Dedicated server hardware

Tek7

Tek7

CGA President, Tribe of Judah Founder & President
Staff member
Well, we did it! We've raised just over $2000 USD for dedicated server hardware.

Now that we have the money for a dedicated server, the question is: What exactly are we going to buy? (And don't post a reply with, "A server, duh.")

This thread is dedicated to discussing all those technical questions that go into making hardware purchase decisions. Since it's taken nearly 4 years to raise these funds AND since these funds were donated by Tribe of Judah members, I want to make certain we spend them wisely.

So, let's get to it. How should we configure our dedicated server hardware? Who should we buy it from? And where should we have the server hosted?
 
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Yah! We did it! :D

I'd like to thank everyone who donated to help ToJ's goal.

Though, normally, someone else should say that. -_-

Now we can enjoy the great new times as most of us did in the good old times. ;)

So, let's get to it. How should we configure our dedicated server hardware? Who should we buy it from? And where should we have the server hosted?
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Could we try a vote?

For everyone, Middle part of US would work out evenly.

But everything else, I don't know.

Oh yeah, for games: most definitely, COUNTER-STRIKE! CS: Source would be nice too. But the rest is pretty much expected; L4D, CoD4, etc.
 
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use the same host the cga has their server in. I know of two other folks that have servers there..talon is racking his tomorrow and a client of mine also has one there. The 2k is for a dell for the requirements that have been bandied about which is handling the website(if wanted) and at least 2 game servers.
 
Here is what currently is available at dell for @ 2k:
PowerEdge SC1435
Quad Core AMD Opteron® 2376; 2.3 GHz,6M Cache,1Ghz HyperTransportedit2nd Processor
Quad Core AMD Opteron® 2376; 2.3 GHz,6M Cache,1Ghz HyperTransporteditMemory
8GB (4x2GB), 800MHz, Dual RankededitOperating System
No Operating SystemeditMultipack Operating System
NoneeditOperating System Additions
NoneeditO/S Partitions
NoneeditChassis Configuration
2-Post Rails for Non Dell RackeditPrimary Controller
Onboard SATA Controller - No RAIDeditHD Configuration
Onboard SATA, 2 Drives connected to Onboard SATA Controller - NO RAIDedit1st Hard Drive
250GB 7.2K RPM Serial ATA 3Gbps 3.5-in Cabled Hard Driveedit2nd Hard Drive
250GB 7.2K RPM SATA 3Gbps 3.5-in Cabled Hard DriveeditPower Cords
Power Cord, NEMA 5-15P to C13, 15 amp, wall plug, 10 feet / 3 metereditBezel
Bezel
Network Adapters
On-Board Dual Port Gigabit Network Adapter, No TOE

CD/DVD Drive
8X DVD-ROM

Hardware Support Services
3Yr Basic Hardware Warranty Repair: 5x10 HW-Only, 5x10 NBD Onsite

This does not include any deals or savings that can be found at the time of order. Prices and specifications are subject to change..sometimes daily.
 
I trust HCS as he keeps up to date on hardware a lot better then I and I know nothing about server specs.
 
I really can't offer any useful input in what server hardware to buy but I do have what custom files (configs etc.) needed to run our TF2 server backed up. So should you decide to run TF2 on it I'll be ready to help install.

I'd just take our time deciding on the proper hardware there is no rush :).
 
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the running of the individual gaming servers(tf2, css or whatever is done) is going to be delegated others..much like the operation of the cga ts server is delegated to STC95..:) Whatever gaming servers are operated is up to toj and it's leadership..:)
 
Hescominsoon said:
any movement on this? I would like to get the arrangements started with tek but not until he's comfortable..:)
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Hm, I was thinking there would be more conversation on the technical side, but I think everyone just defers to your judgment when it comes to technical matters. I usually do, too, and I think we'll end up with the exact model or something very similar, but I'd at least like to see some discussion on the matter.

Is the processor powerful enough? Do we have enough RAM? What about warranty? What happens 4-5 years down the line when the server starts to show its age? Does Dell have a program where we can upgrade to a shinier server and send the old one back?

Those are the kinds of questions I was expecting.

I didn't anticipate anyone saying, "No, that server sucks!" (because it looks pretty awesome to me), but I was hoping people would be asking questions, especially considering we're talking about spending $2000 USD collected over almost four years.
 
