CCcam: server setup and config — complete guide 2026

If you are reading this, you probably already have a receiver on Enigma2, and you want to understand cccam without fluff and advertisements for paid servers. We will go through everything step by step: how the protocol works, what a correct config looks like, where to look when nothing works.

I will say honestly right away — cccam in 2026 is legacy. Development stopped several years ago. But the protocol still works, the equipment supports it, and millions of receivers use it. So it's worth understanding, even if you later migrate to OScam.

What is CCcam and how does the protocol work

Essentially, it is a client-server protocol for transmitting control words (CW) over the network. The server has a physical smart card with a paid subscription. The client sends an encrypted ECM request, the server decrypts it through the card and returns the CW. The receiver uses this word to decode the stream.

All exchanges occur over TCP. The standard port is 12000. The delay on a good connection is 150–400 ms, which is quite comfortable for live viewing.

The principle of card sharing and the role of ECM/EMM

ECM (Entitlement Control Message) is an encrypted packet from the broadcaster that contains the CW. It cannot be decrypted without the card. EMM (Entitlement Management Message) are service messages for updating rights on the card. CCcam can proxy both, although it has historically performed worse with EMM than OScam.

The client constantly sends ECM requests — approximately every 10 seconds when the CW changes. If the server responds slower than 600–800 ms, the picture starts to freeze or goes black for a second.

How CCcam differs from OScam and MgCamd

CCcam is a closed proprietary protocol. There are no source codes, the last known release dates back to 2012–2013. OScam is open, actively developed by the community, works better with cache and EMM. MgCamd is another client, lighter, consumes less memory on older hardware.

For new installations, I would choose OScam. But if you already have a working cccam config — there is no rush to change, especially if everything is stable.

Port 12000 and packet exchange structure

The client connects to the server via TCP:12000 (unless overridden in the config). The first exchange is a handshake with authentication via username/password. After that, the session remains open, and ECM/CW packets are sent through it.

CCcam also supports newcamd and cs357x protocols for backward compatibility with older clients. This is convenient if there is a mixed zoo of equipment in the network.

Installing CCcam on Enigma2 and Linux

There is no single package — usually, a ready binary is downloaded for your architecture. The very first thing to find out is: what processor is in the receiver. Most modern Enigma2 boxes are arm or armv7, older Dreambox are mipsel. The architecture error is the most common: the binary does not start and gives no error in the console — it just stays silent.

Loading the binary for the architecture (mipsel, arm)

You can check the architecture with the command:

uname -m

Ifuname -m returnsmips — you need the mipsel binary. Ifarmv7l oraarch64 — the corresponding arm variant. For Vu+ Zero 4K and similar modern boxes, you need aarch64.

Copying to /usr/bin and permissions chmod 755

The binary is placed in/usr/bin/CCcam. After copying, it is essential to:

chmod 755 /usr/bin/CCcam

Without this, it will not start. Check that the process has started:

ps | grep CCcam

If the output contains a line with the path to the binary — the process is alive. A double line (two processes) — is a problem, more on that below.

Autostart via init.d and process check

Paths to the config and autostart scripts vary depending on the firmware:

• OpenATV: config in/etc/CCcam.cfg, softcam via/etc/init.d/softcam
• OpenPLi: config in/etc/CCcam.cfg, management via PLi-softcam manager
• Vu+ (VTi): config usually in/var/etc/CCcam.cfg, start via/etc/init.d/softcam.amlogic

Manual process restart:

killall -9 CCcam&

Important point: if CCcam terminated incorrectly, it sometimes leaves port 12000 occupied. Before starting, it's better to ensure that the port is free:netstat -tlnp | grep 12000.

Structure of the CCcam.cfg file: F-lines and parameters

The config is read line by line, each type of line starts with a letter identifier. Case matters —c: andC: are different things. A space after the colon is mandatory — without it, the line is silently ignored, and you'll spend an hour looking for the problem.

Syntax of F-line: F: user pass uphops downhops

F-line creates a user who is allowed to connect to your server:

F: myuser mypassword 1 0 0

Decoding by positions:

• myuser — client login
• mypassword — password
• the first digit — uphops: how many "up" hops the client is allowed to see
• the second — downhops: the depth of resharing that the client can distribute further
• the third — additional flag (usually 0)

If you have two clients with the same username in two different F-lines — there will be authorization conflicts. The second one to connect will kick out the first or both will receive an error. Each username must be unique.

C-line parameters for connecting as a client

The C-line describes the remote server to which you connect as a client:

C: server.example.com 12000 mylogin mypass

You can add multiple C-lines — CCcam will try them all in order. But don't abuse it: long chains of resolvers increase ECM time and add instability.

