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According to the Wikipedia, Game Server is a remotely or locally run server used by game clients to play multiplayer games. Most video games played over the Internet operate through a connection to a game server. These game servers are offered by the Game Server Providers, companies that lease dedicated game servers. Presently, in the web hosting industry, game server web hosting is one of the fastest growing segments.

Game Servers are of two types, Listen Servers and Dedicated Servers. Listen server are usually used in situation in which the server typically runs in the same process as the game client, allowing a player to both host and participate in the game. Listen servers are mostly operated by individuals, often in LAN situations rather than over the internet. Dedicated servers are the servers which can be run by individuals, but are usually run on dedicated hardware located in data centers, providing more bandwidth and dedicated processing power. Mostly, for hosting game servers for most PC-based multiplayer games dedicated servers are used.

Unlike traditional business hosting, Game hosting is far more demanding. It requires significant amounts of specially formatted server space to meet the demands of many players choosing one game at a single time. There are literally millions of consumers around the world who opt to play games online, which all translates to a need for reliably organized and dedicated service.

Heavy traffic is not the only issue that should be addressed when looking for a game server web hosting service however. Easy to use control panels which can help the site owner automate and organize many processes is also something that should be considered an absolute “must”. This is because the online gaming environment requires a lot of customer support and service, and also many applications and software updates and fixes which can only be managed with a good control panel feature.

Additionally, the amount of space required to handle the needs of the gaming software may limit the number of games available and the gamer server web hosting company selected. The games are each assigned a special “node” on the hosting equipment and each node has a limited number of “slots”, which translate to the total number of players who can access the game at any given time.

The best contemporary game server web hosting companies make about ten to fifteen nodes available on each server – which is a good illustration of the kind of space the games and functions require. This also introduces the need for reporting features that quickly let the website owner know which of their games is receiving the most attention or usage. Such information is critical in expanding offerings or eliminating a game that may be taking up to fifteen percent of a company’s server space.

Hosting providers usually supply their clients with game server hosting services that include the most technologically advanced servers and network connections, very often with the preinstalled software to start online gaming business immediately. The most popular games using the technology of distributed servers are: Doom 3, Medal of Honor, Halo, Unreal Tournament, Counter Strike, Quake 3, etc.

Many online gamers also like to discuss the games they are playing and to socialize with fellow gamers, because of this it is important to see if the game server web hosting company provides applications such as chatting or forums which will add to the enjoyment of the customers.

Finally, though the game server web hosting sites are relatively new, they still require as much security and updating as traditional server equipment. Because of this it is important to inspect each company before making a final choice.

Many clans or gaming enthusiasts working to get a game server popular run into a problem: they don’t have enough admins. Though admins may not be necessary all the time, any game server of decent size will need one around. The admins you have on your game server will be crucial to its continuing success.

Though your friends who play on your game server may not cause trouble, other players who come along might. Trouble makers need to be dealt with smoothly and quickly if you plan on keeping your server’s popularity. It can take months to build up a game server’s status in the gaming world, but a trouble maker or cheater can clear out a server by simply annoying everyone else. No one likes playing with cheaters or annoying whiners, and players won’t hesitate to find another server to frag on for the evening if someone else is ruining their game.

You should have enough admins in your gaming clan so that at least one is at all times, or at least during the server’s busiest hours. If you can’t get enough admins, you can give players a way of contacting you if a player is causing havoc. Posting your email or AIM in a scrolling message in a scrolling message on the server is one good way. Another is getting a few trusted gamers on your server to keep watch for and inform you if any problems crop up.

Though you may have plenty of admins in your gaming clan, are they good? Most admins out there do a great job, but there are always a few bad apples who abuse their power. Worse than an abusive player is an abusive admin. Admins who kick players better than them, insult new players, or ban for minor offenses will make your game server’s players leave in a flash. Do your fellow players a favor and keep a watch on your admins. Have an email or website set up where people can ask questions about your server’s rules or report admin abuse. Occasionally pop in your server using an anonymous name and see how your admins act. The point is, don’t trust your game server admins blindly. Power can bring out the worst in people sometimes.

Without a strong admin base, your gaming server will not last. Every server on decent size needs a group of trustworthy admins who are always on call to deal with cheaters or otherwise irksome players. What is also important, however, is that these server admins be trustworthy and fair. No game server can last long without proper adminning.

So, just what is a game server? Before answering that question, it’s important to understand how online gaming works. Many popular games today, first person shooters in particular, support online play. Such Internet-based play expands the game to whole new levels, and provides an experience not possible in single player environments. Players ranging in numbers from half a dozen to as many as sixty-four can all join what’s called a game server and play on the same map (game level) at the same time. Gaming servers work much like web servers, but instead of hosting websites, host game matches that others can join. Though the game itself is not loaded from the server, important game information such as player scores and rules are. Think of them in terms of a soccer stadium. The stadium provides a scoreboard and a field to play on, and the players come to the stadium to play.

While it is possible for a gamer to host a server on his computer, such servers are only suitable for a small number of players due to the slow speed of their connections. Game servers of any decent size are hosted by what are known as server providers in large data centers. With high-speed connection speeds and high-end server hardware, these providers can host servers of any size. The most popular games hosted these days include the Battlefield series, Counter Strike: Source, the Call of Duty games, the Medal of Honor series, and Unreal Tournament. Most providers offer free support, the ability to change the hosted game on the fly, free voice servers for oral communication, and web hosting. Prices for gaming servers vary greatly from provider to the provider and game to game, but the average is around $2 per player. People who run game servers sometimes pay for them out of their own pockets, but often times a group of gamers will form what is called a clan and share the cost of the server. Once a server is setup, anyone can play on a server for free, though some servers are private and require a password to join.

They make it possible for game lovers worldwide to get together and play their favorite games in an online environment, and have created a whole new market in the gaming world and have changed the way people view gaming. As technology increases, it will be interesting to see how the game server market changes.

As fast as your game server might be, there will come a day when a problem arises. Perhaps your server will become laggy, maybe it will get hacked, or it might not work at all. When these things happen, your line of defense will always be your game server provider’s support team. Any decent provider will offer free support with your server, and some even offer 24-hour support! Good support is the key to having a good game server, and you shouldn’t give any provider that doesn’t offer it a second glance.

So, just what is good support? A good support person will answer all your questions fully and completely, be polite at all times, and fix your problem in a reasonable amount of time. Preferably, all issues should be solved in less than 24 hours. Most gaming server companies offer support via special online ticket systems, but some go as far as to offer instant message support, email support, and in some cases, even phone support.

To have your problem fixed as quickly as possible, it’s important to open a support request as soon as the problem is first noticed. When filing a ticket, tell your provider exactly what the problem is. Give details about when the problem occurred, what you were doing at the time, what game your server runs, your server’s IP, and how the problem specifically impacts you. Doing these things will not only get your problem solved faster, but will make life easier for support personnel.

Just like with any computer product, a decent game server will have good support. Though providers with better support may be more expensive, it will spend more time online and less time down, giving you more fragging action. No matter how good or bad your particular game server’s support is, keep one thing in mind: you always have the power to change providers.