[Nel] Network Connections

Thu, 1 Mar 2001 11:46:35 +0100

According to Tom wright:
+> 1) i think you are going to find it very difficult to scale a server
+> to 5000 concurrent users, using any kind of scheme unless its a BIG
+> server.  Look at EQ currently, they struggle with 2000.  But this is
+> just my opinion :-) so feel free to ignore it.
+
+EQ doesn't struggle with 2000 because of server size. A "server" on EQ
+consists (to the best of my knowledge) of about 15 or so quadriprocessor
+RISC boards, with all nearly 100 zones (now) spread of these. They
+struggle not because the server can't handle the load, but because the
+content of the game can't handle the load (i.e. problems stem not from
+too many people for CPU time, they stem from too many people for not
+enough spawns).
+
+No MMOG so far can use a single server, no matter how big it is. What
+we term server, or shard, or whatever, typical technical litterature
+terms 'cluster'. And using the right architecture can make a cluster
+very large, until it collapses not from load, but when adding a new
+note consumes more CPU spent in inter-node communications than the node
+itself adds to the whole.
+
+> 2) On windows NT/2k, using async sockets with events is...
+...
+> 3) Windows did support something called micro threads, which had...
+
+All these optimisation techniques are nice. But they're heavily dependent
+on Windows itself. We do want our server to run under windows, for debugging
+purpose (and for the odd amateur out there who would want to run a
+smallish server on his home machine), but we clearly do NOT intend our
+production servers to run under windows.
+
+Which is why we're looking at a reasonably portable architecture, and why
+these suggestions, as nice as they are, cannot be used, because they tie
+too much the architecture :(
+
+> PS A binary of the next release for windows would be nice, takes HOURS to build :-)
+
+As much as people would love one, it's right now a "marketing" decision,
+so that we attract people that really want to look at the source, and not
+just people who want to look at the finished product without caring about
+how it's done :)
+
+(However, some Nevrax people, and maybe external people as well, have set
+ up binary archives on their own private home pages. Ask, and you'll
+ probably find it. But officially, we do not support or provide these
+ releases. Yet)
+
+-- 
+Vincent Archer                                         Email: archer@nevrax.com
+
+Nevrax France.                              Off on the yellow brick road we go!
+
+