Server questions

[Lefty Guns 0]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to host my own server and I was reading through the system specifications. First, it does not mention which version of Windows the server should run. Could someone clarify on which version of 2008 should be chosen? There are about 6 different variations.

Second, I have seen in the server list, a 65 man server. I would like to offer whatever the max server size is. With that said, I am looking for hardware recommendations for the best possible experience.

Here are the server CPU choices:

Dual Core

---------

AMD x2 4450e

Quad Core

---------

Intel Core2Quad

OR

Intel E3-1240

Dual Quad Core

--------------

2 x Intel Xeon E5520

Which choice would be best to offer max server size? Also, if none of these options are best suited, I am open to suggestions as I could build a custom server.

Thanks for your help.

Lefty

[anthony_henson2003@yahoo.com 33]

Glad to see you chose dayzserverhosting.com :)

[Mojo (DayZ) 66]

I am looking to host my own server and I was reading through the system specifications. First' date=' it does not mention which version of Windows the server should run. Could someone clarify on which version of 2008 should be chosen? There are about 6 different variations.[/quote']

ArmA 2 and Operation Arrowhead are native 32-bit applications, meaning they'll run natively on 32-bit systems or with legacy instruction sets on 64-bit applications. If you can choose a 32-bit version, this would be your better option (it does, in fact, improve stability) if you're only going to be running the OA server. Otherwise, 2008 or 2008 R2 should both be fine for your needs (R2 is 64-bit only, no 32-bit version).

Second' date=' I have seen in the server list, a 65 man server. I would like to offer whatever the max server size is. With that said, I am looking for hardware recommendations for the best possible experience.[/quote']

Do not do a 65-man server. The reason you see only one or two of those isn't because the admins of other servers don't have the specs to handle it. It's because it's unstable, and the update frames drop ridiculously low (they drop ridiculously low anyway, that just exacerbates the situation). Trust me, the specs on my two instances are much higher than either package you're considering, and I'd never, ever run a server with more than 50 players.

As for your package considerations, you'd be pretty safe with the QuadCore option for a single instance. The E5520s aren't very beefy at 2.26GHz a pop, and OA can be quite CPU-intensive. OA servers are also very obviously a single-threaded application that had multithreading capabilities tacked on later in development; more cores at lesser frequencies won't give you the performance gains you would expect to see in a truly multithreaded program, unfortunately (for a basic idea of how the OA server works, it's max out AI thread -> max out other threads/max out core -> move to next core)

E3-1240 have a nice 3.30GHz on them though they are on the cheap end of the Sandy Bridge spectrum, the physical/logical disparity that leads to cache thrashing doesn't seem to present too much of a problem in what we do.

As for how you'd want to run your instance, I'd run maybe one instance on any of those options. I'd start with running the server as a 40-man, working to get everything stable, then increase the cap to a 50-man server after a day of careful monitoring and tweaking. I would not try running anything over 50 on those options (or, for emphasis, at all; I'd just create more instances).

You might find with some thought to load balancing that you can run two instances safely and with a stable 6-12 hour up-time.

[Lefty Guns 0]

Hi Mojo,

Thanks for your insightful reply.

I ended up going with a dedicated server running: Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1270

(8M Cache, 3.40 GHz).

Where can I get a guide/document/tips on monitoring and tweaking my server?

Thanks,

Lefty

[Mojo (DayZ) 66]

Where can I get a guide/document/tips on monitoring and tweaking my server?

Oh my' date=' did you ever come to the right person to ask for that. Why, us of course.

First, I'd ask you to take a look at my guide to setting up FireDaemon Pro.

First, it should help you set up FireDaemon Pro to monitor your server's health, and starting and stopping your server. It's written with the idea that even total newbies to server hosting can use it. Try that out, and give me feedback on how useful it was to you, so we can make it better for other admins. The goal is to eventually have a full, unified documentation for new and experienced admins alike. Do that, and we both win. I like winning.

Now, as for tweaking, that depends on your particular setup. I know your cores, but can you tell me:

1. How much RAM you have.

2. Are you running on a physical box, or under a hypervisor (ie: do you have a VPS?)

3. How much bandwidth you have available (100 mbps, 1 gbps, etc.)

On to the other monitoring/back end stuff, I highly recommend you download both the Battleye Extended Commands (or BEC) as well as the RCon GUI.

If you need any help setting anything up, or just have questions in general, I'm available here on the forums through post or PM, as well as on my TeamSpeak server at ts3.monolithservers.com. Just poke me, and I'll bring you to the admin channel and help you set everything up.

[Lefty Guns 0]

1. 8 GB RAM

2. Physical Server

3. 100 mbps

Thank you for the guide. I am seriously considering wiping out the 64-bit OS and installing a x32. I know at that point half of my RAM will become useless but if it becomes more stable and runs better it would be worth it.

Another question I have is, there is a admin tool ingame I can run called #monitor X. When I set it to 1 and monitored my server FPS, it dropped all the way to 1 and I did not even have a full server. Is this an accurate tool to be using on my server?

I have the RCON GUI up and running as of now.

Again, thanks for your help.

Thanks,

Lefty

[Mojo (DayZ) 66]

1. 8 GB RAM

2. Physical Server

3. 100 mbps

Thank you for the guide. I am seriously considering wiping out the 64-bit OS and installing a x32. I know at that point half of my RAM will become useless but if it becomes more stable and runs better it would be worth it.

Another question I have is' date=' there is a admin tool ingame I can run called #monitor X. When I set it to 1 and monitored my server FPS, it dropped all the way to 1 and I did not even have a full server. Is this an accurate tool to be using on my server?

I have the RCON GUI up and running as of now.

Again, thanks for your help.

Thanks,

Lefty

[/quote']

Oh I wouldn't go so far as to basically make half your ram useless -- that's also raising the question of it this a leased, unmanaged server with an OS package if you can even get a 32-bit OS installed.

I would recommend against it. I put it in there just to help understand server stability issues. The extra 4 gigs of ram is worth it because A2/OA is large address aware and can make use of large address spaces in the memory, even if it can't use more than a set amount. That means it can become valuable if you want to put more than one instance on it (say 2 40-slot servers), or wish to run support applications that would otherwise eat into limited memory.

The command line monitor is accurate for server frames, yes. DayZ is a heavy mission, even on quite beefy hardware, it runs at about 3-5 FPS (confirmed under both hypervisors and hardware servers that are running at business/enterprise level equipment). You need to understand that A2/OA are ... poorly optimized, to say the least. Bloated virtual machine running a proprietary syntax, no garbage collection whatsoever, etc., etc. It can be pretty strenuous to run an AI-intensive, script heavy mission with a ton of object spawns that's guaranteed to get a lot of unique player connections.