Does DCS Dedicated Server 2.9 support MultiThreading yet?

[OutLord]

Hi everyone,I'm seeking clarification on the CPU threading behavior of the DCS World 2.9 Dedicated Server. I've read mixed information about whether the dedicated server primarily uses a single CPU core for its core simulation workload or if it takes advantage of multiple cores through multi-threading.For context:
I understand the DCS 2.9 client has some multi-threading support (e.g., for rendering and certain tasks), but I'm specifically asking about the dedicated server used for hosting multiplayer missions.
I'm planning to optimize my server hardware and want to know if prioritizing high single-core performance is critical or if a multi-core CPU would be better utilized.
Could anyone confirm:
Is the DCS 2.9 Dedicated Server primarily single-threaded for its main simulation loop (e.g., AI, physics, mission logic)?
Are there any specific tasks (e.g., networking, I/O) that leverage additional CPU cores?
Any insights from server admins, technical users, or Eagle Dynamics staff would be greatly appreciated! If there are recent changes or planned updates for server threading in future patches, that info would also be helpful. Thanks in advance for your help!

Edited October 6 by OutLord

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

The thread below yours has that information:

 

[MAXsenna]

@OutLord The MT server version has not been released yet. There has been no info or news about it, ever, only comments about it being ST. 

To my knowledge, the ST version of the client supported audio on a second thread, which makes the answer to most of  your questions, single core only. This might, (hopefully), change later when the Dynamic Campaign supports MP in some distant future. 

Cheers!

PS: Your text is black, kinda hard on the eyes for us darksiders.  

[OutLord]

Thanks MAXsenna,  changed the Colour.  Funny thing is, 2.9 was said to be MT and they removed the ST all together.

[MAXsenna]

7 minutes ago, OutLord said:

Thanks MAXsenna,  changed the Colour.  Funny thing is, 2.9 was said to be MT and they removed the ST all together.

Yeah, not for the server version though. Don't remember when they removed ST to be honest. Was it when they dropped 2.9? I thought it was after, not important.  

The text is now bluish-grey in the Dark Theme, but readable. Trick is to set it to auto.  

[rob10]

22 minutes ago, MAXsenna said:

@OutLord The MT server version has not been released yet. There has been no info or news about it, ever, only comments about it being ST. 

That's not completely true.  They've said that the server is ST and that moving it to MT is low priority since there would be little gain for it being MT.  So they haven't said it's never coming, but they did indicate server MT isn't coming soon.

[MAXsenna]

21 minutes ago, rob10 said:

They've said that the server is ST and that moving it to MT is low priority since there would be little gain for it being MT.

I stand corrected. 

21 minutes ago, rob10 said:

So they haven't said it's never coming, but they did indicate server MT isn't coming soon.

Didn't imply that. Hence my comment regarding the DC, where I assume MT will be extracbeneficial both for AI logic with multiple assets, pathfinding and the new GFM coming.  

[Actium]

The dedicated server has been multi-threaded for at least a year. However, the main thread is the apparent bottleneck, which uses up considerably more CPU cycles than all other threads combined. On a multi-core CPU, that will result in a low overall CPU usage. See this Process Explorer screenshot (right-click DCS_server.exe -> Properties):

 

5 hours ago, MAXsenna said:

The MT server version has not been released yet. There has been no info or news about it, ever, only comments about it being ST.

Where are you getting that from? AFAICT from logs, bugs/inconsistencies, and its UI, the dedicated server shares a large swath of its codebase with the client. As the latter can host multiplayer missions, re-using that code makes sense. Thus, all hosting-related improvements to the client should end up in the dedicated server immediately.
On a side note, the dedicated server even exaggerates code sharing a bit by incorporating the client's interactive error handling, which is unsuitable for a background service like a dedicated server.

[MAXsenna]

@Actium Thank you for correcting me. No need to take that tone. I can admit when I'm wrong.

Where I get it from? ED, which has a history of not putting everything in the changelogs. One would think they would announce something as important as this. Did you read the other replies?  

@OutLord Seems I was wrong. 

Cheers! 

[Actium]

6 minutes ago, MAXsenna said:

No need to take that tone.

My genuine apologies for my curt inquiry if it came across as impolite! 

I've read the entire thread and was merely curious as to where that information originated from, as I've never read anything about it and – as you rightfully mentioned – ED could improve in terms of documentation and answering technical questions on this forum. I appreciate your efforts to step in!

[MAXsenna]

My genuine apologies for my curt inquiry if it came across as impolite! 
I've read the entire thread and was merely curious as to where that information originated from, as I've never read anything about it and – as you rightfully mentioned – ED could improve in terms of documentation and answering technical questions on this forum. I appreciate your efforts to step in!

Haha! Okay, my apologies then! I'm suffering from insomnia these days, it sucks big time! it's 05:52, and I'm a little "edgy". All good!

Cheers!

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk

[Actium]

1 minute ago, MAXsenna said:

I'm suffering from insomnia these days, it sucks big time! it's 05:52, and I'm a little "edgy". All good!

Lolz. Exact same situation here. No need to apologize. Glad we could clear that up. 

[QuiGon]

I think you're all right, because afaik the DCS Dedicated Server is just as much multithreaded as the normal DCS Game Client, but what has been multithreaded so far is mostly audio and graphics rendering, which is stuff that's not really relevant for the Dedicated Server. The game logic on the other hand is still mostly singlethreaded and runs in the DCS main thread that @Actium pointed out, so while the DCS Dedicated Server is already multithreaded just like the regular DCS Game Client, it doesn't really matter much in practice atm, as the game logic that is relevant for the server is still running in a single thread.

[MAXsenna]

@QuiGon That makes sense!

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[Laxxor]

I would suggest (without concrete proof though) that the server is multi-threaded, in as much as units ( or some level of granularity) potentially have thier own thread / worker threads. However, the thing that ties everything together (the event engine, for want of better term) is entirely on 1 thread.  This can be seen if like many, including myself,  when developing missions and using EmmyLua with VS Code, if you are sat on a breakpoint the game appears to freeze BUT when you resume there is a backlog of event messages to process before the game returns to responsiveness and the units have since moved.. This shows that while the event processing system is locked and blocking all further processing, there is ample ability to generate new events into the queue.

In this way we can see why some units have a much greater negative effect on a server than others - put 12 Gatling gun AAA units in a group and have them fire on an enemy plane.  The logs get flooded with projectile data for each shot being tracked (and subsequent hits) and the server perf tanks.  If you are experiencing server perf issues for not explainable reasons, check your group compositions and sacrifice cool guns for some stingers or such and see the performance return....