what does a "Game Server" do?

While this thread is up, what does a "Game Server" do? Sorry lol

a gameserver serves games...... people play online multiplayer games and there has to be someone that hosts that game for everyone to join in on.

So, Hmm, what's a popular game some people play now a days? Uhm, well I've heard of Counter-Strike or something like that, so if someone would want to host a game or something they would need a gameserver?

my biggest orders come from UT2004 but I host quite a few counter strike source and cs 1.6 as well.

if someone wants to have their own private playground they would need someone to host them a gameserver. Or purchase a dedicated server and host their own

For a gameservers, how much do they usually cost?

If you want the details:

Something like the requester requested earlier.

2.4ghz - 3Ghz Intel cpu
512 - 1GB Ram
5mbps port with alot of BandWidth
Game Panel

How much do you think that would come out to be "Per/Month?"

gameservers are generally prices per player slot and can range about $2-4 slot depending on the gametype, certain games take up far more cpu/memory/bandwidth than the others.

if you are going to do dedicated then a machine like the one above will run about $120-140/mo with a gamepanel and windows 2003

That much eh, :(. Well, I can do that but I don't know how long I could afford it lol.

Is there anyway:

I could get

Celeron 1.3 gHz
512mb RAM
80GIG Disk
10mps connection
2000GB bandwidth

for a cheaper price? and, would this be decent for a gameserver?

Hay Chief you could use those spec's and for a cheaper price you're only problem is if you're looking at selling slots you're limited to home many games you could run with 512Mb of ram and such a low processor.

Alright new specs:

Celeron 1.8 gHz
1GIG RAM
80GIG disk
10mps connection
2000 BandWidth/Transfer

Is it decent, and how much do you think it would cost? (per month)

One of NetCafes old offers (used search :P) so it wont be beaten easily.

Intel Celeron 2.0Ghz
1024 MB DDR RAM
60GB Western Digital HDD
2000GB Premium Bandwidth
cPanel c/w Fantastico
..................................................... us$90.00 monthly

celerons are for lack of better words useless for gameservers of any medium slot count or better. the max you can get out of a celeron is 1-2 gameservers and that will not be any value for your money. The mimumum I would suggest for any gameserver setup would be an athlon 64 3000+ pr a p4 2.8

1gb ram minimum is a must as well

So celerons won't be good for game servers?

EDIT: I found something:

Is aplus.net a known site? Because this is what they're offering, well these are the two plans I'm interested in for "Game Servers".



* AMD Athlon64 3000 s939
* 512MB DDR400 SDRAM
* 120GB IDE Hard Drive
* 500 GB Monthly Transfer
* $59 Setup Fee

59.00$ per month.

(Yeah, a crap load of setup fee but it's only a one time thing so it shouldn't be that bad.)



* Pentium IV CPU 2.4 or Higher
* 512MB RAM
* IDE HDD 80GB or Higher
* 500 GB Monthly Transfer
* $69 Setup Fee

69.00$ per month.

(Again, a crap load of setup fee but it's only a one time thing)


Which plan do you think is better? Number #1 or #2?

aplus actually has a decent network but they are in california, not the best place to start off gaming. I would look for something around chicago or texas area, that way you can get both east and west coast gamers on an even ping.

both of those machines are not bad pricing wise and could hold a few gameservers, but my experience with aplus has been terrible, long support times plus they actually hijacked a few domains of mine because of an unpaid bill for a server I had cancelled and they felt that they needed to keep billing me for. long story but i cannot recommend them at all

Oh because I just checked availability they don't have any more AMD Athlon 3000 servers anymore, (They have to restock) but they have some Pentium IV's left.

