Post Addowxrj4dtQFrAnTM by pmdj@mstdn.social
(DIR) More posts by pmdj@mstdn.social
(DIR) Post #AdV646KiQ3vKiMmvPk by selea@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T11:18:42Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
So, I've been involved to create a LAN-event for kids in a few month. So I need to hear stories from you about similar events that you where involved in, and the pitfalls I have to look out for.Basically, we will arrange a LAN-party for kids and their parents, and we expect 100-150 people attending and bringing their own machines + some consoles.I am looking into building a router (opnSense) and buy some cheap mikrotik switches.10Gbit core-networking, to each table, and then distribute...
(DIR) Post #AdV6G7Ydgyj9zI2436 by selea@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T11:20:52Z
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... the network from a 24 port eth switch to the clients.I am also thinking about a LAN-cache server in order to cache all the games that is downloading.Sounds like a good plan right? Let me know!Oh, and if you are located in the area around Gothenburg, Borås, Kinna and have hardware to donate - we are thankful if you have some hardware left over for donation ;)
(DIR) Post #AdV6zMEPywEaWr91Si by kirrus@social.theindiestone.com
2024-01-04T11:29:02Z
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@selea one heard of https://github.com/kixelated/steamcache being used before! Also, unrelated, dot some HEPA air filters around the place, reduced viral blah much appreciated by everyone
(DIR) Post #AdV76PZnwa00vjVly4 by selea@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T11:30:20Z
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@kirrus yeah, I think the project got stalled so someone forked it:https://lancache.net/I just need some fast drives :P
(DIR) Post #AdV7GFWMBXh0dgadHc by selea@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T11:32:06Z
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@kirrus Good tip btw, regarding the HEPA filter.
(DIR) Post #AdV7kocwE3vuCrF98K by solarisfire@mast.solarisfire.com
2024-01-04T11:37:37Z
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@selea @kirrus If I was going to be hosting a LAN, I'd be asking the advice of Jon Winkle (https://twitter.com/jon_winkle) (Sorry for birdsite link). One of his team (https://twitter.com/MintopiaUK) is actually one of the lead devs on LanCache 🙂
(DIR) Post #AdV9rZZimpOhSX5Y9Y by finlaydag33k@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T12:01:15Z
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@selea sounds like a good plan yea.Just setup some rules so that a single person can't take all the bandwidth.Also a hint: Try to give each table a seperate VLAN.Makes tracking down people that go pirating a lot easier. :gnulightened:
(DIR) Post #AdVAqBgOETfZ1T6wHw by luna@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T12:12:12Z
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@selea definitely will need a cache server for the games but setting that up might be a pain as it's gonna need to be done client side as well I think (might be wrong there)The internet connection is going to be the biggest bottleneck by far i think, might be worth putting bandwidth limiting on so everyone can at least have something rather than a few people managing to use it all
(DIR) Post #AdVAwhpDdmmWRqLh8i by Travaro@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T12:13:22Z
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@selea Sounds awesome. 🥰
(DIR) Post #AdVCGRuQcqGWpblPsG by selea@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T12:28:09Z
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@finlaydag33k I wonder if torrenting will be an issue when it is kids 6-13 years old lol
(DIR) Post #AdVCJdmSwZXoWFYqx6 by selea@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T12:28:43Z
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@luna It looks like there is nothing needed to be done on the client:https://lancache.net/:D
(DIR) Post #AdVCNU92iB1FnBxFBY by solarisfire@mast.solarisfire.com
2024-01-04T11:39:28Z
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@selea @kirrus Oh, she's on Mastodon at @mintopia!
(DIR) Post #AdVCNV4pFLEwgOzOFc by selea@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T12:29:21Z
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@solarisfire @kirrus @mintopia Wonderful!I might throw out a question or two in the coming months :D
(DIR) Post #AdVDBzuSsuL0mxDpIG by harald@mementomori.social
2024-01-04T12:38:32Z
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@selea spanning tree might be a good idea
(DIR) Post #AdVVyuuk2qOGexpNZI by finlaydag33k@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T16:09:06Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@selea "and their parents" :^)
(DIR) Post #AdVZ8YIXHnGNH7F95E by selea@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T16:44:26Z
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@finlaydag33k oooh yeah loool
(DIR) Post #AdVhznoB9HGsMQwke8 by pmdj@mstdn.social
2024-01-04T18:23:40Z
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@selea The ones I ran were smaller (~5-50), and all happened about 20 years ago, but:- Stuff always breaks at LAN parties. You need spares of everything.- Attendees’ gear will also break, so some spare keyboards, mice, controllers, monitors, PSUs, graphics cards, network adapters,… will be welcome, even if they’re just stuff someone threw out. (But still works)- Wired networking is the way to go. (Sounds like you know this.)- Have a plan for ventilation & cooling the room.
(DIR) Post #AdVjkVDiB0tIH7inYG by pmdj@mstdn.social
2024-01-04T18:34:38Z
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@selea - People will need help connecting their gear to the network. Their stuff will have mysteriously impossible existing configurations (“how on earth can this even work when you’re at home???”) which you’ll have to help undo. Have a plan for dealing with the bulk of users as well as the hard cases and make sure organisers don’t all get stuck diagnosing hard cases and bottlenecking the easy ones.
