Interested in setting up a UOX3 server on Linux

Mocs · Post by **Mocs** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 3:38 am

Greetings all,
Just set up a new Linux server at the house for development (Ubuntu 8.10) and figured, what the heck, while I have it up, might as well set up that UO Server I have always dreamed/talked/wished for...

So here is the deal: been through the forums and docs, don't know exactly what specs the server needs to be (I saw something saying it *might* work on a p100 with 128mb of RAM???) and how much disk space it will need. Also, most of what I saw in the docs is geared to setting up in a Windows server (ick) and I never saw any detailed docs for a Linux install... which isn't to say there aren't any, just haven't seen any!
So, if there is ANYONE out there who has set up UOX3 on a Linux box, and wants to throw me a line... I would *greatly* appreciate it.

Also, anyone wanting to give me advice on setting up the shard in general... what to patch, what to add, what NOT to add... what the best tools to edit with are... ANY newbie help would be greatly appreciated... I can just see it now, I get the thing up and running, all the NPCs are running around naked because I didn't app the patch for their clothes... oh, the humanity... so if you want to save me MUCH time and pulled out hair, THANKS in advance!

Mocs

Jediman · Post by **Jediman** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 5:55 pm

I'd say a BARE minimum of a:

P3 - 400mhz CPU
512mb RAM

It would chug on an old system

Mocs · Post by **Mocs** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 8:14 pm

Yeah... read the docs. I figure once you get into the config, it's all the same... as for the INSTALLATION, it looks decidedly Windows based...

Jediman · Post by **Jediman** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 8:24 pm

Most of it is windows based, but for linux the directories in the ini and such should be straight forward.

But..you'll need to snag the source and build it as we only are distributing the windows release. Not many users run linux when it comes to UO emus, so linux isn't widley supported, but compiling it under linux should work.

Check out this topic: viewtopic.php?t=457
For a walkthrough on linux compilation.

I have an opensuse distro loaded on a PC @ home, and I'll try it out as well to make sure it's all hunky dorey.

Mocs · Post by **Mocs** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 8:45 pm

Now THAT was very much helpful...

Wonder why more people don't use Linux... for a server it is better, I think

Cavalier · Post by **Cavalier** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 3:50 am

I was the one responsible for throwing out those old server specs. They were generally agreed to be a respectable minimum for a SERVER ONLY (that is, no client running on the same box) install for a couple of clients to bang around on. If you have other things running on the box you will need more resources, of course. Things have changed since then and I don't have a recent benchmark. Hardware is cheap anyway.

The install on Linux is much the same as the install on Windows, a few issues around end line characters and whatnot exist, but for the most part a modern Linux distro should handle everything fine. Just make sure you set your paths correctly and have the client files available.

Build your own binary, it makes life easier. Instructions are here: http://uox3.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7669#7669 - I havn't tested the latest release for Linux build compatibility yet.

As for Linux as a server, its just another useful tool in your workbox, it is not a be all and end all solution. That said I do use Linux on my desktops/laptops and many servers. Some people don't like change. I'd go out on a limb and say most people working in IT or ICT or whatever you would like to call it now are "cowboys" anyway.

Cavalier · Post by **Cavalier** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 3:52 am

Actually, as a side note I'd be quite surprised if you got a desktop version of Ubuntu 8.10 up and running with 128MB of ram. And if you do it will be out of memory the moment you start using it..

Skip the X server and run a cli-only build.

Mocs · Post by **Mocs** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:23 pm

Quite possibly true... but I never said I only had 128MB of RAM. Sorry if there was confusion there. Yes, it *is* a bit older system, by today's standards, but I have patched and hobbled it together. And it is running Ubuntu Server, I put the LAMP on it so I could do dev at home, without all those nasty FTP speed issues.

My hope isn't to run a FULL shard off of it... well, not one that hundreds (or even dozens) of people are playing on. Really, I just love Ultima, and I wanted to tinker and play around... and if I ever get something that resembles a fully operational shard, I will figure out what to do from there... most likely get a dedicated server somewhere and host it there.

