Kernel optimization, high cpu usage

[mats]

I followed this tut: http://wiki.fragaholics.de/index.php/EN:Linux_Kernel_Optimization

server looks to work smooth but the cpu usage is VERY high, css server when full (36slots) 100%, 2x cs1.6 1 32 slots always around 90% and a 19 slot always 85%.

Its a 2x dual core xeon 3ghz.

I already tried lowering the hz to 250 but than the cpu usage is the same. I want low cpu usage and lag free servers. I don't need very high fps.
What are the best settings for this? or can I better use the standard kernel?

[BrutalGoerge]

if its your personal server, and the default kernel can get over 200fps consistently, then i'd leave it. I showed that guide to everyone in the linux section at something awful, and they basically said using many of those settings were pretty much idiotic.

Only reason i'd keep it is if you're selling servers, and you want to trick people into thinking 500 or 1000fps premium price servers are better somehow.

I've played with many settings, and the cold hard truth is, 333fps kernels are just fine. Changing to 1000fps is not going to do anything even slightly noticeable in-game. It just increases your CPU load.

[mats]

BrutalGoerge Wrote:if its your personal server, and the default kernel can get over 200fps consistently, then i'd leave it. I showed that guide to everyone in the linux section at something awful, and they basically said using many of those settings were pretty much idiotic.

Only reason i'd keep it is if you're selling servers, and you want to trick people into thinking 500 or 1000fps premium price servers are better somehow.

I've played with many settings, and the cold hard truth is, 333fps kernels are just fine. Changing to 1000fps is not going to do anything even slightly noticeable in-game. It just increases your CPU load.

oke. but is there any option to optimize the default kernel that will lower the cpu usage?

[BehaartesEtwas]

BrutalGoerge Wrote:if its your personal server, and the default kernel can get over 200fps consistently, then i'd leave it. I showed that guide to everyone in the linux section at something awful, and they basically said using many of those settings were pretty much idiotic.

I disagree (ok, i am the author of the howto, but anyway :-))
see: http://forums.srcds.com/viewtopic/9947

I have developed this because my clanservers were notably not running very nice, despite from having > 200 fps *always*. I admit those optimizations are always overrated, and there has never been a real test on how much you can gain. but i have monitored by servers fps for quite some time, and had serveral problems with my warserver during that time (lags, bad registration, ...). they were all correlated with fps drops. as I only saw the fps problems after noting the ingame problems, this is the closest thing to a proof i can currently get ^^

but, back to the topic: reducing the cpu load is nothing i ever tried. i don't see any point in this. what I want is having a nice gameserver, no matter how much cpu it uses...

[afterhoursgaming]

Having used several distro's following a couple different how to's: I have notice myself that stock un optimized kernel's just don't run well period (not counting ubuntu 8.1 1000fps out the box). Anything from unsteady fps to unsteady tickrate and lag (specially with bulky distro's like centos) Whether you want the high fps or just steady fps Its always best to get that extra boost in performance. I have also noticed certain distro's use high cpu usage even with same number of servers as another distro. For example given the same hardware my server running 1 server on one core uses about 30-40% cpu when full (32 slot server 66tick 250fps) another server runs on another core at 30% (20slot 100tick 1000fps) These run this way on cent OS 5.2. Same hardware same setup (kernel) but diff distro this time debian those same two servers run at 75-90% usage. Don't ask me why because I do not know but it was just something that I notice when I was playing with diff flavors.

[BehaartesEtwas]

afterhoursgaming Wrote:Its always best to get that extra boost in performance.

technically this is not performance we want to increase. in fact, getting stable and/or high fps will (has to) increase the overhead in the linux scheduler, so performance is actually decreased (and cpu-load might rise slightly). on the other hand, optimizing for low cpu-load will decrease fps-stability.

this is similar to the optimization of networks. you can either optimize for high throughput (=performance) or for low latency (=stable/high fps), but not for both at the same time. this is excluded by system theory...

[Peter_Pan123]

Do you mean with perfomance "through shoots"?
Normally if you have stable 1000 FPS it should be the best, without "through shoots"?

[BehaartesEtwas]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_performance

:-)

ok, there is mentioned short response time as well, what could be interpreted for what we need. But usually "high performance" means "high speed", which is more in the sense of "Low utilization of computing resource(s)". This might lead to a fast response in the sense of a working station responding to user input, but not to a fast response in the sense of a real-time environment (which makes guarantees for the maximum response time).