What kind of network infrastructure does it take to run ESO?

Eoden13

just curious if the ESO team could create a blog on what it takes to run ESO? I always enjoy a good engineering blog like stackflow does on what kind of servers/firewalls/switches it takes to run the operation.

Emissary_Vex

potato and 12 hamsters

Bromburak

Network infrastructure is similar to smoke signals in a jungle far away from civilization.

AzraelKrieg

Emissary_Vex wrote: »

potato and 12 hamsters

That's the server power. Not the network

Cadbury

I thought OP was telling a joke so I clicked expecting a punchline.

I am sad now

Elsonso

AzraelKrieg wrote: »

Emissary_Vex wrote: »

potato and 12 hamsters

That's the server power. Not the network

When ever someone gets booted from Cyrodiil, one of the IT guys has to find the cable that popped loose.

Eoden13

lol nope, no joke. I work in IT so this kind of stuff is interesting to me.

Tezlakipuka

lordrichter wrote: »

AzraelKrieg wrote: »

Emissary_Vex wrote: »

potato and 12 hamsters

That's the server power. Not the network

When ever someone gets booted from Cyrodiil, one of the IT guys has to find the cable that popped loose.

Huh, Richter... are we working in the same company? That's a normal machine panel here.

AzraelKrieg

lordrichter wrote: »

AzraelKrieg wrote: »

Emissary_Vex wrote: »

potato and 12 hamsters

That's the server power. Not the network

When ever someone gets booted from Cyrodiil, one of the IT guys has to find the cable that popped loose.

That is reminding me of the mess of the rack at the place I worked at last year. They had plans to fix it.

zaria

I assume its racks of pretty standard servers. linked up with switch. Assume they run a storage network and probably multiple database servers.

Most interested in architecture, do they use specialized servers for some other task, think they have an login server.
How does megaserver work, I assume instances are distributed and short term instances like skyreach, group dungeons and houses are created on need on lower load servers. i would run cyrodil on seperate servers for performance.

Elsonso

zaria wrote: »

I assume its racks of pretty standard servers. linked up with switch. Assume they run a storage network and probably multiple database servers.

Most interested in architecture, do they use specialized servers for some other task, think they have an login server.
How does megaserver work, I assume instances are distributed and short term instances like skyreach, group dungeons and houses are created on need on lower load servers. i would run cyrodil on seperate servers for performance.

Just throwing out here... Last we knew, the megaserver was made up of a lot of HP blade hardware spread across a number of racks.

Haenk

More.

Funny sidenote - early/mid 90s, "Internet infrastructure" was not too far away from the posted image, though in the early days, no one used 19" racks, but regular shelves. Doing maintenance on our servers required some serious Spiderman-skills - one had to be careful, not to tangle oneselv in wires running all over the place.

rootimus

Eoden13 wrote: »

just curious if the ESO team could create a blog on what it takes to run ESO? I always enjoy a good engineering blog like stackflow does on what kind of servers/firewalls/switches it takes to run the operation.

I think the ZOS staff would first have to look up what some of those words mean, then the marketing department would have to come up with more buzzwords to go along with the absurd "megaserver" term. Then they could tell us they'd like to implement a blog about it, but currently have no plans and no ETA(TM).

humpalicous

Eoden13 wrote: »

just curious if the ESO team could create a blog on what it takes to run ESO? I always enjoy a good engineering blog like stackflow does on what kind of servers/firewalls/switches it takes to run the operation.

All it takes is the team of Pied Piper.

Richard nervous and anti-social as ever, Gilfoyle's satanic presence implemented in Cyrodiil, Dinesh just has zero good qualities.

Then we have Jared, the hald-crazed, half-apache who enjoys Julia Roberts and bird watching, while sleep-talking in German on how he'll cut people.

Big Head is still as useless as ever.

Erlich is Wrobel.

Did I miss anything? Feel like that's a fair representation.

Nemesis7884

Emissary_Vex wrote: »

potato and 12 hamsters

1 hamster...if they had 12 we wouldn't have that lag all the time

Elsonso

Nemesis7884 wrote: »

Emissary_Vex wrote: »

potato and 12 hamsters

1 hamster...if they had 12 we wouldn't have that lag all the time

I think I see the problem. The power connector to the hamster has been unplugged.

