For much of the Internet's history, online multiplayer gaming has been a cherished pastime for many. The first multiplayer game is believed to have been played as early as 1978 - less than a decade after the birth of ARPANET. While technology has come a long ways since then, latency and lag have remained a problem for gamers all over the world. Modern networks are far more efficient that dialup modems decades ago, but games require far greater data transmissions between participants.
How can you minimize latency and lag when hosting your online game server? The key to success is choosing the right server hosting provider.
Choosing The Right Server
Gaming has been a major driver in many areas of technological development, including computer graphics and AI. Since the dawning of computer gaming, gaming has pushed hardware to its limits more than any other area.
When exploring options for setting up a game server, it is easy to be lured in by one of several game hosting companies offering tantalizingly cheap game servers and hosting services. Keep in mind the old but true adage: You get what you pay for.
These companies have many ways to offer low prices. free 51 They can negatively impact the experience of your players for most games. You get a share of a single server that you can share with other users hosting their own games. Ressources are shared and sometimes can be oversold. This is because they assume that most customers won't play the same game at the same time. Avoiding shared hosting can still disappoint if you are given a dedicated server with substandard hardware that can't keep up with your games' demands.
To offer the best online gaming experience, host your games on a dedicated server to avoid shared resources and inconsistent performance. Select your server to compliment your game's unique profile - some games demand more IO, others need more RAM or processor speed. A good dedicated server host can help you find the perfect server for your needs.
A few of the critical hardware components you should consider:
The CPU, or Central Processing Unit, is essentially the brain of a server. Since most game server applications are CPU-intensive, this is a vitally important choice. Multithreading is a programming feature that allows for more data to be sent to the CPU. Unfortunately, this is not as simple as applying the old faster-is better rule. This allows the application send more data to CPU at once and all data to be processed simultaneously.
Modern CPUs can be either fast with fewer cores or fast with more cores. If your game server application is written to take advantage of multithreading, you will get the best performance out of the multi-core, but slower CPU. Otherwise, choose the single-core processor with the fastest speeds.
Storage is a little easier. SSDs, or Solid State Drives, are more expensive than traditional hard drives, but luckily SSD pricing has been dropping. Games that store a large amount of data on the server, such as Minecraft, can benefit greatly from the increased IO speeds of SSD storage.
What To Look For in a Game Server Hosting Provider
What is outside of a dedicated server can be just as important as what's inside. In addition to finding a hosting provider that can offer a dedicated server to suit your needs, consider these additional factors.
Network Latency refers to the delay experienced sending data through a network from one point to another. In terms of online gaming, it is the time between when you initiate an action on your local computer and the time when that action is recognized by the game server. The lower network latency means that players are more in-sync with each other as well as with the server. This is crucial for immersion and creating a level playing surface in online games.
Hosting providers do not all have the same network latency. Look for one with optimized routing, quality peering and optimal routing. How do I determine the network quality of a hosting provider? Many providers offer a viewing window that allows users to test the latency of their network.
DDoS Protection could be an important factor to consider, depending upon your player base. It is not uncommon for disgruntled players or competitive rivals to launch a DDoS attack against your server. Positioning yourself with a hosting provider who can help defend your server against these attacks can mean the difference between hosting a playable game, and not.
Support is something that you should not overlook, no matter how tech-savvy you may be. A good support team can alleviate much of the frustration of setting up your online game server and maintaining it. Look for 24/7 direct access to a support team with the credentials and experience to keep your server running at peak performance. You should consider management plans if technical assistance is required. Standard hosting plans often limit support to the essentials, such as maintaining the network, hardware replacement and basic OS installation.
Finding the right partner is key to hosting an online gaming server. GigeNET can help you find the right host to provide premium service. It can be difficult to find one. With our Internap optimized network, DDoS protection services, and SSD's available by default in most of our dedicated server lines - we provide a solid solution for your game hosting needs.