HLstatsX, TF2 CPU Usage, Performance Tweaks

[TellarHK]

I'm currently running a single TF2 server on a dual-core managed VDS, and am trying to figure out a few things I can do to repair a couple issues with HLstatsX and tweak performance to make things a little smoother.

I've read about how TF2 isn't great at multi-threaded performance, but I will admit to being slightly surprised that my 32 player server was hitting 46-48% pretty much constantly last night with a full player load of 31 players limited by the presence of replays and SourceTV. I disabled logging this morning, as well as SourceTV in hopes that those changes might help bring some of that load downward but I'm wondering if there's anything else I might be able to tweak in order to save cycles on the 2.26Ghz host machine my VDS is currently on?

Also, HLstatsX hasn't been updating at all, and the control panel shows that my HLstatsX updates per day are currently 0. I did change the identifier from an older one that I decided not to use, and suspect that may have had something to do with it but don't seem to be able to figure out how.

There were a few issues of stuttering during play last night, but that's most likely something to do with replays on specific maps (pl_hoodoo_final). I currently have the server pushing replays off to an external host so they don't bog down the VDS, but I'm suspecting that might be a slowdown point for the server. Fortunately the players didn't seem to mind, and I think replays could be worth the hassle, but I'm wondering if serving them from my VDS directly would help or hinder performance in the long run?

Finally, I had logging enabled all last night, but no updates ever showed up. I disabled it this morning, thinking it might help with performance issues. My understanding is that this logging is needed by HLstatsX, so I guess the question here is whether that's a tradeoff I need to make if HLstatsX are going to work, or if that shouldn't make much impact on my server's performance and CPU use?

[TellarHK]

Quick note: I mentioned pl_hoodoo_final above, meant to say pl_thundermountain instead and wasn't able to edit the post.

Also, does my VPS come with web hosting already configured or is this another feature that needs to be added? I can't seem to find out how to add that to my plan without running the risk of screwing up my current game install, and I've already gone through that nightmare once.

[Edge100x]

I've read about how TF2 isn't great at multi-threaded performance, but I will admit to being slightly surprised that my 32 player server was hitting 46-48% pretty much constantly last night with a full player load of 31 players limited by the presence of replays and SourceTV.

Nod, TF2 is very piggy on CPU, and it's fairly normal for a 32-slot server to use an entire core.

I disabled logging this morning, as well as SourceTV in hopes that those changes might help bring some of that load downward but I'm wondering if there's anything else I might be able to tweak in order to save cycles on the 2.26Ghz host machine my VDS is currently on?

Disabling those was a good first step. If you're on a L5640 machine (a fairly standard VDS-hosting type for us), then you have very fast hardware at your disposal already, and a turbo of up to 2.8ghz.

Are you running this managed VDS as Linux or Windows?

What kinds of FPS dips are you seeing through "rcon stats"? High CPU usage alone isn't necessarily a problem, but FPS dips could be.

Also, HLstatsX hasn't been updating at all, and the control panel shows that my HLstatsX updates per day are currently 0. I did change the identifier from an older one that I decided not to use, and suspect that may have had something to do with it but don't seem to be able to figure out how.

You may need to go in and twiddle some settings on the HLStatsX admin pages, or restart the daemon, or something like that. We can try to help with this if you contact us via the "Help" page in your control panel. There are a ton of ways to break HLStatsX, unfortunately -- it's one of the most complicated-to-configure-and-maintain 3rd party addons available.

There were a few issues of stuttering during play last night, but that's most likely something to do with replays on specific maps (pl_hoodoo_final).

Yes, replays are still pretty buggy right now, in a lot of ways. Valve is working on improvements.

I'm wondering if serving them from my VDS directly would help or hinder performance in the long run?

We don't run webservers on our managed machines, so the only option will be to offload. This is also the highest-performance option, so you should stick with it.

Finally, I had logging enabled all last night, but no updates ever showed up. I disabled it this morning, thinking it might help with performance issues. My understanding is that this logging is needed by HLstatsX, so I guess the question here is whether that's a tradeoff I need to make if HLstatsX are going to work, or if that shouldn't make much impact on my server's performance and CPU use?

Turning off logging won't reduce your CPU usage, so you should be safe to leave this on. HLStatsX does need logging to be enabled.

[TellarHK]

Nod, TF2 is very piggy on CPU, and it's fairly normal for a 32-slot server to use an entire core.

