Choosing server (number of slots question)

[Lexx]

Hello!
I am looking at distributing game servers. They are:
CSS - HL2DM - TF2
all 10slot + 1slot hltv @66tickrate - 500fps
So far I have come with the following specs for my dedi:

Quad Core Intel® Xeon® X3450 2.66Ghz
4GB ECC DDR3
2 x 250GB SATA 7,200RPM
Hardware Raid 1
100Mbps Up / Down

How many approximately servers could I run?

Cheers,
Lex.

[Lexx]

Forgot to add, this for competitive games like scrims, war matches, etc.
So mods will be to minimum: most likely zBlock, mani admin and / or any other similar to these two.

[SL1 CHAOS]

(05-08-2011, 01:04 AM)Lexx Wrote:  Forgot to add, this for competitive games like scrims, war matches, etc.
So mods will be to minimum: most likely zBlock, mani admin and / or any other similar to these two.

That server will have no problem running those gameservers. You could probably have more slots.

[BehaartesEtwas]

That cpu is not very fast, but it should be sufficient to run 1 war server per core (i.e. 4 in total). Maybe more will work as well if never all servers are used simultaneously. btw: I would use less than 500 fps. 200~300 are enough since the orangebox update, or ideally it will have *exactly* 66.67fps (or very little less, but not more).

I don't think it will be suitable for high slot-count public servers though.

[Lexx]

(05-08-2011, 07:02 AM)SL1 CHAOS Wrote:  

(05-08-2011, 01:04 AM)Lexx Wrote:  Forgot to add, this for competitive games like scrims, war matches, etc.
So mods will be to minimum: most likely zBlock, mani admin and / or any other similar to these two.

That server will have no problem running those gameservers. You could probably have more slots.

Actually, I was asking for a possible number of maximum servers I could run among those 3 games.

(05-08-2011, 08:49 PM)BehaartesEtwas Wrote:  That cpu is not very fast, but it should be sufficient to run 1 war server per core (i.e. 4 in total). Maybe more will work as well if never all servers are used simultaneously. btw: I would use less than 500 fps. 200~300 are enough since the orangebox update, or ideally it will have *exactly* 66.67fps (or very little less, but not more).

I don't think it will be suitable for high slot-count public servers though.

Public servers will never be used under any circumstances.
What cpu would you suggest?
Between, I am aiming at least 250 slots in total.
[EDIT]
Should I go with Quad Core Intel® Xeon® E3-1230 3.20Ghz this one?

[Mooga]

I would say each core can handle 2 10-slot servers...
So like 80 total slots?

I'm honestly how sure how CSS and HL2DM handle CPU currently. I assume that since they updates CSS it's closer to TF2. As for HL2DM, you may be able to get a bit more out of it...

The Main thing to keep in mind is that SRCDS uses a crap load of processor power. So if you really want 250 slots, get more then one server or like a dual quad box. Also keep in mind that with that many users, that box NEEDS to be colocated at a data center...

[BehaartesEtwas]

I would recommend a CPU of the newest generation (i.e. i7 sandy bridge based). It does not have to be a Xeon, a normal desktop cpu will do just fine.

You will not get any precise number how many slots are possible on a specific system. It highly depends on many factors (mainboard, plugins, your personal quality demands, ....). Also slot count is not everything, as running two 10 slot servers is not the same as running one 20 slot server.

If you want to do a real mass hosting, I would strongly advice not to use one large box. Better divide into multiple small, i.e. do not put two cpus into one box. The scheduling overhead gets very large if you have many servers on one box, so the number of servers does not scale very well...

[Lexx]

Intel® Xeon® E3-1230 is sandy bridged so I guess it is okay.
Yes, the server will be collocated in data center.
Also, I am renting the server so obviously desktop cpus mainly are not used.

Well, I believe I will go with this final setup and see what I can get:
Model: Dell PowerEdge D4-370 Carbon-Neutral Server
Operating System: CentOS Linux 5.x
CPU: Quad Core Intel® Xeon® E3-1230 3.20Ghz
Memory: 4GB ECC DDR3
Hard Disk Configuration: 2 x 250GB SATA 7,200RPM
Raid: H200 Hardware Raid - Raid 1
Remote Management: DRAC6 Enterprise Server Management Card
Dedicated Bandwidth: 100Mbps Unmetered Internet Connection
IP Allocation: 4 Usable IP Addresses

Another question:
Should I go for more IPs or simply used different ports on the same IP ?
Should I go for 8gb of ram (I believe servers are small in slot and will not be public so I guess there is no need but still want to clarify) ?
Did anyone ever used http://www.redstation.com ? I have heard that they are quite good. (From various sources, not just a single website).

[dualcore1289]

If your aiming for 280 slots total, that cpu will NOT make it. Go with a corei7 server and call it quits. I would recommend more ip's, such as 8-10. Also, the more ram the merrier.

[Lexx]

(05-10-2011, 12:48 AM)dualcore1289 Wrote:  If your aiming for 280 slots total, that cpu will NOT make it. Go with a corei7 server and call it quits. I would recommend more ip's, such as 8-10. Also, the more ram the merrier.

Can you justify what exactly makes i7 more powerful than xeon e series ?
Also, I am limited on budget so I don't have the ability to "add more ram since it is merrier" unless there is a real performance requirement for that.
With IPs I do agree, though.

[dualcore1289]

What OS do you plan to use? Also, coming from experience is what makes the i7 better than the xeon e series.

[Lexx]

(05-10-2011, 10:05 PM)dualcore1289 Wrote:  What OS do you plan to use? Also, coming from experience is what makes the i7 better than the xeon e series.

Linux is 100%. CentOS as distribution most likely.

[dualcore1289]

Ok, 4gb may be fine, but I would keep an eye on it when all those slots start to fill up.

[Lexx]

Alright, a bit of change of plans if you could say that. Most likely the final specs of server I will go with:

Operating System: CentOS Linux 5.x
CPU: Quad Core Intel® Xeon® E3-1230 3.20Ghz
Memory: 4GB ECC DDR3
Hard Disk Configuration: 2 x 250GB SATA 7,200RPM
Raid: H200 Hardware Raid - Raid 1
Dedicated Bandwidth: 100Mbps Unmetered Internet Connection
IP Allocation: 4 Usable IP Addresses

Game servers specs:
CSS
10slot +1slot sourceTV (no spectators, servers the purpose of recording demos only).
Running at 300fps (since you said that 500fps is not really needed for orange box engine)
66 tickrate

Would I be able to run 10~20 game servers (100~200 slots in total) ?
I will also be running gameCP on it (if it makes any significant difference).
If I would need 8gb of ram, I will purchase it unless there is a real need for it.
I suppose I would make 4~5 game servers per core.
Would 100mb dedicated connection be able to handle it ?

Cheers,
Lexx.

[dualcore1289]

If you have a 100MB connection, it is more than enough, perhaps overkill.