looking for some info on hosting a game server

[clay09]

i wasnt sure where to ask this, but i'm looking to see what things i should look into in finding a place to host a counter-strike server (possibley a diff game in the future), what type of things should i compare, how much on average do these type of servers transfer / month....and anything else you might know or think is important or relevant to finding a good host for a counter-strike server

i can setup it up myself, so i am not specificly looking for a place that offers "counter-strike" servers, as in, i dont need it setup for me as part of the package, but it wouldnt hurt if it was, but i would rather do it myself if the price diff is enough

thnx in advance.....

[tranz]

Some of the things you will need to look for are:

Does the provider have multi-homed connection?
This means they have bandwidth from multiple providers at any given time and that the router will select the fastest provider at that point in time and send the data there. This is seamless to you.

A server with the specs of:

2.4GHz P4
1G Ram
20G or 40G HD

Data transfer is an interesting one. Some people will give you exact numbers. Others will kind of guess.

Most of the game servers that I have seen offered go out with 300G to 400G of tranfer to start.

The other thing is what type of help you will need with the server if any. Do you need it fully managed? semi-managed? or unmanaged?

Also look at the people behind the box. A box is the same as anyother really, so if you think about it what you are buying is the network that box sits on and the people that run the company. You can have a kid that knows nothing, a kid that knows alot, an adult that knows nothing or an adult that knows nothing as well. Find out WHO you are buying from. The hardware is the easy part.

The other thing you need to ask yourself is what do I want to spend for this monthly? This is the most important question. I mean you might want a Ferrari and can afford a Honda.

Have a mod move this post for you or post another one with the server specs you need in the dedicated server request section and you will start getting offers.

[EasyNetwork]

"A server with the specs of:

2.4GHz P4
1G Ram
20G or 40G HD"

Keep in mind most game server hosting companies will put more then game server per box. www.homelan.com seems pretty good for cs hosting.

[tranz]

Not if the client is only looking for their own dedicated game server, they shouldnt put anybody else on that box.

The server specs that I gave work for our clients running dedicateds as game only servers. (not intended as a sales pitch)

It also depends on the game that is being run. 1942 or MOH take up way more resources due to the fact that they are so intensive.

[EasyNetwork]

dedicated is overkill for cs

[tranz]

If they are only going to run one server yes, most people run multiple servers at any one given time.

[clay09]

thnx so much for the info guys...
and i definately will be looking for my own box, i want root
oh another thing that came to mind, how important is location, and how do i know before i sign up that i will have decent pings to the basic area i would like, having a great running server, that pings 90 or more to me would piss me off....

[tranz]

it depends, are you looking for the server so that you can play on it and just some local friends or allow other people from all over to play?

If it is just for you and some friends look for a provider that is close to you. If it is general public then it really doesnt matter.

You can go to a dos prompt and type ping then the ip and it will give you the time and an avg.

[Zx Games]

I help at a new hosting provider just set up, i currently do the gameserver side of it.
I currently have a Counter Strike Source server installed on my own dedicated vps and it runs very smooth and fast and i get very low pings(5-40).

The servers are located in the UK but the rest of the world should still get a decent ping as we are on a global network, all servers come with a shared 100mbps connection and 3tb bandwidth, currently we have our prices set at £1.10 per slot -but this can be talked over- we dont charge any more for general setup and vps setup, but we may charge a small amount for config setups or mod installs.

If you want to talk more pm me/or reply back.

Thanks

Zx Hosting

[Tagged]

how important is location, and how do i know before i sign up that i will have decent pings to the basic area i would like, having a great running server, that pings 90 or more to me would piss me off....

You can use http://ipstats.globalcrossing.net/dotcom/link6r.shtml?mode=r2h&type=ping to view how an IP pings from across the US and a few places around the world. Location can make a bit of differance. I generally hear that bandwidth out of Chicago and Texas are good locations for game servers as they can connect to both coasts in pretty quick time.

[NSWKim]

Hi,

I can say from personal experience that bandwidth out of Chicago is superb :)

The quote earlier on about needing a P4 is a little silly for a game server. You could run CS from a higher end linux VPS if you wanted to (depending on your game size). I think, though, that a 2.6 Celeron and SATA drives would do just fine for serving up games. We already use similar speed machines to run rather large CODUO servers (on centos 4) and they handle the requirements in stride. We even have LAMP setup for clan sites and it works great.

[cyberdog]

Businesses like coloserve/servepath are good is you want to offer fast connections nation wide. They have multihome fiber connections that provide fast connections to the east coast from the west coast so people like video hosters don't have to get servers in multiple locations.

http://ipstats.globalcrossing.net/dotcom/link6r.shtml?mode=r2h&type=ping is a great tool.

cPanel GS is great for reselling game servers like gameservers.com does...who are actually pretty cheap. With CS I'd get a VPS to give you root and not do overkill. Look for providers that offer a money back or free trial period so you can assess how they perform.

[Hostevery]

If your planning to host a game server make sure you find a server near your location if you want good ping...

If you choose some where oversea your would prob be stuck with your ping over 200.

PING does matter when your playing games like counterstrike.

[HostHit]

dedicated is overkill for cs

is it? maybe it is not....... depends on the number of users......