Questions on server hardware requirements, bandwidth, launching, etc

[soulmata]

Hello,

I am attempting to run a Discovery 4.85 server on a trial basis for two forums that I participate in. We are a gaming community and currently have a Diablo2, UT99, UT2k4 and OpenTTD server. We are considering adding Freelancer to the mix.

So far, I have installed the server files and the discovery 4.85 mod using the FL Mod Manager. I can launch the server successfully and the server in question appears to be listening on the proper ports. There are a few questions I have, though, regarding actually using the server.

1) It appears the public server for listing has long since died. Is there any way to get my server listed on the Internet so that I can connect to it? I attempted the command line approach (-s) and was unsuccessful. Also, is there any talk on creating a new public list server? It is extremely reliable hardware (redundant NIC, redundant HDD, etc..), I am only concerned with I/O overhead or RAM requirements primarily.

2) What sort of hardware requirements do you need to host, say, 50 people? 100? 200? The server I am using for this is an HP Proliant dl380 G4, dual Xeon 5xxx series, 4GB of ECC REG Ram, 2x72GB 15,000RPM drives for the Hypervisor (Vmware ESXi 4) and 4x300GB 10,000RPM drives for guest OS. On this sort of hardware, would I be able to handle, say, 250 people, maybe 20 in a single system?

3) What sort of bandwidth requirements are needed to host 10, 50, 100, 200, 250 people? I work for an ISP, so I have access to bandwidth, but for traffic shaping purposes I am wondering what I should expect.



#1 is the big issue right now. The server appears to be functional, but I have no way to access it to test. I believe I have the hardware stable enough to provide for a 24/7 server, and I potentially have the interest, now I just want to try it out for myself.

Any help is appreciated in advance.