I was asking what the minimum requirements were just in case there was some odd requirement that my test system didn't meet... it's probably good enough, but it never hurts to check, right?

stranf · Post by **stranf** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 6:11 pm

I ran Uox3 with my rather large (content wise) shard on a single core Pentium 4 with 512MB ram through dialup --yes dialup-- with 5 users (some on dialup, a few on LAN, and a client on top of the server box)

Even with a single core and client on top of the server, the only bottle neck was the internet/ LAN connection. Local area users and the user on the server box could easily ride horses through populated Britain with the occasional "catch-up" lag --which seems to pop up whether I'm running UOx3 dedicated on my i7 or using it on my old P4.

Performance server side never decreased nor increased when I switched from dialup to DSL (though the internet clients saw a huge boost in performance!)

It is my belief that Uox3 could *easily* run on a 64MB system --but you would need something like Windows 9x to run it, as your OS is now you big resource hog.

Now, the P4 did have slow load times. With my 80MB+ world file, it would take 230+ seconds to load the world and 28-45 seconds per world save. (which is why we turned off the "auto-save" feature, and only did manual saves at convenient times.

------------------------
Now I run Uox3 on my i7 with:

--Server
--Client on top of server (with my personal PC)
-- Windows 7 Virtual PC with 1GB RAM and another client (for admin work)
-- ANOTHER Windows 7 Virtual PC with 1GB of RAM and another client (to control NPCS)

and players logging in through the DSL and/or LAN.

So with one OS and two virtual OSes, one server, and 3 clients on the same PC and I switch from one client to another with just as much lag as I would with playing solo on one PC.

This is the only way to fly -by the way- if you are GM running quests. No more "logging out" and "logging in" --or "gating to a quest spot and gating back" as an admin to set stuff up.

Uox3 truly is designed for much larger player load than I will ever tax it with!!

Jediman · Post by **Jediman** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:15 pm

Dude, you have an i7? *drool*

Got any benchmarks for that sucker?

stranf · Post by **stranf** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:41 pm

Dude, you have an i7? *drool*

Got any benchmarks for that sucker?

Sorry for the slight thread hijack Mocs, but I can't resist...

The i7 isn't really a gaming platform. Seriously, get a nice quad-core or Core 2 and spend the bulk of your money on a crossfire/SLI video card setup if you are a gamer --unless you want bragging rights! For me, the primary reason for the i7 was home video encoding (my wife made me get an AVHCD camcorder for our new baby).

The i7 encodes 4-5 times faster than my Pentium D. And on top of that, --since Vegas Platinum Pro only really uses 4 threads-- with hyper- threading you can still multitask whereas on the Pentium D I had to go to sleep because the computer was essentially frozen while it was chugging numbers.

My encoding times went from 5 hours down to 1, and at the same time I was editing pictures on photoshop and drawing stuff on autocad. I could even play UO and run a server without lagging the system while encoding 1080i HD files! The i7 is truly a workhorse --an amazing number cruncher.

Right now it is over kill for games. When I play something like Drakensang, one thread gets pegged at 100%, but the other 7 sit there at idle. I don't play any uber-high performance 3d games so I don't really know if any support a proper quad let alone a hyper threaded one yet.

As for gaming benchmarks, I won't fare well because my system is tied to a single Radeon 4670 with 256MB ram (but at a blistering GDDR4 speed to make up for the lack of storage).

I was able to get the system (including case) piecemeal from Newegg for under $1000. I believe it was $890 cost $920 shipped when all was said and done.

That included Vista x64 home premium ($99 of the cost). The i7 runs so good on a 64 bit PC with 6GB of ram running multiple 32-bit Virtual PCs that it is something you really have to experience before you believe it.

Going from my Pentium D (or heck the E8400 Core 2 Duo I have at work) to the i7 was the biggest tangible performance jump than any previous upgrade I have ever done.... ---the previous record was my upgrade in 1999 from a 486DX4 66 with 8MB of ram to a Pentium II 233Mhz.

Mocs · Post by **Mocs** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:04 pm

Hey.. feel free to hijack the thread at any time. While it wasn't on topic, it was informative, so I forgive you

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Interested in setting up a UOX3 server on Linux

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