Recommended spec for dedicated server?

[Lace]

As the title really - I assume wired connection and decent SSD, but what else helps?  Do we still want a decent multi-core CPU?  What about a GPU?

[Archer.xd]

No need for GPU as dedicated server is not rendering anything. A CPU with good single-core performance (server isnt multithreaded), SSD, RAM (8gb should be enough for 1 server with relatively light mission, go for more if you intend to host for more people and heavier missions [I was hosting 4 servers all with heavy missions with 32gb]) 
Good connection, in a nutshell 1mbps per client but of course depends on how many clients are there etc.

[Lace]

19 minutes ago, Archer.xd said:

No need for GPU as dedicated server is not rendering anything. A CPU with good single-core performance (server isnt multithreaded), SSD, RAM (8gb should be enough for 1 server with relatively light mission, go for more if you intend to host for more people and heavier missions [I was hosting 4 servers all with heavy missions with 32gb]) 
Good connection, in a nutshell 1mbps per client but of course depends on how many clients are there etc.

Perfect, just what I was after.  

[CapGus]

On 9/11/2023 at 8:02 AM, Archer.xd said:

No need for GPU as dedicated server is not rendering anything. A CPU with good single-core performance (server isnt multithreaded), SSD, RAM (8gb should be enough for 1 server with relatively light mission, go for more if you intend to host for more people and heavier missions [I was hosting 4 servers all with heavy missions with 32gb]) 
Good connection, in a nutshell 1mbps per client but of course depends on how many clients are there etc.

And which low cost CPU you recommend?

[Maverick87Shaka]

3 hours ago, CapGus said:

And which low cost CPU you recommend?

It depends on how many instances of DCS you want run on the same machine, plan to have it dedicated just for DCS or you want use it to host other LAN/Home services?
Expected player base ( you and your friend or 40+ more players)

All of this condition makes the difference.....

Just for a single instance, something like a Intel® Core™ i3-10100F should be able to handle even complex scenario and a quite range of player, and you can find it at 70€
 

[Tomcat388th]

I just set one up last week using my old Dell t3600 workstation  xeon 3.2GB  32GB ram  ssd drives.  I'm just using it for simple training missions for our Squad.  I'm running this over Starlink with a VPN to have a dedicated ip and port forwarding.  Once in game pings are roughly 120 but everything seems to be runnning smoothly.  We had 8 guys flying the other night no lags but not really a stress test either

J

 

[Mistermann]

As a test, I installed an OB dedicated server on an old Dell Ryzen 5 2500U with 8GB RAM (similar to this one - https://a.co/d/bgOe3hW but mine has a crummy non SSD spinner drive). 

I did it just to see if it could be done and what the experience might be for my flying buddies.  To my surprise, we could host training missions (like Bankler's Case I Recovery mission) just fine.  There's only 3 of us that use it, so its not getting stressed with traffic.

I suspect some of the dedicated MP persistent campaigns (like those from @Surrexen) would crush it, however. 

 

[Lace]

Just to circle back - I ended up with a used Dell Optiplex Mini, 7040 i5.  I put 32GB RAM and a spare 500GB SSD I had in it.  

[ACS_Dev]

On 10/24/2023 at 11:24 AM, Lace said:

Just to circle back - I ended up with a used Dell Optiplex Mini, 7040 i5.  I put 32GB RAM and a spare 500GB SSD I had in it.  

How is this working out for you and what are you doing with it? Looking at doing something similar.

[Lace]

17 hours ago, ACS_Dev said:

How is this working out for you and what are you doing with it? Looking at doing something similar.

I've not used it much lately, but it was running some home made sandbox-type missions, mainly for myself and sometimes +1 for multicrew, with both clients on the same local network.  I'm not exactly stretching the limits in terms of clients or AI units, but it does a decent job, and the slight increase in FPS performance is offset by the longer setup time and transferring of files over, vs being more impulsive on what I want to fly when playing pure SP locally.  Overall, I'm happy given the <$200 total cost.

[ACS_Dev]

2 hours ago, Lace said:

I've not used it much lately, but it was running some home made sandbox-type missions, mainly for myself and sometimes +1 for multicrew, with both clients on the same local network.  I'm not exactly stretching the limits in terms of clients or AI units, but it does a decent job, and the slight increase in FPS performance is offset by the longer setup time and transferring of files over, vs being more impulsive on what I want to fly when playing pure SP locally.  Overall, I'm happy given the <$200 total cost.

How much FPS would you say? Are you happy with the performance overall? I understand that it was inexpensive but do you feel any desire to get something better?

[Lace]

1 hour ago, ACS_Dev said:

How much FPS would you say? Are you happy with the performance overall? I understand that it was inexpensive but do you feel any desire to get something better?

For how much it gets used, I don't feel the need to get something 'better'.  I like the fact that it is tiny and just sits under one of my monitors on my desk. 

It's hard to quantify the performance improvement as there are so many variables, but despite MT improvements DCS is still fairly inefficient at allocating resources, so AI pathfinding etc being moved to another physical computer helps a bit - this is well established.  

[Junkyness]

If you're looking for a solid, dedicated server, I’d recommend going for something with a good mix of power and flexibility. Aim for at least four cores, 8 GB of RAM, and around 100 GB of SSD storage. This should give you a smooth experience for most applications. If you're running something more demanding, like high-traffic websites or resource-heavy apps, you might want to bump up to 8 cores, 16 GB of RAM, and more storage.
One provider you might want to check out is https://www.blueangel.host/managed-vps.html . They offer a range of options, and their support is pretty reliable.

