[MUD-Dev] Server hosting

[Corey Crawford]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Brian Hook

> Can someone give me the scoop on how most MUDs are hosted?  I'm
> assuming something a bit more elaborate than a server running off
> a cable modem in someone's bedroom, but I could be wrong.

Depends on the game, obviously, but to give you a few examples:

  Avatar, a pretty large (text) MUD, with 200+ ppl online at a time,
  supposedly runs on a DSL line in the Imps basement. It use to have
  a dedicated server, but apparently their ISP was having trouble so
  he moved it to his DSL line.

  My Test MUD runs on a dedicated server, co-located at an ISP in
  AZ. My testing grounds have no amount of users whatsoever, but I
  like to maintain absolute control over my testing
  environment. Plus, when it actually becomes a Public server, I
  have 100% cpu and memory to use.

Most other MUDs - a host-share, ie: www.inetsolve.com

  DSL: DSL would probably be ok if you got a high end business line,
  obviously this also depends on the number of users you have on the
  MUD at one time.  Too many and its easy to saturate a low quality
  DSL line.

  Cable: Connection bandwidth is too variable for my tastes. I'm
  sure some small MUDs don't have a problem running on a cable
  modem, but a MUD of decent size would have noticeable lag during
  peak hours.

  Dedicated Server: Obviously, this is my favorite choice. You get
  the reliability of a hosted connection while maintaining control
  over your server.

  Host-share: This is the most common, and I would say 95% of the
  MUDs out there are hosted in a shared hosting
  environment. Inetsolve (the example above) usually has around 15
  MUDs hosted on a single server. Because of this, they are picky
  about system resources.

However, please note that most common web hosts will /not/ host a
MUD. They almost always have to be in the business for it (like
inetsolve is), because the drain to system resources is a lot larger
than just hosting a website.

Hope that helps :)

---
Corey Crawford | myrddin at seventh.net


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