Recommended dedicated server multiplayer.ini settings?

Jorgen

Are there any "best practice" settings for values in multiplayer.ini that have to do with connection details. I'm thinking specifically about parameters like:

Upstream Rated KBPS
Downstream Rated KBPS

1) What would be recommended for hosting via a 100/100 broadband connection?
2) Should all players have similar values at their end, or is it depending on their own connection speeds?

Dedicated Target Rate

This is set to 200 now, but the server computer is not the most powerful. Should it be lowered? What is an ideal setting?

Temporary Vehicle Graphics

Some people complain that they sometimes cannot see their own vehicle, or other vehicles. It's set to 24 at the moment, but I guess these instances are "consumed" when people exit and rejoin the server? Can it be raised to a higher value without adverse effects?

Final question: We're experiencing issues where some people are disconnected during the formation lap, so I'm wondering if tuning any of these parameters could help to improve the situation?
 
hi can you give to us some informations about your server? CPU bandwidth etc.
thanks
 
The CPU is a 2.2 GHz P4 running on WinXP SP3 with just about every unnecessary background process shut down. Network is 100/100 mbps Ethernet, and the PC is directly connected to it through a 1gbps/100mbps switch.
 
1) What would be recommended for hosting via a 100/100 broadband connection?
well with 100 mbs you dont have problems :) you can choose 10/10 and all works fine
2) Should all players have similar values at their end, or is it depending on their own connection speeds?
well it depends by their own connection,but I know that in sweden you have great connections (i have a friend there ) so really i dont think that is a problem
3)This is set to 200 now, but the server computer is not the most powerful. Should it be lowered? What is an ideal setting?
i use 400,but i think you can try with 600-700 just try,better thing is a test with 15 or more drivers on track.
4)Some people complain that they sometimes cannot see their own vehicle, or other vehicles. It's set to 24 at the moment, but I guess these instances are "consumed" when people exit and rejoin the server? Can it be raised to a higher value without adverse effects?
if you are talking about the number of client allowed on your server yes more client can generate issues,but you have a good server and issues depends by client pc.
we do a race with 30 drivers and no issues.
We're experiencing issues where some people are disconnected during the formation lap, so I'm wondering if tuning any of these parameters could help to improve the situation?
well often in rfactor the 'connection lost' are random but i think that with your server you dont have problem,you have to say to your drivers to close everything (no rfactor of course :)) and before join the server restart the routers or modem.
 
Jorgen, did you install the DVD version of rFactor Dedicated.exe?

It is the first step to do.

The file is here

http://downloads.imagespaceinc.com/rFactor1255F-SD-Update.zip

Move you dedi.exe to a temp location, unzip the downloaded file in the desktop and cut/paste only rFactor Dedicated.exe in the main rFactor folder of the server. Delete the other files of the zip.

No DVD needed, no activation needed, but better server performance.
 
Thanks for the tip gentlemen, it's much appreciated. I have now installed the DVD version of the dedicated server executable. Quite a difference in file size, but a quick test was successful, so let's hope the performance is better too.

I have increased the "Temporary Vehicle Graphics" to 100 just to see if it helps people who don't see their own car sometimes.

Another parameter I was looking at is this one:
Code: 
Max Data Per Client="9999" // if desired, a per-client upload limit (in kbps) will be used if lower than the computed throttle rate

What exactly does that mean? Like, what is the "computed throttle rate" for instance? What is a decent value here?
 
i think it's the size of package that you send to every clients,i you have 24 clients and you set an uplstream limit of 10 you do 10/24 0.41 mb per client and i think that 0.41 is the computed throttle rate,if you desire use less upload band you can set a value lower than 0.41.
example if you set Max Data Per Client= 0.1 and you have 10 players they use 1 mb of upstream so you have a more stable server,you have a 100/100 server so i think that you can use higther values like 1-1.5.
 
Thanks for sharing, Tripp!

I still do not quite understand the "Max Data Per Client" setting. For instance, what happens if I set this to, say "256"? That obviously means that I'm limiting the upload to 256 kbps for every client, but what does that in reality mean? If 256 is considered too small, will the clients feel lag or warping, or other sorts of odd behaviour?