How much do you think the Pentium IV plan can hold? (hold gameservers)

Also, you will need 1GB RAM Min for a gameserver, take it for experiance you don't want to run more than one gameserver on 512 MB ram :P

Yeah, thanks "Hosting-Shack". I like AvailNetwork's Celeron/Pentium dedi-server pkg. but they only offer 512 RAM, but I need atleast 1GIG RAM. Hmm, Dual Xeon looks very good, but 200$(+) plus the setup fee it seem's a bit out of my budget. Eh, well you know what. You get what you pay for. I'll be earning more cash, ect. and I'll be back to see if I can afford and hold on to one of those Dual Xeon servers, they're looking real nice :p

if you are looking at our packages we actually offer upgrades on all aspects of the machine, if you click on order now you can see the upgrade pricing and all options offered.

As far as the dual xeons are concerned if you are looking for something a bit up the scale but not quite as much as the xeons I would start with the opteron 170 series which I will be adding to our pages shortly. Until then just email for pricing sales @ availnetworks.net or me personally admin @ availnetworks.net

If you are wanting a celeron for game servers I would probably cancel your order before it got through :) it just is not cost effective

the p4 2.4 setup can probably hold a good 3-4 average gameservers confortably. I have seen most machine types run games and the p4 runs them quite solidly.

dollar for dollar value for monthly cost is the opteron 170's though. you can get a good 7-8 gameservers on those and actually turn a profit on the machine

One of NetCafes old offers (used search :P) so it wont be beaten easily.

Intel Celeron 2.0Ghz
1024 MB DDR RAM
60GB Western Digital HDD
2000GB Premium Bandwidth
cPanel c/w Fantastico
..................................................... us$90.00 monthly

Not available. We do have two servers on sale if the OP is interested though :P.

BTW,

I am Buying This Comp:

PENTIUM D 2x3GHz LGA775 (920) 2X2M/800 BOX socket 775 (Dual Core) Processor
GIGABYTE GA-8N775 nForce4 Socket 775 Mainboard
DDR2 2GB 533 Mhz GOODRAM
ATI Radeon X1600Pro 128MB DDR3/128bit TV/DVI PCI-E IceQ Turbo
CAVIAR 250GB SATAII 8MB CACHE
640 KBPS Connection (Yeah,i know it's sucky but im increasing soon)


And i'm asking how many game servers could it handle?.

with your connection I would say 12 player slots MAX for an average gametype (css 66 tick, ut2004, etc)

the machine itself if it was in a datacenter would hold a good 6-7 average servers I would say

If you are going to use this to host a gameserver for the love of god put it in a datacenter, Residential connections do not have the resources to host games, I dont care what kind of connection it is.

where is a good datacenter and what's the price of placing it there?.

well if you put that machine in a datacenter I am guessing it is a tower and you would be looking at about $160/mo with 1mbit transfer and 100mbit port per month

Ok,let's say i place it in a datacenter...if i want to sell it as a Dedicated Server,how much would i get monthly?.

I would say maximum $149/mo

One of NetCafes old offers (used search :P) so it wont be beaten easily.

Intel Celeron 2.0Ghz
1024 MB DDR RAM
60GB Western Digital HDD
2000GB Premium Bandwidth
cPanel c/w Fantastico
..................................................... us$90.00 monthly

This comp is a lot worse that the one im getting...only $45 difference? impossible...why?.

depends on how much bandwidth you would offer

your server is pretty good, i would say it would be more than 150

probably at least 200, again bandwidth determines this too

thats just how it is with dedicated servers. have a look at softlayer.com they have your machine with a premium network for 149/mo

your video card does not matter at all when it is in a datacenter, all the servers we have games on have an integrated 8mb video card, there is not even a monitor hooked up

Let's say 1500GB Bandwidth.

less than 149

but can you provide instant chat, live support, 24 hour support, level 3 techs on hand as well. there is more to serving dedicated than throwing a machine in a datacenter and calling it a day

thats just how it is with dedicated servers. have a look at softlayer.com they have your machine with a premium network for 149/mo

your video card does not matter at all when it is in a datacenter, all the servers we have games on have an integrated 8mb video card, there is not even a monitor hooked up
The SoftLayer offers 2x 2.8 GHz,i have 2x 3.0 GHz,they have 1GB DDRII 400 RAM,i have 2GB DDRII 533 RAM....c'mon!.

yes but do you have a multi million datacenter and some of the best people in the hosting industry behind you with 1,000 machines ready for deployment and room for 5000 more

Ok,let's say i get the Support,Techs and everything else....and i will offer 2000GB Bandwidth...what would be the total costs of server and what would be the price of selling it?.

