What are the requirements for hosting a Call of Duty 4 Reign of the Undead server

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What are the specs I need for a hosting account to host a game server for Call of Duty 4 Reign of the Undead (COD4 ROTU)?

Specifically, I believe that the information I need to know is bandwidth requirements for hosting a 16+ person 24/7 COD4 ROTU server.

Best Answer

There are several pieces of information you need to take into consideration when hosting a game server;

  • How many people you want to be able to join
  • The specifications required to host that many people
  • The bandwidth required for that many people
  • Whether the hosting solution you go for allows that kind of hosting

This article states that the system requirements for hosting a Call of Duty 4 server are similar to the requirements for hosting a Call of Duty 2 server.

Hardware

The following should be considered as the minimum hardware for a COD4 server (hosting a maximum of eight players):

  • 1GB RAM
  • 1.4+ GHz processor
  • 40GB hard drive

The following server configuration would create a better hosting experience:

  • 3.2GHz processor
  • 8GB+ RAM
  • 120GB hard drive.

The minimum hardware required to run a COD4 server is reasonable, faster hardware will only increase the user/client experience. Utilising the minimum hardware could cause frustrating lag for your users. Unlike the COD4 client version, a good video card will not make improvements to the performance of a dedicated COD4 server. The key hardware element when hosting COD4 is RAM.

Networking

COD4's requires that the following ports are open: UDP 20800, UDP 20810 and UDP 28960.

Additionally, the network connection should be heavily evaluated before beginning to host the Call of Duty server as bandwidth will be a major factor in the user experience (a lack of bandwidth can cause lag).

In this instance, you also should consider the number of users who will be connecting: more users will require more bandwidth.

For example for an eight player server (max), you should have a high-speed DSL, cable or other connection type achieving 1.5MBps down/256KBps up.

For a 32-slot COD4 server you should be aiming to have 20MBps+ down/1.5MBps+ up.

A more stable internet connection will of course provide a more solid gaming experience for those using the server.

More reading: Call of Duty 4 Dedicated Server Guide

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