(DIR) Post #AdVjkVyVN2JycFcAUK by pmdj@mstdn.social
2024-01-04T18:35:59Z
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@selea - Expect some systems to be infected with malware. But also that firewalls and host isolation will interfere with multiplayer games. Test your infra with the likely most popular games ahead of time.
(DIR) Post #AdVjkWxph1NTgSJ94y by pmdj@mstdn.social
2024-01-04T18:40:53Z
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@selea - Occasionally someone will have a device that’s so misconfigured, it’ll affect other users’ ability to use your network. Be prepared to have to partition your net for identifying and eventually isolating the culprit.- Some gear doesn’t like to play nicely for some reason. Have different models of switches and a few long cables on hand so you can try different combinations.- Power distribution! Make sure your venue and cabling can handle more than the expected load.
(DIR) Post #AdVjkYBh8y3nTjnjKC by selea@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T18:43:20Z
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@pmdj Your replies is bookmarked! Very good points!
(DIR) Post #AdVjsLVaAVxUTHovse by selea@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T18:44:36Z
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@sheogorath I think that part is solved, hopefully!I will doublecheck thou, thanks for the reminder!
(DIR) Post #AdVkuu68dV7OHZhdTc by pegdhcp@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-04T18:56:26Z
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@selea Do not let DHCP servers to collide. Some "cheap" switches/routers assume they are on a simple home network where they are the only smart box :) and they start to distribute address (usually from 192.168.0.0/24 and declare themselves as the default router...
(DIR) Post #AdVlupjCz0RAgSVXrU by remaster@mastodon.social
2024-01-04T19:06:34Z
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@selea I was involved in some 2-3 day 200 person lans back in the heydays of lans. There’s a lot to think about. We made sure the kids could eat by having a guy with a grill near by, it was good business for that guy. Basic hygiene is nice too, make sure the toilets are clean and have toilet paper. Someone experiences should take care of power. We built some wooden towers to get cables off the floor. Be careful with silver tape, it might damage surfaces. And much more…
(DIR) Post #AdVlyh1DJ5qipVlnbk by feld@bikeshed.party
2024-01-04T19:08:14.213734Z
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@selea expand the DHCP pool and lower lease time to like 30 mins
(DIR) Post #AdVohREl1r1Kp8ZLCy by pmdj@mstdn.social
2024-01-04T19:38:49Z
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@selea As you can tell, I ran quite a few of these things over the years, and I’m periodically remembering incidents when stuff went wrong. Usually not all at the same time fortunately!
(DIR) Post #AdaC0qdxrp9mhWQJYe by luna@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-06T22:18:54Z
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@selea oh thats even better than i expected i love that
(DIR) Post #Addowxrj4dtQFrAnTM by pmdj@mstdn.social
2024-01-04T18:52:00Z
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@selea - Make sure you have access to the venue’s fuses and circuit breakers. Test the scenario of an earth leakage. Make sure you can recover from it when nobody from the venue is around, and have a plan for how you’ll identify the device that caused it.- Have one or more deputies who know enough (combined) to in theory run the event without you. You want to have the ability to just say “hey A, your’re in charge for the next hour” so you can go and take a break.
(DIR) Post #Addowz0GqMK1meB8Qi by pmdj@mstdn.social
2024-01-04T18:57:46Z
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@selea - Label all your gear, extremely clearly. If you care about getting a replacement graphics card or whatever back, have some big stickers on hand that you can slap on people’s PCs who borrowed stuff. To remind both them and you to return it at the end.
(DIR) Post #AddowzxpGvxclM2hG4 by pmdj@mstdn.social
2024-01-04T19:01:24Z
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@selea - Have some kind of code of acceptable behaviour and be prepared to kick out anyone who’s ruining it for other guests.
(DIR) Post #Addox0huVap94HbV5c by pmdj@mstdn.social
2024-01-04T19:20:25Z
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@selea - As you’re dealing with minors, make sure you get a phone number for a parent/guardian for each one of them, and can identify them when needed. Even if the parent is supposed to be in attendance as well. Combine a parent “popping out to run an errand for 2 hours” with my previous point as an example why.- If you’re asking everyone to bring something specific (game controller, network cable, drinks/snacks), be prepared for 10-25% turning up without.
(DIR) Post #Addox1UTb1fjUuKHmy by pmdj@mstdn.social
2024-01-04T19:22:20Z
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@selea - Recommend that attendees label ALL of the stuff they’re bringing ahead of time. Have blank labels and pens on hand because many will ignore your request. Ask them to do it when they turn up.
(DIR) Post #Addox29b88Z7YRZ7su by pmdj@mstdn.social
2024-01-04T19:36:30Z
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@selea - If at all possible, have a backup plan for the case that your internet connection drops or flakes. Maybe a wireless link to another building nearby with a different ISP you can switch over to, worst case? (And prepare to switch to tighter bandwidth limits and appropriate QoS rules if that pipe is a lot thinner. Back In My Day👴🏻 we had to run a lot of these things completlely offline because few venues had internet access. Probably impossible for multiplayer today.)
(DIR) Post #Addox32XpqWAIrH0Wu by selea@social.linux.pizza
2024-01-08T16:19:18Z
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@pmdj We will go throu your experience today, and take notes!A big thanks you, for taking the time to write this!!