Building a small game hosting server for me and some friends

[Fri3s3N]

Hello community, I've got a question for you all.

 

So I'm planning out to build a simple, small gaming server that my friends and myself can host on. (TF2, CSGO, MC, Starmade you get the idea), but I've never built one before, and after looking on the web for advice, i couldn't find anything all that helpful. Can I get some tips in the right direction please?

 

cheers

 

Fri3s3N

[BuntzenB]

29 minutes ago, Fri3s3N said:

Hello community, I've got a question for you all.

 

So I'm planning out to build a simple, small gaming server that my friends and myself can host on. (TF2, CSGO, MC, Starmade you get the idea), but I've never built one before, and after looking on the web for advice, i couldn't find anything all that helpful. Can I get some tips in the right direction please?

 

cheers

 

Fri3s3N

Yeah but it really depends what you want to do. How small, how many games at once, how many people at once, what is your internet (that could limit you), budget and other relevant info? I have 4+ servers for gaming, VPN, NAS and stuff so I cant help. HMU

[Fri3s3N]

16 minutes ago, BuntzenB said:

Yeah but it really depends what you want to do. How small, how many games at once, how many people at once, what is your internet (that could limit you), budget and other relevant info? I have 4+ servers for gaming, VPN, NAS and stuff so I cant help. HMU

Say I want to run only 1 server at a time, I'll be playing say minecraft with my friends and I, then when we are done with that, well shut it down and move to say Starmade or csgo.

[Fri3s3N]

9 minutes ago, Fri3s3N said:

Say I want to run only 1 server at a time, I'll be playing say minecraft with my friends and I, then when we are done with that, well shut it down and move to say Starmade or csgo.

I know that my internet is fine, I have 30 down, 10 up 4 ping. That's not my issue. I should also add, my budget is say around 300 bucks, give or take 100. At max, I'll have 10 people on it.

[BuntzenB]

 

13 minutes ago, Fri3s3N said:

Say I want to run only 1 server at a time, I'll be playing say minecraft with my friends and I, then when we are done with that, well shut it down and move to say Starmade or csgo.

Okay great - sounds very reasonable. I would go with an i3 or i5 (depending on your budget, honestly an i5 would be overkill) because they have integrated graphics so you don't have to doddle with finicky GPUs. Plus they are good CPUs. I would spring for 16 gigs of RAM considering just how cheap it is now... wow. I wouldnt overclock as I would want to put this in a rather small form factor case and stability would be a focus for me. For the software it really just depends on what you're comfortable with. If you happen to have a fave flavor of linux then use that, otherwise two mainstream options would be ubuntu and debian. ubuntu was based on debian but has moved away...blablabla....ubuntu has more support and is good for newbs. Debian is a little more hardcore. Look at them briefly and see which you prefer - netiher will make a huge impact. Just dont go with an obscure flavor like centos as support in the way of server software will be terrible at best. 

You are going to want to either purchase a domain name and acquire an external static IP address (different from internal static IP on your network which you're going to need to set up) from your ISP (think money, but reliable and cool). Or go the cheap route and get a DDNS or a dynamic DNS - I recomend noip.com. Basically you run a program on any computer in your house and you get a free domain name (it would look like blablabla.no-ip.org for example. as opposed to just blablabla.com) that automatically updates to your external IP.

After all this you are going to need to go into your router and set whichever computer the server is to have a internal static IP address. You should be able to find documentation on this.

Now you have to configure your router to port forward whichever ports the games require (at this point, tutorials are abundant) from the server to the interwebzz. 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, but I feel like I covered the basics. Don't be afraid and make sure to have fun experimenting and trying stuff out.

 

[Fri3s3N]

12 minutes ago, BuntzenB said:

 

Okay great - sounds very reasonable. I would go with an i3 or i5 (depending on your budget, honestly an i5 would be overkill) because they have integrated graphics so you don't have to doddle with finicky GPUs. Plus they are good CPUs. I would spring for 16 gigs of RAM considering just how cheap it is now... wow. I wouldnt overclock as I would want to put this in a rather small form factor case and stability would be a focus for me. For the software it really just depends on what you're comfortable with. If you happen to have a fave flavor of linux then use that, otherwise two mainstream options would be ubuntu and debian. ubuntu was based on debian but has moved away...blablabla....ubuntu has more support and is good for newbs. Debian is a little more hardcore. Look at them briefly and see which you prefer - netiher will make a huge impact. Just dont go with an obscure flavor like centos as support in the way of server software will be terrible at best. 

