Psychz - Andrew
Votes: 0Posted On: Aug 24, 2018 04:32:10
Gaming has almost always been more fun with multiple players. Gaming today is a huge business due to the rising number of gamers and the quality of Multi-player games available in the market.
Game server hosting is very different from the web server hosting as game servers critically need fast performance or all gamers will suffer lag. With over the years, a lot has changed drastically to an extent where Linux is the preferred OS for owners that use their servers for gaming. Many options of Linux are now available specially designed to give better user experience and greater performance.
Building a game server on Linux is not that difficult after all, and it does mandate some networking and computer familiarity. There is a large number of forums and communities available online where you can get help from.
In the following list we are going to discuss some popular distros but not in any specific order. It is totally up to you which distro best suits you needs.
CentOS
CentOS is often considered free version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). What makes CentOS attractive is that every version serves for over 10 years, which is something you won't find with other distributions. CentOS is packed with very fewer features than you might know compared to other distributions. However, this works out in favor of CentOS because this makes it relatively lightweight. If you're simply looking for a lightweight distribution to host a game, CentOS is a great choice.
Most of the users prefer CentOS compared to other Linux Distro is because of the number of available online communities. This becomes a huge help for those who are new at Linux environment and are setting up a server on their own.
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is largely known for its stability and the huge list of features it offers. It has a lot of features by default which can make your life easier. But at the same time, this also makes the OS heavier than other distros.
It is one of the most popular version of Linux and if you are looking for an incredibly powerful environment that is reliable and safe then Ubuntu is the right choice.
Ubuntu came into existence only in 2004 and has already leading the market in popularity because of its easy to use graphical interface. Ubuntu is generally more compatible with game servers as game developers tend to prefer it (Valve being one big example).
Arch Linux
Arch Linux is mainly aimed at experienced Linux users, there is no hand-holding and not much in a way of UI elements when trying to install or tweak settings. If you need to install something, chances are someone in the Arch community has already made a package for it. This makes it incredibly easy for you to install and maintain all of the non-media content on your computer.
Arch Linux follows a rolling release model, which allows users to stay on the most up-to-date versions of the software they are using.
Debian
Debian is the base for Ubuntu. Unlike Ubuntu, Debian does not come with a bunch of stuff out of the box that are really not very useful. This makes it a lot lighter. Debian is also more reliable in some cases due to their "It's released when we're sure it's ready" policy. This may not work in some cases because the updates are released slower compared to other Distros. Debian is used by a wide range of organizations, large and small, as well as many thousands of individuals.
Today Gaming Industry has reached to an all-time high will only grow in the next few years to come. One can make a lot of money by creating a Game servers that can be used to run the most popular MMORPG games, and allow users to connect to your server through a subscription. If you and friends want a personal space where only you all can connect then going for a dedicated server makes a lot more sense as it gives better performance compared to a standalone machine converted into a server.
