Server Upgrade?

[Dr Sadako]

Originally posted by TeaLeaf@Jan 4 2004, 02:34 PM
The other thought that escaped me until now is that a 40GB HDD would probably do well enough if it was just for games only.  If the forums/ftp etc are on a different box would we really need more than the 40GB?  IF a spare HDD is available then sure, whack it in, but if budget is an issue then we could probably do without replacing the HDD?

TL.

Nope. 40 GB is more than enough. I have a 120 GB in my game shuttle and I haven't broken the 40 GB barrier yet ...

If the FTP is on another (windows) machine then we could add more HDDs to the FTP when needed.

Can we easily get cheap PC2700 memory and a faster processor? Is 1 GB enough for 3-5 CS servers (thinking of the future here)?

Regarding waiting for AMD64, my impression is that we would have to wait for about 1-1.5 years until a) it is stable enough B) there are applications for it c) the price is low enough. You can get a good and pricey regular AMDs atm that I think would be a better alternative if we were to upgrade.

My five,

[albert]

Originally posted by TeaLeaf@Jan 4 2004, 12:37 AM
RAM upgrade *is* in spec.  The BIOS update from 11/02 gave it PC2700 capability.  So an upgrade to a P4 2800 and PC2700 would give us a noticeable performance boost and shouldn't be that expensive.  I am loathe to organise a total refresh of the hardware when 64 bit platforms are about to become affordable.  As for W2003server, yes we would legit and the server should run it fine.  We would also gain a massive performance boost by not running steam under Linux.  Yes we are dumping Linux.

TL.

Ah I read the base specs for the board not the BIOS improvements. So an upgrade to 2700 RAM is a nice cheap luxury to be able to implement.
The 2800 P4 is also a nice idea, 800 extra 533FSB power is a useful and cheap upgrade as well and well worth the money.
Lastly, I don't know enough about Win 2K3 or other servers architectures so how well 3 x CS1.6 would fare we'll see when it happens.

 

[TeaLeaf]

I haven't searched around yet, but we ought to be able to wrap up the whole thing (cpu & ram) for £260, possibly slightly less if the price cuts we expect within the next 3 weeks materialises.

TL.

[albert]

Originally posted by TeaLeaf@Jan 4 2004, 03:58 PM
I haven't searched around yet, but we ought to be able to wrap up the whole thing (cpu & ram) for £260, possibly slightly less if the price cuts we expect within the next 3 weeks materialises.

TL.

Well worth it IMHO.   What parts are you planning on?

[TeaLeaf]

Sorry for the delay in the response.

CPU Upgrade: Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz (533FSB) - £156.28
RAM Upgrade: TwinMOS 1GB (2x512MB) DDR PC3200 Dual Channel Kit - £110.16

We could save £2 by buying PC2700, but buying PC3200 will mean we can (hopefully) use it again on a future hardware upgrade.  In the mean time the memory will quite happily auto-underclock to PC2700 speeds when we fit it.

How do we collect funds?

We could ask within Charlie Company first, or to the whole group.  We could also put a donate button onto our website (thanks to Sadako for the prompt).  Here's the code needed for the paypal button - it uses my account which currently has a zero balance and if others are happy witht his, I would be pleased to act as the collecting point for the funds and then make the purchses.  As before, I would cc Oldbloke and Stryker in with the receipts and provide full details of all donations so that there is an audit trail to confirm money in = money out.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">







https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/x-click-butcc-donate.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!">

The button that this script provides is a small VISA/Mastercard Donate button.  Or we could insert our own image by simply editing that last line of code.

If we sent a bulk email to members we could include this link in the email:

https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=paulh%40pobox.com&item_name=dMw+Community+Fund&no_note=1&tax=0¤cy_code=GBP&lc=GB

This might be an alternative way of prompting people to donate.

We would need to post an rational to the forums so that people understand why we are asking for money when BA only went in earlier this year.  I am happy to draft such a post for approval by the Admins before posting.

What do you think and are there any other ideas?

TL.

[smite]

Should we see how far we get with admins first then move onto charlie and if we still dont have the funds go all...

First donation here of £50

Im not sure what everyone else was planning on putting in but thats 20% sorted.

[Dr Sadako]

Originally posted by TeaLeaf@Jan 10 2004, 11:07 AM
How do we collect funds?
 I am happy to draft such a post for approval by the Admins before posting.

What do you think and are there any other ideas?

TL.

I think that the suggested hardware looks good. Good point with the PC3200 memory.

As for how to collect the money I think paypal link on the frontpage combined with a forum post is the way to go about it. I see no reason not to let all forums members see this. I still think that the majority of the donations will come from charlie and bravo.

Depending on how much money we collect, it might even be enough for a mobo too!

I have full confidence in you TL. Go go go!  :thumb:

[Dr Sadako]

Originally posted by smite@Jan 10 2004, 11:16 AM

First donation here of £50

Im not sure what everyone else was planning on putting in but thats 20% sorted.