Side note: The default value "9999" seems to be quite high, doesn't it? Why is it set that high?
 
I had Max Data Per Client on 9999 when i start host servers when server have more then 26 drivers it start react odd kick out drivers make drivers join again 1 sec later did make double drivers one invisible so i start test lower the Max Data Per Client and tested 96 kb and 128 and 256 not any big difference about set Max Data Per Client should mean that every driver get same max data up so not some drivers on different speed download take all speed and some drivers on 56/128 modem not get same i not now i havs test most with 128 kb i have 100/20 if you have 100/100 you set it on 256 what to see is if dedicated server takes over 80 % when its many drivers on the server then server can start behave strange
 
in my dedi server the max upstream range (in the bar when you start the dedicated.exe)is 8042 kbs i think they use the value 9999 because how they say ,if desired, a per-client upload limit (in kbps) will be used if lower than the computed throttle rate,with 9999 this option is alway disable,if you want enable it you have to use lower value.

i find this
ReadMe.chm / Multiplayer Server Setup
Note that by default, rFactor will use as much bandwidth as allowed to create the highest quality multiplayer experience possible given the connection. The bandwidth allowance is determined by a combination of the server and client's connection options. More to the point, just because your connection can support 1000 kbits/sec (1Mbit) doesn't mean you should configure rFactor to use 1000 kbits/sec. If you plan on running several rFactor servers, or want some extra bandwidth available for other uses (web-browsing and other networking applications), you should reduce the connection type and/or "share" the upload/download speeds. For example, if you want to run 4 rFactor servers sharing a 5000 kbits/sec (5Mbit) upload connection, then each server should be configured to use no more than (5000/4) = 1250 kbits/sec. While we are talking about multiple rFactor servers running on the same machine, it should be noted that each one should use a separate profile (or "player file"), otherwise options may get mixed up between them.

Another way of limiting bandwidth is only available through editing the multiplayer configuration file (found by default at UserData/<your name>/multiplayer.ini). You can limit bandwidth on a per-client basis by changing the Max Data Per Client setting. For example, say you have some clients joining with cable connections (let's say 256kbit connections) and others joining using ISDN (64kbit). You may want everyone to experience the same connection type to your server, so you could change the Max Data Per Client to 64, which will limit even the cable clients' connection to be the same as the ISDN clients. Clearly, you can then easily calculate the maximum upload bandwidth you will be using. With 15 clients, you will be using no more than 15 * 64 = 960 kbits/sec. You might note that if this exceeds the Upload Speed you configured, bandwidth will be limited to the Upload Speed instead.
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Ah, thanks! That made perfect sense. However, I still wonder what "highest quality multiplayer experience" means, and what effects it might have if the client data rate is lower than the computed throttle rate? I'll try with 256 tonight and see what happens. Many thanks for all invaluable input so far, folks!
 
Hi all,

Sorry to drag up an old post but in googling for possible solutions to some issues this thread came up, so I thought it best to continue in here.

Having issues with running large fields (>20-25 cars) and trying to nail down the reason - because I can't really find anything wrong. Would appreciate some input from people successfully running large fields on their server, either home-based or on a dedicated box. (third-party logon dialogs probably don't allow access to a number of important settings)

Details: Running on a dedicated server box (2003), dual-core @ 2.7GHz, 2 gigs RAM, plenty of bandwidth (50+Mbps up and down).

25 cars on track, in qual/warmup/race some drivers experienced remote cars warping/disappearing (live, not on replay), had a few drop out (server not receiving updates), some rF crashes. Really a very mixed bag, a lot of issues sound more client-side but I personally suffered no instability yet definitely had warping when watching cars (live) from the garage - even a single car on track in private qualifying.

The warp and disappearing seemed most likely bandwidth issues, but with all those cars in warmup the server was uploading 200kBps in total (set to 8000kbps up and down, with Client Data Rate set to 192). I didn't check what it was doing during the race session, but with myself and several others experiencing very bad warping in private qual (1 or 2 cars on track only) the problems didn't seem to be related to the number of cars actually running around anyway.

Running the same dedicated EXE as Max has mentioned above (comes standard with the current 1250 full download as well).

