NetRyder
Tech Junkie
- Joined
- 19 Apr 2002
- Messages
- 13,256
SourceQuestion: What can you do with an Unisys ES7000 32 CPU / 32 GB RAM Server with Microsoft Windows 2003 Datacenter Edition running on it?
Answer: The coolest Guinness World Record ever namely 1073 people playing Counter-Strike 1.1 simultaneously!
First, let me give you some background to this event. For about 10 years now there has been a LAN Party arranged here in Sweden that has grown and grown as the years have gone by. Microsoft Sweden has been sponsors for the last six of these years and I have been working with and at this event every year. Why are we there? Well, firstly, this is the only really big event aimed at young computer interested people in Sweden. Secondly, we feel that the best way of eventually stop piracy and turn them into avid developers focused on our technologies - is to be there, to talk to them and show them that Microsoft is an awesome company with awesome products and technologies. The event itself has now grown to encompass two exhibition halls at the Elmia Exhibition and Congress center in Jönköping, Sweden and runs from Thursday morning to Sundy afternoon day and night. That translates into somewhere around 5500 people with their computers, another thousand just being there being sociable and then crew on top of that. Please look at the PHOTOS to get a feeing for what it’s like So in abou a week the voluntary crew builds a network worthy of an Enterprise class company, then run it completely maxed out for four days and finally dismantling it again. One year the ISP that provided the Internet pipe actually had to restrict the Internet pipe after a while as it was becoming impossible to place international phone calls due to the network being used to the extreme. Also electrical power is of course in high demand, so normally they run extension mega-cables to some nearby Ice Hockey stadiums and what not, as the Congress Center's own resources are imply not enough. It has happened that the event itself has led to blacking out the entire city momentarily until the electrical company realized that they had to crank up the hose
For further information please check out the Dreamhack Website
This last year, in November 2004, Unisys joined us for the second time at this event. This time with the joint goal of setting an awesome Guinness World Record! A funny anecdote is the American Unisys representative that installed the machine wondered if he'd be needing his suit and tie? It took us a while to explain that no - at this event that would send the wrong message - turned out that he later stated that he would never be able to tell his colleagues about this event since it was simply too much fun!
Anyway, I think the pictures talk best for themselves but the reason that the official record is a few hundred people lower than the peak number recorded in the logs, is simply that we had a rule that to be part of the record attempt one had to be connected for at least 5 minutes. I should probably say that the game never felt sluggish, although the machine looks maxed out it performed admirable!
Ooh, now that must have been fun!