• Looking to host a SrcDs from home, cheap linux server?
    24 replies, posted
Hey facepunch! I would like to host a srcds from home, I was intending on using my old pc, but the PSU on that is semi dead and will probably burn my house down. I am looking for a cheap computer that I can use as a server... only problem is I don't know how to Linux nor do I know what computer(/server?) to buy. Do you guys have any advice or maybe some links to guides that'll get me started? Thanks!
You should mention what exactly you're planning to do with the server. How many game servers to host? What games, how many slots each? Do you also want to run other things like a web and/or voice server? In any case, if you just want to run srcds there's no reason to use Linux, it works perfectly fine on Windows. Of course a Windows license is gonna cost you, but IMO that's totally worth it for not having to learn how to use Linux.
[QUOTE=DrTaxi;47692448]You should mention what exactly you're planning to do with the server. How many game servers to host? What games, how many slots each? Do you also want to run other things like a web and/or voice server? In any case, if you just want to run srcds there's no reason to use Linux, it works perfectly fine on Windows. Of course a Windows license is gonna cost you, but IMO that's totally worth it for not having to learn how to use Linux.[/QUOTE] Then again, learning linux is a valuable skill.
[QUOTE=Satane;47692517]old dell desktops are good for servers too. They are silent so you can put them in a corner and forget about them. If you're willing to buy off ebay you can get proper server racks pretty cheap as well. 3-4 year old xeon servers are only like 200-300 and they're still pretty good.[/QUOTE] Old purpose-built servers, while great for running srcds on, also draw a lot of power, generate a lot of heat, and have pretty loud fans. [QUOTE=DanTehMan;47692464]Then again, learning linux is a valuable skill.[/QUOTE] If you actually have a use for it. Interested in learning Linux? Want to [I]rent[/I] a dedicated server/VPS and not keep paying extra for Windows every month? Want to run more advanced things than running a single game server for your friends, and appreciate the convenience a command-line interface with a rich scripting environment etc. may give you for that over the way you'd do it in Windows? Want to work in the field? Then sure, use Linux. But if you just want a box to throw your gameserver for yourself and a few friends on, and you're not actually interested in Linux, but just don't wanna pay for a Windows license? Then it's gonna be an annoying waste of time.
[QUOTE=DrTaxi;47692941]Old purpose-built servers, while great for running srcds on, also draw a lot of power, generate a lot of heat, and have pretty loud fans. If you actually have a use for it. Interested in learning Linux? Want to [I]rent[/I] a dedicated server/VPS and not keep paying extra for Windows every month? Want to run more advanced things than running a single game server for your friends, and appreciate the convenience a command-line interface with a rich scripting environment etc. may give you for that over the way you'd do it in Windows? Want to work in the field? Then sure, use Linux. But if you just want a box to throw your gameserver for yourself and a few friends on, and you're not actually interested in Linux, but just don't wanna pay for a Windows license? Then it's gonna be an annoying waste of time.[/QUOTE] Learning something new is never a waste of time. I have found that everything related to game servers is very well documented, even on rarer platforms such as *BSD. The Valve dev wiki has a lot of information about running most Source games on a Linux server.
Dont forget you will need to take into account your upload / download speed and a few other things. Some ISP's forbid hosting servers (Check your ToS), do you have a static IP address? If not your could have an IP change and the server wont resolve in Favorites, Ready to get DDoS'd for banning a kid spamming crates? If its for testing code / deving then should be fine, but if you plan to build a community around it I would highly advise against self hosting for the above reasons
If you're hosting just one server go to vultr or ramnode and go the VPS route. Managing a server computer at home isn't worth it. And you can do it for like $5.00 a month. I host one of my old CSS Zombie Riot Servers on a vultr vps and it has 700mb of ram and runs just fine with 20+ bots plus 10 human players.
[QUOTE=DrTaxi;47692448]You should mention what exactly you're planning to do with the server. How many game servers to host? What games, how many slots each? Do you also want to run other things like a web and/or voice server? In any case, if you just want to run srcds there's no reason to use Linux, it works perfectly fine on Windows. Of course a Windows license is gonna cost you, but IMO that's totally worth it for not having to learn how to use Linux.[/QUOTE] I'm thinking of hosting 16-24 slots, 16 gmod and 24 TF2 and then switch between them. I haven't I would like to use Linux cus I need a reason to learn Linux and like you said, gonna have to buy a licence. [QUOTE=lordofdafood;47693248]Dont forget you will need to take into account your upload / download speed and a few other things. Some ISP's forbid hosting servers (Check your ToS), do you have a static IP address? If not your could have an IP change and the server wont resolve in Favorites, Ready to get DDoS'd for banning a kid spamming crates? If its for testing code / deving then should be fine, but if you plan to build a community around it I would highly advise against self hosting for the above reasons[/QUOTE] I have 1 meg upload, not ideal, but I know I can manage it as I hosted a few NMRiH servers a while back on my old PC, but that PC died, so I need a new one. Becasue of GGG BT I think I can actually request a static ip and I'm pretty sure they a chill with hosting servers. Thanks for all your replies!