ProfesseurFreder

In general, I'd like to see a lot more "behind the scenes" stuff ... pix from the ZOS offices, etc. All we ever get to see is the dungeon set on ESO Live.

Eoden13

zaria wrote: »

I assume its racks of pretty standard servers. linked up with switch. Assume they run a storage network and probably multiple database servers.

Most interested in architecture, do they use specialized servers for some other task, think they have an login server.
How does megaserver work, I assume instances are distributed and short term instances like skyreach, group dungeons and houses are created on need on lower load servers. i would run cyrodil on seperate servers for performance.

yeah that would be some of my next questions as well. good point.

Hookgrin

lordrichter wrote: »

AzraelKrieg wrote: »

Emissary_Vex wrote: »

potato and 12 hamsters

That's the server power. Not the network

When ever someone gets booted from Cyrodiil, one of the IT guys has to find the cable that popped loose.

And I know from experience when you reach into that to fix that one cable, you unknowingly loosen the ten all around it.

Jamascus

hamgatan

Eoden13 wrote: »

just curious if the ESO team could create a blog on what it takes to run ESO? I always enjoy a good engineering blog like stackflow does on what kind of servers/firewalls/switches it takes to run the operation.

I would imagine the core would be something along the lines of a core aggregation stack similar to say an Enterasys S8 with multiple inbound BGP/OSPF routed WAN 10gb fiber SFP's in a couple of different LACP bonds for redundancy. From there individual SFP trunks to tier 2 fiber distribution switch interconnects, say two per rack for best practice - with individual load balancing between separate fiber NIC paths on each Blade Array (I.e. Dell has the integrated Broadcom FC Switch). Maybe independent switch (stack config?) tagged to management VLAN for iDracs etc..

Of course ZOS are not going to reveal any of this information because it's security 101 - protection against 0 day exploits is far superlative if no one knows you have exploitable gear.

AzraelKrieg

Jamascus wrote: »

So they are using the same network as Australia then

Betsararie

Jamascus wrote: »

Rare photo from ZOS HQ? lol

Alcast

Emissary_Vex wrote: »

potato and 12 hamsters

give this person some awesome

hamgatan

Alcast wrote: »

Emissary_Vex wrote: »

potato and 12 hamsters

give this person some awesome

I just have one question though..

If hamsters are running overtime in their wheels to keep those CPU clocks ticking..

Why are they still so fat?

AzraelKrieg

hamgatan wrote: »

Alcast wrote: »

Emissary_Vex wrote: »

potato and 12 hamsters

give this person some awesome

I just have one question though..

If hamsters are running overtime in their wheels to keep those CPU clocks ticking..

Why are they still so fat?

It's not fat. It's muscle

Mojmir

Ramen noodles

hamgatan

AzraelKrieg wrote: »

hamgatan wrote: »

Alcast wrote: »

Emissary_Vex wrote: »

potato and 12 hamsters

give this person some awesome

I just have one question though..

If hamsters are running overtime in their wheels to keep those CPU clocks ticking..

Why are they still so fat?

It's not fat. It's muscle

Beeeeeeeffffcaaaakkkeeeee

BrightOblivion

As interesting as we might find this (and I mean that seriously), I can't see them revealing this, particularly given the trouble they've been having with alleged DDoS attacks. You don't give the burglars a floor plan of your house and a key to the safe where you keep your valuables, do you?

I'm normally the first one on board the "more communication and openness" train when it comes to games/companies, but this is one they can keep to themselves.

I would, however, appreciate if, since we find ourselves doing QA/ stress testing, they'd tell us what we're supposed to be testing/looking out for.

Jamascus

hamgatan wrote: »

AzraelKrieg wrote: »

hamgatan wrote: »

Alcast wrote: »

Emissary_Vex wrote: »

potato and 12 hamsters

give this person some awesome

I just have one question though..

If hamsters are running overtime in their wheels to keep those CPU clocks ticking..

Why are they still so fat?

It's not fat. It's muscle

Beeeeeeeffffcaaaakkkeeeee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfkGFL1uHAc

ccfeeling

You guys are funny