WideClient Config - SERVERNAME x SERVERIPADDR

[flouid]

Hi Peter!

I´ve heard from a friend that SERVERNAME is better/faster than

SERVERIPADDR for people who uses Project Magenta with WideFS.

The e-mail stated that you gave a tip saying that SERVERNAME

is better.

You wrote at the WideFS Users Manual that:

"Incidentally, assigning specific IP addresses in this way also reduces periodic but regular stutters in Flight Simulator, caused by

the Network drivers querying the Network to get an address assigned (or something like that)."

So now, Im in doubt: what is the best in terms of performance?

Thanks in advance and

Greetings from Brazil! :D

Roger Beggiato

[Pete Dowson]

I´ve heard from a friend that SERVERNAME is better/faster than

SERVERIPADDR for people who uses Project Magenta with WideFS.

The e-mail stated that you gave a tip saying that SERVERNAME

is better.

I advise using the Name rather than the set of numbers making up an IP address simply because:

1) it is easier to remember and less likely to get wrong, and

2) if you use dynamic IP addressing, as is defaulted on Windows, instead of a fixed IP address, then it will be different each time you boot up and so WideClient will not find it.

In terms of performance there's absolutely no difference. The Server address or name is only used once, when connecting. If you give a name, WideClient merely asks Windows to convert it to an address -- that's one short call extra per connection. It won't be detectable.

"Incidentally, assigning specific IP addresses in this way also reduces periodic but regular stutters in Flight Simulator, caused by

the Network drivers querying the Network to get an address assigned (or something like that)."

You quote it out of context. That was not talking about how you tell WideClient where the Server is, that was about optimising your Windows network -- and not just for WideFS. It is obviously more efficient in Windows for each PC to have a fixed IP address than having it reassigning them dynamically. In Win98 especially (less so in WinXP) the latter action is repeated from time to time and it causes regular small stutters in programs like FS. It doesn't particularly affect WideFS itself.

This setting only relates to WideClient in that if you do have Windows dynamically assigning addresses then you simply cannot use the IP address to tell WideClient where the Server is, because then you'd have to edit the INI file every time Windows changes the address (as well as having more of a job finding out exactly what IP address Windows has actually assigned!).

So now, Im in doubt: what is the best in terms of performance?

In terms of WideFS performance, neither method of specifying the Server to WideClient is "best in terms of performance". It's just a damned sight easier to give it a name than a possibly changing set of numbers. But please yourself. You are actually making a big subject out of something absolutely trivial.

Regards,

Pete

[flouid]

Hello again Pete,

Thanks for the quick answer. :D

That question was made because a friend told me that

he´s getting better performance with magenta, using

SERVERNAME instead of SERVERIP.

He said that, when he was using IP, things were going

much slower than with the NAME.

The explanation he gave me was that, for some reason,

theres less traffic using ADDR than IP, and consequently

less flood between computers, will be less conflict with the

Internet traffic etc etc etc...

I was personally in doubt that was true, so decided to

"give you a call". :oops:

Now I do realize it doesn´t matter in terms of how

fast the info travels back and forth.

Sorry for the stupid question. :oops:

Regards!

Roger

[Pete Dowson]

Sorry for the stupid question.

No, not stupid. The stupid question is the one that's never asked! It can't get much more stupid than that! :wink:

Regards,

Pete