Popular servers: Hardware & Number of ZoneServers?
 

I do hope this is the right place to post this, please feel free to move if it is not. :)

This is just something I've been wondering about, due to the recent problems I've been having with my ForEverQuest Server. :)

Now Melwin and Sotonin have already kind of answered this question, but I was wondering about the rest of you who run 'serious', long-term servers.

If you have a popular-ish server, what are your hardware specs, and how many zoneservers do you run? (static or otherwise)

Also, do you run anything else on the server at all, and what is your server load/CPU usage like most of the time?

I would be super-grateful for your answers! :)

EverQuest Anthology server specifications are :
- 1 Server (P4 2.6C 2Go RAM) for SQL DB
- 1 Server (P4 2.6C 2Go RAM) for FTP/WWW
- 1 Server (Bi Xeon 2Go RAM) for World
- 5 Server (P4 2.6C 2Go RAM) for Zones, each server running 6/7 zones, all zones atm are statics.
- Internet connection is a 100mb/s line.

Our new platform will be ready by the start of the next week, with the release of one server, and we will then release one more server per week.
We plan to add later more servers to support more zones, but as EverQuest Anthology will features first only Antonica, it will be ok.

When Nemo will be up, maybe he will be able to post more info if you need more~

I'd recommend against running multiple servers unless it's absolutely necessary (and it only is when you have 1000+ simultaneous players, if even then). We run a single box with the following specs:

• Dual 2.4GHz Xeon
• 2GB of RAM
• 100mb/s pipe

Like I think I've said before, at 150 simultaneous players we're not even hitting 20% CPU usage, so this box is more than what you need for anything EQEmu-related.

bixeon 2.4, 4 GB Ram

about this platform, we decided it because we do and will do lots of changes/addition to the server that will need quite some resource.

this way, players shouldnt have to complain about lack of performance from the server side.

NB: Alkora is not dead. Stay tuned to EQA :twisted:

depend of the use you do and of the version of EQemu you are using. Sure if you use EQemu (with maybe only basic contents/additions that modify the comportment) this is ok

but with EQA's plan .... :twisted:

Unless you plan to severely de-optimize EQEmu, a single computer will easily handle everything EQEmu can try to do up to 900-1000 clients.

I don't claim to know EQA's no doubt very leet plan, but yeah, considering WR is the server that has had the greatest potential resource-eating done to it so far (149 players online simultaneously on one occasion, 75 people in one zone on another) I don't see how you could possibly eat up the resources of two machines, let alone five, without some seriously sloppy coding.

PEQ The Grand Creation uses:

sysinfo:
[os! Linux 2.4.22-1.2194.nptl (fedora/redhat)]
[ram! Usage: 445/1000MB (44.50%)]
[cpu! AuthenticAMD AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2400+, 1995MHz (256 KB Cache)]
[disk! / (65GB Free, 70GB Total), /boot (85MB Free, 94MB Total), /dev/shm (496MB Free, 496MB Total)]
[load! 18.64 20.42 19.16]

on a 100Mbit pipe

running 30 dynamic and 11 static

that was what alkora was doing a past year ago

Melwin isn't entirely right here, because I have done some extremely heavy optimizing to WR's code.

I doubt a standard EQemu release could handle 75 active zones nearly as well as WR's source can, but still, a box like ours covers most of it.

I stand corrected.

Thanks for sharing the fun ...

Thanks for your answers, everyone. It's actually been very helpful :) Wize_one, your post was quite insightful as you seem to be running the same sort of hardware as I am, but with 1GB RAM instead of 512MB. I am definitely thinking of upgrading to 1GB RAM myself at some point.

And wow, EQA is certainly running a lot of hardware. :shock:

If I were you I'd go with WR's method.

Optimizing is cheaper than buying P4s. :P

Even optimized, one server will never be enought for what is planned. I say all will see why in a few months :)

How elite and secretive.

:kool:

I'm running a UO Shard and EQEmu with apparently no issues between the two.

-Athlon 64 3200
-1GB 400Mhz DDR Ram
-160GB Maxtor SATA HD
-100MB Pipe, 400MB internal
-Disabled Onboard sound and Video (using a 32MB NVidia)
-Winblows XtraPee Service Pack 1 (SP2 sucks atm)

-RunUO 1.0 - Custom
-EQEmu 5.9DR2 - Out of the Box - PEQ Classic - 10 Zones (non-static)

Going to add another GB of RAM and work up to the max allowed of 3GB.

The max amount I've had going at one time was 12 on EQEmu and 10 on RunUO. UO Shards are bad about eating resources, but there was no apparent lag on either at the time, will post more later if the numbers go up. EQEmu seems to be really good about not eating resources and cooperating with Winblows very well.