Future Plans for Dream-Evil - an important read

[Doggie52]

Good morning, fellow Dream-Evil members and admins!

For the coming summer holidays I plan to spend more time on Dream-Evil than I ever before have done. I would like to present a couple of ideas I have for the future of Dream-Evil, and I would very much like to hear your responses on this!

New case for server

The first thing I will do, perhaps already this week, is to move the server from it's current midi-tower to a rack-case (also called blade server).
This will be barely noticeable, however I believe I will be able to lower the temperatures the server runs at. And if nothing else, the server will become more flexible and easier to move around, enabling me to easily install it somewhere else should that be an opportunity. The rack will cost around €115.

New operating system for server

After having moved the server to its new case, I am planning on installing a new operating system on the server - namely the Windows Server 2008 R2. This will hopefully mean a slight performance boost, as I will completely re-install the Source and 1.6 servers. Your stats will be migrated! Don't worry .

Admin applications
Currently, I see that we are at a good level of admins. We have enough admins to populate the server almost around the clock. And if an admin isn't online, there are always a plentiful of them waiting on Steam, thanks to both older and newer admins! I will also try to be more active on the server, making sure that everything runs smoothly and nobody is being abused or maltreated. I will go through the current batch of admins and then I will most likely lock the forum or just be more reluctant to taking new admins in.

Possible future plans
As I am always open to good suggestions, I would like to encourage everyone to post their ideas for any future features they would like Dream-Evil to have. Do you want more maps? Different maps? Other ideas that you thing would benefit the server? Post them on the forums!
I am, in the near future, intending to implement a new ban-system (developed by our fellow Jipneke) - this will ease reporting of hackers and such, and is a very good addition to our site!

Co-location?

When I have moved the server to the new rack the server is fit to be used in co-location. This means that I can send the server off to a datacenter and have them host it for me. This would mean 100MBit/s internet and a great performance boost.
Now, the only problem with this idea is that it will cost around €25 a month - money that I will take partially from my own pocket but also from donations. If co-location becomes an alternative in the future, I will of course make sure we all understand what it will mean!

Summary of costs
Cost of current webhosting + domain name: €35 /year
Cost of new rack: €115
Cost of (possible) co-location: €25 /month


So, my fellow members and admins, what do you think of these ideas? Do you think they are worth giving a try? Do you perhaps even think this is worth a small donation? I am always accepting donations, and I figured I would share my plans for the future so you know what you are paying for! If you feel like donating, you may read up on the topic in this thread. Thank you in advance!

// Doggie52

[EvIlBlAcKsOnIc]

i like youre new idea i cant wait to play with you on the breakfloor server
for my idea's i stay with my old idea put 2 or 3 more maps and different maps i will search for good one's ore if someone have idea's they can put it here

ty doggie

[N3bulouz]

Awesome!Nice hardware + software upgrades, and better internet connection!
This is what we needed. You rock!

New maps are the only thing that are lacking.

[fruitbowl 1]

Well 25 € is a bit of money per month but it would give you more time for other things, partially for your private stuff and things concerning dream-evil so I think it's a good idea.

All the suggestions I have for the 1.6 server is written in a thread at the discussion forums so you guys that are interested can take a peek there.

I must also agree with pwnzerfaust, you rock Doggie!

[NickCPC]

I've finally finished all my exams today, and saw this thread so feel I should offer some feedback!

Firstly, sorry I haven't been round much over the last few months - I've had *loads* of work and it's been very busy and stressful, but I'm now on holiday for a bit! I'd quite like to get to meet some of the newer admins, and catch up with some of the older ones - how does a fightnight sound to everyone? Hopefully Doggie would be able to schedule it for a Sunday night or something when everyone has finished their work for the year.

I'll start with the OS - Doggie, I think you know how I feel about moving to R2! It brings numerous benefits over Server 2008, including a massively overhauled TCP/IP stack and generally better networking. Also there are definite general performance boosts and great reliability. If you haven't already got a license (you should be able to get the www.dreamspark.com offer Doggie) then I can generate a license for you.

With regards to the new case, I've built a server in a 1U rack before and it's a right pain. Most decent third-party heatsinks won't fit in there so you're left with the stock cooler, which means higher temps. Not only this, but they are designed for datacentre use for a reason - they can be very loud and whiny with their tiny fans, so make sure you have somewhere to put it out the way! However, if you have got a good deal on one, it might be able to lower temps over the current midi tower you have.

Admin applications - I also think we seem to have a good number of admins at the minute, and closing applications for a while sounds like a good idea to me. I'm available most evenings if there's any issues, anyone can feel free to contact me and if I'm not busy, I'll jump on and sort out any problems. However, if someone really exceptional comes along, I think we should still allow them to apply, maybe in private.

