What does it take to run your own server?

[Jonathan5]

Hey all, I'm new at this and I was wondering what does it take to run your own server?

-Is there something you can download that comes with everything you need?
-How do you host a server?
-Dedicated from your own home, or through a server company?
-Sorry that I'm such an ignorant, adolescent tard!

I'll be greatful if I don't get flammed to much and actually get some decent advice to head me in the right direction. I'll proably be way off and need to know code of some sort. But whatever, thanks again.

[devn00b]

Hey all, I'm new at this and I was wondering what does it take to run your own server?

-Is there something you can download that comes with everything you need?


Not really no.


-How do you host a server?

I would look at the wiki it has this information.

-Dedicated from your own home, or through a server company?

This all depends on how many people you want on your server, how good your home connection is, how good your home pc is vs that of a dedicated setup.

-Sorry that I'm such an ignorant, adolescent tard!

You better be

[Jonathan5]

Haha, thanks.

[uncommon]

Well there's the cavedude's server pack that come with server binaries and a DB ( http://eqemu.sesmar.net/ ) just have to install mysql&perl i guess.

But i suggest you install everything yourself as the server pack come with older binaries and DB.

Follow this : http://www.eqemulator.net/wiki/wikka.php?wakka=ws992mysql5

edit : typos..

[Jonathan5]

Thanks a lot, looks a little more complicated than I thought it would be.

[John Adams]

I keep seeing this asked more and more... maybe I'll offer my Repack I've created for testing locally. I've hesitated because of the onslaught of tweaker questions it'll likely inspire. ;)

[Jonathan5]

Do it, do it!

[devn00b]

I keep seeing this asked more and more... maybe I'll offer my Repack I've created for testing locally. I've hesitated because of the onslaught of tweaker questions it'll likely inspire. ;)

The problem is, and the main reason we never did it back in the day was, if you cant figure out how to get it running, you really should not be running it. Your going to get bombed with every newb question x 1000.

Also used to be a rule, you make somthing like that YOU support it. =P

[Jonathan5]

I hear what your saying looks like I'm way in over my head seeing how I have no programing knowledge at all... and I seem quite clueless on how to run this stuff at all. I was just like a lot of other people on here, had that old craving for the good days of EQ that PvP and all that stuff. The most I could do is donate money to keep a server going or something like that. I don't know... thanks for the info though.

[devn00b]

I'm not trying to discourage you, i'm just saying that trying to get it working is 1/2 the learning experience and will help you know how to fix problems as they arise...that said, you need no programming experience, and is rather easy to do if you follow the directions

[techguy84]

The problem is, and the main reason we never did it back in the day was, if you cant figure out how to get it running, you really should not be running it. Your going to get bombed with every newb question x 1000.

Also used to be a rule, you make somthing like that YOU support it. =P

Fully agree with you there devn00b. I put up my wiki guide in hopes to help people out with some of the new components and my PM inbox went to the crapper. Id get about 4 or 5 support questions a day roughly when I just had the wiki guide. Since I put the PDF up with some of those screenines, I still get 4-5 questions aday, but they are mostly for things that are for outside the guide. I like helping people so I am okay with it, but If your not in the habit of answering questions right and left, it may not be the best thing to put out something that can allow people to point to you.

John, although I like the idea of a package for easy setup, like dev said, it will remove alot of the inner details that most people go through and in turn, when something dont work, they will have no idea where to start. Seeing questions like

"My login dont work and all the post talk about this XML file. Where is that at?"

Will get very aggetating after awhile. Its best to set it up peice by peice because it will vary between not only systems, but people as well. Similar to why you can hardly ever find pre-compile binaries for your linux distro from the makers. You have to make it by source because of the million varibles out there that could cause a issue. The best feature of doing it piece by piece is that people will have a greater knowledge of what all is going on. They will know what zone and world are. They will know how connections are made and what ports are being used.

I dont want to deter anybody, but its from my exp with the guide I wrote, and how I could possibly function if I knew squat about whatever I just installed.

The best part about a guide and not a package though is that if things get updated, the guide can still for the most part function as a base to setup a new server. If you do not update your package, it goes the way cave's did and just gets older adn older and older.

[John Adams]

Also used to be a rule, you make somthing like that YOU support it. =P
Precisely why I haven't made it publicly available. My work schedule is far too hectic to be supporting a no-brainer emu repack. ;)

As to your other comment, I agree, but"If you can't set it up, you shouldn't be running it" is a little harsh. This doesn't need to be rocket science, and if someone only plans to run a server localhost, it really should be as simple as possible.

You must have noticed the flood of the "single brain celled MMO player" that WoW-like games has unleashed on the world. More and more players do not care to think for themselves and will either require chronic hand holding, or someone to just do it for them (remember the clown here a while back who offered to take your money to set you up an EQEmu server? yeah.)


@Techguy
"My login dont work and all the post talk about this XML file. Where is that at?"
The whole point of these "repacks" is that they run, 100%, out of the box. Minimal config, and that's usually just to the client to set the Host or shortcut. So theoretically, there will be no "I cannot login" issues (i know that was just one example) if no one knew about the XML and screwed with it. I agree that learning the inner workings of the Emulator are important, but seriously - only important to those of us who care. Many do not. They just want to download it, run it, log in, play, fine'. And Cavedude's server pack does that just fine.

My "repack" was created for 2 purposes. 1) I blow away my machines routinely because of my RL job, so I hate having to reset everything up, and 2) I liked the WoW Repack concept to have site, news, account management, and forums be all inclusive. Granted, no localhost user will ever need all that, but - it's what I do. I love webdev.

Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. ;)

[John Adams]

Similar to why you can hardly ever find pre-compile binaries for your linux distro from the makers. You have to make it by source because of the million varibles out there that could cause a issue.
Actually, Windows having binaries vs Linux not has nothing to do with a learning curve. There's 1 Windows. There's a bajillion *NIX. So on this point, I disagree.

[uncommon]

I liked the WoW Repack concept to have site, news, account management, and forums be all inclusive. Granted, no localhost user will ever need all that, but - it's what I do. I love webdev.

Yeah i liked that kind of concept too, seeing something like that with eqemu would be cool but i can see why it's not happening, as others said, it's best to set-up everything yourself just so you learn a bit how all this work and at least have you will have a clue of what to do when you run into a problem instead of just coming to the boards to make another omfgit'snotworkingwtf thread..

[sfisque]

on the repack concept, i'd say its a good idea, if it were packaged as a "try it out and see if you like it" kind of product. make it "shrink wrap" for a mini-login solo box setup, with the clearly stated, "this is not directly supported, try it out and see if you like it".

then if they want to go the nine-yards for a lan/public server, we tell them to RTFM kplzthx!!111one... heh heh.

== sfisque

[techguy84]

Actually, Windows having binaries vs Linux not has nothing to do with a learning curve. There's 1 Windows. There's a bajillion *NIX. So on this point, I disagree.

What I meant was that there was several different variations of a person computer set up. Some may have a boat load of firewalls, some may have Mysql 4.0 and not 5, some may be running on dial-up versus some that are on VPN's. Can your program work around these issues. I am all for a nice server pack as that would make downloading simpler, but I know that I tried cavedudes pack and I failed 4-5 times out and that 5th time was when I was using a wiki guide in conjunction so I had a greater understanding of what was going on behind the scenes.

[John Adams]

on the repack concept, i'd say its a good idea, if it were packaged as a "try it out and see if you like it" kind of product. make it "shrink wrap" for a mini-login solo box setup, with the clearly stated, "this is not directly supported, try it out and see if you like it".

then if they want to go the nine-yards for a lan/public server, we tell them to RTFM kplzthx!!111one... heh heh.

== sfisque
That is precisely what I have - minus the web interface. I might post a link after this hellish project at work is completed in a few weeks. Or, someone else can take the reigns and do it.

My idea was to actually make a "template" out of it, where you can drop in your own database, quests, and etc... and put your own name on it, pack it up, and be famous.

;)

[Jonathan5]

I like where this is going.