149......and you would be making a grand total of -10mo with a single server.....oh I forgot they offer a free windows license too, if you want to provide that as well, add on $30/mo to your colo bill, for a grand total of -$40/mo

not to mention if you had a client that used all 2000gb transfer. thats about 6mbit. in the colo i sampled there is only 1mbit. factor in 6mbit at $80/mo per mbit

Heh,good to know :P

Know,let's say i place it in a datacenter and i want to sell game servers...you said i could host 6-7 Game Servers..how much i would make? tell me average price per private and public slot.

if you are going to host that many servers with that machine you are going to use approx 1mbit of traffic

at about $160/mo for colo plus $30 for windows and $15.95/mo for tcadmin

thats $195mo

you could serve up approximately 100 slots on that machine. And that all depends on if they are public or private/ what time people are on, how the machine runs, what gametype, what tickrate and an infinate # of other possibilities

you can judge your pricing per slot from that.

But with gameservers you MUST, absolutely 100% without a shadow of a doubt, no bs, no exceptions MUST know what you are doing with the games. It is not as simple as how we are talking now. I have spent years hosting gameservers and know how it is done

One question, what's a better processor to host gameservers

Pentium IIII (4)
or
AMD Athlon 64

both about the same, although if I had to pick it would be the p4, ht seems to help a bit during map change

Oh, because I was surfing thru the internet and it was saying that "AMD Athlon 64" was a better processor for gaming, ect. So yeah...I wasn't sure. Thanks for the clear-up. I'm still deciding/thinking.

home gaming is different than gaming on a sever, for home gaming I think the a64 will win in technical battles but on the server side I think the p4 just runs cleaner. I always used a p4 3.0 when I had a server just for our clans games, it was smooth as glass

Definitely go a P4 with HT. I find its a good percentage faster on my UT2004 servers.

Hmm, okay so I'll take the Pentium 4 then :D So, AvailNetworks right now I'm looking at;

» Intel Pentium 4 2.8 800MHz FSB
» 1024Mb DDR RAM
» 80Gb 7200 RPM Hard Drive
» Operating System Choice: Linux/BSD/Windows*
» 1000 Gb Premium Savvis Network Bandwidth

Cost seems pretty good, setup fee eh, wish it wasn't there but oh well. When I get enough cash stocked up to hold on a dedi-server for more then a year, I'll contact you. I want to purchase a whole diff. servers to host gameservers. Anyways, yes.

I can waive the $20 for you pumpkin :D

but back to being serious, are you goingto be going with windows and tcadmin or did you have something else in mind for the control panel setup?

Which one do you prefer? or do you recommend?

I am a big fan of windows and tcadmin. that combo for games is simply flawless

Then I guess I'll be going with windows & tcadmin. :p

good call. tcadmin is such a smooth product. As you add more servers to your lineup the main server can be left as a control panel only server and will support tons of growth.

Now I have a few questions, and it isn't much about the server really.

1) You sell gameservers, what's your highest purchased game for a server. (ie. counterstrike, etc.)

2) How much games can a gameserver host?

I think the highest per slot is fear at $4/slot, and the number of gameservers can never be pre judged, each server is different and there are loads of factors to determine that

sorry that answer is vague but that's the only effective and truthful way to answer it. its like asking how many humans can fit in a phone booth. have to take into account children, larger humans, and any other variant that may exist. there just isn't a good answer

I see, yes. I should have taken that into account. But, I don't know if you mentioned this in your previous post but, "What's the highest purchased game for the gameserver" (ie. counterstrike, battlefield, etc.)

yep I mentioned it, first line of last post

I see thank you.

