I have rarely asked for help on here, but now is the time.

Am I biting off more than I can chew by considering setting up and maintaining a gaming server? I want it to be able to support a decent amount of participants. Is the Static IP and loads of bandwidth the main issues? I realize and comprehend the type of computer the server needs to run on, no help needed there. But to be able to host a game that others can connect to using TCP/IP, that's the idea.

Too much trouble? Hypothetically speaking, money is not a concern (yet) so I would really appreciate feedback from either people who are running a gaming server or know the ins and outs of what I can expect. The fastest I'll be able to use is either Cable, DSL, or ISDN. If it's going to be a large undertaking full of headaches then please provide some examples if possible.

Thanks in advance!

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Life is a journey, not a destination.

If price is no object then you're barking up the wrong tree - DSL/Cable/ISDN is great for *playing* games, but virtually any ISP out there (among the few that will even give you a static IP address) isn't going to take too kindly to the traffic you may be planning on generating. You're going to want some sort of dedicated hosting that doesn't care much about what you're sending across the pipe, nor how much of it you send (within limits).

Really, the administrative end of it isn't a big deal. It's more of an issue of the logistics. Is this datapipe you're talking about going to be dedicated to the gaming server? You wouldn't want people bitching because you decided to download the newest game demo and all their pings went to hell. Do you have a separate computer to run it on? Does your broadband service have a capable upstream rate (Many DSL users get stuck with 128Kb or 256Kb upstream). Can you even get a static IP address, or would you have to fall back on services like DynDNS?

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"And knowing is half the battle!"

Cutriss,

Now we're getting somewhere. The bandwidth usage is the issue and that's what I suspected. The pipline is going to be dedicated to gaming..but not 24/7. I will be using this same pipeline for personal use on occasion, on another computer. But your point about the upstream is key in the fact that it doesn't have published data on that, I'm going to have to do some digging around and cornering some techs on the supply end to get that info. (no problem there, I have my ways...)

Also, using that kind of bandwidth certainly is going to tax the system somewhat, but that brings up the golden question...what is that going to actually be? No way of knowing for sure, but ther are models out there to do some comparisions and that some of the info I was hoping to obtain from others currently running an actvie gaming server.

Good info Cutriss, I think we're speaking the same language.

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Life is a journey, not a destination.

This link may be of use to you for helping to figure out what other providers charge for their systems. Note that they mention that game servers can be shared on one server with up to three other accounts, depending on their size.

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"And knowing is half the battle!"