Linux dedicated server changes for Left4Dead There have been many changes, enhancements, and optimizations with the dedicated server for Linux:
* All of the code is now being compiled with gcc 4.3.0 and glibc 2.8-8 in order to take advantage of compiler fixes and optimization enhancements. In order to run the l4d Linux dedicated server, you will need a system which can run binaries built against this version of glibc. * As a performance enhancement, the dedicated server can now use the hardware "RDTSC" timer instead of gettimeofday() for its internal timing, on systems which support it ( such systems are identified by having the "constant_tsc" flag set in /proc/cpuinfo ). When the code detects that the system has this, it will execute a benchmark to measure the actual rate of the hardware timer, and use this for all timing. If this causes trouble on a system, you can set the environment variable "RDTSC_FREQUENCY" to "disabled". * The Linux dedicated server is now capable of running multiple server instances as sub-processes off of one parent process. This provides a memory savings (through sharing of read-only data), a speedup when starting multiple servers, and also enhances server stability by having the servers restart as new sub-processes after each game is completed. This is controlled by the "-fork n" option. For instance, you can run "srcds_run -fork 5" to start up 5 separate server instances in this mode. * When -fork mode is enabled, some options on the command line can be parametrized based upon the server instance, by typing '##' on the launching line. For instance, "-fork 10 -netconport 90##" would cause the first server instance to use port 9001, the second to use 9002, etc. * There is a new remote access feature which allows a server administrator (or tool) to create a persistent connection to a running server, and to see its entire console output and send it commands. This feature is enabled by using the "-netconport" option when launching srcds_i486. For instance, if a server is started with "-netconport 9000", someone with access to port 9000 of the server could type "telnet xxxx 9000" and view the console output. This feature is disabled by default, and should only be used when an appropriate firewall/tunnel is used to control access to this port. Multiple clients can connect to the netconport of a running server at the same time. * If the netconsole is enabled, and the option "-netconpassword xxx" is set, the network console will not execute commands received through the netconport until the command "PASS xxx" is entered. _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds_linux
