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Three new pak64 servers

Started by prissi, March 20, 2013, 10:53:24 PM

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prissi

Since nobody volounteered to take on new servers, I just started three pak64 servers with my old maps. Expect almost no moderation and little halp but otherwise enjoy.

Dwachs

What happened to the servers? Crashed?

You can get them generate a core dump with setting
ulimit -c unlimited
before starting the server.

Then one can debug the crash with
gdb ./sim-your-executable corefile

(Ok I learnt this only some days ago :D)
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and maggikraut.

prissi

Aparently my cron script shut them down, even though it should only kill porcesses named sim and and not simstable. Well changing name took care of that hopefully.

prissi

Restarted the servers with the old initial maps using the 112.3 version. I would like some new maps for them too. The shoudl have some hand selected intial primary industries (oil riggs, forests, mines).

prissi

Do to a moving of the servers all server will be offline from next Friday for an unknown amount of time, at least a weekend.

MobileRod

They're still out, aren't they?
Hope they come back soon.

prissi

I restarted the server today at noon. But if someone wants to suggest a new map, I will gladly use it.

Jaridan

any chance that you could host pak128 aswell?

prissi

In principle yes; but personally I have no interest to invest my almost non-existing spare time in pak128. I can set up an account for a devotee to run a pak128 servver. But so far I got exactly zero volunteers.

jjatca

What would be needed to run the pak 128 server? What about pak 64?

kierongreen

I don't think there's any real difference in server requirements between pak64 and pak128. The main requirements are a stable reasonably fast connection (so, preferably not at someones home) and a fair bit of memory. CPU power isn't so important though still handy.

jjatca

I meant that i wanted to volunteer to run fifty's servers.

Fifty

My servers were run on an old computer I had lying around my house. They were not any subset of prissi's or Timothy's servers. I had no setup that could allow anyone remote access to operate my server beyond nettool.

I cannot run my physical server at the moment, however, I am happy to help out with simple server chores remotely if someone else has hosting capability.

To host yourself, you need a computer that you will keep always on with decent ram (1 GB at least, I think), and a decent internet connection (always on, preferably a fairly stable IP, does not drop connection, 5 Mb/s up and down. Don't try DSL, you'll need cable or fiber). You'll need administrative access to the main router for port forwarding. Think also about any usage caps or bandwith charges, as every time someone joins a 1-4 MB savegame will be transferred. Processor doesn't matter too much, I ran my 2 servers on a 10 year old Pentium 4. These are the major hurdles, beyond that, PM me for additional little tips for hosting.
Why do we park on the driveway and drive on the parkway?

Spacethingy

Quote from: Fifty on August 28, 2013, 05:04:21 PM...don't try DSL, you'll need cable or fiber...
Out of interest, why? I was kinda half thinking about doing a server with a bit of old kit, but I'm on an ADSL. Is it the problem with changing IPs?

I know you said PM, but for the benefit of the group... :)
Life is like a Simutrans transformer:

You only get one of them, and you can't have it on a slope.

prissi

The pak64 servers are also 10 year old Pentium 4 ... But the server is within the university net, so I want to restrict new server maintenance to devotees.

ADSL 16 or upwards is possible, but not trivial. You will need at least 1 MBaud upload. In those cases, it can make sense to set the savegame format to bzip. You have to keep the initial map as small as possible, i.e. 512x512 and strictly no trees but some hand generated ones. Because any desync (which will happen more likely due to the unfourtunate timing when the packets from DSL are sent and aggregated) will force everybody to download the new map.

Fifty

I mean, the problem isn't so much with dynamic IPs, as there are update clients that work with services to keep your IP up to date. It's more the "A" part of ADSL. A stands for Asynchronous, which means that you get more downstream bandwidth than upstream bandwidth. Thus, even if it seems that you can download a netgame quickly on your connection, the amount of time it takes to upload it to someone else is likely much more. From my experience, ADSL tends to drop connection every so often. Also what prissi said about more frequent desyncs.

You could probably do it, but you'd have to change out maps quickly so they don't become too large. I ran my servers on a 20 down 5 up cable line, and game transfer was none too fast.

Quote from: Spacethingy on August 28, 2013, 05:22:41 PM
I know you said PM, but for the benefit of the group... :)

Sorry, this is good discussion about broad requirements, I just meant that if you want nitty-gritty details about how I operated my servers to PM :)

PS: Let's hear it for the good ol Pentium 4  ;D
Why do we park on the driveway and drive on the parkway?

prissi

I finally installed two maps from Fifty (Big thanks!) on the I and II pak64 server. (And accidently reseeted the password on the pak64 III server ... ) But then the pak64 III server got now much more cities.

prissi

Seems like the server is offline, I cannot reach it via terminal lets hope it is not the hardware. I will visit it tomorrow.

MobileRod

How I wish I could host a server... My new neighborhood doesn't even have a good 3G service - and cables, as well, simply do not exist!

But I'd like to ask why most of the time Servers I and III stop answering? It hardly happens to server II, but there's no player available, though.

prissi

Maybe somebody unexperienced does something (powerlines bridges and tunnel for instance) which crashes the server. It will happen more likely to newbies than online gaming veterans.

prissi

All kinderscout servers will be going offline probably thursday due to electrical maintenance.

I also would gladly accept new maps for the Server.

sdog

Why not get your server hosted somewhere else. (not talking about prissis development server there)

The old pentium 4 will burn some 2000 kWh a year, running 24/7. That'd be even here, where electric power is near the worlds lowest, some $200 a year. Most other places it'd be closer to $400 or EUR 400.

prissi

It is also the local firewall server for access to our group storage. But it will change to a Core Dou as soon as I finished transferring my data and programs to a new computer sitting next to it.

Also the pentium consumes more like 50-70W (CPU is never very high but during joining). So it is rather about 500 kWh a year. I am not sure if a CoreDuo is much more power savy, as it still is not idling but at 10% (so not really entering deep sleep states).

sdog

I don't think the CPU would change a lot, it's the power supply unit. For a regular PC they are rated at 250 W to 500 W output power. Many of those draw still 100 W to 200 W when the load is very light.

But i knew you are using it for other purposes as well. So what i said before didn't apply to your setup at all. Replacing things with a new device is in general worse from the standpoint of life-cycle energy consumption. Used of course, as in your case, is quite a bit different.


ps.: Ich werd uerbnaechste Woche in Berlin sein  (Fruehjahrstagung) -> pm?

prissi

Since the IP (and especially the ethernet wall socket) is now serving my new desktop, until the old is fullz transferred there servers will be offline.