I see very little bandwidth usage on my servers. < 25 KB/sec on average when running 2 full ones.
And yeah, removing the sv_tags line got people joining from lobbies IMMEDIATELY. I'm more interested in CPU usage. Just running an old Athlon X2 4600+ and it averages 0% CPU usage for 2 servers with people playing. It'll spike up a bit, sure, but it never becomes an issue. From the looks of it, I could easily run 4 or 5 servers on my machine and connection. (128 KB/sec up rated, usually get around 135) Others report the exact opposite, so I'm not sure what's going on. I have played on my server and everything is peachy keen. > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: hlds@list.valvesoftware.com > Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2008 15:37:15 -0800 > Subject: Re: [hlds] Left 4 Dead dedicated servers - rate limits needed > > > 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 _________________________________________________________________ Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows Live http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/119462413/direct/01/ _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds
