newbie: several server setup questions

RhinoDude · #1 10-15-2008, 01:29 PM

Hi there,

I'm new to EQ Emu and am thinking of starting up a private invitation-only role-playing server. I have two general areas of concern where I don't quite understand how to proceed just yet.

First, the idea is I want to dole out logons and passwords to friends, family, etc. I do not want to have them register or provide a public registration (at least not up front). I don't want to go by IP as some of them have dynamic IP's which change, so it really has to be handled by ID's and not by IP. On the other hand, I still want them to be able to create their own characters. Is there a way to do this with MiniLogon?

Second, what is the recommended hardware (cpu's, memory, etc.) for running a full server under light load? There will only be 6 to 8 players on at a time, and most will be in one or two zones. On the other hand, I don't want to have to deal with starting and stopping zones automatically. I want everything to just work and to present a very close to Live experience with slightly tweaked (maybe 25% faster) level ups. I want to run everything on one box if possible.

Alternatively, I have a AMD quad-core 2.5ghz w/ 16gb ram running Vista 64. If I decide to make this available publicially, I assume I will saturate my RoadRunner Turbo connection before I put too much load on the server? I get 13mbps down and 1mbps up. Clearly the upstream will be limiting factor. How many clients can I realistically support with 1mbps?

IIRC, EQ uses mostly UDP, right? I don't even know if TWC monitors UDP traffic, so would they even know if I was running a server and started using 500kbps+ up consistently?

Finally, based on my reading it sounds like PEQ database is where I want to start, right?

Thanks for any info...

- Rhino

leslamarch · #2 10-15-2008, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RhinoDude

Hi there,

I'm new to EQ Emu and am thinking of starting up a private invitation-only role-playing server. I have two general areas of concern where I don't quite understand how to proceed just yet.

First, the idea is I want to dole out logons and passwords to friends, family, etc. I do not want to have them register or provide a public registration (at least not up front). I don't want to go by IP as some of them have dynamic IP's which change, so it really has to be handled by ID's and not by IP. On the other hand, I still want them to be able to create their own characters. Is there a way to do this with MiniLogon?

I can answer your first question easy enough, if you read this thread then scroll down to post 11.

This method still uses their IP address but it will be updated when they log into Aerewen's PHP IPFixer, so it will not matter if their IP changes. This will prolly be about the closest things that matches your needs.

Hope this helps some
~LL~

RhinoDude · #3 10-15-2008, 02:31 PM

Ah ok, cool I was thinking I could build something exactly like that if I had to. Nice to see that somebody else has already done the dirty work.

- Rhino

**trevius** · #4 10-15-2008, 04:15 PM

For your private server, just about anything will work for less than 10 players. I recommend 512MB+ RAM, but 1GB is definitely more than enough. CPU doesn't really matter as long as it is faster than 1Ghz for that many players. It would probably even work with a slower CPU than that lol.

And yes, your Quad Core would be more than enough to handle running a public server. I have yet to break 2GB RAM usage (Linux Server) even with 120+ players on. You are correct in thinking that your upload speed would be saturated far before your server PC hardware ever got close to being a limitation factor. With 1Mb down, I have had over 120 players on my server before the upload finally wouldn't let anyone else connect. But, I wouldn't recommend more than 80 to 100 players for 1Mb upload or they will start to see degrading performance and lag will rise quickly.

As for your ISP monitoring traffic, that shouldn't be an issue at all. The worst thing they could possibly do would be to cancel your service. But, I have never heard of ISPs actually taking any action what-so-ever against someone running any type of (legal) server from home.

Ya, the PEQ database is almost certainly what you want to start with.

RhinoDude · #5 10-17-2008, 04:17 PM

Thanks Trevius, that is very helpful.

My EQ Titanium copies came in the mail today. Yeah, I know I could have torrent'd them, but I picked up a pile of them for $4 each, and plan on giving them out to friends / family for x-mas. Hopefully I'll have the server up and running by then!

- Rhino

Andrew80k · #6 10-17-2008, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RhinoDude

Thanks Trevius, that is very helpful.

My EQ Titanium copies came in the mail today. Yeah, I know I could have torrent'd them, but I picked up a pile of them for $4 each, and plan on giving them out to friends / family for x-mas. Hopefully I'll have the server up and running by then!

- Rhino

The emu has been proven not to work on the torrented versions. And those are considered illegal copies and are not supported, so you did the right thing.