I did some additional testing and was able to confirm that each player requires (worst-case) just a bit over 10K Bytes/sec from the server.
This means that 4 players will demand 40K Bytes per second from the server which is a slight overload on my DSL line. 10 full servers, worst-case 40 players would therefore use 40 * 10K Bytes = 400K Bytes/sec or ~3.28 MBits of actual network usage, assuming a zombie rush on all 10 servers at the same time (might happen!). It turns out however that the real problem is that when my DSL line hits the uplink max, the dsl modem chokes and this is what was causing the massive lag that players were reporting. To verify this, I ran pingplotter and then ran the L4D server and tracked how many players were on and the network usage. 2 players were fine. 4 players was bad 3 players were ok to marginal( I suspect the server query overhead can push this over the limit). I captured a very good graph of what is happening (annotated) here: http://qsextreme.com/L4D/l4d_bandwidth_test.PNG Checking my DSL line on http://DSLReports.com/tools confirms my performance numbers: http://www.dslreports.com/im/60743484/26519.png Speed Test #60743484 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-11-08 18:14:15 EST Download: 1297 (Kbps) Upload: 322 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 158.4 down 39.3 up One thing I did that slightly improved my dsl performance was adjust the MTU for my line, I wrote a little discovery tool that lets you see exactly what is going on there: http://qsextreme.com/mtutest It's disappointing that the DSL line chokes like that but from past experience with Covad there is nothing I can do short of moving to a new apartment. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Eid" To: "Half-Life dedicated Win32 server mailing list" <hlds@list.valvesoftware.com> Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2008 10:25 AM Subject: Re: [hlds] Left 4 Dead dedicated servers - rate limits needed >I have two, always full, L4D Demo servers going right now on my 5000/512 > connection. I've found that even at intense moments, my upload rarely > hits > 500kb/s and for the few times that it's peaked above that, there were no > stutters on the either of the servers. I'm really very surprised at the > relatively low bandwidth usage, even for only 4 players. The people > playing > on my servers stay for hours at a time. That and the communication I do > with those players tells me that they are enjoying great gameplay from my > servers. > > While I do miss the rate settings, I'm wondering if a lot of what we know > has been limited just for the demo. > > -Richard Eid > > > On Sat, Nov 8, 2008 at 12:46 PM, wrote: > >> 384kbits for 1 server equals, if I'm not mistaken, 480biloBYTES for 10 >> full >> servers. I have 10 full l4d servers, and the box is only doing 186kB >> upload >> total, and it's a general purpose box so I've no idea what else is using >> the line currently. >> >> My conclusion is that your performance problems are _not_ related to your >> internet link rate. Are you sure your upload is being maxed out by the >> server? I'd be more inclined to look at latency issues myself. >> >> > -----Original Message----- >> > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:hlds- >> > [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kevin Ottalini >> > Sent: 08 November 2008 09:30 >> > To: Half-Life dedicated Win32 server mailing list >> > Subject: Re: [hlds] Left 4 Dead dedicated servers - rate limits needed >> > >> > Ah, I've been looking at it strictly from a server pov not a client, >> > indeed the client appears locked at 30 up/down. >> > >> > So the bottom line is that a 4-player server uses more then 384kbits >> > uplink, ouch. >> > >> > ty Anakin. >> > >> > ----- Original Message ----- >> > From: "AnAkIn ." >> > To: "Half-Life dedicated Win32 server mailing list" >> > <hlds@list.valvesoftware.com> >> > Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2008 1:13 AM >> > Subject: Re: [hlds] Left 4 Dead dedicated servers - rate limits needed >> > >> > > The maximum updaterate and cmdrate are 30 (because the server fps >> > never >> > > exceed 30 on L4D), so setting them to 100 shouldn't make a >> > difference. >> > > >> > > >> > > 2008/11/8 Kevin Ottalini >> > > >> > >> Extensively testing of a dedicated L4D server has shown that it is >> > not >> > >> possible to run an L4D server (with 4 players) lag-free on a 1.5M / >> > >> 384K dsl >> > >> line (line is solid, nothing else using the line during testing). >> > >> >> > >> Players are changing their rate to 40000 and cl_updaterate to 100 >> > >> and there >> > >> are no server limit CVARs to prevent these settings from overloading >> > >> the server uplink bandwidth. >> > >> >> > >> The only rate limit setting available right now is sv_maxcmdrate >> > >> which is never a problem even when set to 100. >> > >> >> > >> Valve, please re-enable the server rate limit settings for L4D. >> > >> This problem will only get much worse with 4 vs 4 and the end result >> > >> is a bad player experience. >> > >> _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds
