A game server is a computer connected to the Internet that hosts multiplayer games for a particular game or multiple games. While some multiplayer games only have official servers, many allow community gamers to host their own games. There are two types: 1. temporary servers that any user can setup to host a particular tournament or match, and 2. a dedicated server that is always live and always available for connections.

The common tendency of a gamer who wants to hosts multiplayer games is to setup a normal PC box in their home with a regular DSL or cable line. Although this may work for temporary servers or small to medium numbers of connections, gaming on a larger scale can be taxing on an ill-equipped PC and a a home network.

In such cases it might behoove the gaming host to get a dedicated line and server-class computer to host their games. The other option is to purchase a hosting account for a dedicated server. The server can either be an un-managed server with a free Linux distribution or a customized gaming server that has been setup for that specific purpose. Either way, the eventual result is higher quality gaming and more enjoyment for the players.

Photo Source: Flickr

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To handle its millions of video views per day, YouTube has thousands of servers. But what if you want to start your own video sharing site? A Webhostingtalk.com user asked today:

Hi i would plan to make something like YouTube (video sharing site) but restricted only for my members. Basically if let’s say there are 1000 users every day streaming videos on my site, how much bandwidth do I need and how big the server has to be considering this isnt just regular site but video sharing site for members?

Unfortunately, the answer isn’t simple. Videos take up more bandwidth than CPU or memory, so you will need a server with a lot of bandwidth. How “big” of a server is needed depends on the site’s traffic and size of the videos.

For a site just starting out, I’d probably rent a basic server and upgrade later on once I had a better idea of my needs. If the site grew to a large size, however, multiple servers with tier-1 dedicated bandwidth connections would be needed. Without a powerful connection, users wouldn’t be able to stream video. This sort of infrastructure is very expensive, explaining why video sites need to display so many ads to make ends meet.

Continue reading: What size server does a video sharing site need?

If you rent a dedicated server, you may at some point or another consider upgrading the hardware. You might want to add a RAID hard drive configuration for redundancy, or perhaps you need more RAM or bandwidth. What you’ll quickly find, however, is that dedicated hosts charge hefty fees for add-ons.

For instance, it’s not at all uncommon for a host to charge $20 a month to add an extra hard drive or $10-$15 for RAM, depending on the amount. While these upgrades look cheap up front, over the course of many months, they add up to quite a bit.

Often times the upgrades are so pricey that its cheaper to just rent a higher-end server. Another thing providers let you do is pay a one-time fee for the upgrade, such as $100 for RAM or $200 for RAID. This is cheaper in the long run, but make sure you’ll be using the server long enough to break even on the expense!

Continue reading: Upgrading a server

When most people think of Ubuntu, they think of the award-winning community-driven desktop Linux distribution created by South African billionaire Mark Shuttleworth and his army loyal supporters. But Shuttleworth is still a businessman, and part of his investment is making sure people who use Ubuntu at the server level have support.

Don’t worry. Despite how it sounds, this is a good thing. It means those who use Ubuntu at the server level are not up a creek if something goes wrong. Most server-ready Linux distributions are backed by companies that will offer support for them. Ubuntu offers a service called Landscape that helps you monitor and manage your server.

Landscape has two versions: Hosted Edition, which is hosted remotely and accessed over the web and Dedicated Server Edition, which you install directly on your dedicated server. Canonical currently offers a free 60 day trial, and a subscription to Landscape is $150 per node per year.

Source: Canonical

Continue reading: Managing your Ubuntu server

A web hosting forum user asks this question:

I’m looking for changing to a new Linux VPS Hosting company. My website is running oscommerce shopping cart now is like 3.5G with Mysql and I get 4000 visits per day. What i concern the most is their service then goes to the performance. I need my web up all the time even it is down. The hosting needs to repair the problem in fast reaction and really look into what cause the problem.

My budget is $200 per month, I know for that price I can get a dedicated server but my problem is I don’t know about tuning the Linux plus I have experience using the dedicated server that if the hardware goes wrong and I will need to spend lot of time to find out what is the problem….

Do you think using VPS is right way for me to go?

This person is in a unique situation because he is out of the budget range where most people would consider a VPS, but at the lower end of the dedicated server market. Here’s my take on what he should do.

Continue reading: Is a VPS the way to go for a $200 budget?

This year has been a big one for both the domain and web hosting industries. Significant growth has been seen in the ccTLD market while more prominent TLDs continue to sell for record-high prices. A recession has brought more entrepreneurs and investment online, spurring heavy growth in the hosting and data center realm.