The ban system really could do with an overhaul. What I remember of Jipneke's proposals sounded very good. I'd also recommend having a close look at SourceBans, which we find to be brilliant at the TF2 community I'm involved with. Have a look at our ban page and get a feel for the design if you want - http://bans.b2btf2.com/

Coloing is a very radical idea. We're forced to do it with our TF2 community as no one has anywhere near a good enough upload speed to hold a server, especially when it's busy/full. However, it is expensive and it *is* risky. We made the mistake of upgrading our server to a plan that was too expensive last summer, and when donations died down over winter/spring, we nearly had to shut down our community. Things are still looking tight now, but we're still surviving. I'd strongly recommend thinking very carefully about colo - if the bills aren't paid, it is taken offline with no questions asked. I also can't afford to donate to 2 communities as a student, but you do have to provide incentives for donators. Having seen the mistakes my TF2 community made, I'd probably say hold back on this idea unless you are able to cover the monthly cost yourself in case people don't donate. However, it is a future possibility.

The only final thing is new maps - everyone keeps asking for new ones. Do we use this other server that VoS lent us? If not, maybe we could consider setting up a normal/fun map server in addition to breakfloor - the current hardware should be able to run three servers (2 CS:S and 1 CS1.6) simultaneously. CS 1.6 also needs optimising from the looks of things, considering how busy it is.

Other than that, these plans look great and I look forward to seeing them be implemented. If I can be of any help, do let me know.

Look forward to playing with you guys soon!

[henk]

hey,
i love the new hardware and software (agreed with pwnzer)
i don't really know much about R2 and stuff but i do know nick pc thinks
it would be good, and he know's a lot about it.
also i hope this will atrackt more players to the server:D
and i do think we have enough admin's atm (i mean taking in consedering
that there are some application's i think would be admin worthy)
and with the holiday's coming up maybe some old admin's will rejoin:)
and i agree with evil i love the new map's but on the website i posted there
are so many map's maybe if doggie takes another look he will find more map's
he likes.

so overall i'm very happy this all is happening:)

greetz

[Qattro]

hey doggie nice to see that youre going to make our server better.
I like the new soft and hardware.
Now to the co-location 25 € per month its a lot of money are you sure the money wouldnt fit better into a new server (of course cs:s ). I dont now the server prices in sweden but in germany they are arround 20€ per month and they are of high quality.
However a co-location will raise the server (internet) speed i think the speed of it today is enough and a new server would make dream-evil more popular

[KickFoot]

I'd be happy to donate, and hopefully more than the last time so you don't have to pay that much all by yourself. I'm currently a bit low on cash, but, I should be able to donate in a couple of weeks.

[Doggie52]

I'm on my phone and low on battery, so this will be a short post! Bear with me .
Update: the server is, as you've noticed, offline. I ran into unexpected trouble whilst installing the new case and had to purchase extra hardware (even the stock Wolfdale cooler was too big, Nick ). Hopefully the server will be online tomorrow (Friday) again!
Nick: I share your doubts of colocation and as I don't want this community to become dependent on donations I will postpone this. About the cooling: the current E7300 maxes at around 45-50 degrees - the new case has a fan inlet facing the processor directly. I doubt the cooling will be a problem!
KickFoot: that is very kind of you. Should you decide to donate, your money will go straight into the purchase of the rack and the new cooler! If you have any special requests please let me know.

[NickCPC]

Excellent, good to hear Doggie. Coloing is definitely an option, but I'm not sure we have enough people willing to donate regularly to make it viable just yet. Yeah, 1Us are much shorter than you expect - hope you have a suitable cooler now! I'm saving for my rent in July, but hopefully when that's cleared I might be able to donate a bit too.
Nice work on the fightnights too - look forward to the anniversary one ;D

[Doggie52]

Update: the server has now been moved to the new rack. OS will soon be updated to R2 (which will lead to even more downtime, sorry).

[Doggie52]

UPDATE: All servers are now in a functional state. The OS of the server has been upgraded to Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition x64 and I am eager to hear from you about performance!
Unfortunately, due to poor beta-testing by Valve most custom maps in Counter-Strike Source don't work anymore. Until Valve releases a fix for this, the only playable breakfloor-map is breakfloor2k5. I hope you all understand that it is the only map available for the time being, unfortunately!

[ewil apple]

That's the worst news I've heard in this year! Sorry, was just being stupid. I hope we will be able to play on custom maps soon, I get nightmares from 2k5 which will haunt me for the rest of my life until I'm an old apple melting away.

Good that all servers are up back again though! Thanks, Doggie !

[slim4shady]

i agreed with henk

[NickCPC]

I've definitely noticed a performance boost since R2 was installed - my pings are averaging around 85ms too, compared to ~105ms on 2008. The new TCP/IP stack is clearly working well, so a very worthwhile upgrade in my opinion! Thanks, Doggie!