You are going to want to either purchase a domain name and acquire an external static IP address (different from internal static IP on your network which you're going to need to set up) from your ISP (think money, but reliable and cool). Or go the cheap route and get a DDNS or a dynamic DNS - I recomend noip.com. Basically you run a program on any computer in your house and you get a free domain name (it would look like blablabla.no-ip.org for example. as opposed to just blablabla.com) that automatically updates to your external IP.

After all this you are going to need to go into your router and set whichever computer the server is to have a internal static IP address. You should be able to find documentation on this.

Now you have to configure your router to port forward whichever ports the games require (at this point, tutorials are abundant) from the server to the interwebzz. 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, but I feel like I covered the basics. Don't be afraid and make sure to have fun experimenting and trying stuff out.

 

That's incredibly helpful. I'm a complete noob with servers, this should get me going. I'll keep you in mind if I need help. Thanks friend

[BuntzenB]

5 minutes ago, Fri3s3N said:

That's incredibly helpful. I'm a complete noob with servers, this should get me going. I'll keep you in mind if I need help. Thanks friend

No problem - glad to be of help.

[Fri3s3N]

3 minutes ago, BuntzenB said:

No problem - glad to be of help.

Oh I do have a question, what motherboard should I use? Does it matter?

[BuntzenB]

1 minute ago, Fri3s3N said:

Oh I do have a question, what motherboard should I use? Does it matter?

Meh, not really. Make sure it is rated well and has the features you need. If you're asking - no you really don't need a workstation board, or a gaming board.

[Fri3s3N]

2 minutes ago, BuntzenB said:

Meh, not really. Make sure it is rated well and has the features you need. If you're asking - no you really don't need a workstation board, or a gaming board.

Ight, noted

[Fri3s3N]

Sorry, another question, how would one acquire a external static IP?

[BuntzenB]

8 hours ago, Fri3s3N said:

Sorry, another question, how would one acquire a external static IP?

Don't be sorry! 

So you are going to have to call your ISP (internet service provider) for that (verizon, optimum etc). You don't need one if you decide to do DDNS (noip.com) but if you want blablabla.com then you do. To explain what a static IP does, you can check your external IP now by typing something along the lines of "what's my IP" into google. That is your external IP and is how people from other parts of the interwebz know where your computer is among the vastness of the internet - without a static external IP this IP that google told you can change anytime. Therefore when people type in the old one (or type in blablabla.com which points to the old one) it no longer refers to your internet and it wont work. So you need to pay extra to get your ISP to keep your external IP the same. Here are links explaining: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/static-ip-address-advantages-disadvantages/ and http://nel-techlabs.host4kb.com/article/AA-00387/0/What-exactly-is-an-External-Static-IP-Address.html 

If you get a static external then you also are going to have to config it in your router - fairly easy process.

[Fri3s3N]

2 hours ago, BuntzenB said:

Don't be sorry! 

So you are going to have to call your ISP (internet service provider) for that (verizon, optimum etc). You don't need one if you decide to do DDNS (noip.com) but if you want blablabla.com then you do. To explain what a static IP does, you can check your external IP now by typing something along the lines of "what's my IP" into google. That is your external IP and is how people from other parts of the interwebz know where your computer is among the vastness of the internet - without a static external IP this IP that google told you can change anytime. Therefore when people type in the old one (or type in blablabla.com which points to the old one) it no longer refers to your internet and it wont work. So you need to pay extra to get your ISP to keep your external IP the same. Here are links explaining: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/static-ip-address-advantages-disadvantages/ and http://nel-techlabs.host4kb.com/article/AA-00387/0/What-exactly-is-an-External-Static-IP-Address.html 

If you get a static external then you also are going to have to config it in your router - fairly easy process.

Thx fam, this helps.