Does Tcadmin supports americas army game?
Im looking for a control panel that supports that game and I cant find one.

yep tcadmin will support any game that is able to be served on a windows system

Hello AvailNetworks,

Would a semi-dedicated server be able to host gameservers?

nope, a semi-dedicated is basically an overgrown shared hosting plan. a vps technically would but I've seen it done and it isnt pretty

So a semi-dedicated wouldn't be able to be modified into a webserver?

nope, by most hosts definitions a semi dedicated is just a shared hosting account with larger than average resources allowed to run on it and usually a high amount of space and bandwidth (40gb/400gb)

Oh, thanks I didn't know that. I almost fell into a trap ;) Thanks AN!

haha no problem. gaming is one of my hidden specalties :D I've done and tried all there is to try it seems

Another question :D

What's better to host gameservers, AMD or Intel?

he got in grandpas cough syrup again


I am a fan of the intel p4 3.0 if you are going on the starting out end of gaming

opteron 165/170 if you want best bang for your buck

dual Xeon if you want a really professional game serving machine

I've been looking into Dual Xeon, anyways. Would DirectAdmin be good for running a gameserver machine?

nope, direct admin, plesk. cpanel and all the other control panels you see are designed for webserving not gaming server setups

I see but if I purchase a dedi-server that comes with DirectAdmin/cPanel/Plesk, would I be later then allowed to download/upload TCadmin on their?

if you are given the option of a control panel, select none. you do not want a normal control panel on a gameserver machine

Oh I see, yeah usually ... well most of the times when I went to purchase just to see how much the totals came up to, they gave me an option of which control panels, or none at all.

yep, you definately want none though. webserving and game serving on the same machine is not a good idea. when mysql hits it will lag out the server

Is there anyway to split up the server? and make one portion for the gameserver, and then the other for the webserver?

nope because they are still physically using the same machine, that is part of the reason why vps's are useless. machine is physically separated but not really.

the only effective way to serve gameservers to other humans and expect to charge a decent rate is to get a decent dedicated and use it for games only, no other bs on it

Okay, say I start of a gameserver business and it doesn't go well. Could I switch it to webserver later on?

yep just request an o/s reoad with your o/s and panel of choice

I see. Okay, but say I didn't purchase the dedi-server with the cPanel. Would I have to purchase a cPanel license now?

yep you would just add on a cpanel license for $25/mo (generally)

Oh not that bad, but say if I purchase a dedi-server with a cPanel license that would be included in the monthly payments for the dedi-server correct?

yes indeed

I am slightly confused by your other post you made about dedicated servers. We are talking here about all this and being in a central location, and you are interested in a florida server with a sempron or celeron? Please lay out exactly what you wish to do here and what you hope to accomplish in getting a dedicated server

Right now, I'm currently interested in hosting gameservers. But I won't be purchasing that florida hosting. Texas would be the best spot to purchase servers for gameservers correct?

Anyways, I have another question. With the cPanel License it comes with WHM?? Right?

yep texas is a great neutral spot, chicago is a close runner up too. Yes cpanel license comes with whm/fantastico/rvskins

Alright, but to host gameservers I should use tcadmin

most definately

I've never used TCadmin so I don't know much. Is it like cPanel? A control panel?

it is a control panel to control the games yep. They have full good documentation on their site as well. I would drop by their forums to read up on everything and to get a feel for it, they even have a demo up. It is very easy to use

Oh, and do you have the link to their site?

tcadmin.com

Oh, I like that :D pretty cool control panel. And you've used this before?

yep I have it on several servers and manage a few servers with tcadmin as well

Now, on it I'm not sure what a voice server is? Care to explain?

a voice server is just that. it provides a central location for players to connect and talk in a voice lobby

see:

www.goteamspeak.com
www.ventrilo.com

those are the popular gaming ones

Oh, and I could have that with a gameserver?

