What OS should I use for a 24/7 home-hosted server? - Help

What operating system should I use to host a 24/7 home-hosted Garry's Mod server? I asked a friend what OS was better for server hosting and he said FreeNas. But he isn't sure if it's good for game server hosting. After a quick search on google, some people recommend to use Debian and others say that windows server 2003 would do the job. So I'm asking you guys. What is the best OS for a Garry's Mod server?

If it's a home hosted then your upload speed is throttled by your net provider, rather harshly i might add considering the pitiful upload speeds we get in the united states. If you aren't in the U.S. then you're not limited to this, anyways FreeNAS is FreeBSD based and that's a pain in the ass trying to get Garry's Mod working on. Might be easier to use Ubuntu 10/11 or any version of Windows you might have on hand. If you know nothing of Linux you can either try learning or just go with the Windows route.

[QUOTE=Tessius;35516970]If it's a home hosted then your upload speed is throttled by your net provider, rather harshly i might add considering the pitiful upload speeds we get in the united states. If you aren't in the U.S. then you're not limited to this, anyways FreeNAS is FreeBSD based and that's a pain in the ass trying to get Garry's Mod working on. Might be easier to use Ubuntu 10/11 or any version of Windows you might have on hand. If you know nothing of Linux you can either try learning or just go with the Windows route.[/QUOTE] What is better? Ubuntu or Windows? Doesn't it matter if I use windows 7 rather than Windows Server 2003/2008? Doesn't Windows server have any advantages as in server hosting? Thanks.

For Garry's Mod use a Windows Server (both 2003 and 2008 work) Windows 7 will work fine though.

Windows 7 is fine, just configure your router and firewall properly. Linux works just as well, but it requires more work considering you have to replace a few files to get it working.

Long as you use Windows 7 properly you'll be fine. If you have a spare W2008 R2 license then use that, otherwise W7. Running W2008 R2 without important security updates soon as there out would be silly.

Ok, thanks everyone. It's just that I thought I had seen some time ago that linux-based servers were more crash-proof.

[QUOTE=dj_night;35522876]Ok, thanks everyone. It's just that I thought I had seen some time ago that linux-based servers were more crash-proof.[/QUOTE] Yep, but there less Garry Proof.

[QUOTE=Pantho;35522949]Yep, but there less Garry Proof.[/QUOTE] I've been asking around, and the thing is I forgot to mention here that the system I'll be using to host the server only has 1 GB of RAM. And a lot of people say Windows server needs more resources than Linux-based systems.. And I saw you posting on another thread that When there is a Source or Garry's Mod update that it can cause downtime. I'm thinking of a small server max 6 slots (If my 1GB RAM allow me to). So, is a Linux-based system worth the trouble or should I go with Windows Server 2008 R2 even only having 1GB of RAM?

Long as you can manage your processes well 1GB of ram is fine on windows box for 1 srcds, but why would you only be running 1 on a dedicated machine? 1GB of ram sounds like some crappy VPS

[QUOTE=Pantho;35529586]Long as you can manage your processes well 1GB of ram is fine on windows box for 1 srcds, but why would you only be running 1 on a dedicated machine? 1GB of ram sounds like some crappy VPS[/QUOTE] It's not a server, it's a desktop PC I have from 4 or 5 years ago that I don't use.. Edit: My current desktop has a 900W power supply and that old desktop has a 375W power supply.. I used to run a server on the desktop I use but it comes too expensive in the electricity bill so I remembered of that old desktop which has a way lower power supply to host a server 24/7. Edit2: It's more of a server for me and some buddies to play in, or if they want to play when I'm not on. It's not some serious server management or profit-making.

[QUOTE=Pantho;35522864]Long as you use Windows 7 properly you'll be fine. If you have a spare W2008 R2 license then use that, otherwise W7. Running W2008 R2 without important security updates soon as there out would be silly.[/QUOTE] Why would you recommend a monsterous and resource destroying OS for a simple SRCDS server? Having to dedicate 20+ GB of drive space and over 1 GB of RAM *JUST* for the OS is ridiculous. Windows XP/2003 is light on resources and works fine as a SRCDS server, especially with limited RAM. Also a Linux distro with a lightweight DE like LXDE or XFCE would be fine for a Gmod server, if he lacked a Windows XP license. Though people are throwing up machines on craigslist and in thrift stores for dirt cheap that have XP stickers on them for like $20 or less, I got a pile of them. [QUOTE=dj_night;35529936]Edit: My current desktop has a 900W power supply and that old desktop has a 375W power supply.. I used to run a server on the desktop I use but it comes too expensive in the electricity bill so I remembered of that old desktop which has a way lower power supply to host a server 24/7.[/QUOTE] Just because a PC has a 900W PSU, doesn't mean it draws that load 24/7. Modern machines have excellent power saving features, and usually draw less power than a 60W light bulb when idle. If your older machine is a Pentium 4, then it would pull far more power than your current desktop does idle, and produce ten times the heat at all times.

