dedicated server problem

[legacy-xi.tampon]

i set up a dedicated server on a laptop with a 2ghz cpu, 512mb ram, and a radeon 7500 mobile.

i connect to the server with this desktop and about every 10 seconds the screen jitters, anyone know why this is? my ping is about 20ms on average. I connect to servers on the internet and dont have this problem, so i know it has something to do with the server or the laptop.

plz help me out.. i need this server for a lan tomorrow.

[legacy-xi.tampon]

bump

[Imaginos]

Don't bump your post after an hour and change.

Don't serve from laptops. Power-saving features and CPU throttling make for more headaches than it's worth.

[legacy-Aceonfire]

Whats wrong with bumping after an hour? And why are you telling him how often to bump? Who the hell are you?

Now, onto answer the question.....

Laptaps are just fine for hosting dedicated servers....but..what type of cpu are you using? Is it a Celeron or P4 Mobile? Have you tweaked the tcp/ip settings for lan?

check out unrealadmin.org They should have quite a few of tweaks for running a lan server.

BTW I host a 10 player server on a P4 M and it works awsome.

[Imaginos]

I know the concept of etiquette might feel out of place here in what used to be ina forums, but trust me, mister helper.. Those who will take the time to read it, will read and answer if they care to. Do yourself a favor.. Figure out the do's and don'ts of self bumping and answer your own questions.

As for who am I? I'm sure you meant that as a rhetorical Q, but if not.. I am just another search-button veteran and long-time reader here that's been through more than a few discussions about laptops and oddly enough, serving from them. I enjoy helping admins/clients where I can and over the years my patience for people that don't make the effort to help themselves while asking others to do it for them is wearing a little thin - hence, I'm not the everyday fixture here that I used to be - not to mention the original PlanetUnreal.. In short, I'm a cranky SOB.

Now if you have something more meaningful to add other than shrugging and sending him to unrealadmin.org, please do. If there's a fix or a FAQ item there, cite it. I usually send people there to hit tutorials so they can learn the concepts and understand what's going on and are somewhat able to help themselves if problems arise and prevent a ton of questions.. Homework, if you will.. the stuff all admins should know as a minimum.. Shame it isn't mandatory.

[legacy-SpazzTic]

No ****. Git `em Imaginos. :D

[LLEVIATHANN]

I'm having the exact same problem and a number of folks over at unrealadmin are too. Either you get the jitters or you're stuck at the Click Fire. So we are not alone. I'm trying this on two laptops too. As for putting blame on the power controls is BS. The laptop serves fine in non-dedicated mode, but as soon as I check that dedicated box and hit start so do the jitters. Just that fact that it runs fine in one mode and not the other takes the hardware out of the equation in my mind.

So what are the differences in dedicated and non dedicated serving? Besides the obvious.

Dell Insp 8500 P4m 2.4/gig ram/GF440 64mb
Dell Insp 8100 P3m 1.0/512 ram/GF2 16mb

I've looked high & low for a solution. I'm blaming XP right now since it seems to be a common factor in many of the treads explaining the same problem. I may reformat the 8100 and put in Win2KPro for grins.

[NakedApe]

Originally posted by LLEVIATHANN
... As for putting blame on the power controls is BS.

I'd say Imaginos has a point, laptops are usually built to save every mA they can and they normally do this by inactivating unused (relatively speaking) parts of the system. This isn't to say that you can't serve from a laptop, it's just going take a little more work and knowledge.


Originally posted by LLEVIATHANN
The laptop serves fine in non-dedicated mode, but as soon as I check that dedicated box and hit start so do the jitters. Just that fact that it runs fine in one mode and not the other takes the hardware out of the equation in my mind.

So what are the differences in dedicated and non dedicated serving? Besides the obvious.


The difference is that in dedicated mode the server has a lot less to compute, so it might trigger speed stepping or other ACPI features...

Have you actually verified that all powersaving (ACPI/APM) options are turned off?

Have you tried raising the priority of the server process to AboveNormal or High (but don't set it to Realtime)?

Are the jitters there when more people join the server? Do they get worse? Better?

[LLEVIATHANN]

Power saving features are off. No I did not mess with priorities. That is at default. One person conected, me. I just installed UT2K3 (lastest patch & BPs) on my serving laptop. I'm in the process of testing UT2K3 (I'd never roll out an untested server). Yes, dedicated runs less so it sould run better. But it doesn't, that is the whole problem.

The problem is NOT! The hub, router, switch, cables, or NIC. I've tried on three different LAN configs with same result. Hell I even took the laptop to work and tried there, no difference. I do not have the problem on my HP Pav with half of the system specs of the the laptop and runs ME.

I have always used laptops to serve my LANs. This is the first time I've ever had a problem hosting a game. First time I'm serving with XP too.

[Imaginos]

I wish I had a laptop to play along too, but all I've had to go on is the past threads where I've watched people go insane trying to figure it out.
Worst thing is, if anyone had any real luck with it, they never reported back.
Doesn't that bug the hell outta ya?

[NakedApe]

Originally posted by LLEVIATHANN
...Yes, dedicated runs less so it sould run better. But it doesn't, that is the whole problem.
...
I do not have the problem on my HP Pav with half of the system specs of the the laptop and runs ME.

Less work to do means more idle time and more CPU horsepower means that the server will do more work in less time hence the chance of some powersave feature (either XPs or the laptop BIOS) kicking in increases...

Did you actually try my suggestions?

[LLEVIATHANN]

Yeah, I did. I was up late busting my head on this. So I thought maybe I missed something. Double and re-double checked the BIOS, all power saving features are off, same with the control panel. Bumped the service up to high (which was something I hadn't tried before). Still no go...

I'm in the middle of "upgrading" to Win2K Pro. I'll know if its the OS or not in a couple hours.

Thanks

[NakedApe]

Ok, let us know how it goes.

One thing more you could test if you decide to run it on XP again is to go to the system properties, advanced-tab, performance, advanced-tab and set "processor scheduling" to optimize for background processes (also check that memory is set to best performance for programs while you're there).

[LLEVIATHANN]

Well the "upgrade" worked. The laptop hosts just fine now. I'll still mess around with my back up server which is still on XP. Well see how it goes.

Thanks!

[legacy-HuntrCker]

Thing to check on XP servers: QoS (if it's installed even if not active). Many messages on the General Forum that it was causing lag on XP clients.

Interesting notion though... laptops being very portable as servers, don't have to lug a monitor to the LANs - I was under the impression that laps sucked as servers but I guess the high end laps could be suitable?

So the win2k "upgrade" worked eh? Just wondering how many players you're hosting in LAN mode for each of your laps. Also, any feedback on the higher priority settings resulting in better performance?

[LLEVIATHANN]

Welp, this was my first attempt at hosting with XP Pro & UT2K3. All my past experience has been with 2KPro & UT on the laptops. I even hosted on an iBook once. :)

As for LANs go, I'm really small time. Setting up LANs 3 or 4 times a year for a group of buddies. The largest to date has been 12, hosted on a Dell Insp. 8100 with 2K Pro and UT. Ran great, not a problem...atleast until the OpenGL screen saver kicked in...oops. Easy fix tho. I hope this one coming up is bigger yet. Judging on the past it should be.

BTW UT ran the same way in XP Pro. I'm gonna get my hands on a buddies Insp. 5100 with XP Home and see if there is an issue there. I'd like to see if this is specific to XP Pro or not. But not today my head hurts and I'm going to continue getting UT2K3 ready for the LAN.