Problem on staring server program

Janus · Post by **Janus** » Thu Apr 26, 2012 1:08 am

Hi. First let me say that I have solved this problem. I was wanting to know if any other server operators are having the same problem and if so, provide them a solution for it.

The problem was this. My host machine is set to reboot every day at 1:00a, CST. The Server program is in the startup group so it will start on system start.

Before I instituted this fix, it would restart and the server program would automatically execute and appear to connect. It said it was connected and that it was public (listed on the server list). However while it was listed, it would not allow players to connect or view the server status. Kept giving an error that it could not connect to the server, the IP address may be wrong or some such.

If I went to the host machine and disconnected the program, exited and restarted it, it would auto-connect and be actually ready for login. The only thing I could think of is it was connecting before the internet connection was viable or possibly registered as connected.

So I wrote a little console program that when ran would wait 15 seconds, then execute the Server program, then terminate. The launcher, not the server program itself.

I have gone through 5 cycles of the system restarting since I replaced the server program with the server launcher I wrote in the startup group, and it always is ready for connection as soon as it launches and connects. I even added a command line parameter so another interval could be specified. It wasn't needed, but since it's there, Why take it out. The applicaiton is only 13k.

The thing that was really bothering me was it restarts while I'm asleep and then people couldn't login until I wake up and restart it. And If I oversleep and have to rush to work, they have to wait another 4 or 5 hours. Most would say, why bother? There are other servers out there that are more stable.

If there are any server operators out there that have this same problem, post here and I'll post the link for the program so it can be downloaded.

Janus

Post by **Marvin** » Thu Apr 26, 2012 1:44 am

Starbuck ... is this something you could use?

Capt_Caveman · Post by **Capt_Caveman** » Thu Apr 26, 2012 2:24 pm

why do u reboot every 24 hours?
my server runs 24/7 and been up for months now

49rTbird · Post by **49rTbird** » Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:00 pm

And if you feel the need to reboot, why not do it when you are there. Just tell any pilots the server will be down for a few minutes for a reboot. I know a lot of servers do it this way. Good luck.

Janus · Post by **Janus** » Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:47 pm

I could have sworn I saw Vice saying that on dedicated servers the server machine should be restarted once every day or so, but I can't seem to find it now.

If I am mistaken, then I would love to hear from Vice correcting my mistake. If Vice confirms that I'm mistaken, then I will remove the daily restart except for when I have to be away from home for more than a day.

I'm the kind of person who doesn't do things by halves. If I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it right. If I am unable or unwilling to do it right, why do it in the first place?

I ran a server for another game for a while, and after being up for several days, the pings would start creeping up. Of course there was a server operator program that made sure the server restarted if it crashed so that may not apply here.

That's another reason I like to restart once a day. If the server does for unforseeable reasons crash while I'm away for a day or 4, then it won't be down for more than 24 hours cause it will restart when the host restarts. And the host is set to resume previous state if the power goes out and comes back on.

As for the time of the restart, I prefer to do it when most USA players are sleeping.

Janus

[Edited on 4-26-2012 by Janus]

Post by **Vice** » Thu Apr 26, 2012 5:12 pm

I do indeed recommend giving the server program a restart periodically. This recommendation mostly comes from my own experience with multiplayer games and how it helped resolve connectivity issues in the past in other games. As you also encountered with the other game, with some configurations/programs, problems can arise over time for long term servers (rising pings, invalid pings, players unable to connect, etc). So it's often a good idea to restart a server once every few days or so (maybe even just once a week) just to keep things clean or if connectivity issues are encountered. It isn't necessarily required, some setups may be able to run for long periods of time without problems. But it's been my experience as well that restarting game servers from time to time can help keep them running smoothly.

Post by **Marvin** » Thu Apr 26, 2012 5:51 pm

Btw, since you seem good at writing small DOS-like programs, you might want to include the ability of your "reboot" to first save and then delete the current chat log. Evidently, it can hog quite a bit of computer memory if not flushed now and then.

Janus · Post by **Janus** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:49 am

I usually archive and purge the chatlogfull.txt program every 15 days or so. Have to think how I could do that without interupting the flow. Cause I need to make sure that no station building log activity is lost.

Janus.

[Edited on 4-27-2012 by Janus]