Tried putting 32 AI on track (online) yesterday and I had no issues viewing them, and had a field of 40 cars offline with no problems. So it seems to be related to the number of people connected to the server rather than the server struggling with the number of cars or my machine not coping.

Had a problem in the past with pings climbing badly as drivers increased, but found a few dodgy processes and lots of in- and out-bound connections, which are all cleaned up now. Server is open except a few blocked ports (networking etc, security related, blocked with IPSec) so can't imagine any issues there.

I can't see any problems in the multiplayer.ini, and I'm pretty sure we've had 30 or so people in a race previously without issue, so I'm sort of leaning towards the server itself having problems (for whatever reason) sending out to that number of drivers, despite the overall bandwidth being high enough to easily cater for it. But if anyone has any hints (either rF or Windows Server related) I'd be grateful :eek:

Edit: Sorry to mix the Mbps/kBps/kbps units, might be a bit confusing to read. Just to confirm the figures are correct, the server can download (and upload, according to a speedtest) 6-7 megs (MB) per second, server is set to 8000/8000 (kbps), and client data rate in the multiplayer.ini is 192 (kbps) (which fits into 8000 just over 41 times). CPU was having no issues at all when I checked, as you'd expect.

2nd Edit: Stepping through the multiplayer.ini, pretty much everything not specified above is default, 'Dedicated Target Rate' is 125, 'Lessen Restrictions' is 1, no Unthrottle-ing used.
 
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A couple if years ago our league went through a terrible period of warping and connections dropping :mad:

A couple of us spent hours and hours over weeks & weeks eliminating what it could be, we replaced servers, tested & retested multiplayer settings to no avail...

Fortunately this was just before the old RSC site crashed, there really was some excellent on that site. I literally spent weeks learning everything I could about the settings & what could be our problem.

One thing I remember was that with all the different trial & error testing going on with the RSC threads, peeps worked out you could go as low as 17k per client without it causing any real issues and the quality didn't noticabley change above 64k per client. In fact since it seemed the optimum setting was the ISDN 64k which our own testing confirmed, we set that as a recommendation to all our drivers they have that set as thier connection regardless of how fast their own connection was (providing they had at least 128k of course so there was room for Vent/Teamspeak etc)

Anyway after a couple of months of pulling our hair out we eventually hired an rfactor server elsewhere and all our problems dissapeard, we had already eliminated the server itself as the issue, we had eliminated bandwith/speed as the issue since testing from the server running the dedi showed ample bandwith, and although we did identify a couple of individual members as having issues with thier own connection (they had 64k ADSL only which was getting flooded causing Warps & drop-outs, one upgraded & the other droppped their connection speed resolving their own issues) we never found the real cause.

Some time afterwards we found out that where our servers where housed was constantly having problems with packet loss through their ISP :mad:

Seems that rfactor is very sensitive to packet-loss, so just be sure you're not having similar issues, if you can, from the server running your dedi, do some testing for packet-loss. There's some online sites that provide free tests for it.

Also check if it's the same people that experience drop-outs & warping, you might find out it's a problem with their own connection, perhaps others in their household doing downloads in the background etc.. might sound basic but it's surprisingly common :)
 
What i have test and tweak multiplayer.ini file it not do so much , i set 128 kb per vehicle and 25 drivers mean 1 % upload 0% download for me.

Then i try get out high ping drivers from server because they can make server behave bad

The main thing is that dedicated server shall not go high on the upload % better upload speed a hoster have lower % when % go over 80 % on dedicated server it start get problem.
what i test to do then is set custom settings drag up to max upload even if you just have 1000 kb in upload then dedicated get lower % in upload and works better.

Chance things in multiplayer.ini file sometimes can messing up a server i have test all things and alot of hours to try get the best working server for me but it is always some things that can be better.

So long a server is running all have ok ping and it not crash kick out drivers settings should not be touched.
 
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Thanks for the post Crash, good background info there.

