A Server Plan

[The Postman 0]

Since Day Z is (to me at least) some sort of quasi-MMO, I feel that it would be cooler if there were a really big server. I mean, one that could handle some serious player loads.

So, I have decided to put Windows Server 2008 on my server with the help of some friends.

The server has 32 GB of RAM and two dual-core CPUs clocked at 2.4 Ghz with a connection rate of 100 Mbps.

I'm thinking that we could have a fairly large population sustained on the server with those kind of specs, no? Maybe 300 people? Possibly more? I don't really know how much of those resources that ARMA II would hog up, so I'm definitely not sure how well the mod would hold up against my server.

[maxovitsj@gmail.com 4]

I doubt you can run >65 slots. Even the best servers can't handle more. ARMA just takes a lot of resources.

[The Postman 0]

We could at least give it a shot, right? I mean, as a stress test.

[maxovitsj@gmail.com 4]

Of course, you can try it ^^

Would be awesome if we could, but I just think the engine is too derpy to handle it.

And even if it doesn't work, you can just run like 3x50 slots ;)

[The Postman 0]

That is true. I'll look to see what I can do, though.

[Difecti 11]

Whats the bandwidth usage limit, if any? This mod can easily clear 1.5 - 2TB a month on a single 40 slot server.

[cm. (DayZ) 28]

Arma 2 generally won't use more than 2-3GB per instance so there's pretty much 28GB of wasted RAM.

What CPU's are they? 2.4ghz doesn't sound like it would be a high end xeon or anything.

[Vipeax 318]

Not to sound like an ass, but it has been tried with setups more powerful than that, with negative results. The first limit you will hit is the CPU and due to most of the load being some random main thread that seems to handle about 70% of the workload, you only need 2 cores per server, but they should be really fast PER CORE to handle that big thread. The more recent CPUs like an E3-1270/1290 should be great for an attempt like this due to their core frequency of 3.4-3.6GHz, but if a pair of X5660s isn't enough, 2 dual cores at 2.4 won't do it either.

[skurcey 11]

dont forget the S's. the Z's

[UnleashurGeek 0]

What about if it was an Octa-core processor with each core at 2.4Ghz?

[BigMorgan (DayZ) 3]

What about if it was an Octa-core processor with each core at 2.4Ghz?

Not sure if srs, but no. Best solution for Arma 2 server hosting is and will remain a quad-core CPU with a high (3.0ghz+ at a minimum) clock.

[ionstorm66 0]

Your best bet for running one big server is using a desktop cpu. Server cpu's are made for a large number of small processes, like a web server. They have a large number of low clocked cores. Desktop cpu's are built for running games, and single big programs. They have a lower number of very highly clocked cores. Your best bet for a large single server is a overclocked 2600k with a SSD, sticking it in a 4U rackmount case, and collocating it. You also might be able to rent an overclocked desktop machine as a dedicated server, but there aren't that many hosts that offer them. I've had to do almost the same thing for large gmod servers, as source engine is almost all 1 thread.

[UnleashurGeek 0]

Ok, but wouldn't all eight cores be utilized in the running of the server and lower the load per core making it able to go over 50 players?

[ionstorm66 0]

No Arma 2 servers have 1 big main thread and a few smaller threads. That one big main thread is the limit to the server. So 1 fast core is better than 4 slower cores. Server cpu's are for webservers where it is built to distribute load over many cores. Gameservers have to keep everything in perfect sync, which is very very hard to do over multiple cores. That is why almost every gameserver is 1 big thread, that way everything is running at the same speed and in the right order.

[c.chris.perry@gmail.com 17]

I'm pretty sure ARMA won't even allocate more than 2 gigs of ram. I might be wrong though.

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Arma2:_Startup_Parameters

Yup, 2046 is the hardcoded maximum. Have fun with that 30 gigs extra :D

[Alfie (DayZ) 8]

I'm pretty sure ARMA won't even allocate more than 2 gigs of ram. I might be wrong though.

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Arma2:_Startup_Parameters

Yup' date=' 2046 is the hardcoded maximum. Have fun with that 30 gigs extra :D

[/quote']

This.

You may be able to run multiple 50 slot servers for DayZ adding upto 300 slots in total, but you won't be able to run a stable server with that many people.

Plus, dunno if it's because of the engine or what, but if you get over like 50 you really need some hardware to keep up with it.

[stevejeon 0]

I haven't seen any solid metrics on the Arma server engine thread performance for chip architectures (I've asked before and got nothing in response annoyingly).

But Ionstorm66 and Alfie are essentially correct.

The Arma server effectively uses 1 main thread for AI and object co-ordination, a second thread for offloading such stuff as sound co-ordination and the rest of the available threads for things like geometry loading.

This means a server should ideally have at most 2 very fast single threaded cpu's.

(kill hyper threading on Intel chips etc)

A quad core is recommended for single instance servers because 2 cores can be dedicated to the operating system and server services whilst the remaining 2 can be dedicated to the game.

In effect a clocked gaming desktop with single quad core and fast ram would easily outperform a multi socket server. (unless you had a bat shit insane server that is).

[fackstah 31]

2 duo cores thats it ?

hope you have nitrogen injected cooling systems on those puppys arma is really extensive on cpu resources i would suggest a quad core at a minimum and ram doesnt make much difference tothe game itself just run the server off a ssd that will make your differnce and throw some extra ram to page file usage

[Mojo (DayZ) 66]

We could at least give it a shot' date=' right? I mean, as a stress test.

[/quote']

No, you can't. It's the limitations of A2/OA. Imagine your server is a magical tome, the collected works of all the great minds of the past, present, and future. Now imagine the ArmA2 engine is an illiterate toddler.

No matter how often you open that book up in front of that kid, no matter how often you point to the words and go "there! there!", no matter how often that is done, that child will never glean a single piece of useful information from it, for one simple reason: It can't.

It's engine limitations, period. You can throw anything you want behind the server executable. Beyond a certain limit, it will never, ever be able to make use of any of it.

[UnleashurGeek 0]

If this be the case, would it be possible to override the limitations or if that is not even possible, how many servers would I be able to run with an Octa-core @ 2.4Ghz?