As far as servers go, I got a question

[Brian Cherrick]

This is more of a general question, so don't bite my head off

But do people ever host on their own machines, over getting a bon-a-fide server? I am asking this because I recently shutdown my server because I was/am having financial issues. I also think I could reliably host 5-8 players over my connection (whilst connecting through hamachi). But trying to determine is that is feasible long term.

Obviously the first question raised is about uptime, which would be 16-18 hours per day, so it would be important to get people in the same time zone +/- a few hours in order for it to work. But what are your thoughts on this?

 

[Kirameki]

Generally not a good idea unless you have
1. A static IP or paid-for dynamic hostname. Otherwise connecting to it will be a pain in the patookus. If you require a 3rd party program (i.e. Hamachi) just to connect to your network, that's even less desirable and more prone to problems.
2. A guaranteed sustained upstream rate. Most ISPs say xxMb/s but that's actually a maximum, not a sustained transfer rate. Speed tests are also somewhat unreliable due to 'burst' rates - ISPs give you an initial much faster burst transfer speed when transferring large amounts of data that tapers off after a while down to the sustained rate they're willing to provide. While I know this is for downstream, not sure if it also applies to upstream - anybody have experience/insider knowledge here?
3. A standalone machine to run the server - do not run it on the same machine as the one you play the game on, or both your game AND server will run slower than they would if run on individual machines (or even individual VMs.)

 

[zemerick]

Yes, lots of people have done it, including myself.

1 major thing really stands out that people overlook though. Servers are specifically designed to be efficient, your computer is not. You need to figure out your power draw, and check your power rate. It can very easily be more expensive to host it yourself than to rent a server.

It's why I personally switched just recently. I started needing my server up 24/7, and with a decently high end gaming rig, it was going to be pricey. ( Over $30 per month extra, and our electricity is under 9¢ per kwh. )

If you don't know anything about your computer, entry level gaming is around 500W, and very high is around 1KW. 1 hour at 1KW is 1 KWH. At 500W it takes 2 hours to hit 1KWH. Don't forget to subtract the time your computer would be on anyways.

A big pro to hosting yourself though is that when something goes wrong, you have immediate and easy access to it if you are home.

 

[dothrom]

Another thing to worry about is bandwidth per month limits.
A lot of ISP's today now charge extra for any usage over "x" amount.
This is also part of why a lot of server hosts will include the transfer per month limit in their plans.

 

[Qazplm601]

Another thing to worry about is bandwidth per month limits.
A lot of ISP's today now charge extra for any usage over "x" amount.
This is also part of why a lot of server hosts will include the transfer per month limit in their plans.

Yep. Downloading. 1 game (AAA) uses up 3 quarters of a moths internet for me.

 

[dothrom]

Yep. Downloading. 1 game (AAA) uses up 3 quarters of a moths internet for me.

Why is your internets so terrible!

 

[Qazplm601]

Why is your internets so terrible!

Because Xplornet in the Canadian wilderness!

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

Pfffft #firstworldproblems above, 512Kbs upload for me

 

[Azzanine]

Yep. Downloading. 1 game (AAA) uses up 3 quarters of a moths internet for me.

This Australian knows them feels bro.

@Brian Cherrick : People do host on their own comps but most people don't have awesome computers with the RAM needed to run the server instance with any more then 5 players whilst playing on the same computer.
The more players you have the more RAM will be needed to run the world and keep track of the players actions, for a server with 10 players sometimes even 8gigs of ram doesn't cut it, this is compounded for modded play too.

When people host on their own machine it's usually an intimate affair with close friends for short bursts of minecrafting, a more public affair will run a system in to the ground. It's why that EULA fiasco ruffled so many feathers, to do BIG Minecraft SMP you need a very expensive server, take note I'm talking about >50 player servers here and FYI that's considered to be the small end still.

 

[ratchet freak]

and between a few close semi tech savvy friends at least one will have access to a cheap server instance that is adequate

 

[Brian Cherrick]

This Australian knows them feels bro.

@Brian Cherrick : People do host on their own comps but most people don't have awesome computers with the RAM needed to run the server instance with any more then 5 players whilst playing on the same computer.
The more players you have the more RAM will be needed to run the world and keep track of the players actions, for a server with 10 players sometimes even 8gigs of ram doesn't cut it, this is compounded for modded play too.

When people host on their own machine it's usually an intimate affair with close friends for short bursts of minecrafting, a more public affair will run a system in to the ground. It's why that EULA fiasco ruffled so many feathers, to do BIG Minecraft SMP you need a very expensive server, take note I'm talking about >50 player servers here and FYI that's considered to be the small end still.

and between a few close semi tech savvy friends at least one will have access to a cheap server instance that is adequate

My old server was only 3 GB through KBG. Lag was little to none, only ever rearing it's ugly head when people did large fits of exploring while the server loaded the chunks, but we only ever had 3-5 on a time. My PC has 16 GB, so I was figuring I could more than do it, but perhaps 3 GB online is different from 3 GB on a personal machine?

Some of the servers I see people advertising for now is 8-12 GB, and that seems like it would get kinda pricey. I was only paying about 25$ a month for the 3 GB, so it'd probably be triple that for 8-12. I can't afford that. Most I could afford is about 25$ a month, but sometimes 3 GB doesn't seem to cut it. At least if you are concerned about lag it isn't.

Thoughts?

 

[Azzanine]

My old server was only 3 GB through KBG. Lag was little to none, only ever rearing it's ugly head when people did large fits of exploring while the server loaded the chunks, but we only ever had 3-5 on a time. My PC has 16 GB, so I was figuring I could more than do it, but perhaps 3 GB online is different from 3 GB on a personal machine?

Some of the servers I see people advertising for now is 8-12 GB, and that seems like it would get kinda pricey. I was only paying about 25$ a month for the 3 GB, so it'd probably be triple that for 8-12. I can't afford that. Most I could afford is about 25$ a month, but sometimes 3 GB doesn't seem to cut it. At least if you are concerned about lag it isn't.

Thoughts?

To be frank, the way the game handles chunk generation even super beefy servers struggle. I remember Twilight Forest absolutely murdering the server I ran EVERY time someone made a portal and I think it had 12 gig of ram don't remember though.

Hosted servers also tend to be specifically optimized for the levels of processing needed. They may also have their network optimized as well so it can deal with the traffic you home PC most likely wont. Less stuff running in the background too by turning off or simply not having certain services/ processes.

TBH if you are savvy you could use a regular PC and optimize and dedicate it to running just the server instance and other necessary back end processes. As a server is just a purpose built computer the only difference a server rack has over a regular PC is the power of the hardware, in principal they are just big computers.

 

[Qazplm601]

Pfffft #firstworldproblems above, 512Kbs upload for me

orly? i get 28kbps download, basically 0 upload.

 

[Brian Cherrick]

To be frank, the way the game handles chunk generation even super beefy servers struggle. I remember Twilight Forest absolutely murdering the server I ran EVERY time someone made a portal and I think it had 12 gig of ram don't remember though.

Hosted servers also tend to be specifically optimized for the levels of processing needed. They may also have their network optimized as well so it can deal with the traffic you home PC most likely wont. Less stuff running in the background too by turning off or simply not having certain services/ processes.

TBH if you are savvy you could use a regular PC and optimize and dedicate it to running just the server instance and other necessary back end processes. As a server is just a purpose built computer the only difference a server rack has over a regular PC is the power of the hardware, in principal they are just big computers.

What other hosting packages are there out there that could be considered?

 

[ratchet freak]

To be frank, the way the game handles chunk generation even super beefy servers struggle. I remember Twilight Forest absolutely murdering the server I ran EVERY time someone made a portal and I think it had 12 gig of ram don't remember though.

Hosted servers also tend to be specifically optimized for the levels of processing needed. They may also have their network optimized as well so it can deal with the traffic you home PC most likely wont. Less stuff running in the background too by turning off or simply not having certain services/ processes.

TBH if you are savvy you could use a regular PC and optimize and dedicate it to running just the server instance and other necessary back end processes. As a server is just a purpose built computer the only difference a server rack has over a regular PC is the power of the hardware, in principal they are just big computers.

probably because chunk gen was on the same thread as everything else

 

[Cptqrk]

What other hosting packages are there out there that could be considered?

Unfortunately answering that may get someone in trouble with the host advertising policy here.

What you want to run (Vanilla, DW20, Monster) and how many players will be online, will determine what you need

Saying that though, I do like my 3rd party host very much. Send me a private message and I'll direct you to them so you can add them to your decision making list.

 

[Brian Cherrick]

Unfortunately answering that may get someone in trouble with the host advertising policy here.

What you want to run (Vanilla, DW20, Monster) and how many players will be online, will determine what you need

Saying that though, I do like my 3rd party host very much. Send me a private message and I'll direct you to them so you can add them to your decision making list.

I'm fine with it being taken to PM's, just wanting to figure something out.