Setting up a server for CS:GO LAN party

[happy olli määttä]

Hello

We're planning to host a little (6-12 players) CS:GO LAN party with friends, but none of us has any experience of doing that. We have a good space, but the internet is really weak, which means we can't play online at all.

1) What do we need to consider?
2) Do we need an extra computer to run the server from, or is it possible to host and play smoothly at the same time?
3) If we need an extra computer for hosting the server, how good of a computer it must be to run 10 players @ 128tick smoothly? Concrete specs appreciated.

I know how to start a simple LAN server in GO, I'm just curious about how well it will run with 10 players and what is the role of the internet; is it possible to play/players to connect without using the internet at all.

Thanks in advance!

[Air]

1: You need to first consider how much power the PCs take up, so you'll have to check the AMP ratings on the fuses for the building. In terms of a typical home, you definitely couldn't hook up ten gaming gaming PCs to one fuse without it blowing out. So plan with extension cords accordingly. If you don't already know, keep in mind that DC AMPs(what your PC's power supply provides for the hardware) and AC AMPs(What's being fed to your PC's power supply) are different things.(I don't know too much about actual power consumption, so I can't tell you much more.)

You'll also need to ensure that everyone can connect to the same network. If useing a router, you could accommodate with most players using WiFi and some using ethernet but, if you want everyone using ethernet, your next choice is to likely use a LAN switch, but those can get a little pricey for 10+ ethernet port versions.

2&3: You can use one of the playing PCs to host for ten people if it has a decent CPU. For just ten players on a server, you won't need anything exceptional. Any i5 would do just fine.

[yberkurko]

As for power consumption i would say average gaming pc (including display) consumes about 400-600W; with 16A fuse @ 230V can provide (16A*230V=) 3680W. So about 6 gaming pc's (make it 5 if you want to be sure) can be connected to one 16A fuse. (10A fuse 2300W and 3 pc's). With laptop's just look max input wattage from power bricks; they generaly are under 200W tough. So with gaming laptops one 16A fuse can provide for quite a few.
Generaly all sockets in one room are from same fuse, but would be best to know what power sockets are connected to wich fuse.

[_I_]

if all pcs are on the same lan (cable/wifi)
make sure the router is set to have the wifi on the lan settings with no firewall between them
look up the routers instructions on how to do that

as long as no guests are on the internet side of the router, all should work fine
all youll need is the host pc ip or network name, and windows firewall to be disabled on it
(it defaults to 3 pcs connected before blocking all after that)
use the fastest i3/i5/i7 or g3258 oc'd to 4.5+ to be the host (csgo only needs 2 cores)
the faster they are the better (no amd cpu can match them at this)
host can play if it has a decent dedicated gpu

8 port gigabit lan hub/switches are cheap $20-30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166058

if you need more, buy 2x or 3x 8 port switches
will be cheaper than 16-24 port hubs $50-75+
and you can chain them to put it them closer to multiple pcs

for cable, if you need more or longer lan cables
buy a 100ft rj45 cat5e-6 cable and crimper and a box of ends
cable, $10-20
crimper, $15-30
box of ends, $5-15
they dont need to be pretty to work
just make sure the ends are for the correct cable type
cat5e cable will be loose in cat6 ends
just make sure both ends of the cable are the same
under 10ft any combos will work
over that, try to use the pinout from the orig cable ends or like this
http://www.incentre.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ethcable568a.gif

rj45 tester will be handy too
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1HE0YP1319
$8 shipped, well worth it if you will be making your own cables

or a kit like this has crimper, tester and rj45 ends
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899263029

[happy olli määttä]

Thanks for all the answers, lots of helpful stuff!!

This might be a dumb question after your answers but let me be sure: does it matter whether or not all computers are connected to the network the same way, or can we play offline just fine if some of us are connected by cable and some by wifi? (meaning; do we NEED to buy a switch to get everyone connected, or can we play just fine without)

Second of all, Air: are you certain that the host can play smoothly aswell? I recall playing CS1.6 on LAN and the host computer was always laggy as hell. ofc it's a different game and we had worse PC's back then but just making sure...

LAN is supposed to be in a clubhouse/office space, not a regular house, but yeah we'll have to check the power/fuse system. Didn't even think of this one, thanks...

[_I_]

if you router has enough ports it will work, but most routers only have lan 4 ports

to connect 5 or moer pcs youll need a network switch
plug the switch into any lan port on the router, and more pcs into the switch
if you need even more, you can plug a switch into a switch
4 port router + 8 port switch = 10pcs
4 port router + 2x 8 port switches = 16 pcs

[happy olli määttä]

What I meant by that question was that can we all connect to LAN server and play equally if we have for example 3 pc's connected by cable and 5 pc's by wifi; does it work normally, or do we need to buy the switch so that all 8 of us could connect by cable? Or is it unnecessary if the first way works just fine?

[_I_]

the 3 lan pcs will be fine
as for teh wifi, you need to make sure that the router is set to share wifi as lan connetions
some routers isolate wifi from the lan for security purposes

[happy olli määttä]

okay thanks!