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Servers
A game server is a remotely or locally run server used by game clients to play multiplayer video games. Most video games played over the Internet operate via a connection to a game server.
Most games use a dedicated server application. This program collects data from players and distributes it to other players. This is more efficient and effective than a peer-to-peer arrangement, but it requires a separate computer to host the server application. The additional computer is a server.
Network bandwidth, in particularly upstream bandwidth, is often one of the major limitations in hosting game servers. Home broadband Internet connections rarely provide the necessary upstream bandwidth to host dedicated game servers with more than 4-10 clients. This was the only option available in the past. Typically a player would buy the game and host the server, as well as running the client, on their home computer.
A professional server is a computer to read data and transmit vast amounts of data as fast as players need it. A handful of game hosting pioneers realized the need for such systems. They purchased rack mounted server machines and colocated them within datacenters to host their games. Within a few years online multiplayer gaming became a huge success. Prices have lowered dramatically and renting game servers, or dedicated servers to host game servers on, is something that has become very common for online gaming teams.
Game servers can be classified as listen servers and dedicated servers. Listen server refers to a situation in which the server typically runs in the same process as the game client, allowing a player to both host and participate in the game. Listen servers are operated mostly by individuals, often in LAN Party situations rather than over the Internet, and usually with a lower number of players due to the increased processing and bandwidth requirements associated with operating both server and client simultaneously on the same machine. Dedicated servers are servers which run independently of the client. Such servers may be run by individuals, but are usually run on dedicated hardware located in data centers, providing more bandwidth and dedicated processing power. Dedicated servers are the preferred method of hosting game servers for most PC-based multiplayer games.
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