I'm not entirely surprised to hear this, but I do wonder if there's a way I can do anything that would let me squeeze a second server onto the account? Would dropping the server's FPS down to 250 from 500 do anything much at all? I turned on the FPS monitor and will leave it going through a night of load, which will hopefully be later this evening. I'm not sure if going from 500fps down to 250 would be a noticable difference due to the tickrate being locked at 66, for a non-ultra-competitive server like mine. I can see an argument for it in CS:S or a server with clan matches, but is there really a gameplay impact for a TF2 pub?

Disabling those was a good first step. If you're on a L5640 machine (a fairly standard VDS-hosting type for us), then you have very fast hardware at your disposal already, and a turbo of up to 2.8ghz.

Are you running this managed VDS as Linux or Windows?

I picked a Windows server, expecting at least a small amount of performance loss with the added flexibility of being able to run different games. I'm open to moving it to Linux if that'll provide a greater perceived level of performance over what I'm currently getting. If it's nothing I'm likely to actually notice, then that'll be fine.

I'm still wrapping my brain about how much performance you can squeeze out of lower speed ratings these days, having just picked up an i7-2630QM laptop with similar clock speeds to that L5640.

It looks like I'm actually on a VDS hosted on an older Westmere E5520, which has a slightly lower turbo peak at 2.53GHz.

What kinds of FPS dips are you seeing through "rcon stats"? High CPU usage alone isn't necessarily a problem, but FPS dips could be.

I haven't checked that yet, but I'll use the FPS monitoring I do tonight to see what pops up.

You may need to go in and twiddle some settings on the HLStatsX admin pages, or restart the daemon, or something like that. We can try to help with this if you contact us via the "Help" page in your control panel. There are a ton of ways to break HLStatsX, unfortunately -- it's one of the most complicated-to-configure-and-maintain 3rd party addons available.

I've taken a look at those in the HLstatsX configuration, and kicked over the daemon to see if that helps but it doesn't seem to have done much. I'll submit a ticket on that in a few minutes. All the configuration items I've found seem to be pointing where they should be with the new identifier and all.

We don't run webservers on our managed machines, so the only option will be to offload. This is also the highest-performance option, so you should stick with it.

Is there any possibility that if I had my replays (and only replays) hosted on a web server on your service, that I'd see fewer hiccups or performance problems in comparison to the external hosting I currently use? I'm sending things to dreamhost.com, and they're usually a fairly responsive server host. If the FTP negotiation/etc causes stutters in gameplay, maybe replay hosting is another area where you might be able to offer an additional service?

Turning off logging won't reduce your CPU usage, so you should be safe to leave this on. HLStatsX does need logging to be enabled.

Thanks, I'll go ahead and turn logging back on but leave SourceTV off. Would I need to submit a support ticket in order to get a possible extra slot for my server in order to allow the replay system to connect without using a player space? I tried using changes in the commandline for that, but I don't think it seemed to work.

Thanks for all the info.

[Edge100x]

I'm not entirely surprised to hear this, but I do wonder if there's a way I can do anything that would let me squeeze a second server onto the account?

If you're currently at 50% usage (maxing out a single core), then you could easily add a second server, and likely wouldn't see a performance difference for the first one.

Would dropping the server's FPS down to 250 from 500 do anything much at all?

Not much, most likely, but you can certainly try. You would do this by adjusting the "fps_max" cvar.

I can see an argument for it in CS:S or a server with clan matches, but is there really a gameplay impact for a TF2 pub?

I wouldn't say that there is a difference that pub players would notice.

I picked a Windows server, expecting at least a small amount of performance loss

Windows should offer higher performance for Orangebox, so that is good.

It looks like I'm actually on a VDS hosted on an older Westmere E5520, which has a slightly lower turbo peak at 2.53GHz.

If you open up a support request, we can likely try you on a different machine. It might not help, but it doesn't hurt to try.

Is there any possibility that if I had my replays (and only replays) hosted on a web server on your service, that I'd see fewer hiccups or performance problems in comparison to the external hosting I currently use? I'm sending things to dreamhost.com, and they're usually a fairly responsive server host. If the FTP negotiation/etc causes stutters in gameplay, maybe replay hosting is another area where you might be able to offer an additional service?

You can use a 2.99 website here for replay hosting if you'd like. I don't think that you would see a reduction in stutters from it on the game server side unless your current host is having a performance problem on their end with the FTP.

Thanks, I'll go ahead and turn logging back on but leave SourceTV off. Would I need to submit a support ticket in order to get a possible extra slot for my server in order to allow the replay system to connect without using a player space? I tried using changes in the commandline for that, but I don't think it seemed to work.

If you're at 32, the game won't allow us to try higher. But, it's supposed to automatically add a slot for you when you enable the replay and change the map. This may still be buggy.