Here are some of the more memorable stories of 2009:

Continue reading: InternetBlog: Best of 2009

After experiencing heavy downtime on a server in a colocation facility, a business owner at this forum is considering hosting the server from his own office.

While placing a web server in an office might perhaps make it more accessible to the owner, most offices do not have the right kind of resources to host one. For starters, the upstream speed on most business Internet lines isn’t fast enough. And as others in the forum alluded to, an office does not have the same resources a data center does to fix problems.

If you have a large number of servers, it may be cost-effective to hire your own technicians and obtain the necessary infrastructure to host onsite. But this is only the case for large companies. Nearly all small businesses are better off with colocation or a dedicated host.

Continue reading: Hosting a server in the office

Question: Show I run X.org on my Linux-based dedicated server?

Answer: When you are running a dedicated server, especially one with live websites, there is always a lot to learn. From domain name servers (DNS) to mail server configuration, you may find yourself with little time for anything else. One security question that sometimes crops up is whether or not it is beneficial or even safe to run an X-server on top of your Linux operating system.

The first answer to the question is that you probably do not have a reason to run X.org at all. Most servers do not need X.org to operate. Even if you want a GUI interface for your server applications, most are web-based rather than X-based. Furthermore, if you are administering your server remotely, X might not even be practical. There are only two situations where you really might need X: 1. Your server is not only a web server but serves other functions specifically requiring desktop applications, or 2. for some reason, you need to forward X.org applications over SSH.

The next question to answer is whether or not it is secure. The simple answer is that most Linux experts would tell you no and that you should avoid it at all costs. The real risk, however, comes from X11 connection forwarding. This is a built-in component of X.org that allows a user to log into it remotely. It is primarily used for internal networks, and you have no need for it. Disabling that and its ports in your firewall will make X.org more secure, but you still should not use it unless you absolutely need it.

Photo: Flickr

Continue reading: To X or not to X

Hosting a website for the first time can be both exciting and daunting. The best course of action is to try it first on a test site and then move to a production environment once you are more comfortable. Here are some quick easy steps to getting started.

1. Decide what type of hosting you will need: virtual hosting, virtual private server, or dedicated server.
2. Register a domain name.
3. Find a web hosting provider. (sometimes the same as the domain registrar).
4. Decide what type of site you want: static or dynamic.
5. Design your site or hire someone to design it.
6. Setup user accounts, email addresses, forwards, subdomains, and any other backend features.
7. Install any necessary content management systems or other scripts.
8. Upload your site design.
9. Test and then test again.
10. Go live.

This is only a brief introduction, but it should be enough to give you an idea of the steps you need to take. Follow the links provided for more information about each topic, and good luck.

Photo: Flickr

Continue reading: Hosting Website Tutorial

Many new dedicated server customers consider hosting a server themselves to save money. This can work if you colocate at a data center, but is it possible to host your own server from home?

In short, yes, but it’s not a good idea. Home broadband connections do not have uplink speeds fast enough for a web server. Furthermore, many ISPs do not allow servers on their connections to begin with.

Hosting at a data center is more efficient, too. These facilities have the equipment and personnel on hand to fix any problem. If the power in your home goes out, will you be able to keep your server up? What if you go on vacation and a hard drive fails? People host in data centers for a reason.

Continue reading: Hosting your own server

As a general rule, European data center space is more expensive compared to the United States. Those hoping for cheaper server rates in Europe will be disappointed, however, as a recent report published a consulting company predicts an overall increase in server prices in the region.

The price increase will mainly be caused by an increase in demand, according to the document. Between 2010 and 2015, demand for server room space is expected to go up by 70%. While of course capacity will be expanded to meet the needs of consumers, providers will surely raise their dedicated server prices to match the market.

Data center revenue is expected to double over the five-year period, though, so now might be a good time to invest in one.

Photo | Flickr

Continue reading: Don't expect European servers to get cheaper any time soon

Question: How do I open and close ports with an iptables firewall setup?

Answer: You can easily open ports on a dedicated server with these simply commands. Depending on whether you need to open a UDP or TCP port, use one or both of the following:

iptables -A INUPT -p tcp –dport -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INUPT -p udp –dport -j ACCEPT

And to close a port, enter:

iptables -A INUPT -p tcp –dport -j DROP
iptables -A INUPT -p udp –dport -j DROP

Then, save and restart iptables:

service iptables save
service iptables restart

You can keep track of which ports have been opened and closed by viewing the /var/log/messages file.

Photo: Flickr

Continue reading: How to open and close ports with iptables