Server 2003 and Medal of Honor Allied Assault

[G3mInI]

Hello,

 

 

 

First off, I am very new to managing a 2003 server. I am renting an unmanaged dedicated from a company called Art of War ( http://www.artofwarcentral.com/ ).

 

 

 

Machine specs:

 

 

 

P4 3.0ghz

 

1gb PC2100 ECC Reg Ram

 

SATA 80gb IDE

 

10Mb/s network port

 

1000 GBs of Monthly Traffic

 

OS: Windows Server 2003 Standard Sp1

 

 

 

My goal is to have two dedicated servers running on this box. The game that will be run is Medal of Honor Allied Assault. Am wanting to run a 32 slot server, and a 18 slot server.

 

 

 

My questions...

 

 

 

1) Is that enough machine to run two mohaa servers?

 

 

 

2) I have turned off DEP except for essential windows applications and services. Is this correct?

 

 

 

3) I have access to this machine via Remote Desktop. I want to give approximately 10 other people access to this machine. I did a test account and noticed something right off the bat. When I login I connect to session 0 (console). When I add a user and give them Remote Desktop ability, they do not connect to console and they cannot see the game and the anticheat client I have running on the machine. What would be the best way to allow 10 other people to also manage this machine? They need to be able to start and stop the game in case of a crash.

 

 

 

(side note.. I have the mohaa_server.exe running as a service via a 3rd part program called FireDaemon Pro. Firedaemon does have another program called PanelDaemon which allows a user to logon via http and start and stop the service. However, reading the forums at FireDaemon, there are some bugs with this and users can actually shut down all services instead of the ones that supposedly issued to them. A big concern for me. However I really like the mohaa_server.exe running as a service because it will automatically restart if the server crashes. The only time it wont is if it becomes hung for some reason. Again this FireDaemon service can only be viewed remotely if you are logged into session 0 (console). Any other session and it will not show. So I am confused as to how to give access to my other co-admins.

 

 

 

4) In the 3 days of running the server thus far, one 32 slot dedicated server only, we are experiencing intermittent lag spikes. Big ones that seem to last for about 15 seconds and then mysteriously disappear as quickly as they appeared. As stated earlier I am very new to server 2003, are there any tweaks that I need to make to the OS to get my game server to run more efficient?

 

 

 

5) The server currently has the role of Application Server. Is this correct?

 

 

 

6) In mentioning FireDaemon above, which allows me to run our server as a service, is there something better out there which I can use to admin our game better? Of course I have read about tcadmin but I am not sure if that is what I need for my situation. Is running the game as a service causing these lag spikes? By the way, not everyone is experiencing the lag spikes, seems like it affects about 1/3 of the clients connected at a time but that 1/3 affected is not persistant. Meaning a different group of about 1/3 of clients will experience the lag spike and then another group, etc. It just seems to me like there is something going on with OS which is causing it.

 

 

 

7) Does anyone have suggestions or tweaks to get my box running to it's full potential for gaming?

 

 

 

Firewall. When I click on the Windows Firewall icon in CP, I get a message stating that Windows Firewall cannot run because the ICS service is not running. I have got to imagine that not running a firewall on this box is of great security concern. If I do enable the ICS service, will clients have problems trying to connect to my game server? Where can I find more information on this?

 

 

 

 

 

I have lots more questions but this seems to be more than enough to start with.

 

I am willing to learn everything I can. The last 4 days I have been doing nothing but reading 2003 tutorials. I have purchased 2 books at local bookstore. But it just seems to me that people who have actually had experience with dedicated game hosting have far more knowledge than a book can give me.

 

 

 

I appreciate all those who take the time to read this and even more appreciative to those who can actually give me sound advice on the questions above.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

G3mInI

[MaxXx]

1) Actually should be enough

 

 

 

2)Not really experienced with windows server 2003, best you ask somebody else

 

 

 

3)Well, why do you want to give them remote desktop acces? Create them subuser accounts in the tcadmin control panel, there they can upload maps, change configurations, restart, stop, start and more,...that should be enough

 

 

 

4) Cant help you about tweaks on win 2003, but you might want to check if all firerwall ports needed for this game are opened.

