Master Server Specs
by Jem Bem · in General Discussion · 07/01/2005 (6:34 am) · 6 replies
Hey, I was wondering what kind of specs a master server should have. Anyone know the specs on any games? Particularly involving Torque (I'm thinking ThinkTanks or Orbz would probably have the most knowledge spread around here)
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#2
T1's are supposed to support 1.3 MBPS , so does that mean that a T1 could support 20 TB a month if the total bandwidth it could handle would be ~~130 TB a month?
I wrote a program that calculates bandwidth and I was just wondering.. thanks
07/15/2005 (2:01 pm)
What would be the server specs on a dedicated game server? let's say for example that your multiplayer game uses rougly ~4-5 KBPS per USER.. what would the specs for that be? what would you need for 100 users? 1000? not to mention the bandwidth you'd need. Would a T1 suffice for something like that or would you need a T3?T1's are supposed to support 1.3 MBPS , so does that mean that a T1 could support 20 TB a month if the total bandwidth it could handle would be ~~130 TB a month?
I wrote a program that calculates bandwidth and I was just wondering.. thanks
#3
You need to think about firewalls and virus protection etc. etc.
As for the spec a simple p4 3.0ghz with about a gig of ram and a large hard drive of about 200gig (not that expensive these days) would suffice. Install Linux as this is less likely to be inundated with viruses and malicious hackers.
The most expensive part will be the hosting as this will be an on-going expense.
07/15/2005 (3:29 pm)
If you want to have a master server, you will need to think about getting hosting for a 24/7 service. The server would need to have a known address or a way of the clients contacting a routing server that finds the main server and sends the client on to it.You need to think about firewalls and virus protection etc. etc.
As for the spec a simple p4 3.0ghz with about a gig of ram and a large hard drive of about 200gig (not that expensive these days) would suffice. Install Linux as this is less likely to be inundated with viruses and malicious hackers.
The most expensive part will be the hosting as this will be an on-going expense.
#4
You can go even cheaper if you do it at home, and you just need a cheap-ass desktop box. The trick is that you set up a Dynamic DNS for it. DynamicDNS.com (I think that's what it's called) is free, and your $50 home router probably has support for it built in (both my little LinkSys ones do). You can just use your home broadband connection for it. Cheap!
Save that 3.0ghz P4 for running an actual game server! The master server is just a relaying message boy.
09/15/2005 (4:46 pm)
I used to run a Hotline tracker that had several hundred users regularly. I ran it on a 25 mhz Macintosh 68040, with 20megs Ram, and I still was able to use that computer for other things (and this was in the days of Classic 7.X). Unless you plan on having several million users using your game finding service, the master server's job is really simple. Go pick up a $100 1U rackmount P2/P3 off of Ebay with 128 ram and a HD (small). Load it with Linux and you'll be set. This is, of course, assuming you need to do colocation (ISP's like Rackmount stuff). Colocation can run you from $50/month/1U on up.You can go even cheaper if you do it at home, and you just need a cheap-ass desktop box. The trick is that you set up a Dynamic DNS for it. DynamicDNS.com (I think that's what it's called) is free, and your $50 home router probably has support for it built in (both my little LinkSys ones do). You can just use your home broadband connection for it. Cheap!
Save that 3.0ghz P4 for running an actual game server! The master server is just a relaying message boy.
#5
www.dynip.com/
hn.org/
www.no-ip.com/services/managed_dns/plus_dynamic_dns.html
dynamicdns.constanttime.com/
... and tons more just like them...
Anyone have experience with a game server using this method? Any good?
09/15/2005 (7:52 pm)
Here's some examples of the Dynamic DNS stuff charlie was talking about (providers of static addresses that re-direct to your dynamic address):www.dynip.com/
hn.org/
www.no-ip.com/services/managed_dns/plus_dynamic_dns.html
dynamicdns.constanttime.com/
... and tons more just like them...
Anyone have experience with a game server using this method? Any good?
#6
The only worry is about your upstream bandwidth, as far as running a game server this way. I run my company's website via this method; the problem is that my cable modem gets a full 4 mbits/second downloading, but it's only about 200-400 kbits uploading- still pretty fast, but not the same. Your bottleneck will be your bandwidth, not how people find your address.
On a side note that has nothing to do with DDNS, if you do run a server at home, be sure to keep it updated with security patches! Also, make sure that your firewall is locked down tight. NAT routers are pretty good for this, as you have to use port forwarding to get to whatever server you are using, going from the outside in. This makes an effective "Default deny" security system, which is the choice of Security Experts everywhere :)
09/16/2005 (11:23 am)
DNS is really just like the Master Server for the internet- dynamic DNS doesn't slow you down at all. Basically, what these services do is run a normal DNS server, but it gets updated information directly from your router whenever your router's IP is changed by the ISP. The only worry is about your upstream bandwidth, as far as running a game server this way. I run my company's website via this method; the problem is that my cable modem gets a full 4 mbits/second downloading, but it's only about 200-400 kbits uploading- still pretty fast, but not the same. Your bottleneck will be your bandwidth, not how people find your address.
On a side note that has nothing to do with DDNS, if you do run a server at home, be sure to keep it updated with security patches! Also, make sure that your firewall is locked down tight. NAT routers are pretty good for this, as you have to use port forwarding to get to whatever server you are using, going from the outside in. This makes an effective "Default deny" security system, which is the choice of Security Experts everywhere :)
Associate Adrian Wright
Max Gaming Technologies
If so, the the specs are relatively low, we are currently running our on a:
p4 2 ghz with 1 gig mem, running Redhat Enterprise along with other applications and it leaves a very small footprint on the server. Less the .2 on the cpu and memory.