side, or a CCcam protocol version mismatch. Verify credentials character by character. Copy-paste from a PDF or messaging app often introduces invisible characters or smart quotes — retype manually if needed.

Also check your CCcam binary version. Pre-2.0 binaries struggle to authenticate against modern server configurations. Run CCcam -v or check the info page header to see what version you're running.

Connected but No Cards Shared: CAID/Provider ID Filtering and Hop Count

This is the most frustrating failure mode — everything looks connected but channels stay scrambled. First check the CCcam info page on port 16001. If the server shows 0 cards, either:

• The server doesn't share any CAID your channels need
• Your ALLOW HOPS setting is too low — cards reshared from further servers appear at hop 2 or 3, and if your client won't accept them, they're invisible
• The server has CAID-level filtering that excludes your account

Set ALLOW HOPS: 10 temporarily to rule out the hop count issue. If cards suddenly appear, that's your problem — tune the value down to something reasonable like 3-5 afterward.

Frequent Disconnects and Reconnect Loops: Keepalive and Timeout Settings

If you see the log cycling through connect/disconnect repeatedly, check ccckeepalive in OScam or the equivalent in CCcam.cfg. An idle connection without keepalive will be dropped by NAT devices after a few minutes of no traffic. On the CCcam binary side, there's no equivalent directive — if disconnects persist, OScam's reader mode handles this far better.

Also consider your receiver's clock. Some CCcam server implementations reject connections where the client time delta exceeds a certain threshold (commonly 60-120 seconds). Run date on your receiver and compare against actual time. If it's off by more than a minute, sync NTP: ntpdate pool.ntp.org.

DNS Resolution Failures When Using Hostnames Instead of IPs

If your receiver can't resolve the server hostname, the connection will fail silently or with a generic error. Test with:

nslookup myserver.example.com

If that fails, try hardcoding the IP in your config temporarily to confirm it's a DNS issue. One edge case: the hostname might resolve to an IPv6 address, but your receiver only has an IPv4 stack. The connection will silently fail. Force IPv4 by using the A record IP directly, or set prefer_family = 4 if your OScam build supports it.

Diagnosing with Telnet and Netcat Before Blaming the Config

Run the TCP test first. Every time. A failed telnet or netcat means no config change will help — the problem is network-level. Only once you confirm TCP connectivity should you start debugging authentication and card sharing. This simple ordering saves hours of config tweaking against a server that's just unreachable.

Network and Firewall Considerations for CCcam Connectivity

Outbound TCP Requirements on the Client Side

CCcam uses plain outbound TCP. The client needs nothing inbound — no port forwarding, no DMZ, no special firewall rules. Any server that tells you to open inbound ports on your client is either misconfigured or running a non-standard setup. Legitimate CCcam servers only need the client to initiate outbound TCP.

NAT and Double-NAT Scenarios (CGNAT from ISP)

CGNAT (Carrier-Grade NAT) is common with mobile broadband and some cable ISPs. Your receiver gets a private IP, your router gets another private IP from the ISP, and the ISP does the final NAT to a public address. This is fine for outbound TCP — CCcam will work through CGNAT without any configuration changes.

The problem occurs when a server uses IP-based access control. Under CGNAT, your apparent public IP is shared with potentially thousands of other subscribers. If the server has whitelisted a specific IP for your account, that whitelisting won't work reliably under CGNAT. Contact the server operator to either remove IP restriction or use a VPN with a stable IP.

Using a VPN Tunnel When the ISP Blocks Non-Standard Ports

Some ISPs in specific regions block outbound TCP on high port numbers (above 10000 is common, some block above 1024). If telnet to the server port fails but ping succeeds, ISP port blocking is likely. A VPN routes traffic through a tunnel and makes the CCcam connection appear as normal VPN traffic. The CCcam client doesn't need any special configuration — just connect the VPN first and CCcam will route through it automatically.

Alternatively, ask the server operator if they can provide an alternate port in the 80/443/8080 range — these are almost never blocked.

Setting Static DNS or Hardcoding IPs to Avoid Resolution Delays

DNS resolution adds latency on every reconnect. On Enigma2 boxes, set a reliable DNS server in /etc/resolv.conf:

nameserver 1.1.1.1
nameserver 8.8.8.8

Or just hardcode the server IP in your C-line/reader config and skip DNS entirely. The downside is that if the server changes IPs, you'll need to update manually. A reasonable trade-off for stability.

MTU Issues on PPPoE Connections Causing Silent Packet Loss

PPPoE connections typically have an MTU of 1492 rather than the standard 1500. If your router isn't clamping TCP MSS correctly, large CCcam packets can get fragmented or silently dropped. The symptom is intermittent ECM timeouts that look exactly like server instability — channels freeze briefly and then recover, on a pattern that doesn't correlate with server load.

Fix this on your router by setting TCP MSS clamping to 1452, or set the WAN interface MTU explicitly to 1492. On OpenWrt: iptables -t mangle -A FORWARD -p tcp --tcp-flags SYN,RST SYN -j TCPMSS --clamp-mss-to-pmtu.

Evaluating a CCcam Server Before Connecting (Generic Criteria)

Knowing how to connect cccam server credentials is only half the problem — connecting to a bad server wastes time. Here's what to actually evaluate.

What Server Latency (Ping/ECM Response Time) Means for Zapping Speed

ECM response time is measured from when your receiver sends an ECM request to when it gets a valid CW back. Under 300ms is excellent. 300-500ms is acceptable for most content. Over 800ms you'll notice a delay when changing channels. Over 1200ms and channels may fail to open at all before the decoder gives up.

Ping to the server gives a rough floor — if ping is 200ms, your ECM time will always be at least that. Factor in server processing time on top. A server with 20ms ping but overloaded with clients can still deliver 900ms ECM times.

Card Origin and CAID Coverage — How to Verify Before Committing

After connecting, open the CCcam info page (port 16001) and look at the CAID list under your connected server. Match those CAIDs against your channel list. Common CAIDs include 0x0500 (Viaccess), 0x0600 (Irdeto), 0x0963 and 0x09C4 (Videoguard), 0x1800 (Nagravision). If your target channels use a CAID that isn't listed, the server doesn't have what you need — no config change will fix that.

Hop Count and Its Impact on Decoding Reliability

A hop count of 1 means a card is directly attached to the server. Hop 2 means it's been reshared once from another server. Each hop adds latency and a failure point. Cards at hop 3 or above are noticeably less reliable and contribute to ECM timeouts. If the server's info page shows all cards at hop 4-5, expect instability.

Testing with a Short Trial Period Rather Than Long Commitments

If a server offers a trial period, use it fully. Test during peak hours (evenings, weekends) not just at 3am. A server that's fine at off-peak can become unusable when load increases. Watch the ECM response times in OScam's web interface over 24-48 hours before deciding on a longer arrangement.

Red Flags: Servers That Require Client-Side Port Forwarding or Unusual Config Changes

Legitimate CCcam servers require exactly zero inbound configuration on your end. If someone tells you to forward a port, set up a DMZ, or install unusual software to connect, that's either a misconfigured server or something worse. The CCcam protocol is entirely outbound-initiated. Walk away from anything that contradicts this.