 

 

 

5)Not sure how you mean this, everything is an application

 

 

 

6)I mostly experience that games are running smoother when hosted by tcadmin, and how you describe it it would encourage the theory that something like an rcon or query port is locked.

 

 

 

7)switch of not needed windows functions (not lots left in server version)

 

 

 

pretty many questions, and i dont have the time to answer/read properly, its just qd style,...i will get back to this thread later when i have time.

 

 

 

Greetz

 

max

[studeggle]

3)FireDeamon is good for personal services but not for game services. There panel and program do not give you proper control over the service for having several diffent people administer it.

 

I use it myself for some things.

 

 

 

4)I would say this is probably a connection proplem IE your single nic card. But it could also be other things. You need to record exactly what time they are happening and what is occuring in the game, then go look in your servers logs to see what it was upto at these points in time. You have to issolate the cuase of lag spikes before you can reliably fix them with tweaks. Also monitor what your CPU, RAM and paging on HD are on a regular basis to see if there is room for more complex activities to occur in the game. I'll be glad to answer questions on what results mean but I don't think anyone can just hand you a handfull of tweaks that are going to work without more research on the problem.

 

 

 

5) I would say yes on that but I am a little newer too 2003 so there is a chance I am wrong

 

 

 

6) Yes TCAdmin would be a much better solution given what you are describing.

 

 

 

7) As lightninghost said make sure all unneeded services are turned off and disabled. Makesure there isn't junk in your startup file. Google search for service and 2003 servers there are several sites outher that have written articles on service that can be shut off. Tweak3d.net had one once don't know if it is still on there site or not.

[G3mInI]

I appreciate your responses above. Of course after making my initial post, I kept on reading other topics here. In fact I must have read on for about 3 hours between here and links that I kept finding within threads here.

 

 

 

Tcadmin is looking like it is what I really want. I believe my lag is even occurring due to the firedaemon service, as a post on their forums goes on to describe how they had the lag until they stopped the service after trying many things first.

 

 

 

My only regrets thus far is not knowing of these boards before I purchased our rented dedicated box.

 

 

 

I have visited many of the recommendations listed here, and there are quite a few that cost less and include tcadmin. Not to mention I see initial setup times of 6 hours or less and fees around $20.

 

 

 

Art of War -- I ordered the box on March 19th. It was activated on April 6th (18 days). My setup fee was $99.00 and for the specs listed above I am paying $153.00/month. Compared to what I have read here, I feel like I am being cheated.. lol. Ah well, live and learn as they say.

 

 

 

I will now read some tutorials on how to get the most out of the performance monitor. The options are boggling to a new admin of server 2003 such as myself. As of now, I just don't know what to choose to monitor and what not to. So that will be my next project to undertake.

 

 

 

Again, thanks for the replies,

 

G3mInI

 

 

 

 

[pauluk]

G3mInI

 

A good place to go for US servers is layered tech they only do Texas i think they maybe able to save you a few $

 

 

 

There responce and support is second to none and uptime is great

 

 

 

also i saw you had a 10Mb/s network port

 

not really enough upload & download speed there for game servers

 

this is where your lagg will probaly be happening

 

 

 

you need a fatter pipe 100mbps will do the trick

 

 

 

paneldaemon is great for just your sole admin purpose i have it installed on a server myself

 

 

 

regards you trying to have 10 connect to the server windows 2003 you can have muli connections to it but they will not see what is running on your desktop they have to start it via there desktop

 

 

 

but i dont think win2003 lets 10 connect maybe 4-5 i think ,ive never tryed over 3

 

 

 

regards windows firewall i wouldnt enable it it will stop you connection via RDP - in my passed experince

 

 

 

the data center usually gives you an option if you want one enabled

 

 

 

 

 

cheers

[Hogie]

also i saw you had a 10Mb/s network port

 

not really enough upload & download speed there for game servers

 

this is where your lagg will probaly be happening

 

 

 

 

 

100mbps for 2 MOHAA servers? We have a full box of MOHAA not going over 6mbps at peak... I dont think 10mbps is the problem.

