Requirements for a fast Game Server
You need good software and hardware parts to setup a fast gaming server. If you are running a commercial or multiplayer
game server, then you will need powerful machines. The goal is to provide a positive gaming experience for gamers who
choose to play on your servers. Hence, the operations of the server should be smooth. That means the server has to run the
game without any stoppage.
The hardware needed is much more dependant on the kind of server you want to set up. It depends on number of factors like
the game server software, number of players expecting to join the network and also number of games that a server machine
has to host. Usually some games that run with many mods are very much CPU utilizing. For them you definitely need a fast
CPU. For some other games, the CPU is not very important. Here, the RAM plays very important part. By having higher RAM
usually up to 1 GB, you can even host more then one game on a single server machine that has 2.3 GHz or higher CPU.
However, setting servers with very high configuration could be very expensive. You can choose to run games that do not
require very high configuration. As informed earlier, it all depends on the game you choose to host. You can also limit
the number of players you can have on your network. There are hosts which are quite happy to run gaming networks with
number of players limited to 8 to 10 on a single game hosting server.
Apart from the powerful computer, you also need good server side and client software. You will also need a robust operation
system to be able to run the server with stability and security. You will also need to install anti cheat software and
remote access control software if you want to store the server out of sight. That way, the game server administrator may
access the server from any PC on the LAN. This includes a game client terminal during troubleshooting when required.
The next most important requirement is your internet connection. Besides the hardware itself, you have got to have a good
internet connection. High speed network is an absolute requirement. One should avoid wireless connectivity because wireless
has a higher latency than wired Ethernet. Latency dictates how fast the server can receive and respond to movements by
client game players. The lower the latency, the smoother the game playing experience. Your server ping is the number one
selling point. Ping is the amount of time it takes for a packet of information to leave a network device, bounce off
another networking device and arrive back at its originating device. The lower the ping from a game client to a server,
the better the online playing experience is.
Overall, a good hardware combined with a high speed internet connection will be mandatory requirements to run a fast gaming
server.