VPS Guide / recommendation

[masterurat]

Im saving up money right now to purchase about a years worth of hosting from a VPS, I was wondering if people could give me some ballpark figures of what Im looking at in terms of money.

What is the best OS to go for to simplify hosting my game?

What kind of system requirements does running the server take for, say, about 100 players or more? I want very high consistency since my server will be hardcore and I want the server to be very dependable.

Are there some good guides out there on how to use a VPS? I haven't worked with them before so I'm not even sure how I get my server running on the VPS, how to make sure it is working, how to keep an eye on it, etc etc.

Is it possible to have a small website through my VPS too? I understand I have to buy a domain name too, but is this something VPSs can do too?

Basically, where is the best way to go about learning everything about utilizing VPSs, and what (preferably free) operating system works best with the darkstar programs?

[atom0s]

Best OS: Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2012
- I say Windows since I am assuming you do not know Linux, and that the Linux guides are all outdated for compiling and running DSP.

System Requirements:
- Processor: Intel processor. Avoid AMD processors, they suck for large populated servers.
- RAM: 8-16gigs+ of RAM. DSP is very intensive on RAM, more than the CPU itself due to loading large amounts of data.
- Hard Disk: Solid State drive if possible for the disk, would help speed things up a lot for certain things.

Using a VPS is simple if its a Windows machine. You simply use Remote Desktop to remote into it and it is literally like you are on your own system. You have the full desktop of Windows there just like a normal computer. No extra things needed etc.

Yes it is possible to host a website on the VPS as well. You do not have to buy a domain either. You can use a forwarding service like no-ip.org or similar instead of having an actual domain. But yes, you can use a real domain as well.

Something to note as well, the processor you choose DOES NOT need to have a million cores. In fact, it is absolutely pointless to have anything more than a dual core for DSP. DSP runs best on a single core (it is single threaded so having multiple cores DOES NOT help it at all.) and is best to have the processor affinity set while its running so it is only using 1 core.

[kjLotus]

and that the Linux guides are all outdated for compiling and running DSP.

i updated it :<

[masterurat]

I know how to use Ubuntu, Linux, etc, so in the realm of saving me 20 bucks a month what is the best option there? I'm looking between Cent OS and Ubuntu.

http://myhosting.com/virtual-server-hos ... m-vps.aspx Seems to be pretty good value since I can have an 8 gig ram and not have a 16 core plan forced on me.

CentOS/Ubunt: 80 Gig disk, 8 gig ram, 1 ip, 900gig bandwith = $543.72 for a year.

Windows 2008 R2: Sql Express edition, 100 gig disk, 8 gig ram, 1 ip, 900 gig ram = $808.17 for a year.


I save almost 300 bucks for going with ubuntu or CentOS, is that 300 dollars worth how much easier it is to run the program?

[anglos]

and that the Linux guides are all outdated for compiling and running DSP.

i updated it :<

And I used it flawlessly just the other day, thank you! My server is running Ubuntu 12.04 and had been running the older SVN version of FFXI until my friend and I ceased playing. I was able to install git, GCC and G++ 4.8, and then follow your instructions with zero issues.

[atom0s]

I know how to use Ubuntu, Linux, etc, so in the realm of saving me 20 bucks a month what is the best option there? I'm looking between Cent OS and Ubuntu.

http://myhosting.com/virtual-server-hos ... m-vps.aspx Seems to be pretty good value since I can have an 8 gig ram and not have a 16 core plan forced on me.

CentOS/Ubunt: 80 Gig disk, 8 gig ram, 1 ip, 900gig bandwith = $543.72 for a year.

Windows 2008 R2: Sql Express edition, 100 gig disk, 8 gig ram, 1 ip, 900 gig ram = $808.17 for a year.


I save almost 300 bucks for going with ubuntu or CentOS, is that 300 dollars worth how much easier it is to run the program?

I personally have no experience running DSP on Linux so kjLotus will be the best bet to get his advice on that then.

[masterurat]

I went with windows 2008, its working great.

New question: I'm using Application Monitor (a guardian program to automatically reboot my server exes) but Im having an issue where it is booting the three .exes from within it.

Which means it messes up the programs root directory and they cant find their script files cause now they are looking in the wrong folder.

Is there an easy fix for this? I remember having a similiar issue years ago with a different program and I think it had to do with editting how the command line determines a root folder...

[masterurat]

Also, when my server program hits an error, windows 2008 pops up the usual error window.

This kills the server but until I actually select an option and close the pop up, the .exe is still open.

Which means my guardian program won't reopen and restart the program that got hung up.

Is there a quick and easy fix to stop the pop up and just let the server crash and reboot? Preferably togglable so I can disable it when I am not monitoring my server, and enable it when I want to keep an eye on the crash and see what caused it.

This right now is the only thing preventing me from having my server up 24/7, as testing seems to be showing it can crash on stuff, and once it crashes the server is dead until I manually close the little error pop up...

[atom0s]

You can just use a batch script to restart the servers automatically.

Code: Select all

@echo off
:restart
start DSConnect-server.exe
goto restart

Something simple like that will do it for you.

As for the error reporting:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libr ... 54364.aspx

[masterurat]

Nah its the error pop up for debugging also too. I got error reporting turned off now but the debug screen is still an issue.

"Debug this with a program" "Close the program"

That pop up.