[Ren3gade]

I am looking to start up a big Zombie Escape server. It will probably be 50 slots. Possible anywhere between 50-64. I want to be able to run the ZM Mod, Sourcemod, Sourcemod Anti Cheat, add some extra zombie skins, and be able to run all the big Zombie Escape maps. What do i need to have to be able to handle all this with no lag and smooth gameplay for everyone?

I currently have a VPD through NFOServers and it is this one..
Two full, dedicated HT CPU cores (Nehalem or better)
2048 MB of RAM
200 GB of RAID-protected storage
2000 GB of InterNAP bandwidth transfer
$39.99 a month.

Would this work? I would only be running the one ZE Server, no other servers or things.

or would this one work?
Two core: Good for 2-6 game servers or several large sites.
Two full, dedicated HT CPU cores (Nehalem or better)
2048 MB of RAM
200 GB of RAID-protected storage
2000 GB of InterNAP bandwidth transfer


or would a VPD from NFO even be good enough at all? Do i need a Dedicated Server? (Dedis are EXPENSIVE)

I am currently running Zombie Escape on my current $30 a month VPD from NFO, and it runs fine. But that is with only 2 players.

What should i do? What do i need to get? Where should i look? What would work?

Thanks for the help,
Ren3gade

[Juze]

I personally dislike NFOServers for some reason and usually run my own Linux boxes somewhere. Dedicated hosting isn't always very expensive when you consider something like OVH or Hetzner.de who do like 16GB servers for 50€ with i7 processors, but it's also pay for what you get (their network is not top grade) and you seem to be looking for an USA host.

Sure, a simple 1-2GB RAM will do if the hoster doesn't overload their servers (which is only possible with shared hosting and OpenVZ virtualization).

Make sure you'll have a good internet on it. 1Gbps connections are even better, since you're going to serve a lot of custom content for people at the same time.

Be sure the CPUs are at least i7, but preferrably Xeon, which is server qualified hardware. i7 is only desktop hardware. I really won't recommend running more than one gameserver per core you have, you also need to have a bit of spare for Linux and other processes.

One of my favourite hosters for a long time has been AllGamer for their VDS and dedicated servers, which are extremely powerful but also come with a price of $30/GB (most hosts do $15-20/GB). I've been currently using OVH and switching to Redstation (although had a motherboard failure with them and their support is known to be quite bad, plus 15-day before hand payment for next month policies etc).

If you really want to look at some known dedicated hosters, I can definetly recommend IOFlood (may need to ask a custom quote, they're mostly for server hosting companies). Never had an issue with them and never heard of anyone who would have had an issue with them. Other than that, your other choise is Linode, which is also quite expensive but very reliable. I've worked with multiple hosting companies and I know this. Check around WebHostingTalk if you want to learn more about servers.

But yeah, if you're going with virtualization (VPS or a VDS), go preferrably with Xen instead of OpenVZ. Remember, everything costs.

[Ren3gade]

Originally Posted by Juze I personally dislike NFOServers for some reason and usually run my own Linux boxes somewhere. Dedicated hosting isn't always very expensive when you consider something like OVH or Hetzner.de who do like 16GB servers for 50€ with i7 processors, but it's also pay for what you get (their network is not top grade) and you seem to be looking for an USA host. Sure, a simple 1-2GB RAM will do if the hoster doesn't overload their servers (which is only possible with shared hosting and OpenVZ virtualization). Make sure you'll have a good internet on it. 1Gbps connections are even better, since you're going to serve a lot of custom content for people at the same time. Be sure the CPUs are at least i7, but preferrably Xeon, which is server qualified hardware. i7 is only desktop hardware. I really won't recommend running more than one gameserver per core you have, you also need to have a bit of spare for Linux and other processes. One of my favourite hosters for a long time has been AllGamer for their VDS and dedicated servers, which are extremely powerful but also come with a price of $30/GB (most hosts do $15-20/GB). I've been currently using OVH and switching to Redstation (although had a motherboard failure with them and their support is known to be quite bad, plus 15-day before hand payment for next month policies etc). If you really want to look at some known dedicated hosters, I can definetly recommend IOFlood (may need to ask a custom quote, they're mostly for server hosting companies). Never had an issue with them and never heard of anyone who would have had an issue with them. Other than that, your other choise is Linode, which is also quite expensive but very reliable. I've worked with multiple hosting companies and I know this. Check around WebHostingTalk if you want to learn more about servers. But yeah, if you're going with virtualization (VPS or a VDS), go preferrably with Xen instead of OpenVZ. Remember, everything costs.

Thank you very much for this response. This is perfect!