1.02 mbps
[QUOTE=~Kiwi~v2;47695756]Yeah fat chance. Rent a server.[/QUOTE] Yeah I was thinking that might be the case. Buuut, I used to run a few NMRiH servers, I asked the people who were on them if they had a good connection to it and they said it was fine. I'll still get and run the server, so me and some friends can play test TF2 maps. Thanks for all the advice anyway!
[QUOTE=Lukeme9X;47696069]Yeah I was thinking that might be the case. Buuut, I used to run a few NMRiH servers, I asked the people who were on them if they had a good connection to it and they said it was fine. I'll still get and run the server, so me and some friends can play test TF2 maps. Thanks for all the advice anyway![/QUOTE] Would it not be a better idea just to setup a test server on your current PC to see when the network caps and becomes bottlenecked. As someone that's tried hosting on 0.9 megabits up before I remember it getting rather laggy after just a few players. EDIT: If you're desperate to use Windows and avoid Linux then you can still get relatively cheap Windows servers, ie, [url]https://hosthatch.com/[/url] starts at $5/mo
[QUOTE=Adzter;47696102]Would it not be a better idea just to setup a test server on your current PC to see when the network caps and becomes bottlenecked. As someone that's tried hosting on 0.9 megabits up before I remember it getting rather laggy after just a few players.[/QUOTE] I managed to resurect my old PC, so I'll test using that. [QUOTE=Adzter;47696102]EDIT: If you're desperate to use Windows and avoid Linux then you can still get relatively cheap Windows servers, ie, [url]https://hosthatch.com/[/url] starts at $5/mo[/QUOTE] Are linux servers cheaper? Cus I really dont mind using linux if it means being cheaper.
Windows is often (but not always) a few dollars per month extra, can't find any info on Windows pricing on HostHatch's site though.
[QUOTE=Lukeme9X;47696227]I managed to resurect my old PC, so I'll test using that. Are linux servers cheaper? Cus I really dont mind using linux if it means being cheaper.[/QUOTE] Generally Linux servers are generally cheaper and more efficient, since you typically run Linux in command line mode whereas Windows has the GUI which takes up a bunch of system resources. Meaning you'll probably have to have upwards of >1GB ram simply to run Windows itself. If you're okay with hosting using Linux I'd recommend: [url]https://vultr.com/[/url] [url]https://ramnode.com/[/url] [url]https://digitalocean.com/[/url] If you're a student you can get $100 worth of Digital Ocean credit for free through the Github student pack as well: [url]https://education.github.com/pack[/url]
[QUOTE=Adzter;47697203]Generally Linux servers are generally cheaper and more efficient, since you typically run Linux in command line mode whereas Windows has the GUI which takes up a bunch of system resources. Meaning you'll probably have to have upwards of >1GB ram simply to run Windows itself. If you're okay with hosting using Linux I'd recommend: [url]https://vultr.com/[/url] [url]https://ramnode.com/[/url] [url]https://digitalocean.com/[/url] If you're a student you can get $100 worth of Digital Ocean credit for free through the Github student pack as well: [url]https://education.github.com/pack[/url][/QUOTE] Wow, thanks! I am a student, soo... :D I'm still gonna keep my old PC as a TF2 server, so i can playtest maps n shit with my friends, but I am definitely gonna rent a server now!
If you wanted to you could also do VM's that you only bring up when you want to use them. That way you only have to pay when they are online. Most providers offer this type of pricing but azure and aws are the ones I know that explicitly know.
[QUOTE=Ybbat;47700084]If you wanted to you could also do VM's that you only bring up when you want to use them. That way you only have to pay when they are online. Most providers offer this type of pricing but azure and aws are the ones I know that explicitly know.[/QUOTE] Digital ocean, who he can get the $100 credit for, does hourly billing iirc.
When hosting from home I'd recommend Windows due to it's more native SRCDS implementation. When purchasing hosting, I'd recommend Linux do to it's foolproof architecture and lightweight attribute which equals more bang for your buck.
[QUOTE=Samg381;47706120]When hosting from home I'd recommend Windows due to it's more native SRCDS implementation. When purchasing hosting, I'd recommend Linux do to it's foolproof architecture and lightweight attribute which equals more bang for your buck.[/QUOTE] Solid advice! Thanks!
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