Oh, and I could have that with a gameserver?

Yes you can. I myself have a separate temspeak/ventrilo server entirely. People game on their gameservers, but route voice through an entirely different server (another dedi, or if its small, a VPS will do just fine). Cuts server usage, and I sometimes see it cut lag down since voice packets are more bloted than video game TCP/IP mutliplay packets.

do you hold a teamspeak or ventrilo license dj

do you hold a teamspeak or ventrilo license dj

No I do not have a license for either. I just run a few instances of it when requested. 24 users max...such as when I hosted a clan tournament. You'll find I don't advertise either service on my hosting page. Thats just because I run it on the side if someone finds they need it. Brings in a little more money, and gives a little better service.

Now don't get me wrong, I did work for a game host once where I managed 25 ventrilo servers. I've seen alot. But I just do a few small odd jobs with it now.

well I am wondering how you do it them. You cannot launch more than 1 ventrilo or teamspeak server if you do not have a license

Yeah last time I remember one server instance can handle 24 users... I personally have never launched more than one server on a particular server at one time... The company I helped did, but they used the licensed versions.

Okay, so if I have a voice speaker on the same server as the gameservers, it will lag alot? so the smart thing to do is get another VPS or dedi to host the voice server?

single ventrilo and ts server without a license can only hold 8 players unless you are using the old version 2.1.2 for ventrilo

If you want to host voice as well as gameservers and legally do it you need a license. If you are only going to put a couple of voice servers it really does nothing to the server, but you HAVE to have a license. Teamspeak licenses are easy to get, ventrilo licenses are not. You are best to get a ventrilo reseller program setup like through www.hurricanhost.com

How much does a ventrilo/teamspeak license cost?

ventrilo license you will not be able to obtain

teamspeak you must buy 100 license minimum at .15c/slot

Examples where ATHP-Based Licensing applies:

* Direct Fees - If you charge a monthly rental or usage fee for a TeamSpeak server OR channel you are subject to ATHP licensing fees.
* Indirect Fees - If you are a business entity and provide a 'free trial period' or you 'sponsor' a clan or ask them to advertise for you in return for the use of a TeamSpeak server OR channel you are subject to ATHP licensing fees.
* Inclusion Fees - Game Server Providers (GSPs) that host a TeamSpeak server OR channel to someone who is paying a monthly fee to rent a game server are subject to ATHP licensing fees.
I've never used it for any of those.


Exapmles of commercial entities where Single Server Use Licensing applies:

* A company that wants to use TeamSpeak as a means of teleconferencing with co-workers to cut costs on typical long distance telephone charges.
* An ATHP that wants to use a TeamSpeak server for internal corporate communication. The TeamSpeak server MUST reside on a physical server that is NOT a part of the ATHPs normal customer base or server farm.

Have done both of those.

I am not sure where you're going with that?

ventrilo license you will not be able to obtain

teamspeak you must buy 100 license minimum at .15c/slot

Why won't I be able to obtain a ventrilo license?

1000 slot minimum, you need multiple locations and they jsut arent handing them out anymore really

Wow, 1000 slots? Alright, so teamspeak is the only thing I could really go with?

no, you can get a ventrilo reseller account from hurricanehost.com I have one there too and they are excellent. Pricing is very good and their have servers all over the world you can gain access to

I am not sure where you're going with that?

Showing I didn't break the law cause I didn't use it for what they consider a need for liscensing. (ATHP)

Chief, ventrilo I believe requires you to buy MANY more slots to get started + you must be a registered business in your state/country.

I wasnt saying you broke the law I am just saying that I did not think you could launch several servers on the same machine, period, without having a license. I have never been without a ts license so I am not quite sure. I do know that you cannot do it with ventrilo

Say, I get a dedi and make it a webserver, could I give them zPanel? how exactly would I do that?

go to www.thezpanel.com and install zpanel onto the dedicated server

But wouldn't the dedi-server be in a database? How would I install it?