Edited September 24, 2024 by Junkyness

[HC_Official]

quad core at 3Ghz+ , 32G RAM , 200G+ of SSD space

[HILOK]

quick question, is there any difference during runtime in using an SSD vs a HDD on a dedicated server?

i mean could that produce any latencies during mission due to access times on a HDD, or would it just mean longer loading/server start times? thanks

Edited February 1 by HILOK

[HILOK]

bump

[Tomcat388th]

No expert here but I would think if it had to access the hdd for much info you might see a stutter or pause in mission but I really don't know.  I just upgrade my server from SSD to a Nvme I did notice a faster load time but that was it.

 

[Actium]

AFAICT, the DCS server loads all required assets while loading the mission, incurring significantly longer load times from an HDD. However, short of a developer confirming that no load will ever occur while a mission runs, no one knows for sure. If you run into performance issues later on, you'll always wonder whether these are caused by the HDD. Writing Tacview logs onto an HDD may very well affect the server performance.

So, personally, I'd invest into an NVMe SSD. Half a TB costs around 50 bucks these days. IMHO, well worth the peace of mind.

[Maverick87Shaka]

On 2/1/2025 at 8:15 AM, HILOK said:

bump

SSD for sure, HHD should not be considered for any "realtime" usecase nowday, honestly!
You can also find good offers for NVMe drive, so go for that

[Mr_sukebe]

IMO:

- as already stated, no GPU, it won’t do anything but use power and add heat to the room

- 16GB of Ram min.  Last time I tested it, just the server and windows was using just over 8GB, which would mean the use of pagefile.  Never good for perfomance.  More to the point, RAM is dirt cheap.

- 1TB SSD.  The server still requires quite a lot of storage space for each terrain, and also gives room for liveries, mods etc

- Pretty much any CPU in the last 5 years.  I believe that the dedicated server is still single threaded, so no need for multiple cores.

[Actium]

2 hours ago, Mr_sukebe said:

Pretty much any CPU in the last 5 years.  I believe that the dedicated server is still single threaded, so no need for multiple cores.

The dedicated server has been multi-threaded since (at least) version 2.9.9. However, while it does use multiple threads, like the DCS client it still relies heavily on the main thread and does not scale well with CPU cores. Therefore, CPU single thread performance is key. Overall performance deteriorates rapidly once the main thread hits its performance ceiling. Presumably, due to a lack of sufficiently concurrent, lock-free data structures and therefore excessive locking that prevents threads from running simultaneously.

[Scal]

On 2/16/2025 at 1:30 PM, Mr_sukebe said:

IMO:

- as already stated, no GPU, it won’t do anything but use power and add heat to the room

- 16GB of Ram min.  Last time I tested it, just the server and windows was using just over 8GB, which would mean the use of pagefile.  Never good for perfomance.  More to the point, RAM is dirt cheap.

- 1TB SSD.  The server still requires quite a lot of storage space for each terrain, and also gives room for liveries, mods etc

- Pretty much any CPU in the last 5 years.  I believe that the dedicated server is still single threaded, so no need for multiple cores.

Do we need to install all aircrafts and terrains mods on the server ?
If it is the case we need +2TB disk…

Edited March 19 by Scal

[MAXsenna]

42 minutes ago, Scal said:

Do we need to install all aircrafts and terrains mods on the server ?
If it is the case we need +2TB disk…

Yes, all the maps, (and mods if you plan on using any in the future, like the A-4E-C, OH-6A, Current Hill's etc), needs to be installed on the server. 

Cheers! 

[104th_Money]

@Actium dedicated server is not multi-threaded...

I rented a server for a few months with 6 cores/32gb ram and 10gb storage for mods. Ran a heavy mission regularly, after about 2 hours, missions started to have lag, desync and rubberbanding issues. I ended up building a server with spare parts after a huge hardware upgrade to my flying PC.

Now running a dedicated server out of my home with a dedicated fiber connection at 1gbps up/down speed, i7-12700k CPU/Z690 mobo, Windows 11 Pro, 64gb of DDR4-3600 ram and a 2TB Samsung 980Pro Gen4 SSD with 7000mb/sec read/write speed. I now have several very heavy missions with 2400 static/ai units (think populated air bases with static aircraft, ground vehicles and ground crew all over the place...static units are in 1800 unit range, the rest AI/client units). Server gets rebooted every 5-6 days, mission stays up with resume on client to pause when server empty. Have had 10 people on from different parts of globe at same time and have absolutely no issues whatsoever...CPU usage, Ram usage, SSD usage, internet usage/ping all low with 10 people.

[104th_Money]

Thought I might add the fact that using W11 Pro for server OS, I have applied a lot of settings that one would normally use to stop stuttering/lag/low fps on a pc flying as a client. Such as ED folder and saved games folder have Windows Defender exclusions, core parking turned off, HAGS off, ultimate power plan, turned off shadows and transparency, setting pagefile size, reducing mouse polling rate to 1000 or less, Game Mode off and disable USB selective suspend. Not sure how many of these are actually helping server performance but I figured since it works well for my flying pc, it couldn’t hurt for server either.