[TF2] Gaps in my net_graph 4 network graphic

pilger · **Author**

Hey guys,

I'm renting a service on a game host and i'm experiencing little "hiccups" on my server, while the players either freeze for a brief moment or "warp" to another position. These "hiccups" occour whenever the net_graph presents these huge peaks followed by brief gaps.

People experiencing these "hiccups" have no loss, low ping and the choke observed much likely comes from their PCs.

Here're several screenshots of the graphic quoted above taken in separated moments:
[IMG]http://img577.**************/img577/5238/ctfturbine0005.th.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img508.**************/img508/6663/plthundermountain0009.th.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img651.**************/img651/2429/plthundermountain0008.th.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img121.**************/img121/8406/plgoldrush0000z.th.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img856.**************/img856/9703/cpdustbowl0108.th.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img715.**************/img715/2519/ctfturbine0004.th.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img683.**************/img683/8317/ctfturbine0013j.th.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img291.**************/img291/1994/plhoodoofinal0011.th.jpg[/IMG] http://img683.**************/i/cpsteel0015.jpg/

Here's my PC configs:
Core2Quad 6600, nVidia 8800GT, 2GB RAM DDR2 800Mhz, 500Gb Primary HD (2 HDs merged in RAID 0). So i don't think this is the problem.

I've contacted the gamehost and the operator sent me these screenshots, prooving that our process isn't consuming much processing from the server's CPU (our server is the |||Bazzinga!||| one):
[IMG]http://img814.**************/img814/6783/imageet.th.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://img851.**************/img851/7184/image2wg.th.png[/IMG]

Here are our network settings on the server:

Code:

// Min bandwidth rate allowed on server, 0 == unlimited
sv_minrate 25000

// Max bandwidth rate allowed on server, 0 == unlimited
sv_maxrate 30000

// Minimum updates per second that the server will allow
sv_minupdaterate 33
sv_mincmdrate 33

// Maximum updates per second that the server will allow
sv_maxupdaterate 66
sv_maxcmdrate 66

// The region of the world to report this server in.
// -1 is the world, 0 is USA east coast, 1 is USA west coast
// 2 south america, 3 europe, 4 asia, 5 australia, 6 middle east, 7 africa
sv_region 2

Any ideas on the cause of these hiccups and gaps on the graphic?

Any help would be much apreciated.

Matheus28 · *Last edited by Matheus28; 03-06-2011 at 20:33.*

I noticed you have some errors in your logs, they probably aren't causing this, but it's always good to fix them.

Also, post your plugins list here. (Some non-threaded SQL calls may stop the server for some ms without showing a performance problem on the windows task manager)

pilger · *Last edited by pilger; 03-06-2011 at 21:38.*

Yeah. The errors were addressed (they were due to an array index on one of my plugins and a translation missing from tradechat and sourcebans).

Here is the list of the current plugins:

Quote:

[SM] Listing 29 plugins:
01 "Admin File Reader" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
02 "Admin Help" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
03 "Admin Menu" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
04 "Advertisements" (0.5.5) by Tsunami
05 "Anti-Flood" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
06 "Basic Chat" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
07 "Basic Comm Control" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
08 "Basic Commands" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
09 "Basic Info Triggers" (1.3.7-dev) by AlliedModders LLC
10 "Basic Votes" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
11 "BZG! Balance" (1.4.4.0) by Pilger
12 "BZG! Slots" (1.0.1) by Pilger (based on original Reserved Slots)
13 "BZG! Sound Control" (1.5.1) by Pilger
14 "Client Preferences" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
15 "Country Filter" (1.1.1) by Knagg0
16 "Dynamic Map Rotations" (1.7) by Pilger (former Ryan "FLOOR_MASTER" Mannion)
17 "Forlix FloodCheck" (1.7) by Forlix (Dominik Friedrichs)
18 "Fun Commands" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
19 "Fun Votes" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
20 "HLstatsX CE Ingame Plugin" (1.6.11) by psychonic
21 "Kigen's Anti-Cheat" (1.2.1.6) by CodingDirect LLC
22 "MapChooser" (1.3.7-dev) by AlliedModders LLC
23 "Map Nominations" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
24 "Player Commands" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
25 "Rock The Vote" (1.3.7-dev) by AlliedModders LLC
26 "Sound Commands" (1.3.6) by AlliedModders LLC
27 "SourceBans" (1.4.7) by InterWave Studios Development Team
28 "Trade Chat" (1.4) by Luki / Pilger / Kenny
29 "Web Shortcuts" (1.0.1) by James "sslice" Gray

pilger · 03-06-2011 , 22:59 Re: [TF2] Gaps in my net_graph 4 network graphic

Aparently the server is lagging when a player joins. Aparently. Does that give us any clue?

bluechester · 03-07-2011 , 01:53 Re: [TF2] Gaps in my net_graph 4 network graphic

Try disabling SourceBans and anything else that connects to a MYSQL database.

pilger · 03-07-2011 , 12:03 Re: [TF2] Gaps in my net_graph 4 network graphic

Alright. Could you give me a hand in pinpoint what there does?
I know the plugins i wrote doesn't. So it must be sourcebans plus something else.

pilger · *Last edited by pilger; 03-07-2011 at 19:11.*

Update:

I've removed metamod (and, consequently, sourcemod) completely and i'm still getting the hiccups. Here's a sample of the problem i'm experiencing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMmo8lgD-_I first @ 5~6 seconds, second @ 10~11 seconds, third @ 38~39 seconds, fourth @ 42~43 seconds and several other small ones scattered throughout the video (the disconnection at the end was me restarting the server and turning metamod and sourcemod back on)

1nsane · 03-08-2011 , 16:44 Re: [TF2] Gaps in my net_graph 4 network graphic

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilger

Update:

I've removed metamod (and, consequently, sourcemod) completely and i'm still getting the hiccups. Here's a sample of the problem i'm experiencing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMmo8lgD-_I first @ 5~6 seconds, second @ 10~11 seconds, third @ 38~39 seconds, fourth @ 42~43 seconds and several other small ones scattered throughout the video (the disconnection at the end was me restarting the server and turning metamod and sourcemod back on)

Do you know if the CPU your host uses is based on the Core 2 architecture?

If it is then ask your host if your SRCDS process is pinned to a core or if it's allowed to go on any other cores.

In some cases SRCDS can briefly pause when jumping from one CPU cache to another. That's because Core 2 Quad processors are 2 dual cores in a sandvich where 2 of the cores share 1 cache. So when Windows tries to load balance, problems might arise.

I had a very similar problem which I simply solved by limiting SRCDS processes to the cores that share the same cache.

If it's an AMD processor or a Nehalem (or newer) CPU from Intel then you can ignore what I wrote.

uncivil · 03-09-2011 , 08:31 Re: [TF2] Gaps in my net_graph 4 network graphic

How many slots are you running? Does this only happen when the server is full?

pilger · *Last edited by pilger; 03-09-2011 at 10:29.*

I'm trying to contact the host manager to see if we can pin the process to one core and test.

I'm running 28 slots, with a 2 reserved, so 30 is the maximum ammount of players. On the video there were 32 players due to sourcemod being disabled. And, yes. It only happens when the server starts to get full. I'd say, roughly, it happens when there are more than 16 players.