I second that.

£50 here as well.

Up at 40% then I guess.

[Gandalf]

Fine, I donate fifty of the Queens fine Pounds for the cause.

[TeaLeaf]

Thank you for you donations gents, it is in advance of when I was going to start collecting, but thank you anyway

I need to check something with both of you.  When you donated, did you get the option to pay by anything other than a credit card?  For example would it accept money from a UK debit card or only from another Paypal account?  The personal verified account can accept credit card payments, but it costs 3.4% + 20p per transaction (taken from the donation).  If there is a cheaper option (other than credit card) then I should mention it in the post I will put up for members to contribute.

I am not convinced that just the Admins initially who should be asked for this money - I am tempted to include the whole community - Admins do a heck of a lot for the community already and I do not think it fair that any Bills have a first stop with the Admins.  Whilst it is obviously great to go to the communtiy and say "the Admins have raised this much already, you do the rest", I do not want *any* Admin to feel obliged by way of this thread or their position as an Admin to donate money to this upgrade.  

Sadako, in the mean time, could you add the PayPal button to the website on the bottom righthand side underneath the map rotation box please?

Thanks.

TL.

[Gandalf]

paypal is fine for small amounts, but I'll just send you a cheque like last time

[TeaLeaf]

OK, here is my suggested wording for the upgrade post to be placed in the Server Issues section fo the forums.  Comments or OK go for it responses please.

TL.

Planned Server Upgrade
We advised you in this thread that there was some planned server maintenance that is likely to occur on either Saturday 24th or 31st January.  We would now like to outline some of the work that we will be carrying out.

Switch from Linux to Windows
As some of you may know, the Linux code for Steam is at best ghastly and at worst crashes the server.  Linux boxes that comfortably ran 4-6 CS servers under 1.5 are now struggling to run a single 16 person server on the same box.  This is a Steam-wide issue and there has been no response or comment from Valve since Steam came out.  It is highly likely that the lousy Valve binaries for Linux account for some if not most of the ping issues we have been experiencing during gameplay.  Windows servers do not appear to be having these problems.  In addition we have an expensive 3com server nic which we are currently unable to get to work alongside the onboard nic due to some 2.4 kernel issues. 

The community's Debian (2.4 kernel) Linux box has a Pentium IV 2.0GHz with 1.0GB PC2100 RAM and currently runs 3 x 16 person servers and the forums.  In order to help the lag issues and solve the dual nic problem we intend to install Windows 2003 Server and sadly, say goodbye to Linux for the timebeing.

Hardware Specification Upgrade
We rarely visit the server farm so it makes good sense to carry out any upgrades to hardware whilst we undertake the change from Linux to Windows.  Our current motherboard will support up to PC2700 RAM and a PIV 2.8GHz (533Mhz)processor.  The Admins have debated at some length what if anything to upgrade during this maintenance visit.  We have concluded that it is not worth upgrading the motherboard to move to 64-bit CPUs just yet as the 64 bit binaries are not yet available and the technology is still overpriced.  However as a cost-effective interim upgrade we have decided to install a new CPU and some new RAM as follows:

CPU Upgrade: Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz (533FSB) - £156.28
RAM Upgrade: TwinMOS 1GB (2x512MB) DDR PC3200 Dual Channel Kit - £110.16
plus a small amount for postage.

We could save £2 by buying PC2700, but buying PC3200 will mean we can (hopefully) use it again on a future hardware upgrade. In the mean time the memory will quite happily auto-underclock to PC2700 speeds when we fit it.

The effect of the change to Windows and the upgraded hardware should, we are hoping, make a significant difference to the quality of the gameplay the community enjoys. 

We are hoping to raise the funds for the upgrade via community donations.  If you wish to donate money please visit the Dead mean Walking home page and click on the Donate button located at the lower right corner.  Alternatively, click here to donate NOW.

All donations are gratefully accepted.  The funds will be audited and controlled by TeaLeaf, Oldbloke and Stryker.  Any surplus will be declared to the community and retained for community use.  Any surplus hardware will be offered to the community for sale or re-use.

Thank you.

The Admins.

Note:  The donation service is provided via Paypal who deduct a 3.4% plus 20p fee from each donation.  Alternatively you may make an electronic funds transfer from your bank (send a PM to TeaLeaf for details).  As a last resort then you can send a cheque c/o TeaLeaf (PM TL for info).

[smite]

Tealeaf i will pay as i usually do through your bank details....
If JAS or Madness wish to pay i will pay the same way.

I will let you know when the money is sent.

[TeaLeaf]

No problems, just let me know how much and when etc.  Any thoughts on public release of this to the server section?

If I hear nothing to the contrary by this evening I'll post it anyway.

TL.

[smite]

It looks excellent as usual.

But also tell people about paypals charges