Hosting a CS server gives you full control over game settings, mods, and the ability to manage players. You can enforce your own rules, install custom maps, and ensure lower latency for players by choosing server locations close to your players.

Tick rate refers to how often the server updates game data, with higher tick rates resulting in smoother gameplay. The default tick rate for CS is 64 ticks per second, but many competitive players prefer servers with a 128-tick rate for better performance and accuracy in high-level play.

Yes, you can easily switch between different game modes like Competitive, Deathmatch, Arms Race, or Casual on your CS server by editing the server configuration files or using command-line arguments when starting the server.

Yes, you can password protect your CS server to make it private. To do this, add the sv_password "yourpassword" command to your server’s configuration file or set it via the console. Only players with the correct password will be able to join the server.