I've posted this in the past but over time i've gotten mixed answer from time to time. So i wanted to repost this and see if more people comment.
Which method would result in a faster download/join time? Workshop DL or Fast DL
I heard that Fast Dl makes more separate connections to open and close each individual file meanwhile workshop DL only has one connect that open and closes since its .GMA
It varies. If you plan on adding addons through your workshop collection, the only way you'd be able to have users download the content with-out extracting through Gmad, and adding the content to your FastDL would be the "resources.AddWorkshop("")". But, you would use FastDL or "AddFile" if you put weapons, addons, any type of content in your server if want users to DL that. Overall, FastDL is faster. If you can use that, do so.
WorkshopDL is generally slower since it relies on a seperate set of workshop servers other than the standard regional download servers. Although it may be faster for some people depending on their location, FastDL is generally quicker if you have a streamlined webhost.
There are pros and cons for both, I don't believe it's a simple "A is better than B".
You need to figure out your requirements and use whichever suits you best.. or use both depending on needs.
Workshop:
+ Faster for lots of small files in a single gma
+ Easier to update existing content without having to rename
+ Easier to configure
+ Doesn't need a web server
- Content will be downloaded again even if the client has subscribed to the workshop item (only once)
- Can be slower depending on region
- Can be slower if you don't have many files, but have many gmas
- Steam servers can break, causing your downloads to not work
- The whole gma is re-downloaded if a single file changes inside it
FastDL:
+ Very fast for smalller number of files with large sizes
+ Full control of content and download location(s)
+ Files are only downloaded if the client is missing them
+ Doesn't rely on Steam servers
- Updated files will need a new name
- Tricky to configure for the first time
- Requires web server
- Very slow if you have *lots* of small files
File download sizes are very similar for both, so that's not going to be an issue.
That's all I can think of right now.
I mainly use workshop, I have FastDL set up, but only use it to test small numbers of files at a time, before they are merged with a workshop item pack.
[QUOTE=Blasteh;47988508]There are pros and cons for both, I don't believe it's a simple "A is better than B".
You need to figure out your requirements and use whichever suits you best.. or use both depending on needs.
Workshop:
+ Faster for lots of small files in a single gma
+ Easier to update existing content without having to rename
+ Easier to configure
+ Doesn't need a web server
- Content will be downloaded again even if the client has subscribed to the workshop item (only once)
- Can be slower depending on region
- Can be slower if you don't have many files, but have many gmas
- Steam servers can break, causing your downloads to not work
- The whole gma is re-downloaded if a single file changes inside it
FastDL:
+ Very fast for smalller number of files with large sizes
+ Full control of content and download location(s)
+ Files are only downloaded if the client is missing them
+ Doesn't rely on Steam servers
- Updated files will need a new name
- Tricky to configure for the first time
- Requires web server
- Very slow if you have *lots* of small files
File download sizes are very similar for both, so that's not going to be an issue.
That's all I can think of right now.
I mainly use workshop, I have FastDL set up, but only use it to test small numbers of files at a time, before they are merged with a workshop item pack.[/QUOTE]
Lets forget about the miniature files such as hud materials or motd materials.
So lets say i have a car pack, around 200MB. Almost the same as a m9k weapon pack.
It contains both small file sizes and large file sizes but has tons of tiny separate file.
If i use fastdl, would it the be faster? Or would .gma take advantage of this?
And yes i will be using both fastdl and workshop. Fastdl for the small files that are from addons such as ttt weapon vgui or motd materials.
But if i were to put all of the files that im using from workshop, such as the carpack and unpack them into folders and use fastdl, what would happen?
Would it be generally slower than workshop dl because fastdl like you stated will be slow for tons of tiny files
You would probably have to test it yourself, it's not really an exact science, and geography matters as well.. because steam servers are more heavily loaded in some regions.
My example would be about 250-300 mp3 files and a bunch of small models that saved about 2-3 minutes download time switching from FastDL to 2 workshop gmas.
If the files are large ( >10MB ) and unlikely to ever change/update, probably best to stick them on FastDL, then bundle the smaller files in to a gma.
Hey.
Generally, and I'm only speaking from my experience at the moment, Workshop is faster for larger content.
We currently use a mixture of FastDL and WorkshopDL.
WorkshopDL is generally great for the car packs as ( I may be wrong here ) the WorkshopDL compresses and decompresses the files, as where FastDL does not.
Another note is that if you're going to use the point that "- Can be slower depending on region" against workshop please also note the exact same issue exists with your server.
We have a dedicated 1GBPS port, and honestly it just doesn't output the capacity steam servers do, especially if its someone from another country joining.
ADHD Version; there is no "best", there are two different methods which are each good at what the other method isn't so good at, so mix them to optimize a best a download time you can.
And for Christ sake, don't do what most servers do and get the users to download all the addons!!!!
They only need addons with materials and shit, not Lua based addons using per-existnent HL2 assets, as the Lua is already sent by the server anyway.
Regards,
Snow
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