Gaming in an internet cafe setting part 2

About a week ago I posted a question about internet cafes and the bandwidth
suggested by TWC.

Now comes part two with a more in depth explanation -

My brother is planning to open an internet cafe that will specialize in
gaming. In addition to multiple x-boxes and PS-II consoles, he wants to set
up a pc gaming room.

Now since I've spent the last 15 years as a network admin and level - 3
techie, he wants me to set up his network.

The plan is to have 8-10 ultra high end pcs for gaming and five mid-range
systems for net surfing, word processing, photo editing, etc.

Getting the five mid-range systems on the network is monkey work that I
could do in my sleep. However, the gaming systems is another matter
entirely. Certainly, the general principal is the same, but where the games
themselves are concerned is what is causing some minor consternation.

For instance, can the game files be installed on the server instead of
locally or do they absolutely have to be installed locally? Yes, I know
sharing a game over a network is likely to be a bandwidth killer, but I'm
just looking for ways to keep the local drives free.

I know we'll have to purchase a copy of each game separately for each pc,
which with a budget of 100k for the pc's and network is not going to be a
problem.

We're also looking at selling flashcards for people who want to save their
games to save space on the tapes
when backups are done each night.

Thanks in advance for any useful ideas and suggestions.

J.

 

I can't answer your questions directly because I've not done anything
like this, but I know you can set up game servers - it depends on the
game. TechTV before it became G4 used to have massive lan parties and
they put the games on servers. I realize that what you're planning
isn't quite the same thing as a lan party, but I would suggest going
over to www.lanparty.com for some useful tips. I took a quick look and
they cover some technical stuff such as power issues very well. They
also have some forums, which look like they might be a good resource
for you.

Sounds like fun. Does your nickname mean you're setting up the gaming
cafe in Buffalo, NY? It would be a long ride from CA, but....

Dworkin

 

BOB, first of all, I cannot begin to help you. But your question was of
interest to me. It is facinating that wifi tech is going on but you might
have made a couple mistakes in your post. Let's begin with the last line of
your post. You did a TIA. That can only indicate that you are expecting an
answer and since we don't know the future, TIA isn't appropriate. Then, you
made sure that all the readers of the post were aware of the fact that you
know more about computers than god. Why would they then want to answer?
Think about it. There are some around here that probly could give you a
fair answer without calling you seriously filthy names, etc. Not trying to
tell you what to post but I've watched. I sincerely hope that the answer
you look for comes your way.
johnny o.

 

Thanks D,

I'll hop on over to that site and take a look. As for the name, while
Buffalo (The greatest city on the planet, IMHO.) is my home town, I am
currently living in Milwaukee. (Also a long way from CA.)

If you wanna visit when we have the Grand Opening, let me know and I'll make
sure you're treated right.

 

Thanks! I very much doubt that I'll ever get to Milwaukee, although I
have been there once many years ago. Nice city.

Good luck with your venture.

Dworkin