Apologies for the long post, it is a complex issue, which affects some hosting providers in a hard way.
The situation, as I gathered it (corrections welcomed): ------------------------------------------------------- When a srcds is launched, it contacts Steam's master servers, which adds the IP:port to a database. Then, when a Steam browser asks for a list of servers in the "Internet" tab, Steam master servers return the full list it has in its database to the Steam client, where IP addresses are ordered from the lowest to the highest. As the Steam browser starts receiving this ordered list, it checks for the latency of each IP:port, one after the other. This leads to hundred of packets per second being sent and received (in my case, 150 packets/s sent, 90 packets/s received). The Steam browser shows the servers for which it receives latencies results back. The problem: ------------ Most home modems/routers/ethernet interfaces and DSL connections are unable to process this large amount of packets per second and as a result: - servers with a low IP address are queried first and are more likely to: a. reply b. and with a low latency - server with a high IP address are queried last and are more likely to: a. see their reply packet dropped b. or have the query or reply packet stay in output queues somewhere along the way, which leads to high latencies Note I am not speaking about bit/s, here, but about packets/s - changing the "Internet speed" in the Steam browser has, therefore, no impact whatsoever. Note also I am not the only one affected by this issue, which is reported on many Steam/Source games forums. The solutions: -------------- 1. for Source games hostings providers: make sure you are being allocated low IP addresses ranges. Unfortunately, this is not practical, since IP ranges are allocated by Local Internet Registries, which get them from Regional Internet Registries (RIPE, ARIN, AfriNIC, APNIC, LACNIC), which have their own ranges from already depleted IPv4 blocks. To summarize, allocations to a given Provider are not random, yet Providers cannot request addresses in a "low" range. In other words, providers of Public Source servers do not have much choice: either they are being allocated low IP ranges and their servers will fill more easily (whether it is a good thing or not to them), or they are allocated high IP ranges, and their public servers will struggle filling up. 2. for people wishing to rent/own a Public Source game server, filling up easily: just make sure its IP address is as low as possible. You may ask the provider which IP ranges he uses/has, before spending your money. 3. for Valve: this situation gives unfair advantages to some providers over others. As I see it, there are two relatively easy ways Valve could address this: * on Steam's master servers, have a scheduled job (every 10 minutes, for instance) than randomly reorders the lists that are sent to Steam browsers. * in Steam's browsers, throttle the outputing of packets that check for latency, to a low default value that do not cause problem with most home hardware (50 packets/s?). Either hide this, or make it a parameter in the "Internet" tab. Thoughts? _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds_linux