[QUOTE=bohb;35537613]Why would you recommend a monsterous and resource destroying OS for a simple SRCDS server? Having to dedicate 20+ GB of drive space and over 1 GB of RAM *JUST* for the OS is ridiculous. Windows XP/2003 is light on resources and works fine as a SRCDS server, especially with limited RAM. Also a Linux distro with a lightweight DE like LXDE or XFCE would be fine for a Gmod server, if he lacked a Windows XP license. Though people are throwing up machines on craigslist and in thrift stores for dirt cheap that have XP stickers on them for like $20 or less, I got a pile of them. Just because a PC has a 900W PSU, doesn't mean it draws that load 24/7. Modern machines have excellent power saving features, and usually draw less power than a 60W light bulb when idle. If your older machine is a Pentium 4, then it would pull far more power than your current desktop does idle, and produce ten times the heat at all times.[/QUOTE] It's a Pentium Dual Core at 3.4 Ghz.

[QUOTE=sam6420;35540848]You won't be able to get garrysmod working on a linux based server. It's possible. But you won't be able to. It's a pain in the ass and for a home based server go with windows.[/QUOTE] There is a way to get it to work. If your using Ubuntu Server Edition, download and install Wine from the software downloads center. That will allow you to run .exe files and other Windows based programs off of Ubuntu. So yes, you can get a G-Mod server running off of Ubuntu, which would be the best OS to run a server.

Like I said before it's a Pentium Dual-Core at 3.4 Ghz, and the motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-EP31-DS3L which has Gigabyte's Dynamic Energy Saver technology. Does the Pentium Dual-Core also suck up a lot of power and heat above normal or only Pentium 4 and earlier? [editline]12th April 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=ITND;35541883]There is a way to get it to work. If your using Ubuntu Server Edition, download and install Wine from the software downloads center. That will allow you to run .exe files and other Windows based programs off of Ubuntu. So yes, you can get a G-Mod server running off of Ubuntu, which would be the best OS to run a server.[/QUOTE] If I go with Ubuntu, I guess this is all I need? [url]http://www.srcds.com/db/engine.php?subaction=showfull&id=1098643920&archive=[/url]

If you're gonna use Linux, use Debian 6. It is far more stable, and much faster. In order to use it properly, I reccomend using either a JFS or a NTFS partition, as ext2/ext3/ext4 is case-sensitive. If you can't use Debian, get Ubuntu server and strip it using aptitude. If yoy don't have much console experience, you probably won't be able to use Ubuntu Server very well, so use Debian with a light DE. [editline]13th April 2012[/editline] Also, if you use a JFS partition the guide you linked to will be a bit not-working; screen doesn't like JFS.

Do not use fucking Wine for a gmod server. I don't care how many people tell you that Windows sucks, if it's supposed to be ran in windows and your running a server just for this then run it in windows. There is NO reason at all to fuck around with overly complex and unstable systems just to end up emulating windows when you could just install windows. /rage

I don't see the problem with wine. I know the source engine had problems with wine a few years ago but right now my GMod server has been running fine on wine for days. Next to that, wine isn't complicated at all. All you have to do is run 'apt-get install wine' (assuming you use a debian based distro) and then to start your server use 'wine srcds.exe -console -game garrysmod -otherparameters'. Then maybe it will complain about missing the Support.dll file, so you copy that file over from your steam install and put that in a folder called 'Support' next to your orangebox folder. And yeah it will have a little less performance than running it natively, but you have to because of valve being terrible at keeping their code working on multiple platforms. However, windows uses around 1GB of ram being idle, while my debian + xfce desktop use around 100MB. Lets also not forget these daily DDoS attacks that windows is simply incapable of blocking and which are handled flawlessly by iptables.

[QUOTE=maurits150;35551965]I don't see the problem with wine. I know the source engine had problems with wine a few years ago but right now my GMod server has been running fine on wine for days. Next to that, wine isn't complicated at all. All you have to do is run 'apt-get install wine' (assuming you use a debian based distro) and then to start your server use 'wine srcds.exe -console -game garrysmod -otherparameters'. Then maybe it will complain about missing the Support.dll file, so you copy that file over from your steam install and put that in a folder called 'Support' next to your orangebox folder. And yeah it will have a little less performance than running it natively, but you have to because of valve being terrible at keeping their code working on multiple platforms. However, windows uses around 1GB of ram being idle, while my debian + xfce desktop use around 100MB. Lets also not forget these daily DDoS attacks that windows is simply incapable of blocking and which are handled flawlessly by iptables.[/QUOTE] Ram isn't really an issue these days. Also W2003, or W2008 R2, does not take 1gb of ram when idle. He's hosting it at home anyway, his lines going to be saturated by any hits. I just don't see why you would go through all that, if he's just wanting the server for garrysmod then just use windows.

I should go for Ubuntu, it runs for long times without any problems. Also the RAM usage is much lower as that from Windows.

From what I've seen here I think I'm going with Windows. I also have a technical problem but that I shall post in another category since it's not a Garry's Mod problem.

[QUOTE=dj_night;35542733]Like I said before it's a Pentium Dual-Core at 3.4 Ghz, and the motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-EP31-DS3L which has Gigabyte's Dynamic Energy Saver technology. Does the Pentium Dual-Core also suck up a lot of power and heat above normal or only Pentium 4 and earlier? [editline]12th April 2012[/editline] If I go with Ubuntu, I guess this is all I need? [url]http://www.srcds.com/db/engine.php?subaction=showfull&id=1098643920&archive=[/url][/QUOTE] A Pentium DC is based on the Wolfdale architecture, it isn't that power hungry. It will at most pull 65W under a nominal full load.