Crash said:
One thing I remember was that with all the different trial & error testing going on with the RSC threads, peeps worked out you could go as low as 17k per client without it causing any real issues and the quality didn't noticabley change above 64k per client. In fact since it seemed the optimum setting was the ISDN 64k which our own testing confirmed, we set that as a recommendation to all our drivers they have that set as thier connection regardless of how fast their own connection was (providing they had at least 128k of course so there was room for Vent/Teamspeak etc)
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I've seen similar said before, we're running it on the (relatively) high side because for the most part we don't run more than 20-22 drivers and the server should have heaps spare. Running very low figures is fine with a few cars around, but makes a mess on replays with even slightly distant cars so with all the extra bandwidth sitting there it seems pointless not to use it. Also running an F1 series it seems better to err on the side of higher data rates, especially for race starts with lots of cars around and potentially huge speed differentials. I guess lowering the figure right down is something we might have to resort to if our next 'bigger' event has similar issues despite my best efforts :)

Some time afterwards we found out that where our servers where housed was constantly having problems with packet loss through their ISP :mad:
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Well, obviously I'm hoping that's not the case, but done a few tests and my own ping/pathpings and I'm undecided - it's not perfect, but not obviously screwed up either, so I'll have to keep investigating.

Also check if it's the same people that experience drop-outs & warping, you might find out it's a problem with their own connection, perhaps others in their household doing downloads in the background etc.. might sound basic but it's surprisingly common
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Yep, good call, unfortunately in this instance I was one of the ones experiencing huge warping (though only in the garage, not when actually driving) and I know I had nothing else going on, and have my download set at 1000 (with the server client limit of 192 overriding it), so despite the number of issues of varying nature it's looking very much like the server might be the culprit.

Doesn't seem like any of the rF dedi settings would actually be breaking it, so I'll have to keep further tweaking of those values as a backup plan (of sorts) and try to find something else. Went and changed a number of the network adapter settings to make sure the card itself isn't struggling to cope (seems terribly unlikely, dealing with ~25 drivers here, not 2000 http requests :)), I'll try to nail down a yea or nay on the packet loss and go from there.

Thanks again for the post :)


Tripp said:
What i have test and tweak multiplayer.ini file it not do so much , i set 128 kb per vehicle and 25 drivers mean 1 % upload 0% download for me.
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You can upload at 40 megs/sec? No wonder you have no issues :p

Na, as I said the server box can upload upwards of 7MB/sec (55000+kbps), so the 8000 I've got it set to really shouldn't be an issue. Certainly shouldn't be falling over with 25 players set to 192 kbps each - 60% of upload capability, though I'm not sure it got anywhere near it. (probably need to see what it's doing during the race session, but I was driving at the time!)

Then i try get out high ping drivers from server because they can make server behave bad
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You're sure about that? I've been on servers with drivers on either constantly high pings (500-800) or fluctuating badly due to torrents etc (800-2000) and while they're going absolutely everywhere all the other cars looked as solid as normal. I know going back 10-15 years online games were prone to going haywire as the server tried to sync lagging players but I thought rFactor was a good (and early) example of handling the situation better.

Also, being in Australia a fair bit of my early online racing was done on more distant servers, and a number of times had 30+ cars all going around with no dropouts or crazy warping.

I'm not too clear on the interaction between the dedi target frame rate and latency, ~25 drivers still seems a fairly small number compared to 125Hz, but I guess upping that to 250 or higher might be worth a shot as well if/when things go pear-shaped.
 
You can upload at 40 megs/sec? No wonder you have no issues hrrm no 40 100 i have
 
Lazza said:
...I was one of the ones experiencing huge warping (though only in the garage, not when actually driving)
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Thats actually one of the ways we pickup on anyone that has problems with thier own connection :)
Being in Australia as well we certainly find that the typical higher pings from overseas drivers (like 200+) can cuase lag & warping, we once had a guy from Russia iirc who wanted to race with us, iirc his ping was about 300-350 with occasional spikes higher and just sitting in the garage watching his car showed it was bad for warping, it would have been terrible to try and race closely against him with the car jumping around. Of course only his car warped everyone elses car was rock solid and everyone else had a ping of 40-80 (about 25 others).

Good luck, hope you find the cause :)
 
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Today i test our KINDERGARTEN server with 32 kb i need see how server react on that from 128 kb .
When i was online with 2 other drivers it worked good all 3 get 60 in ping , let see when server get 30 drivers what happends !!
 
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