Brands 67 on 5.UKGPL

[EvilClive]

Just wondering if you read the "READ ME" file for Brands???

Install notes:

For those who have to run in D3D, please extract the contents of the included flag1.zip (which is only available in the hirez version as the others have already this file included in their dat file), and place it in your brands67 folder. Anyone else having a Crash to Desktop with this circuit must do that as well.

If you are having serious FRAME RATE PROBLEMS be sure to select the correct version of this installer for your hardware and GPL requirements. If you are still having problems even running the lite version, and don't mind sacrificing some of the seen objects, then extract the contents of the small_3d0.zip into your brands67 folder. You will lose some objects, crowds, grandstand, and some trees, and even some middle-distance terrain, but you'll have greatly improved frame rates. Experiment with it till you get the right balance of frame rates and graphics detail.

You will also notice that in the main zip's contents there is also a pair of zip files called 67_bridge_out and 68_bridge_in. This is for those realism intent people who need to have the Druids bridge and the Paddock scoreboard showing. Both these structures were only present from 1968. Placing the bridge_in package in your brands67 folder will enable them and placing the bridge_out files in your brands67 folder will remove them again.   

[miner2049er]

After further lag and warp problems on my server tonight I ran a trace on CPU, Disk and RAM.

The server ran fine for a while then towards the end people got problems.

If you look at the trace you can see why.

http://www.jamesonline.net/ukgpl/pics/trace.jpg

The CPU usage shoots through the roof for some reason then drops down again.

Any ideas?

[Clive Loynes]

Virus checker/firewall update?

Something running that you don't want.

Have you tried EndItAll?

[miner2049er]

Virus checker/firewall update?

I have AV software on therte but a very lightweight one. NOD32. I am thinking about removing it completely.
There are no updates. It is bang up to date with everything.

Something running that you don't want.

There is literally nothing else on there. I use it purely as a GPL Server.

Have you tried EndItAll?

No but there is nothing else running. I'll remove the AV which admittedly could be an issue though I added exclusions to the Sierra folder, it may be interfering. Strange how it spikes though.

I'll do it now if anybody wants to test it but I guess there may not be enough people around now.

I'll have it on tomorrow before the races so people could test it then.

[vosblod]

I'll have another go at running it with my server tomorrow, works fine on home pc. Will completely delete and reinstall the track.
If it works will leave it looping on INT LONG when I leave. Still not fixed the remote hosting - thinking of getting a new router as tried everything else...

[miner2049er]

OK, I have removed AV from it, and when booted and logged in at idle the CPU sits at 0%. Literally, flatlining. There is nothing else running other than Apache which blips the CPU by 2% when I hit the web page and immediately flat lines again and VNC which adds 10% to the CPU when I connect remotely which I haven't done during the problems tonight. I only use VNC to start the Server from my laptop in the lounge.

The CPU is an AMD 1800+. Not the best in the world but as Jack O' informs me far better than UKGPL1 has and that runs brands just fine.

I am aware of my server warping on 3 tracks, Vallelunga recently when Mr No Name Warpy was on and we need to test that again to see if he was the cause of everybody's problems or not, brands which I am looking into and one other recently. I am pretty sure it was Silverstone but at the time I was uploading a large file to my web server and once I stopped the problem went away.

The disk is completely defragmented and always has been and I have run different hard drives in it.

My Broadband speed was at 2.5 down which is a little lower than the usual 3.2 but my up speed was 500 which is normal.

I am convinced that the problem lies with the brands track rather than the server and as we know it is giving Tim problems too. I wonder if somebody like Clive or Dave could zip up their brands67 folder and upload it somewhere. I can then rename my brand67 folder temporarily and copy theirs in. Would that work or would there be issues related to the different hardware?

Ideas anyone?

I intend to run the server tomorrow evening with the CPU Trace on again in the run up to the Novice race and would appreciate it if people could connect and try it.

I trust that other provisions have been made for hosting the race.

[vosblod]

Managed to get Brands running by deleting and reinstalling - think I had a few different versions on machine.
Anyway will leave it running when I leave work with the Race password and set to Int Long, 35 mins practice, loose grid.
Guess as a back up can be used for the race - only problem is it will be on a loop so we would have to start the race when the loop dictates...
For info not been able to solve the remote hosting / internet connection problem - I am looking to replace my old router which may do the trick...

[Clive Loynes]

Gladys will be available.

[vosblod]

Gladys will be available.

OK in that case will just leave it up for practice with no password

[miner2049er]

Thanks everybody for testing 5.UKGPL earlier. I was taking a trace the whole evening, and you can see it here.

http://www.jamesonline.net/ukgpl/pics

The trace runs for 6 and a half hours and you can see that each race appears to have a CPU spike and obviously that will be where the warping is taking place. One race appears to have 2 spikes.

Once the races finish the server flatlines and there are no spikes caused by anything else so clearly something to do with hosting Brands is affecting it.

Over the course of this week I will be hosting a couple of other tracks and recording similar traces to see what happens.

I would appreciate it if you see the server online to join and have a blast round and let me know what happens.

Also, if anybody else wants to host Brands and take a trace to compare with, that could be helpful too.

[b_1_rd]

Thanks for all your time trying to sort this Mike.  It is appreciated. 

[miner2049er]

Thanks for all your time trying to sort this Mike.  It is appreciated. 

No problem Steve.

I have run traces on 2 other tracks now and the results are in.

http://www.jamesonline.net/ukgpl/pics/

You will see that each race in the loop has the same spike in it that we saw at Brands. Some have 2.

Bear in mind that for the Vallelunga trace there were no drivers connected all evening and in the Watkins trace tonight, only 1 driver connected in the second or third race.

I'm not sure what these spikes are or where they happen in the race without sitting and watching the damn thing and that is a little too nerdy even for me.

Is there somebody out there in Interwebnets land that might know?

[NickyIckx]

  sorry I have none experience with that Interwebnets land.
even dont know the programm you used to do those traces.
so cant compare how it would look at mine PC .

have you posted the prob at RSC ?


good luck and thx for workin on it

[vosblod]

Mike, being an IT amateur can't help you re the problem.
Happy to take a trace of server to see if it happens to me - could you give me an idiot's guide of how to do this...
Thanks

[miner2049er]

Right Idiots 

Here's an idiot's guide. That is a guide for idiots not one done by an idiot. 

1. Control panel->Administrative Tools->Performance.
2. Expand "Performance Logs And Alerts."
3. Click on "Counter Logs."
4. In the right hand pane is now a Default Trace called "System Overview"
5. Right Click on System Overview and select Start.
6. The trace will now run and begin to log stats in a file located at C:\Perflogs\.
7. Minimise the window DO NOT CLOSE IT.
8. Set the server to loop at a circuit.
9. Once the server has finished looping Maximise the Performance window again.
10. In the Left Pane click on the System Monitor.
11. In the Right Pane either click the icon 4th from the right (Properties).
12. In the new window click on the Source tab.
13. Change it from Current Activity to Log Files.
14. Click on the "Add" button and add the log file in C:\Perflogs.
15. Click OK and the view will show the trace taken while the server was looping.
16. Press "Prt Sc" (Print Screen) to take a screenshot to the clipboard.
17. Open MS Paint or similar and paste the clipboard in as a new image.
18. Save the image as a bmp or a jpg or similar.
19. Voila!


The Default System Overview logs CPU, Paging and Disk Use. I tried to create one that measure Network Performance as well but it crashed.

It would be helpful if you did this at Brands and at one of the Papy Tracks too.

Good Luck. Nerd!