[IFOC] Server Hosting

[MajorSlime]

[ChexCommander]

I hosted these servers by sending serial data to and from the internet, using UDP, over a various set of ports. The serial data is encoded and compressed using the Huffman algorithm, and decoded when it reaches your computer.

What kind of demon are you?!

[75]

I was watching my computer's performance monitor tonight, and I know why players experience random lag spikes.

It's NOT my ISP, my router, or even my network, it's my computer's CPU. I don't understand how this is happening, it seems to just happen at random. I don't know why Skulltag would suddenly take up an enormous amount of CPU resources, I've seen the servers sit with 5 players with no problem, then the CPU goes to 100% and lags everyone out.

After I graduate and move out (after December) I want to set up a dedicated server rig, with a ubuntu/linux server OS. I read an article that said that having a powerful CPU isn't important, I don't believe it after seeing my dual core from 2008 get overworked.

[75]

NOTE: Right now the servers are up, this is a notification of future downtime.
 
I ordered a new, better router today and I'm also going to switch my server computer from Windows 7 to FreeBSD. It's not a hardware upgrade (yet), but switching to a more predictable OS should help these lag spikes.

The router should arrive in three days, the servers will stay up 24/7 until it arrives.

After I get it there will be some down time to configure it, I guess that it won't take more than a half hour.

Then, when I have time, I will add a FreeBSD partition to my current computer, it's possible that this task will take an entire day, or more if I have problems.

I'll post updates here when I am ready to install FreeBSD, and time estimates for when you can expect the servers to be back up.

[75]

The router is installed and working.

A few users on Skulltag said that they can connect to my servers, but I can't see them on doomseeker or connect to them.

I know it's not my configuration, I tested this configuration file and it worked great on the other router, albeit on a different computer.

EDIT - I tried it on the same computer, on the same OS, with the same configuration, I can't see my servers even in that situation, I either made a mistake in the configuration, or the router is broken.

[75]

All servers are back online.

[75]

I just noticed that I forgot to re-host Plutonia Survival. It's now up.

[ChexCommander]

Put 127.0.0.1 as a custom server?

[75]

Put 127.0.0.1 as a custom server?

Are you asking me to do that? Is that a server you're hosting?

If you're asking if you need to do that to play on my servers, you don't, they are broadcast to the master server, thus you can see them in Doomseeker without adding any custom servers.

EDIT - I'm getting no response from 127.0.0.1:10666

[ChexCommander]

Put 127.0.0.1 as a custom server?

Are you asking me to do that? Is that a server you're hosting?

If you're asking if you need to do that to play on my servers, you don't, they are broadcast to the master server, thus you can see them in Doomseeker without adding any custom servers.

EDIT - I'm getting no response from 127.0.0.1:10666

127.0.0.1 is YOUR computer. YOUR OWN. You want to know why you aren't getting a response? You're asking for one from your own computer.

You put 127.0.0.1 as a custom server usually to be able to see your own hosted servers on the computer they're on.

[75]

That's not my external ip, nor is it my server computer's ip.

And putting my server computer as a custom server does work, it's the only way I can see my servers since my router doesn't allow me to see my own servers through the internet.

If you make that vague of a reply, you shouldn't be surprised if I guess wrong in trying to understand what you are trying to tell me.

EDIT - Just learned today in a networking class that 127.0.0.1 is a reserved address that is the loopback address for the computer you're currently running; I assumed you were doing something like foo.bar.a.x, and 127.0.0.1 meant "fill in the server computer's ip here"

That would have worked if I was trying to check my servers from the host computer, but I only use that computer to host servers.

[75]

I assembled the new server computer, but it doesn't start. I didn't have a lot of time to diagnose the problem tonight, by Thursday at the latest I should know if it's a wiring problem or a bad power supply.

[75]

It's started, FreeBSD is installed, but the ethernet connection isn't working, my guess is I need drivers since "ping 127.0.0.1" works but "ping <server computer ip>" doesn't.

But, first, I need to learn how to use FreeBSD because right now I don't even know how to mount a flash drive to access it. My other computer will run the servers until this computer is ready.

[75]

My router mysteriously stopped working last night, I just restarted it and it's working again.

[75]

There was some downtime for a few minutes today as I switched to my new computer which is hosting it on Ubuntu Server 11.04. I hope this will make the servers even more reliable.