Hosting multiple servers on Linux
From Bitfighter
It is possible to host multiple servers using a single install of Bitfighter. Here is how the official Bitfighter game server is organized:
The main game itself is installed in /home/autotron/bf013 All server-specific data is stored in /home/autotron/servers Each server has its own subfolder, which in turn has a levels and robots subfolders.
So the folder tree looks like this:
/home/autotron/bf013/install stuff <-- SVN code checked out here, built with dedicated option servers/classic/levels robots usrlevs/levels robots botlevs/levels robots ...
Then, a shell script can be used to launch the servers:
cd /home/autron/bf013/exe screen -dmS classic ./bitfighterd -hostname "Classic Levels" -hostdescr "[Calif.] Classic levels shipped with Bitfighter" -rootdatadir "/home/autotron/servers/classic" -levelchangepassword changeit -adminpassword adminit screen -dmS userlevs./bitfighterd -hostname "User Submitted Levels" -hostdescr "[Calif.] Levels submitted by users" -rootdatadir "/home/autotron/servers/usrlevs" -levelchangepassword changeit -adminpassword adminit screen -dmS robots./bitfighterd -hostname "Robot Levels" -hostdescr "[Calif.] Where the robots play after happy hour" -rootdatadir "/home/autotron/servers/botlevs" -levelchangepassword changeit -adminpassword adminit ...
When an update to Bitfighter is available, the code can be updated and compiled easily, then the servers can be restarted. The whole upgrade process takes 5 minutes.