I am not sure what you mean. a dedicated server is an entire computer system, it is not something in a database

Sorry, I meant "Datacenter". Can't we keep them in there?

clarify what you are asking. all dedicated servers are in a datacenter unless it is run my some joker out of their closet

So just say I bought a server from host, etc. Would I be able to keep it in their datacenter?

are you saying buy a dedicated server or just buy some computer from off the street and put it in a datacenter

No, I plan on buying a dedi-server from a host. Say like your company (Just an example) you guys keep your dedi's in a datacenter right? Well, if I purchase a server would I have to pick it up, or would it have to be shipped to me (The server) or can it be kept in the datacenter?

you only rent a dedicated server, you are not "buying" it. so it will always be in the datacenter, never getting shipped anywhere

Yes, sorry. Renting. But, would the dedi-server been used?

No, I plan on buying a dedi-server from a host. Say like your company (Just an example) you guys keep your dedi's in a datacenter right? Well, if I purchase a server would I have to pick it up, or would it have to be shipped to me (The server) or can it be kept in the datacenter?

When you but a server, its already in the datacenter and the host just says it up. Lets use me as an example just to make it easy:

1. You tell me what you want and pay me
2. I tell the DC to install (or if its there switch on) such and such server
3. tell tech guy to set it up they way you want it
4. you get your login details in the email

You are given your login details in anywhere from 1-72 hours after a payment is received. No running up and down the road or whatever :P.

Thanks for the clearification, but say I rent a server, would it previously have been used?/rented?

Possibility. If you custom ordered it then no probably not. Its not liek you can notice it. When a client is done with his server it is wiped, reformatted (reimaged).

most dedicateds have been used yes

I see so back to my zPanel question, how exactly then would I install zPanel then? Ask someone at the DC to do it?

i would not bet on a dc installing zpanel, you would be on your own with that one. it is a user supported and free product. your better off buying a control panel if you want some support with it

Well, say then I bought a cPanel, would that be installed for me already?

yep, that is one of the many "supported" control panels

And, you, from experience. Are Gameservers profitable?

if done right, very much. I have a few machines I make very nice money off of and are done with good customers and very low support

What do you mean by "if done right" do you mean promoted, advertised & marketed correctly?

no I mean provide the proper machine, pricing, and excellent support. I rarely lose a customer once gained so everything has to be good

Oh, I see. What machine does your gameservers run on? (The server specs)

I have a few. some dual xeon and some dual opteron

opteron 242 dual, xeon 3.0 dual, opteron 170
2gb ram
80+ hard drive

# Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz
# 80GB IDE Hard Drive
# 1024MB RAM
# Bandwidth: 1000GB
# IP Addresses: 8 (5 usable)
# Private VLAN
# Cpanel/WHM/Fantastico
# 10Mbit port ($10/month more for 100mbit)
# Fully managed with 24/7 support and a 1 hour response guarantee
# Free CLIENTEXEC Billing system ($150 value)
$130/Month with $15 Setup
or Unmanaged with everything else for $120/Month with $15 Setup


Someone offered that to me, do you think that is effecient to host gameservers?

no because like I said, if you put a webserver on a game machine you might as well quit while you still have your money

and that is a layeredtech machine, the exact same I offer

and whoever is offering full management for $10/mo is silly

no because like I said, if you put a webserver on a game machine you might as well quit while you still have your money

and that is a layeredtech machine, the exact same I offer

and whoever is offering full management for $10/mo is silly

I mean, would those specs be efficient to host gameservers?

and how much does full management go for generally?

full management should be around $65+/mo

re read this whole thread to see if it is that efficient for gameservers. here is the simple answer

Single Processor or single core = clan machine, a few servers

Dual processor or Dual Core = production machine for games

I see. Thanks