Dragon Rising is an all new game released this past week that was missing the biggest thing that a game needs if they offer multiplayer.

DEDICATED SERVER FILES!

Thats right, this all new game was released with no way of hosting your own server for the game from a dedicated server, talk about an epic fail. As we have all come to love, today’s game producers are just not in sync with the demands of today’s PC gaming world and Dragon Rising is another great example.

We all can hope that server files are released, but as they were not released on day one, the last nail is most likely long nailed into the cauffin of this game.

Ugh..

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Lets go into detail of what each is:

Colocation:

Colocation is where you purchase a server (Dell, HP, IBM, SuperMicro, Home Build, etc.) and ship it to a data center of your choice. The data center in turn places your server in a rack and attaches it to their network. Once the datacenter has your server all setup, you will then be able to remotely access your server.

This option you will also need to own your own operating system license and be very familiar with computer hardware.

Dedicated Server:

A dedicated server is very similar to colocation, however instead of having to purchase a server and ship it to a data center, you merely rent the server from the data center. This option you will not need to have your own OS license or intimate knowledge of server hardware. You will have the same remote access to the server box as with your colocated server.

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Now that we have the basic idea of what the two are, we can begin to dive into the positives and negatives of each.

Colocation, The Good & Bad:

Positive Notes:

• Cheaper monthly cost, as you only need to rent space, power and bandwidth.
• You own your server hardware, you don’t have to rent it.
• You can have any server brand and hardware specification you desire.
• When done hosting, you can have the server shipped back to be resold.

Negative Notes:

• If your server has hardware issues, you will need to pay someone to troubleshoot (remote hands fees).
• You will need to ship replacement hardware to the DC or buy it from the DC.
• You are responsible for your server, the DC is only responsible for the network, power and space.
• Large upfront cost, as you have to buy the server box.
• You will have to own your OS license.

Dedicated Servers, Positives & Negatives

Positive Notes:

• You do not have any large upfront fee to buy a server, you only have to rent it.
• If the server has any hardware issues, it is up to the data center to fix it.
• You wont have to pay for replacement hardware, ship anything, etc. as it is up to the DC to repair any hardware issues.
• Widely available and hundreds of providers to choose from.
• You don’t have to own OS licenses.

Negative Notes:

• You are limited on the server hardware you can use (Each provider only offers so many options).
• Your monthly price will be higher, as you are renting the server, power, space and bandwidth.
• Upgrades can be more expensive than the going rate of hardware.
• May get locked into a lease period.

The above gives us a good idea on the good and bad of each, now onto the hard question, “Which one is right for me?”

Everyone’s answer is going to be different as it will greatly depend on your finances, hardware knowledge, and how much control you want to have over your server. Many people choose to go with a dedicated server everyday as you can easily purchase and it is on the provider to do all the hard work, however this is not the best option for everyone.

With dedicated servers, the “bigger” the server you buy, the more expensive your monthly payment will become. In many cases, it can be cheaper to purchase the server and colocate, however it will all depend how long you plan on keeping the server machine.

That brings on a all new question:

What is the life expectancy of a server? – Check our other blog posts for a in depth look!

That pretty much wraps up this look into the differences of Colocation and Dedicated servers, however I am sure many questions are still lingering. So post them up in the forums and we will get you answers!

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There have been allot of questions floating around since we opened the TCAdmin section of our forums. To explain, TCAdmin is a web control panel designed and developed specifically for the game and voice hosting industry.

TCAdmin is a web control panel that has much deeper roots that allow you to completely automate your game and voice server installs while giving your clients a great web panel access to do just about anything they need to for their service.

One of the biggest notes however is that TCAdmin only runs on Windows, so if you plan on hosting game servers on a Linux based server, you will need to look to a different control panel, but for many of us Window’s geeks it is the perfect affordable way to begin ones game hosting business.

TCAdmin is available starting at $15.95/Month USD per dedicated server.

You will need one Remote TCAdmin for each dedicated server beyond your first, so if you have multiple dedicated servers you plan on using you will need one license for each.

