Neverwinter Nights Multiplayer Server 24x7 Now with NWN and NWN:EE
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Our NEW NWN Server is ON LINE now

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Our NEW NWN Server is ON LINE now  Empty Our NEW NWN Server is ON LINE now

Post  GM_ODA Mon Nov 03, 2014 8:01 am

Friends,
Our server, the machine itself, is actually the second server we've run. The original server ran flawlessly for the first four years, experienced some hardware issues and was replaced with a better machine. This second machine has been hosting our NWN module since then (another four years). The server (the hardware) fits in a particular sort of rack at the data center. That rack is obsolete and the hosting company would like to retire it in favor of newer, smaller, more energy efficient hardware and racks. Toward this end, the hosting company was willing to negotiate a good deal for our hosting ON A NEW MACHINE!!!!


For those who are curious, our old machine was a P4 2.8 GHz machine with 4 gigs of ram.

The new machine will be :

Xeon Quad Core X3220 2.4GHz

8GB Ram
500GB SATA HD
5TB BW (100Mbps port)
5 ips


As you can see, the new machine is faster, and has double the ram. This configuration maintains our monthly cost (it was the best I could negotiate friends - same price faster machine for us, and the hosts get us off the old hardware which made them happy). Next year, we'll squeeze them for a better price (next year they'll be pushing even more powerful stuff and prices for the older stuff tends to lower over time). I think, and I hope you agree, we have a good deal here. The server hosts ONLY nwn, has enough resources to host up to five modules, with 96 players on each, lag free, and has the bandwidth to never stumble (again no lag).

Erin and I will begin migrating all our files (the module, databases and your characters).

Within a day or two, we should have all this sorted out and the NWN server you know and love, Argentum Regio, will return to the Internet (with a new IP).

Watch this thread for further details.


Last edited by GM_ODA on Thu Nov 20, 2014 9:21 am; edited 5 times in total (Reason for editing : message was stale, refreshed)
GM_ODA
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Post  GM_ODA Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:49 pm

STALE MESSAGE REDACTED - READ FURTHER PLEASE


Last edited by GM_ODA on Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:32 am; edited 1 time in total
GM_ODA
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Post  DM Drachen Wed Nov 05, 2014 5:49 am

I just saw the title of this topic and got sad for a moment. Then, I read the thread.
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Post  Valerion Wed Nov 05, 2014 5:56 am

Sad, as a person who never plays anymore? Suspect
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Post  DM Drachen Wed Nov 05, 2014 6:23 am

More like an old world that I used to enjoy, but I don't have the time to anymore.
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Post  GM_ODA Wed Nov 19, 2014 7:25 am

STATUS AND GAME PLAN!!!

Steps to be completed:


1 Send new server order to sales team at host. DONE
2 Receive word that new server is online. DONE
3 Server security procedures. DONE
4 Migrate files from old drive (PCs, Databases, etc.) DONE
5 Configure NWN server and test same. DONE
6 Publish new IP and post here that the server is open for fun and games. DONE

I'll keep you all updated with the above checklist.

NEW SERVER IS NOW ONLINE
IP : 96.31.77.127


I hope to see you all on the server soon! Thank you for your patience. AND EXTRA SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ERIN OUR TECHNICAL WIZARDRESS!
GM_ODA
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Post  GM_ODA Thu Nov 20, 2014 10:13 am

Friends,
First - A BIG THANK YOU TO ERINIEL!!! Genius and good friend to the server! She has migrated the systems and done so quickly. KUDOS to Erin!!! When you see her next, be sure to thank her too!

Second - wheeeeeeeeeeee! We are in our new server!


The new machine is :

Xeon Quad Core X3220 2.4GHz
8GB Ram
500GB SATA HD
5TB BW (100Mbps port)
5 ips



And she is running SMOOOOOOOTHLY thanks to Erin!

Importantly, the server is online BECAUSE OF YOUR KIND DONATIONS! We were able to negotiate a better hardware at same price deal. So we are still paying $65 a month. Thanks to the initial deal offering 'pay for six months and get two free' on new servers being opened, we are PAID THROUGH JULY 19TH 2015 !!!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO DONATED!!!

I want to tell you all, we have a most excellent PLAYERBASE here! Dedicated and generous souls who love the server as much as do we builders. I THANK YOU ALL! At the last minute, we even had a few urgent messages from some these FINE PLAYERS here asking "do you need more? how can I help?"

BLESS YOU ALL. We made the goal. If any of you feel so inclined, please do hit the donate button so we can set aside funds to pay the next server bill (not due until July 2015) - we have some time to build up the fund for that day. If everyone who can donates a little at regular intervals between now and then, we'll avoid a panic next go around.

Kudos to Erin!
Kudos to you all!

Bless you all my friends!
GM_ODA
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Post  cjc180 Fri Nov 21, 2014 7:05 am

GM_ODA wrote:
Importantly, the server is online BECAUSE OF YOUR KIND DONATIONS! We were able to negotiate a better hardware at same price deal. So we are still paying $65 a month. Thanks to the initial deal offering 'pay for six months and get two free' on new servers being opened, we are PAID THROUGH JULY 19TH 2015 !!!

Erm... I thought after hitting the $500 mark we would receive a decrease in the monthly subscription...? To something like $15-$25ish a month...?

