Wiki Home Performance Optimization Improving CCBoot Server Performance
Improving CCBoot Server Performance
2020/07/19 11:52
Notice: This wiki is for the old version CCBoot. Please click HERE to access the new version wiki
A lot of time client performance depend on Server performance. So, let's see how we can optimize CCBoot server to the optimal settings.
1. Independent Disk vs Partitions
One the server, it is recommended that you do not use partitions to use as any disk type (image/write/game/SSD). When you use partitions instead of independent disk, the performance of the disk will slow as more reads/writes are done. So using partitions as disk in CCBoot will lower performance for the client as well as server. Hence, we recommend you to use independent disk for each disk types
2. Game Disk
Game disk/s have the highest reads when clients are playing games. So, if you have disk with higher read speeds then client’s game will load faster. To get more speed from Game disks, you can set them up in RAID 0 configuration. In Raid 0 configuration the effective disk speed will double compared to single disk. In doing so, clients game will load faster and give more performance.
3. Writeback Disk
When clients are running, writeback disk holds all the clients write data and more number of clients mean more writes on the server writeback disk. If you have less number of client 10-20 then a single writeback disk with 2048 MB RAM cache is enough but if you have more then we recommend adding another writeback disk to balance the writes of the clients. Also using traditional HDD will not give you much performance so we recommend using SSD disk for writeback disk
Note: All the disks need to be formatted NTFS 32K allocation for best performance for disks.
4. Network Interface Card (NIC)
In diskless solution, NIC plays the most vital role. All the data, game files are sent from Server to client via the NIC. So having more give you more bandwidth for use by clients. Typically a single 1 G NIC is able to support 20+ computers with normal usage, however for gaming centers and cafes, 1 Gbps bandwidth becomes a bottleneck for performance. So, we recommend using more than 1 NIC in the server to provide multiple connection to server. Nowadays, Quad port NIC adapter have become rather inexpensive and is most widely used by Gaming centers. CCBoot’s support for load balance make it idle for deploying 100+ computers using a single computer with multiple NIC.
5. RAM
One of the most important component for CCBoot is RAM. CCBoot uses RAM for caching on the server which increases clients read write speed. Not only that CCBoot uses RAM of client to cache client’s read write to further increase client’s performance. So, for CCBoot server that is supporting 20 or more client 16 -32 GB RAM is needed likewise for 50+ clients 32 – 64 GB RAM is recommended.
6. Cache Settings
Now, after all the components are the right ones, and client are booted diskless. Cache settings in server comes to play. Cache settings if set optimal will give your cafe leap in performance.
Below are some of the guideline you can follow to set the caching just right.
a. Image Disk Cache
For every image that you use, set 2048 MB cache for image disk. Hence, if you have 2 images that you use to boot client then set image disk cache to 2 x 2048 = 4096 MB
b. Writeback disk Cache
One writeback disk is enough for up to 20 clients and if you have more clients, it is recommended that you use two writeback disks. Also, using SSD for writeback disk gives you more performance than traditional HDD. So, if you have 1 writeback disk then set cache to 2048 MB, however if you have more than 1 writeback disk then based on you server RAM size, you can set 1024 to 2048 MB cache for each writeback disk based on available RAM in the server.
c. Game Disk Cache
As mentioned above, having RAID 0 setup for game disk will give you much better game load time on client. And paired with RAM Cache it will be optimal. Setting cache for Game disk depends on you server RAM size. You also need to keep in mind that you leave at least 2 – 4 GB RAM for OS usage. After that you can set remaining RAM as cache for Game Disk. Typically on a 16 GB server, you can set 4096 MB RAM as cache for game disk. If sever have more RAM then you can set RAM cache higher.
Refer "Server Cache Settings" to set the RAM Cache and SSD cache for the disks in server.
7. Server NIC speed
If affordable then use a Quad port nic or better yet a 10G Ethernet on server. This provide clients with ample bandwidth to work with.
Note: You need to have a switch that has 10G uplink ports. Also its not recommended to have client also have 10G ethernet as 1G build in ethernet is more than enough.
Related:
Enable local writeback function