Tek7 said:
Hm, I was thinking there would be more conversation on the technical side, but I think everyone just defers to your judgment when it comes to technical matters. I usually do, too, and I think we'll end up with the exact model or something very similar, but I'd at least like to see some discussion on the matter.

Is the processor powerful enough? Do we have enough RAM? What about warranty? What happens 4-5 years down the line when the server starts to show its age? Does Dell have a program where we can upgrade to a shinier server and send the old one back?

Those are the kinds of questions I was expecting.

I didn't anticipate anyone saying, "No, that server sucks!" (because it looks pretty awesome to me), but I was hoping people would be asking questions, especially considering we're talking about spending $2000 USD collected over almost four years.
Click to expand...

if you want to lease the server we can do the trade in thing but that's not usually done even by enterprises. What happens with most server is you run them to their warranties..if you want to you pay to extend it to a max of 5 years...other than that you run it until it's too expensive to operate and then replace it. Case in point..my church has a 6 year old hp machine that's clearly out of warranty..however it's more powerful than our current machine and the parts are still readily available for excellent prices..so replacing parts is not an expensive proposition. We'll run this server for another 5-6 years or until we outgrow it.

8 gigs of ram is plenty for the purposes you are speccing for and you have 8 cpu's that are more than capable of handling your load.

I am going to do a podcast this week on hardware recommendations and basic virtualization that will go a long way to explaining the different ways you setup machines for virtualization and non-virtualization.
 
Isn't this setup a 1U . I thought we needed a 2U

also , i remember needing a CAL license???? whatever that is.

1.Cost to keep server at cga. What speed are we hooking up to. FPS needs speed.
2.Is is accessible by someone like HCS if we want to do some update tweaking.

Also I've always bought the better things for the main pc components and then added the faster better stuff later. So I think we could or at least consider maxing out the cpu and look at the amount of ram we could add later if we choose a smaller amount of ram for now to upgrade the cpu to a faster cpu. Possibly buy faster stuff to add later like drives and higher speed memory. Catch my drift????
The main components like MB and CPU are harder to change out once purchased. Ram prices change daily.
Then again. It seems to be a pretty good server overall.
 
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You don't want to skimp on the ram at all. The cpu's i have chosen are the best balance of price and performance due to highly diminishing returns as you increase clockspeed vs the massive increases in costs. maxing out the cpu's costs nearly 1k and means the ram is cut to 512 megs. Not good for anything these days and you get only 400 mhz per core for this massive increase in costs..the math doesn't add up. This is not desktop parts..this is server parts..:) There's no way to know the fps as that depends on how many users you have online along with the plugins you use.

We don't require a 2u since we only need two hard disks. The hard disks are going to be raid 1(mirror) so if one goes offline the machine will continue to operate while the new drive is procured.

If you want to run windows yes we need to purchase windows web edition(for another $500) as well..since Linux is the operating system of choice cals are not needed.
 
one final caveat. once the funds are released the configuration could change depending on the deals i can find. This is the minimum i am lookig to config..if i can go up obviously i intend to..:)
 
What about Dell as a company? I'm just asking because of Tek's recent dealings with them I don't know if he's satisfied with their customer support or not.

Maybe you listed it and I missed it but what kind of connection are we hooking up to? Most of the sites seem to mention bandwidth as the main bottleneck to a game server not the hardware.
 
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minimum 10 megabit connection..if the costs are right 100 megabit. Dell as a company i have not had any problems with that did not get fixed quickly. I have not dealt with dell on the home side..only the business side.
 
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First of all, congrats to you guys, this is huge.

2nd of all, that's a nice config that HCS got from Dell, it should be able to handle your server needs nicely. As for picking a host, I can't help much there, but make sure you get some folks that can provide reliable, clean power and plenty of bandwidth. :)
 
The host cga uses has never had an unannounced outage with the exception of a ddos which you can't plan for since you don't know when those are going to come. Power has been clean the the connection for the cga server is 100 megs unmetered(aka unlimited transfer.)

Let me explain something..what most vendors call bandwidth(aka so much data per month) is not bandwidth..that's transfer. An umetered connection is a certain port speed with no transfer limits..which is what cga has right now.
 
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