Why did you pay for the six months + two free offer when we were trying to get the decreased cost subscription?

I don't want to sound rude, I just thought.... that was the plan...? Neutral
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Post  GM_ODA Fri Nov 21, 2014 7:56 am

Friends,
As noted in the other thread - the offer of "$500 down payment to reduce monthly by $50" sadly, only applied to servers with a base price of $150 or greater (this was text found on a page 'deeper' than the main screen from which I read the offer). I had been offered, as an inducement to change to the new rack/server hardware, a 25% lifetime discount (which we are using). The company has costs, and cannot price below that, so they have rules to guide the sales prices and allowable discounts. I apologize for my own lack of understanding in this aspect of the price. I had honestly hoped to get the monthly price down to something under 30 or 40 dollars.

The offer that allowed a $50 dollar discount on monthly, sadly only applies to servers costing $150 a month or more, thus, reducing price to $100 a month, which if the offered 25% discount were added in, would be $75 a month. Since we were paying $65 a month there would be no reason to make this server change - so, we look a little lower on their list of offered machines. The advertised $99 a month server is what I started looking at (thinking the 500/50 deal would apply to these, but that was my err). The advertised $99 with my 25% discount applied only got us down to $74.25, this is still up from what we were paying, so I had to rethink. The $99 server was the least expensive one they had listed on their page of offers, BUT, consulting with the sales person, we found a non-featured server that fit the new racks, offered at $89 a month, which they allowed to go for $65 a month when I said I really could not justify any price increase (as we run on donations). This $89 a month machine is the one we are in now using, by taking a six month billing cycle they offered 7th and 8th month FREE. This means the actual monthly cost for the next 8 months works out to just $48.75 (six months payment at $65 a month, divided by eight months service). After that, it's $65 a month, but for the first eight months we got the price down below fifty dollars a month.

What are we getting for our money?

BANDWIDTH out the wahzoo (technical term) - bandwidth for a server is CRITICAL. I'm sure many of you have logged onto servers hosted from homes using DSL or CABLE and experienced lag related with the number of users logged in. This is often BANDWIDTH based lag, the up/down transfer of these home subscriber lines is low enough that a well populated server's needs can swamp the BANDWIDTH capacity and cause lag. Our host provides just the fattest bandwidth I've ever used - beyond T1 connections, and they have redundant connections which means we will pretty much never get disconnected (as can often happen in home based systems given the vagaries of foul weather and traffic accidents that knock out poles. DATA CENTER connections are solid and redundant. A simple home line like DSL or CABLE can cost upward of $25 a month, what we get from our host is WAY better than that.

SOLID HARDWARE - [b]Xeon Quad Core X3220 2.4GHz with 8GB Ram and a 500GB SATA HD!!! [/b]With free repairs effected usually in 30 minutes or less. I don't know if you have logged into the new server yet, if you have not you really should, because the speed change is awesome. Spawns are just there when you enter an area (no more 2-4 second pause, no spawn-stutter). Myself, I have some crappy old motherboards laying around here, that _could_ be rigged with a used (questionable lifespan remaining) hard drive to give us some level of hosting, but nothing to compare to the power of the host listed above. More if I tried hosting locally, should any hardware fail, I'd have to turn to you all to fund the parts, then get the parts, then effect a repair, all of which would amount to significant down time anytime a hardware part would fail. What is a machine like this worth ( - one that fixes itself)?



SECURITY - using a hosting service allows greater security for myself (shielding my location and identity from those who need-not know it). I won't run an insecure ship. 'nuff said.


In the end, I negotiated the best deal I could, and met the server needs for eight months with donations on hand. Just under $100 remains of the $480 donations we received for the server, so if we can generate about $300 in donations during the next eight months, we'll have the next payment (due July 2015).

I've been involved in various forms of hosting on the Internet since 1995. Myself, I think this is a very good deal. I haggled my haggling best. I do hope you good people agree. With the lease on the old server about to expire -

My only choices were:

1) close the server
2) stay with same server and same costs
3) negotiate the best possible deal for a better server

We got a better server for the same monthly cost with a couple 'sales gifts' in the form of free months service. Option 3 was where I went with this.
GM_ODA
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Post  sploenk Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:31 am

DM Drachen wrote:More like an old world that I used to enjoy, but I don't have the time to anymore.

I'm with you mate!

Kudos to all who donated!!! Even though i am not around as much as i used to be, i still concider this place a home, and i'll support it if it's needed, no questions asked. This place has been up and down, but i'll stand with ODA no matter what, because our donations mean nothing compared to what Oda has put into this server FOR US, ...get to know the big guy and you'll know what i'm talking about!

Oda, heaps of kudo's to you my friend!!!

cheers
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Post  GM_ODA Sun Nov 23, 2014 7:55 am

Friends,
The server will need to be taken off-line briefly at some point during the week. The reason is - we had the old hard drive installed as a secondary drive on the new machine - Eriniel copied all the files from the old drives to the new one and the downtime is required to disconnect the secondary (old) hard drive. I'm not sure exactly what day or time we'll do this (I have to coordinate that with Eriniel), but this is fair warning : DO NOT BE SHOCKED IF WE TAKE THE SERVER DOWN FOR SOME BRIEF INTERVAL IN THE COMING DAYS.

THANK YOU.
GM_ODA
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