Would Server Admins Use This?
Bytor
Join Date: 2002-11-19 Member: 9323Members
Join Date: 2002-11-19 Member: 9323Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Player count graphs for your NS servers</div> Heya ... this post is directed specifically at NS server operators.
I've been toying with the idea of creating a set of scripts that would allow server operators to log into my site, enter IP/port information for an NS server (or several) and then be able to access graphs showing the number of players on their server(s) over time. It would probably also show the server name, current map, etc. but the main function would be the simple player count graphs.
<a href='http://www.metacraft.com/mrtg/nsplayers.html' target='_blank'>An example of the graphs</a> (kinda boring, since it's graphing my passworded server which is only used for small pickups and playtesting new maps.)
I mainly want to set this up just for the fun of it. I dunno how useful it would really be for anyone, but I thought I'd get some feedback before I started. I haven't fully thought it through yet, and I dunno if I'll allow off-site linking to the images (so that server ops could embed the graphs in their own web sites) but we'll see. I'll definitely be limiting it to NS servers only, not just any HL or HL mod. That could just put too much of a load on my web server, eventually.
Thoughts?
I've been toying with the idea of creating a set of scripts that would allow server operators to log into my site, enter IP/port information for an NS server (or several) and then be able to access graphs showing the number of players on their server(s) over time. It would probably also show the server name, current map, etc. but the main function would be the simple player count graphs.
<a href='http://www.metacraft.com/mrtg/nsplayers.html' target='_blank'>An example of the graphs</a> (kinda boring, since it's graphing my passworded server which is only used for small pickups and playtesting new maps.)
I mainly want to set this up just for the fun of it. I dunno how useful it would really be for anyone, but I thought I'd get some feedback before I started. I haven't fully thought it through yet, and I dunno if I'll allow off-site linking to the images (so that server ops could embed the graphs in their own web sites) but we'll see. I'll definitely be limiting it to NS servers only, not just any HL or HL mod. That could just put too much of a load on my web server, eventually.
Thoughts?
Comments
It's done using the standard HL query protocol, which is a single UDP packet with a "command" in it such as "info". The server responds with another UDP packet that has various information such as the mod, number of players, max players, if it's passworded, the server name, and a couple other bits of data. So, the graphing tool I'm proposing would work on any server, not just ones that gave me access to logs or anything like that.
go for it! <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Any o/s with a web browser. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> It would be web based, run entirely on my server, so it requires no installation on your end. You would just come to my site, enter in the IPs of your server(s) and that's it. There would be a user name/password assigned to you so you could manage your server list over time.
I use MRTG now, but I will probably switch to RRDTool so that I have more options for combining multiple servers onto one graph, etc.
whats going on with this? you still going to do it?
Like I said, it is a good idea, but I would use RRDtool so that your server is not creating hundreds of graphs every five minutes. (depending on how many servers you service. Or, at least run your MRTG configs as deamons.
MRTG rocks!
ill let you discover the rest <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
<a href='http://gold.ma3x.net/uglygs/' target='_blank'>http://gold.ma3x.net/uglygs/</a>
<a href='http://uglygs.uglypunk.com/' target='_blank'>http://uglygs.uglypunk.com/</a>
use it <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
playerhater, yeah, I'm probably going to use RRDTool so that I can graph directly from mySQL data which I will collect separately from one main daemon, probably written in perl. MRTG would probably work fine, but I'd eventually end up with a lot of process thrashing as it fired up the query script every 5 minutes for each server I query.
So I'm going to have one master daemon running the queries and storing the results in the database, then use RRDTool to update the graphs every 5 minutes. Using RRDTool may also open up other possibilities like graphing multiple servers on one graph.
Uglygs is a tool that is in it's dev phase (it's growing, adding new feat. etc.) and the things you try to do with mtrg (and with mrtg looks ugly <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> ) are easy done with that tool.
I posted links to the tools homepage and to a example page using it (that page is acutally list of my servers <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> )
The tool is easy to install, uses qstat, supports a big number of games (almost all that qstat supports) and you can create a nice server stats page in just a few minutes <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
(Maybe the software you mention has the same ability for multiple users to manage multiple servers via a web interface, but it doesn't appear to at first glance. At any rate, as I mentioned, I want to code this myself so that it ends up exactly the way I want it.)
I didn't want to sound rude or anything else i was just trying to help <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
i think the guy who wrote it is a legend <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
u can make mrtg poll the server quite easily
but it is limited in what u can do after that
Uglygs can do much much much more then that
and the new version will do other funky stuff too
Anyway good luck with ur proggy (i like programming too)
UgLy
i think he just is one of many using my software
im not trying to hijack the thread
i say good on u and good luck on your script