running a game server?

[BDunkz]

hi guys,

im wondering because im looking at building a second hand game server and im looking for parts. im not sure what i should be looking for, cores, threads, cache memory. what helps the most when creating a dedicated game server also is it possible to host multiple servers on one machine,

please help and also tell me more about game servers,

thanks,

 

BDunkz

[BDunkz]

btw, im looking at hosting ark and rust servers

[kirashi]

5 minutes ago, BDunkz said:

hi guys,

im wondering because im looking at building a second hand game server and im looking for parts. im not sure what i should be looking for, cores, threads, cache memory. what helps the most when creating a dedicated game server also is it possible to host multiple servers on one machine,

please help and also tell me more about game servers,

Need a little more info about the type of games and number of players you'd like to host.

4 minutes ago, BDunkz said:

btw, im looking at hosting ark and rust servers

Oh. Well then. Um. Best of luck to you sir. Even with copious amounts of RAM on a multi-threaded Xeon based server you'd still run into inefficient game code causing crashes on a regular basis. Rust is a great game, don't get me wrong, but the developers seem to not really know the definition of "optimized" or "stable" code. The Rust client regularly crashes or kicks me and friends out of games on a regular basis on around 20 or so different PC's and laptops, all with different hardware, so I know it's just not really worth the time hosting it yourself vs. renting a server from someone else.

[sazrocks]

Budget? How many people? 

 

Looks like an i5 +16GB ram will work for not too many people. If you want to go new cpu, go r5 1600 or r7 1700. 

 

100+ people total will need 6 or 8 cores and 32GB of RAM to be safe. IMO, if you're buying new and your budget allows, go r7 1700.

 

Use docker with your OS of choice (I recommend linux)

Here is the download page for docker: 

https://docs.docker.com/engine/installation/

 

Here are some docker images for those two games:

https://github.com/TuRz4m/Ark-docker

https://hub.docker.com/r/didstopia/rust-server/

[BDunkz]

4 minutes ago, sazrocks said:

How many people? 

10-20

 

5 minutes ago, kirashi said:

number of players you'd like to host.

 

[manikyath]

i've never looked into rust or ark specificly, but when you say second hand, the chances are running X number of servers on a single box is gonna be troublesome.

[BDunkz]

5 minutes ago, sazrocks said:

Budget?

what ever gets the job done with a bit of wiggle room

 

[sazrocks]

Just now, BDunkz said:

10-20

 

 

If used, go semi recent i5, if new, go r5 1600. Use 16GB RAM.

[sazrocks]

Just now, BDunkz said:

what ever gets the job done with a bit of wiggle room

 

? I need a monetary value.

[sazrocks]

1 minute ago, manikyath said:

 the chances are running X number of servers on a single box is gonna be troublesome.

That's the point of docker.

[BDunkz]

Just now, sazrocks said:

? I need a monetary value.

$800 aud max

 

[manikyath]

Just now, sazrocks said:

That's the point of docker.

not if its because the hardware cant keep up.

[BDunkz]

i wouldnt mind running 5 servers eventully, is that possible?

[sazrocks]

Just now, BDunkz said:

$800 aud max

 

Ah ok. Not australian so I can't give you anything more specific than what I have already.

[manikyath]

Just now, BDunkz said:

i wouldnt mind running 5 servers eventully, is that possible?

5 servers, each with 10-20 people, in australia?

 

put that thing in a datacenter, your home network aint gonna cope.

[BDunkz]

Just now, manikyath said:

5 servers, each with 10-20 people, in australia?

 

put that thing in a datacenter, your home network aint gonna cope.

what would be "achivable" then?

[manikyath]

from a guide:

Quote

The server requires at least 6GB of RAM to start. Memory requirements increase as the number of connected players increases. On Windows Server 2012 R2, the client uses 2.3GB of RAM without any clients. On Linux, the installation uses 3.2GB of RAM without any clients.

they dont mention cpu requirements sadly.

[sazrocks]

Just now, manikyath said:

not if its because the hardware cant keep up.

