Once in a while (update)

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Darkelarious
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Once in a while (update)

Post by Darkelarious » Tue Feb 11, 2014 4:13 pm

It has been over a year and a month since I last posted here. Many of you also read at UT99 or at Hook's Place, so I'll keep this brief.

In the past months I have been working on a new version of the MasterServer, where I tried to broaden the scope (not only uplinked servers, but virtually every server online), efficiency (loading the list via ubrowser went down faster during the tests) and information (everything tied into the website directly, not via ambiguous workarounds). Most of the progress is documented here: http://hooksutplace.freeforums.org/mast ... t2156.html.

News of 333networks is now slowly leaking into other UT subcommunities too: Hook found something on UT99 as he describes here: http://hooksutplace.freeforums.org/333n ... t2261.html.

And speaking of UT99.org, {S.O.W.}DeathMask and I are also investigating the possibility to merge The DataBase (see http://www.ut99.org/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=5485) with 333networks, where we will serve as the practical interface between user and actual file (in other words: we organize all of it into clickable downloads).

All of this will probably take a while still, but we are getting close. So close, that I finally aired my development domain on http://dev.333networks.com. Feel free to take a look!

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Re: Once in a while (update)

Post by {S.o.W}DeathMask » Tue Feb 11, 2014 4:51 pm

I mounted up the permanent TDB base, and will start organizing files soon.
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Re: Once in a while (update)

Post by Hermskii » Tue Feb 11, 2014 9:48 pm

Pretty cool stuff and pretty neat knowing the trials and such that have accompanied this progress over the years. I picture an old 386 type server in a corner of a basement next to a leaking hot-water heater. I wish you could post a picture of the original box you used.
~Peace~

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Re: Once in a while (update)

Post by Darkelarious » Wed Feb 12, 2014 6:16 am

I have a phew photos, though there is not much to see. Actually it is not the basement, but the top floor / attic. We have the central heating room up there.

One of the servers (name phobos) is in the old study room, half hidden in the archive- and spare parts corner. The other one (name deimos) is indeed standing under a formerly leaking boiler indeed!

I am not even sure if I should show you the photos. It would be more fun to leave it up to your imagination. Perhaps I can also find a few photos of the time that Ben333 was still hosting them.

Ah, whatever. Soon we will just add a page with "333networks through the years". Along with photos and screencaps of the old site. Maybe somewhere in March or April or so.

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Re: Once in a while (update)

Post by Hook » Wed Feb 12, 2014 2:00 pm

Wow, I still remember "Ben333" - or at least the name from your old site/forum. :o
Time flies! :P
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Re: Once in a while (update)

Post by EvilGrins » Wed Feb 12, 2014 5:18 pm

Hook wrote:Wow, I still remember "Ben333"
I only remmber Ben10.

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Re: Once in a while (update)

Post by Darkelarious » Sat Feb 22, 2014 2:44 pm

MasterServer Progress

A long period of work finally paid off! After several months, the BACKGROUND of 333networks has been completely rewritten. Currently, you will not see that many different things on the site yet. But that will change soon!

Update 19:38h GMT+0: Migration completed! All services restored and functioning properly!

The most important changes are:

How 333networks retrieves its information.
In the past, we queried our own MasterServer, later on EpicGames' MasterServer too. That resulted in a list of IPs that we then query one by one. Instead, now UDP beacons are received and stored directly into the database. The MasterServer now is our database now, which means that everything immeditely shows up on the site when it is found. Essentially everything (cpu, memory use, database size, number of scripts) went down, except for performance/efficiency, which went up dramatically.

Functionality
We re-arranged a few database tables, rewrote everything into one script, and are now able to legitimately query and respond like the EpicGames MasterServer with the proper protocol. That means that your Unreal Tournament UBrowser can now query 333networks instead of the EpicGames MasterServer. More servers, faster, and most importantly, from the community for the community!

The ability to expand
In previous versions, we had to rewrite everything in order to release a new version. As well as this time-- the database needed to be adapted for the new version, tables re-arranged, queries modified, all because it was more convenient for other purposes at the other version. But now, everything is written with the eye on expansion. New functions can be added without compromising the old, old functions can be removed without compromising the structural integrity of the site. In other words, now the real work starts!

Striking things off the TO DO list
The TO DO list is getting smaller and smaller. Of course, once in a while we add things to the wish-list, but still. With every item that we can strike out, 333networks becomes better.

Of course, there are still a lot of things to be done, not all of them on the list. Recent discussion with {S.O.W.}DeathMask resulted in plans to create a huge download database for all UT related files. Of course, this idea is still far from implementing, but our current configuration allows for this type of expansion, as well as the ability to register and store your favorites and to upload screenshots for servers.

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Re: Once in a while (update)

Post by {S.o.W}DeathMask » Sat Feb 22, 2014 10:05 pm

Darkelarious wrote:Of course, there are still a lot of things to be done, not all of them on the list. Recent discussion with {S.O.W.}DeathMask resulted in plans to create a huge download database for all UT related files. Of course, this idea is still far from implementing, but our current configuration allows for this type of expansion, as well as the ability to register and store your favorites and to upload screenshots for servers.
I am just done in putting TDB into one only place and I'm almost done in sorting it, however there are TONS of files I still need to finish, and shouldn't I be able to complete them all, I think I'll publish them on 333networks as "Unfinished projects"...
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Re: Once in a while (update)

Post by Darkelarious » Sat Mar 01, 2014 11:00 am

Hermskii wrote:I wish you could post a picture of the original box you used.
Image

Until 2011, this is where 333networks was hosted: a fish tank filled with oil (low-fat) in the basement of a secret location in New Hampshire. No, really, secret, I still don't exactly know where Ben333 lived at that moment. Photos were taken a few days ago, it still smells as fresh as the first day we used it, and the server still works.

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Re: Once in a while (update)

Post by Darkelarious » Fri Dec 28, 2018 8:48 am

I guess a random update that occurs every once in a while is not a bad idea.

What happened since the last time I posted? See you guys in another 4 years, I guess. Cheers!

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Re: Once in a while (update)

Post by Hermskii » Fri Dec 28, 2018 6:39 pm

Darkelarious,

It sure has been a while. It sounds like everything is going well for you and your site! This is great to hear. Yes, please do keep popping in whenever and update us. I'm very glad to see you are staying busy and on top of all of this stuff. Thanks for all you do!
~Peace~

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Re: Once in a while (update)

Post by Hook » Fri Jan 04, 2019 2:06 pm

Hermskii wrote:
Fri Dec 28, 2018 6:39 pm
Darkelarious,

It sure has been a while. It sounds like everything is going well for you and your site! This is great to hear. Yes, please do keep popping in whenever and update us. I'm very glad to see you are staying busy and on top of all of this stuff. Thanks for all you do!
I will 2nd that! :wink:
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