Allocation vs reservation features
Note: The content on this page pertains to Managed Game Server Hosting (Clanforge). If you’re using Game Server Hosting (Multiplay), refer to the Game Server Hosting (Multiplay) documentation.
| Feature | Allocations | Reservations |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced scaling | YES | LIMITED |
| Game process management | YES | YES |
| Game image management | YES | YES |
| Monitoring and statistics | YES | YES |
| Automatic defragmentation | YES | NO |
| Cost-based session placement | YES | NO |
| Changes to matchmaker services | MINIMAL | MODERATE |
Advanced scaling
The allocation system offers advanced scaling capabilities and more flexibility. Game Server Hosting can take machines out of an allocation-based fleet for maintenance or troubleshooting without affecting the rest of your fleet or your matchmaker.
The reservation system is best suited for simple game configurations; it can't operate multiple versions of a game server concurrently. For example, if you have different game image versions for each platform you support (such as Xbox®, PC, PlayStation®), you would need to create separate fleets for each platform, whereas, with the allocation system, you can run all three game image versions concurrently in the same fleet.
Game process management
Game Server Hosting offers game process management for both allocation-based fleets and reservation-based fleets.
Game image management
Game Server Hosting's advanced game image management platform is available to both allocation-based fleets and reservation-based fleets.
Monitoring
Both the allocation system and the reservation system support advanced monitoring and reporting on metrics such as concurrent players.
Automatic defragmentation
Game Server Hosting’s allocation system automatically defragments your fleet by adjusting your compute capacity based on instance costs. When your game’s CCU decreases, Game Server Hosting shuts down the least cost-effective cloud instances first. Conversely, in a reservation-based fleet, there is no automatic defragmentation. Your matchmaker selects instances from a pool of game server instances without considering instance costs. The pool of game server instances expands to fulfill the fleet requirements using a round-robin or scattergun approach for placing players. Game Server Hosting’s reservation system waits for game server instances to idle before shutting them down. The reservation system results in an average of 16-20% increase in costs associated with cloud instances.
Cost-based session placement
The allocation system intelligently adjusts your fleet capacity with fluctuations in concurrent players. It considers the location, cost, and performance of multiple cloud instance providers to ensure that your fleet is always using the most cost-effective option. It scales your fleet into the least expensive cloud instances first and descales your fleet by shutting down the most expensive instances first.
Matchmaker integration
With reservation-based fleets, more of the allocation logic falls on the game matchmaker, whereas, with allocation-based fleets, Game Server Hosting's platform intelligently manages allocations and deallocations.