is a 512k connection good enough?

[grem]

hi im new to all this but wanted to run a server
and due to where i live i can only get 512k
would this be good enough to run a server on?

if so what would i need to put in the server.cfg to stop lag?

how many players could i have?

and if i connect to my server with another comp to play through a network will that effect the internet bandwidth for other players?

can anyone tell me?

thanks

[solei]

I forget where I read it, but a good standard for bandwidth consumption is to assume that each connection to the source server will consume 56k (kilobits, around 6K/s) of bandwidth.

Using this calculation, 512k would give you slots for 9 players total.

Reducing lag usually costs you bandwidth, so you might want to think about running the server with 8 slots open, and playing around with your tickrate.

[solei]

Oh- I forgot to mention:

If you've got 512k available, and you're running the server from home, you might want to check and see what kind of pingtimes you get when you're using your full 512k.

A lot of ISPs will cause your pingtimes to drop rapidly when you're uploading at or near your upload cap. Cable especially is known to do this.

You might have to set your cap even lower then what your connection can handle for this reason.

[skeletor]

alright.. first of all.. the 512.. is that upload or download.. upload is what we need to know.. and also the number of players depends on the computer the servers on as well... also if u run ur server on another computer and connect through lan.. it will not effect others connecting to it.. cuz ur on like 100 mbs line.. and the only way ull run into problems here is if ur router sux.. but with a 512k upload (givin that is ur upload.. and NOT your download) iin my unofficial opinoini would say about 12 people with no problems... i have a 380k upload..abd u cab ryb atleast 10 people abd gave pings under 140 and zero lag. other then a few random lag spikes.. but that could be a lot of things.. and only last a sec.. and doesn't even effect the pings.


you just have to really watch.. cuz if somone comes in with acrappy connection.. it will raise pings A LOT...so kick them..i do =) and pings go right back to normal

[solei]

skeletor Wrote:alright.. first of all.. the 512.. is that upload or download..

That would be upload. It's a standard DSL/Cable upload cap. If it were download, that'd be one hell of a sad connection.

skeletor Wrote:if u run ur server on another computer and connect through lan.. it will not effect others connecting to it.. cuz ur on like 100 mbs line..

Not quite. Running more players locally will increase the amount of players the server can handle in total, but it will still effect the others connecting to it, because their clients have to keep track of more players.

skeletor Wrote:but with a 512k upload (givin that is ur upload.. and NOT your download) iin my unofficial opinoini would say about 12 people with no problems...

I've been watching my bandwidth usage with my server, and I've found that with about 12 people connected, my server eats about 40-50K/s. That is, until two people meet each other. The more players in one place, doing things like shooting running and jumping, the more bandwidth you're going to need.

By that mark, 12 people in a map like iceworld (where you can almost always see other players, and everyone's always shooting) for example, would eat around 70 to 90k/s, which is more then the (realisticly speaking) 50k/s grem has to spare. :<

skeletor Wrote:i have a 380k upload..abd u cab ryb atleast 10 people abd gave pings under 140 and zero lag. other then a few random lag spikes.. but that could be a lot of things.. and only last a sec.. and doesn't even effect the pings.

It could be a lot of things, but keep an eye out. It might be every time someone runs into one or two more people, and you run out of bandwidth. Also, are you on DSL? DSL tends not to lag spike as much as cable does when you eat up the bandwidth cap, but I'm not sure why.

skeletor Wrote:you just have to really watch.. cuz if somone comes in with acrappy connection.. it will raise pings A LOT...so kick them..i do =) and pings go right back to normal

I've never had an issue with this, myself.

[solei]

I found that article.

steampowered.com Wrote:MAXPLAYERS
The other thing you will want to change is the maxplayers (9 here).

For internet this depends on what your uplink connection can handle.

If you don't know, then go to http://www.dslreports.com and run the free speed test.

You will see two numbers, download and upload (or uplink).

