Large Scale Dedicated Server Testing?
by Henry Todd · in Torque 3D Professional · 12/23/2009 (4:26 pm) · 28 replies
I think the dedicated server model probably doesn't get tested frequently enough. I'd like to take a moment and run some general gameplay tests on a real-world dedicated server setup with a decent number of players, and so I'm volunteering to provide a remote server for this purpose. It's hosted by Speakeasy on a pretty standard box players might rent to run their games in the wild, so it should be a relatively realistic test.
If enough people respond, we'll sort out a date/time and run a stress test of the basic multiplayer FPS demo included in stock 1.1. The goal is to isolate common multiplayer bugs like ghost animation failure, poor netsync, events that can crash the DS, bad lag compensation/prediction, etc. We're in an alpha right now, so it seems like an appropriate time to get these kinds of reports in.
Anyone interested in participating? Has this already been done to death and I'm just not aware of it? Let me know.
If enough people respond, we'll sort out a date/time and run a stress test of the basic multiplayer FPS demo included in stock 1.1. The goal is to isolate common multiplayer bugs like ghost animation failure, poor netsync, events that can crash the DS, bad lag compensation/prediction, etc. We're in an alpha right now, so it seems like an appropriate time to get these kinds of reports in.
Anyone interested in participating? Has this already been done to death and I'm just not aware of it? Let me know.
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#2
12/24/2009 (5:46 am)
I'm in, the results will come handy. 
#3
12/28/2009 (4:23 am)
I'm in also. Those results will be very interesting. It could be great that you post the machine configuration for the test. 
#4
12/28/2009 (5:06 am)
count me in... i'm nearly at the stage of testing, then launching on dedicated so this will come in handy. 
#5
12/28/2009 (11:49 am)
I'm in. Always looking for good info on server testing. 
#6
12/28/2009 (10:57 pm)
Just set a date and a time and we'll be there. 
#7
12/28/2009 (11:12 pm)
Im interested in the results, count me in. 
#9
12/29/2009 (1:32 am)
I'd be interested in participating.
#10
12/29/2009 (2:34 am)
I'd be interested in participating as well :D
#11
01/04/2010 (11:48 am)
I would also be very interested in participating, please send me a message with any dates/times for testing
#13
I have two systems that can be used for this purpose:
1) A rented dedicated box in San Jose, CA running Win Server 2003 x64 SP2 - this is a very common type of server someone would rent for their "clan," gaming team, etc. and should be a good representation of what customers for a traditional multiplayer FPS might play on. I'm having some trouble getting 1.1 to play nice here, it doesn't seem to like how the host admins have locked down all of the D3D&audio functions to prevent misuse of the box via remote desktop. I'll be trying to get it working here again tomorrow, hopefully with better results. I'll be back with specific system stats if I get it running, but I do know it's an Athlon dual core w/ 2 gigs RAM. (Anyone have any clues why this isn't working? :P)
2) I also have a system I use at home as a server for my smaller-scale multiplayer testing. With 12 people so far, my 3mbit (~2.6 in practice) upstream should be more than sufficient. This system is an Intel Q9650 (Core 2 Quad) @ 3ghz w/ 4 Gigs RAM running Win7 Enterprise. I don't intend to join the server from this PC while the DS is running, I'll connect from my other box using the external IP to add at least a couple hops of lag. If I can't get #1 working, I'll use this system.
As for the time, I was thinking of a weekday evening, and was leaning for a Wednesday simply because I can't imagine I'll be doing anything else on a Wed evening. With EU +7 from me, though, a weekend day might make more sense (but I don't know how that would work for people either). Thoughts?
01/12/2010 (4:19 am)
Took a bit of a break there while I moved, but I'm up and running and ready to do this. My intent was to use 1.1A's FPS Example straight out of the box, then maybe the PhysX demo if we have time/feel like it's worth it.I have two systems that can be used for this purpose:
1) A rented dedicated box in San Jose, CA running Win Server 2003 x64 SP2 - this is a very common type of server someone would rent for their "clan," gaming team, etc. and should be a good representation of what customers for a traditional multiplayer FPS might play on. I'm having some trouble getting 1.1 to play nice here, it doesn't seem to like how the host admins have locked down all of the D3D&audio functions to prevent misuse of the box via remote desktop. I'll be trying to get it working here again tomorrow, hopefully with better results. I'll be back with specific system stats if I get it running, but I do know it's an Athlon dual core w/ 2 gigs RAM. (Anyone have any clues why this isn't working? :P)
2) I also have a system I use at home as a server for my smaller-scale multiplayer testing. With 12 people so far, my 3mbit (~2.6 in practice) upstream should be more than sufficient. This system is an Intel Q9650 (Core 2 Quad) @ 3ghz w/ 4 Gigs RAM running Win7 Enterprise. I don't intend to join the server from this PC while the DS is running, I'll connect from my other box using the external IP to add at least a couple hops of lag. If I can't get #1 working, I'll use this system.
As for the time, I was thinking of a weekday evening, and was leaning for a Wednesday simply because I can't imagine I'll be doing anything else on a Wed evening. With EU +7 from me, though, a weekend day might make more sense (but I don't know how that would work for people either). Thoughts?
#14
I know in Windows 2003 server you can use srvany.exe (Part of the resource add on pack) you could then run the game as a service, so it starts up manually or on boot.
On Windows 2008 server, the sc create <service name> <filename path> would do the trick also to register as a service.
Hopefully this will avoid any remote desktop issues you have. Also be aware that running the burg demo on dedicated for some reason crashes the window. Not sure why. Probably worth creating your own mission for the test with some spawn points and a few buildings to take cover from.
Julian
02/07/2010 (10:09 am)
Hi HenryI know in Windows 2003 server you can use srvany.exe (Part of the resource add on pack) you could then run the game as a service, so it starts up manually or on boot.
On Windows 2008 server, the sc create <service name> <filename path> would do the trick also to register as a service.
Hopefully this will avoid any remote desktop issues you have. Also be aware that running the burg demo on dedicated for some reason crashes the window. Not sure why. Probably worth creating your own mission for the test with some spawn points and a few buildings to take cover from.
Julian
#15
02/07/2010 (4:01 pm)
Count me in.... 
#16
02/08/2010 (9:21 am)
You have my sword.
#17
02/08/2010 (4:21 pm)
... And my bow!
#18
02/08/2010 (4:40 pm)
Any dates for this test?
#19
02/08/2010 (7:38 pm)
I was kind of hoping people would include times of the week that would be best for them, otherwise I just end up setting an arbitrary time that no one will be able to make. At this point it seems like waiting for 1.1 beta to drop would be best as there's no point in finding bugs that have already been solved. I'm going to suggest the first weekend after beta release.
#20
In terms of time, it may be difficult between US & European, but if you want my time, I can be available to test around 2 to 8 pm CET but I can be flexible depending of the timing choose at the end.
I think everyone that want to do a multiplayer game will be interested in those results.
May be GG can be involved to have more people in this test? They are announcing 250 person in FPS per server, it could be great to test that (if you haev the bandwidth). It will be a good community feedback if it's the case!
02/09/2010 (3:36 am)
Waiting for Beta is clearly a good idea and it should be released soon, so we don't have to wait to long.In terms of time, it may be difficult between US & European, but if you want my time, I can be available to test around 2 to 8 pm CET but I can be flexible depending of the timing choose at the end.
I think everyone that want to do a multiplayer game will be interested in those results.
May be GG can be involved to have more people in this test? They are announcing 250 person in FPS per server, it could be great to test that (if you haev the bandwidth). It will be a good community feedback if it's the case!
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