ARK isn't much of a CPU hog, and doesn't use too much ram either. Rust uses ram but not much CPU either. An i5 and 16GB should be fine for 10-20 people total.

[sazrocks]

3 minutes ago, BDunkz said:

i wouldnt mind running 5 servers eventully, is that possible?

Woah, hold on there. What is your home network connection? What knid of servers are the other 3 going to be?

[BDunkz]

Just now, sazrocks said:

ARK isn't much of a CPU hog, and doesn't use too much ram either. Rust uses ram but not much CPU either. An i5 and 16GB should be fine for 10-20 people total.

would it be possible, just thinking out loud here. could i combine a plex server with a game server? the plex server wouldt be very active

[BDunkz]

Just now, sazrocks said:

Woah, hold on there. What is your home network connection? What knid of servers are the other 3 going to be?

never mind, just dreaming

[sazrocks]

Just now, BDunkz said:

would it be possible, just thinking out loud here. could i combine a plex server with a game server? the plex server wouldt be very active

If the plex server would be very active, then no, not without going for at least a 12 core, at which point prices start to go through the roof.

[Akolyte]

Just now, BDunkz said:

10-20

 

 

Well ARK is a memory hog, on decently small servers it can use up to as much as 8GB of memory and does benefit from clock speed.  Rust does as well, both servers love processor and RAM. 

 

My advice for a CPU for the servers would be a core i7, ideally one that can run at 4GHZ+ on turbo.  RAM is more important, 16GB will do, but 32GB is optimal for both servers running at the same time to avoid page-file/swap-file overuse.  Linux is of course the cheapest option but also runs you back in terms of friendliness.  @sazrocks recommended Docker.  This is a good option if you want to isolate the servers, and make installation + configuration easier, however it will reduce performance of the servers by a small amount, and if you are running Windows it can make it a little more difficult because there will be no gui you can download (try not to use a gui  if possible)

 

So, to recap you should try to use an Intel core i5/i7, if you are on a budget a core i3 might be okay.  But try to keep 16/32GB of RAM.  A core i3 is sufficient for most game servers, and I'm sure ARK and Rust will be find it fine too.  I've run both Rust and Ark on a core i3 with 16GB of RAM, an i5 and 32GB, and an i7 32GB.  The core i7 was the only big improvement.  So a core i3 will do if you can't afford an i7.  

 

Hope this helps.  

[BDunkz]

1 minute ago, Mike_The_B0ss said:

Well ARK is a memory hog, on decently small servers it can use up to as much as 8GB of memory and does benefit from clock speed.  Rust does as well, both servers love processor and RAM. 

 

My advice for a CPU for the servers would be a core i7, ideally one that can run at 4GHZ+ on turbo.  RAM is more important, 16GB will do, but 32GB is optimal for both servers running at the same time to avoid page-file/swap-file overuse.  Linux is of course the cheapest option but also runs you back in terms of friendliness.  @sazrocks recommended Docker.  This is a good option if you want to isolate the servers, and make installation + configuration easier, however it will reduce performance of the servers by a small amount, and if you are running Windows it can make it a little more difficult because there will be no gui you can download (try not to use a gui  if possible)

 

So, to recap you should try to use an Intel core i5/i7, if you are on a budget a core i3 might be okay.  But try to keep 16/32GB of RAM.  A core i3 is sufficient for most game servers, and I'm sure ARK and Rust will be find it fine too.  I've run both Rust and Ark on a core i3 with 16GB of RAM, an i5 and 32GB, and an i7 32GB.  The core i7 was the only big improvement.  So a core i3 will do if you can't afford an i7.  

 

Hope this helps.  

not ryzen?

[Akolyte]

6 minutes ago, BDunkz said:

i wouldnt mind running 5 servers eventully, is that possible?

Yes, one of the networks I admin has 3 dedicated game servers all in all running 50+ servers, sparsed over 10+ Virtual Machines.  This isn't big in the hosting world.  But it's proof that you can run many game servers on one machine.  Docker will help, but isn't necessary.  You mainly want to make sure you have security in place, and a router than is organised and supports all the port forward entries you would need.