Download is how fast you can get data to the server.
Upload/uplink is how fast the server can send data out to players.

Basically for internet connections (bits/second):

128K uplink = 4 players (2 players for srcds)
256k uplink = 7 players (4 players for srcds)
320k uplink = 9 players (6 players for srcds)
512k uplink = 14 players (9 players for srcds)
768k uplink = 21 players (14 players for srcds)
1024k uplink = 28 player (19 players for srcds - note 16 players is max for HL2DM)
1140k uplink = 32 players (max for HLDS) (21 players for CS:S)
1708k uplink = 32 players for CS:S (max)

Of course your particular line may or may not be stable enough to support the number
I have listed there. Local players on LAN are not included in this count.

A good rule of thumb for HLDS is 35.6Kbits per player.

A good rule of thumb for SRCDS (CS:S and HL2DM) is 53.4KBits per player (about 1.5x more then HLDM).

Certain maps and MODs may take more uplink bandwidth too.

This maxplayers setting also assumes you are running the following server rate limits (in the server.cfg file):

//minimum rate allowed
// use 5000 for SRCDS Servers
sv_minrate 3500

// no limit on maxrate for LAN only use 7500 for regular server
// this controls how fast maps can be downloaded by clients
//sv_maxrate 0 = unlimited
// Use 9999 for SRCDS servers
sv_maxrate 7500

// this is the minimum playable updaterate, leave this at 13
sv_minupdaterate 13

// 60 for updaterate is LAN ONLY use 13 for internet
// 20 is default but will cut the maxplayers you can handle in 1/2
// for SRCDS Servers use 30 - you might be able to use 20
// sv_maxupdaterate 60
sv_maxupdaterate 13

Answer: "HLDS and SRCDS Server Rate Tuning FAQ"

[skeletor]

yea.. its on no relation when people run into each other or anything like that. its just that when somone comes in.. and they right off the bat have a ping of like 600..and everyone else is still at like 120.. then eventually everyones pings will go up and up and up.. then if i kick that fist guy with the high ping.. they all go back down.. even if somone else joins to take his place.. its still fine..


and i never said connecting on lan with a lot of people won't effect the server at all.. and yea.. it will take up minor consumpion.. unless of course your runnin like 15 ppl lan.. then like 10 more online... but with just one person connexting lan.. ther will be no noticable change.. from my experiance

[grem]

lol yeah it is one hell of a sad connection but its the fastest i can get witch is very annoying but still better that dialup

Direction Actual Speed True Speed (estimated)

Downstream 491 Kbps (60.1 KB/sec) 519 Kbps inc. overheads)
Upstream 256 Kbps (30.8 KB/sec) 275 Kbps (inc. overheads)

thanks for all you info
think i mite wait till i move house lol

[solei]

grem Wrote:lol yeah it is one hell of a sad connection but its the fastest i can get witch is very annoying but still better that dialup

Downstream 491 Kbps (60.1 KB/sec) 519 Kbps inc. overheads)
Upstream 256 Kbps (30.8 KB/sec) 275 Kbps (inc. overheads)

Yikes! Well, by those stats, you're looking at a 3 player server.

waiting until you move might be a good option.

[solei]

skeletor Wrote:yea.. its on no relation when people run into each other or anything like that. its just that when somone comes in.. and they right off the bat have a ping of like 600..and everyone else is still at like 120.. then eventually everyones pings will go up and up and up.. then if i kick that fist guy with the high ping.. they all go back down.. even if somone else joins to take his place.. its still fine..

That *is* odd. I'm not sure what would cause that.

skeletor Wrote:and i never said connecting on lan with a lot of people won't effect the server at all.. and yea.. it will take up minor consumpion.. unless of course your runnin like 15 ppl lan.. then like 10 more online... but with just one person connexting lan.. ther will be no noticable change.. from my experiance

Very true. On a smaller scale, one LAN player doesn't do anything to the server's bandwidth.

(edited to include the word "LAN")