Information:
Web Site: http://tcadmin.com/
Price: $15.95+
Demo: http://tcadmin.com/ (Middle, Right)

Check out the TCAdmin web site for more in depth information on this amazing system!

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Today we are going to take a peek at what kind of Anti-Virus scanners we should be running on a dedicated server.

It will all depend on what you are using your dedicated server for, but in almost any case it would be foolish to not run a Anti-Virus software on it. As there are tons of Anti-Virus software options on the market it can be very hard to choose the version right for your needs.

It is suggested you stay away from the all in one security suites like you may be running on your home PC as they are very infectious and will most likely cause allot of issues in the long run, including locking you out of your server when you install it .

You will want to stick to a straight Anti-Virus, such as Norton Corporate or ClamAV.

Norton Corporate is a great solution if you are able to spend some money on it, it can be quite expensive if you have more than one server, however you will be receiveing a paid software which comes with support that you may need if you every run into issues. Norton also releases many updates to it AV software which will greatly help in keeping your server safe.

The downside, Norton is pretty much only good for Windows, if you are running a Linux server you will want look to ClamAV.

ClamAV (http://www.clamav.net) is a free Anti-Virus system that is specifically aimed to be used in a server environment and is perfect for your Linux based server. There is a Windows version of ClamAV, however they are no longer developing it, however you are still able to receive virus definition updates for it.

ClamAV is the perfect solution for any server host as it is very “light” and non-intrusive on the dedicated server.

There are tons of AV softwares on the market and using Google you will be able to easily locate one that is perfect for your needs. For this article we are giving Norton and ClamAV our choice award as they have long been the industry standard for anti-virus security.

Moving a little more forward as far as Anti-Spyware and additional software you would find in a security suite. In most cases you should have no need for them as you should not be opening emails and surfing the web on your dedicated server. Keep it smart and use your dedicated server for what it is designed for, hosting.

Cheers!

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In short, Yes! You can host them both on the same server box, but No it is not advised. It is completely possible to mix and match web hosting and game servers on the same physical machine, but it is not something I would advise doing.

Game servers are something that can easily “freak” out when you begin to mix and match them with other things, even with other game servers. The rule of thumb is always to run the least amount of items on the server box you are running your game servers on, as you never know what may or may not cause issues with your game servers.

As shared web hosting account is only a few dollars a month with many web hosts, it is well worth it as to not mix web hosting and your game servers.

Now if you can’t truely afford to get an extra web hosting account, than it would be better to host it on your dedicated server than not have one at all – Web hosting in general takes quite allot of work to setup and can be very confusing, especially if it is your first time.

When you are forced to mix web hosting and game servers, always install the least amount of services in order to get your web site online. I would not suggest going all out installing all components and software that you might use down the road, add it as you NEED it.

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The best rule of thumb when buying your first server, it to purchase one that is well rounded, making sure it offers a nice CPU, RAM and HDD’s.

Now with that, your next question would be, “What is a well rounded server?”

In most cases there are three basic well rounded server specs:

1.

Single Dual-Core CPU
2GB RAM
250GB HDD

2.

Single Quad-Core CPU
4GB RAM
250GB HDD

3.

Dual Quad-Core CPU’s
8GB RAM
250GB HDD

Each of the rough specifications above offer a “rounded” solution, making it so that when you max out the CPU resources, you will most likely be out of RAM. Therefore, allowing you to use the maxium of both before running out of one or the early.

However, it still comes down to the resource usage of the games you plan on running.

As an example, if you run all Call Of Duty game titles, then you will be able to stay with a low-end CPU and double the RAM. As COD game titles tend to use allot more RAM than CPU.

On the other hand, if you plan to host Counter-Strike: Source game servers, you may end up needing more CPU than RAM, as that game tends to use more CPU at peak than RAM.

So the final word is, stick to a well rounded server unless you know that you plan on only hosting X game title and when it comes to that. I would suggest popping a thread in our forums and we can assist you in getting the best server for you.

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