[G3mInI]

Some great information there. I did go ahead and upgrade my port to 100mb/s. I do believe that it is more something to do with how my server 2003 is setup. I am sure there are tricks to the trade as to what to tweak on this OS. And as stated above, I can see how there is no one size fits all cinderella shoe fitting.

 

 

 

I have gone ahead with purchasing a tcadmin license

 

 

 

I must say, what a program! Again was a bit of a learning curve there and still am having an issue with Automation and my server.cfg file (it just plain doesnt create it) but I go and add it manually after the game is created. I am sure I will get this, but for now am concentrating on, and setting up, various mods, maps, and rcon commands for the clients. When I try and make a private 18 slot server, the console monitor complains repeatedly, "blah blah game changed from private to public". So I just made the game public and change the "sv_privateclients" command to the same number of slots via the server.cfg file. Works and no more complaints. Maybe mohaa does not recognize the private commmand?

 

 

 

I am now running all the reports for my 2 servers through tcadmin. When they generate some data after a few days, I will post it here to maybe gain some insights. I will not have this data for a while as my servers are currently not being used until I have the accounts set up the way I want for my clients to admin them.

 

 

 

I would just like to say, the replies and help I have recieved here are second to none. I can't say enough for the service, support, and the community present here.

 

 

 

I have contacted Softlayer, nice packages indeed available there. However, I am locked into a minimum 2 month contract with current host, so that endeavor will be down the road some.

 

 

 

 

 

Two quick Windows Server 2003 questions.

 

 

 

1) The advance tab in performance options. I have the following checked...

 

Adjust for the best performance of: Programs. It was on background services.

 

Memory Usage. Adjust for the best performance of: Programs. It was on system cache.

 

Paging file. Currently set at 1524-3048.

 

Do the above settings seem to be ok?

 

 

 

2)Network Congiguration. In the properties for File and Print Sharing. Server Optimization is set to: Maximize data throughput for network applications. Is this the correct setting here?

 

 

 

Well I am off to do more reading in these forums, and some more 2003 tutorials. Learn, learn, learn, it is my second favorite hobby. Next to actually playing the game itself

 

 

 

G3mInI

[pauluk]

to add a game server the easy way go to your admin section click on system settings then supported games see the import button at the bottom click that then you can upload a config you can use the one ive attached

 

then it will add it auto then you will need to go to plugin manager then Game Server Compatibility then in the drop down box select the game

 

 

 

for the 2 q's

 

 

 

Two quick Windows Server 2003 questions.

 

 

 

1) The advance tab in performance options. I have the following checked...

 

Adjust for the best performance of: Programs. It was on background services.

 

Memory Usage. Adjust for the best performance of: Programs. It was on system cache.

 

Paging file. Currently set at 1524-3048.

 

Do the above settings seem to be ok?

 

 

 

i usually set that to background services

 

 

 

2)Network Congiguration. In the properties for File and Print Sharing. Server Optimization is set to: Maximize data throughput for network applications. Is this the correct setting here?

 

 

 

would of thought thats ok

 

 

 

i use win 2003 web and i find idont have to tweek anything

 

running game servers on a Dual Xeon 3.06Ghz 2Gb Ram with x2 80Gb S-ATA HDD

 

 

 

maybe it is the box have you run a diagnoistic on it yet ?

 

to see if it actually has what they say you have on it ?

 

 

 

but if you have still having trouble try diff host try the usa guys at the top there "Defcon Servers"

 

 

 

im sure you will get the bottom of it

 

 

 

 

[pauluk]

helps if i attach the config

mohaa.txt