server setup - for smartfoxserver2x

[vishwajeet]

Hello all,
We are developing realtime multiplayer battle game(online) using smartfoxserver2x. We will put this game into beta testing first on steam and we will be testing this game with 100 CCUs. For development we have deployed smartfoxserver2x on amazon EC2. but we need guidance on server infrastructe for "realtime multiplayer battle game". Do anybody has done the same sort of stuff here ? If yes what should be the server infrastructure or what amazon services we should use ? what should be the server configuration ?

[Lapo]

Hi,
it all depends on your requirements.

In order to run SmartFoxServer all you need is a server instance with enough RAM and CPU resources. For example and M4.xlarge instance would allow pretty good scalability to handle thousands of CCU. But you could also start with a more basic setup and grow it as your user base grows.

If you're planning to also use other services (e.g. DB server, Web Server etc...) then you may add more EC2 instances or acquire a larger virtual server to run all services together.

Each approach has its pros and cons. Other than that there's not much else for SmartFoxServer itself: in terms of configuration there's not much to do. SFS2X is ready for production right after the installation.

Surely you can fine tune many aspects such as security filters, banning rules etc... For that I'd recommend taking a look at the "Server Configurator" and "Zone Configurator" modules in the AdminTool:
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/Gettin ... ol#modules

If anything is unclear, let us know.

cheers

[vishwajeet]

Hi,
thanks for your prompt reply. For development we are using amazon ec2 - t2.micro instance(mumbai) which is free and it works preety well for development. My worry is what should be an architecture to launch the game as in the instance should be dedicated or not even if it is m4.large ? we are checking all the configurations they have given in http://calculator.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html.
Since we are based in mumbai-India, what should be the server locations and how many instances we should have at the time of the launch ? because the game will go live world-wide. I am totally new in this area of discussion, still as per my understanding we have to mediate users with master server which will redirect them to the different servers(instances) as per there location/ping rate/number of users/rooms etc.(Correct me if I am wrong). And there must be some load balancer too.
So, In this situation what should be the first step. Amazon support might help us but I hope posting here will get us exact answer, someone may have gone through same scenario or have developed such game and game is up and working.

[Lapo]

Hi,
the best approach is to start with a single server, imho.
The "load balancing" approach you are referring to is for websites but won't work for game servers. Game servers (SFS2X included) work with persistent TCP connections and therefore cannot be balanced in the same way HTTP connections are (which are opened/closed for every request)

As regards geographical position, I would simply recommend to choose a region that best works with the audience you're expecting. I understand that your game will be available to the "world" but in reality there will be a majority of users connecting from specific regions and that's where your focus should be, at least for the initial phase.

Later you will be able to analyze your traffic and get user feedback and from there take an informed decision on what to do next, such as resizing your game server, or adding new instances in other regions to provide faster connections etc...

On the subject of load balancing I'd recommend checking our "SmartFoxServer 2X Server Architecture" paper here:
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/Overview/white-papers

hope it helps

[vishwajeet]

hey..Thanks a lot Lapo ! quite clear now.