Options SERVER LISTEN PORT and WEBINFO LISTEN PORT

At the top of the config, global parameters are set:

SERVER LISTEN PORT : 12000

IfALLOW WEBINFO : no — the web interface on port 16001 will be unavailable. Many forget about this and then cannot understand why the browser does not open the status page.

Managing hops through CCcam.providers

The file/etc/CCcam.providers allows you to set behavior for specific CAID and provider ID. For example, allow resolving only for certain packages or limit uphops for a specific satellite package. The syntax is simple: lines of the formCAID:ProviderID.

Looping of resolvers is a real problem. If uphops is set too high, the request may return back through the chain of servers to the source. The picture starts to freeze every few seconds. It can be fixed by lowering uphops to 1 or 2.

Diagnostics and troubleshooting connection errors

The first place to look when there are problems is the web interface athttp://IP_receiver:16001. There you can see the status of each C-line by color: green — active and working, yellow — connected but no activity, red — connection error.

Checking status through the web interface :16001

On the status page, you can see the ECM time for each card — this is milliseconds from request to response. A normal value is up to 400 ms. If it is constantly 800+ — either the server is overloaded or there are large delays in the network. You can also see the number of decoded channels and active clients.

You can also check the status via telnet:

telnet localhost 16001

Reading the log and values FREEZE / NO CARD

The CCcam log is usually written to/tmp/CCcam.log or/var/log/CCcam.log. Viewing in real time:

tail -f /tmp/CCcam.log

NO CARD in the log — the server did not find a card for this CAID.FREEZE — CW did not update in time, the picture froze. Both symptoms often indicate a CAID mismatch or exceeding response time.

Firewall errors and NAT port forwarding

If the server is behind a NAT router — port 12000 needs to be forwarded. Check accessibility from the outside:

nc -zv your.server.address 12000

If the connection drops immediately — the port is closed. Check the iptables rules on the server:

iptables -L -n | grep 12000

And the forwarding on the router: TCP port 12000 should be forwarded to the local IP of the receiver.

The problem of CAID and provider ID mismatch

This is the trickiest error — the line is green, there is a connection, but the channel does not open. The reason: the client requests a CAID that is not on the server card, or the provider ID does not match. The log will show something likeno matching reader or just silence for this CAID.

Solution: compare the CAID of the required channel (check in info on the receiver while watching the channel) with what is visible in the CCcam web interface. Also, make sure that NTP is configured — time desynchronization of more than a few minutes breaks the ECM exchange encryption.

How to choose a card sharing server: technical criteria

I won't name specific providers — it's pointless, the market is constantly changing. It's better to explain what to look for technically, and you can assess the quality of any server yourself.

Uptime and ping to the ECM server

The geographical proximity of the server directly affects the ECM time. A server in your country will give 20–50 ms ping, a server on the other side of Europe — 80–150 ms. By itself, this is not critical, but combined with processing delays, it can exceed 400 ms.

It's better to check uptime not by the provider's claims, but by your own log for 24–48 hours. Count the number of reconnect events inCCcam.log. More than 2–3 per day — the server is unstable.

Local cards vs reshare

A local card is a physical smart card in the server's reader. Reshare is when the server itself is a client of another server and resells access further. A reshare chain of 3+ links adds 100–300 ms to the ECM time at each link.

In the CCcam web interface, this is visible: a local card is shown aslocal, reshare — asshare with the number of hops indicated. A good server has a minimum of 0–1 hop for most packets.

ECM response time and the uphops parameter

Normal ECM time is up to 300 ms — everything is smooth. 300–500 ms — acceptable. 500–800 ms — episodic freezes begin with rapid channel changes. More than 800 ms constantly — it's better not to use such a server.

You can measure it directly through the web interface :16001 — there is a column with the time of the last ECM response for each card.

Migration from CCcam to OScam

OScam is where you should transition. Active development, open code, better works with EMM (updating rights on cards), supports CW caching between multiple clients. In practice, this means fewer freezes and more stable operation with multiple simultaneous views.

Converting C-lines in the [reader] section of oscam.server

C-line in cccam format:

C: server.example.com 12000 mylogin mypass

Turns into a section in/etc/oscam/oscam.server:

[reader]

The parametercaid is optional, but it's better to specify it explicitly — it limits which requests go through this reader.

Configuring the cccam protocol in oscam.conf

Basic/etc/oscam/oscam.conf:

[global]

If you want to accept connections from CCcam clients — the section[cccam] is mandatory. Users for incoming connections are described in/etc/oscam/oscam.user.

Advantages of caching and DCW

OScam can cache CW — if two clients are watching the same channel, the second request does not go to the server, but is taken from the cache. This reduces the load and decreases the ECM time for the second client to a few milliseconds. CCcam cannot do this.

Another plus —preferlocalcards = 1 in oscam.conf makes OScam use local cards first and only then refer to remote readers. The prioritization logic in CCcam is significantly simpler.