NAS Gaming server questions

[Fiskander]

So I have a few questions:

 

If I build my own NAS server will it be possible to host a gaming server? like for example btf4/csgo/minecraft? And will the windows server software even allow me to do that?

 

Can I use a NAS server as both a gaming host server AND as a storage server at the same time?

 

Will my ISP ask that I pay alot of money for running a gaming server? 

and if I dont host games will do they normally charge more for having a nas server in your house so that you can access stuff on your server on the internet?

 

What is the recommended minimum that my internet speed should be?

 

How much would it cost to build a NAS server that can host games (around) (if possible) 

 

Thanks.

[tt2468]

Generally, a NAS and a dedicated server have 2 different ranges of hardware, I do not recommend using your nas as a gameserver. Ususally, no matter what you do, hosting servers on your WAN is against the TOS. But everyone usually ignores it. For bf4/CS:GO/etc games, I would recommend at least a quad core and 8gb ram.

[tt2468]

Also, it is hard to find software designed for NAS operation that is also good for game servers.

[Blake]

So I have a few questions:

 

If I build my own NAS server will it be possible to host a gaming server? Yes. you will need to make sure your server meets the HW/SW requirements of the game (add some more to the HW requirements if you plan on having multiple game servers running concurrently).  like for example btf4/csgo/minecraft? I know Minecraft has it's own dedicated server application, you would need to double check the others, as not every game has this available And will the windows server software even allow me to do that? Yes, it is a windows server, just like any other server you can run multiple programs at once.

 

Can I use a NAS server as both a gaming host server AND as a storage server at the same time? Yes

 

Will my ISP ask that I pay alot of money for running a gaming server? No/Depends, your ISP will normally not care, but it really depends on the Plan you have and how your ISP treats data usage. If you pay for every GB over your quota, you will have alot of data fees. however if your on unlimited plans you would be looking at potentially having issues where they cap you bandwidth or even disconnect you. My ISP doesn't care at all, and I use about 1TB of data on a slow month, and have done so for many years.

 

and if I dont host games will do they normally charge more for having a nas server in your house so that you can access stuff on your server on the internet? 

 

What is the recommended minimum that my internet speed should be? Depends, no real minimum, but the more the better. You will be wanting a synchronous connection (i.e. synchronous = 10/10, asynchronous = 10/1). Some games use more bandwidth then others, find out what this figure is and multiply by the number of players you want on your server. You will want to configure QOS also so the servers don't get starved of bandwidth when you donload a file over the internet.

 

How much would it cost to build a NAS server that can host games (around) (if possible) New? Lots, I am just going to ballpark figure it, I would be saying at least 5k, but that is because I am lazy and don't want to actually do up a price list.

 

Thanks.

There are other things you would need to check, such as port forwarding on your modem, whether you modem will actually support the number of concurrent connections without dropping packets, do you have a static Public IP address, if so do you want to get a DNS record or if not can you configure a DDNS system so that people can actually connect via the internet, Do you want the NAS to be internal or external, what about the game servers.

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

 

Hey there Fiskander,

 

As the guys explained, it would really depends on what OS and hardware you will be using. You should cover the requirements of the games themselves. You should also see what requirements does the storage management application need. I would recommend getting NAS/RAID class drives as they are designed for 24/7 usage, RAID arrays and server usage. One example is WD Red: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=SZ0gax 

You can go through the builds section and see what people are building for NAS and servers.

 

Captain_WD.

[Fiskander]

Thanks alot guys, looks like I need to save up some money if I want a server capable of both hosting games and other stuff too.