Game Servers

[gmloki]

A few of us are setting up a LAN party in Jan/Feb next year.

Going to be for about 40-50 people. We will be having 4-5 dedictaed boxes. Would like some suggestions on minimum spec. ? Intel or AMD ? Which O/S ? Ammount of RAM ? Is Low Latency Ram worth it for this set up ?

Games range from

CS, Quake 3 upto Desert Combat and possibly Doom 3 2 vs 2

What PC games would you have for a LAN

Thanks

 

[TdC]

talk to Wilier, he's wise in these matters


as for my two p:

+if you have dedicated servers that run on linux then run them on that OS. they will tend to perform betterish tbh.
-you'll need someone who knows a bit about unix-ish systems

you will need fast disks and lots of ram more than you will need mega cpus, though all the cpu power you can get is nice tbh. if you happen to have a dual/quad box, then run multiple servers on it with ease. often game servers don't take advantage of milti-cpu stuff, but your underlying OS will and this you can get multi servers with good performance. once again disk speed is a factor, so be aware of that.

tip: get a small box and make it an ftp server or global share and put every game's patches, extra maps, dx9 and whatever files seem handy on it. there's always someone who forgets, and this way you can have a nice central place where peeps can get thier patches.

 

[wyrd_fish]

this guide i found looked pretty solid

http://www.lanparty.com/theguide/

edit: although i can't find the server section that i'm sure used to be there

 

[Cyradix]

tip: get a small box and make it an ftp server or global share and put every game's patches, extra maps, dx9 and whatever files seem handy on it. there's always someone who forgets, and this way you can have a nice central place where peeps can get thier patches.

Make it a big box!! You need every spare gigabyte for pr0n!! Every single LAN party I've been to supplied me with 30+ gb of new pr0n

 

[Cyradix]

Anyway.... if the pc can run the game it's prob fine as a dedicated box too.
A dedicated server doesn't have to do the hard graphics stuff so your cpu won't be to stressed....

Most important stuff will be the RAM.

I've done a few LAN parties and my machine (P4 2.8 with 1GB RAM) had no probs hosting a game for 8 peeps + me actually playing on it....

 

[Insane]

time to weigh in with my experiences

Server wise, dont go for 5, go for 2 servers running an XP3200+ with 1gig DDR and 120gig SATA drives, those will do most game servers pretty well, and because of their high speeds you can run more than one server (if you do this, ensure you have a network card for EACH game server to stop any problems coming up) it also means that in future events you wont have to worry about upgrading your servers to cope!
A third server will be a normal box, normally a "scrapper" pooled with spare parts. a Pentium III 500 with 256mb ram will do well with a DHCP/DNS/FTP box, 20gig IDE is fine for storing patches and updates, even for obscure games.

try and deter people from copying large "files" across the network as much as possible, it kills your network bandwidth and people dont like seeing 120ms pings in game because some freak on the bottom table is leeching the pr0n from some pervert's share. it doesnt matter how powerful your servers are when it comes to leechers.

a few quick notes as well. give your admins RCON and web/remote admin programs to control the servers, and only have ONE server guy who deals with the boxes during the event, ensure all server configs are read-only in case one of the admins cocks up a command.

if you do feel pressurised remember that people can start their own listen servers to play on, dont expect to have to run everything.. if someone wants you to run another CS server with FY_ICEWORLD for himself and three others, ask if he could run a listen server for them instead.

also always remember Sponsorship helps loads, especially on prizes to bring in people.

Insane - Lanwarz Admin

 

[.Wilier.]

TBH, I havnt run a LAN for an age and we are by no means a pro set-up, in fact I rely on many of the attendees to help, but the stuff weve used in the past is as follows:

We had a Dedicated 20man CS server running off a 1.8 P4 with 512 of DDR, very smooth indeed, we also had a 11 man tourny server running off the same box.

I ran a Dedicated FarCry server from an XP2500 Barton with 512 of DDR 2700, we also used this box for a CoD server, but not at the same time.

We had BF DC running on a dedicated XP2100 with 512ddr.

To be fair, unless your planning on doing this thing as a buissiness, I would be reluctant to start buying kit specifically for the servers. Just use any spare PC's you and your buddies have and see what they can do?

Dont forget to let people know that if they want, they should feel free to host their own games. It helps to have a Nobo board set-up somewhere and write the games which are running on this board (and get others to do the same if they host). This way people will know what games are available for a blast.

It may be an idea to have an FTP box somewhere in the set-up too, although weve never bothered.

You may want a dedicated (low spec) machine running DHCP. We tried it with a DSL router, but it was a bit wanky. A dedicated box was far better (running server 2000).

In all honesty, the lay-out of the venue is more imnportant, since without a balanced power and connection set-up, people cant play games anyway. I bought about 40 4gang socket outlets from Wickes (£5 for 4 ) and then extended the leads on half of them to reach from the power outlets.

We use 2x24pt 10/100 switches and a 12pt 10/100 for the servers. Get people to bring their own patch leads, but also have a bunch of spare ones, since it dosnt matter how many times you tell people to bring at least 8meters, they still only bring 3.

We only charge 6 quid for 16hrs of gaming for 50ish people, so we aint making a lot of money. Myself and a couple of friends set the hall up the night before, so its ready for all the nerds to plug in at 8am the next day.

At the end of the day, if you dont charge a lot and people are having fun, most dont mind a bit of fucking around whilst you set it all up.

edit// missed a bit. Games weve run in the past:

CS
DoD
MoHAA
CoD
UT2004
FarCry
Need For Speed Underground
BF1942 and varients

Of them all, I think FarCry was the most fun, especially with 16ish players.

Try a Doom3 one too