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# How to Maximize Your Earnings on Dawn Without Upgrading Hardware

Welcome to the Dawn server community! Many new administrators are eager to boost their server's income, but often believe this *requires* expensive hardware upgrades. This guide aims to demonstrate that significant improvements are possible through optimized server configuration, even on existing hardware. This tutorial assumes a basic understanding of server administration and the Dawn economy, and focuses on tweaking existing settings rather than introducing new software.

== Understanding the Dawn Economy and Server Performance ==

Before diving into configuration, it’s crucial to understand how Dawn calculates server earnings. Primarily, it’s based on active player count, server stability, and resource availability for players. A stable server with a healthy player population will consistently earn more than an unstable one, even with identical hardware. Resource availability (specifically, how quickly resources respawn and how smoothly the server handles large-scale harvesting) also plays a role. We'll focus on optimizing these aspects.

=== Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ===

Monitoring these KPIs is vital to measuring the effectiveness of any changes you make:

*   '''Average Player Count:''' Track this over time to see if your changes attract or retain players.
*   '''Server FPS (Frames Per Second):''' Lower FPS leads to lag and player dissatisfaction. Aim for a stable 60+ FPS.
*   '''CPU Usage:''' High CPU usage indicates a bottleneck.
*   '''RAM Usage:'''  Running out of RAM leads to swapping to disk, severely impacting performance.
*   '''Disk I/O:''' Slow disk I/O impacts resource loading and saving.
*   '''Network Latency:''' Higher latency impacts player experience.

== Optimizing Server Configuration Files ==

The core of maximizing earnings without hardware upgrades lies in meticulously tuning the server configuration files. We'll focus on the `server.cfg` and potentially any related configuration files specific to your Dawn server distribution.

=== Server Configuration Settings ===

Here’s a breakdown of key settings to adjust, along with recommended values. *Always back up your configuration files before making changes!*

{| class="wikitable"
! Setting
! Description
! Recommended Value
! Impact
|-
| `maxPlayers`
| Maximum number of concurrent players.
| Start with 60, adjust based on hardware (see below).
| High - Directly impacts earnings and server load.
|-
| `tickRate`
| How often the server updates the game state.
| 20 (Standard).  Reducing *slightly* can ease CPU load.
| Medium - Impacts game smoothness.
|-
| `respawnInterval`
| Time between resource respawns.
| 60-90 seconds.  Experiment to find balance.
| Medium - Impacts resource availability.
|-
| `networkBandwidth`
| Server network bandwidth limit.
| Auto (Let the server manage).
| Low - Can help with network congestion.
|-
| `queryPort`
| Port for server status queries.
| 27015 (Standard). Ensure firewall allows access.
| Low - Important for server listing.
|}

=== Advanced Configuration Adjustments ===

Beyond the basic settings, consider these more advanced tweaks:

*   '''Entity Count Limits:'''  Reduce the maximum number of entities (animals, NPCs, dropped items) allowed. This significantly reduces CPU load.
*   '''Distance Culling:'''  Adjust the distance at which objects are rendered for players.  Lowering this can improve performance, but also visual quality.
*   '''LOD (Level of Detail) Settings:''' Optimize LOD levels for different object types to reduce polygon counts at a distance.
*   '''Collision Mesh Complexity:''' Reducing the complexity of collision meshes (the shapes used for collision detection) can improve CPU performance.

== Database Optimization ==

The server database is a frequent bottleneck. Regular maintenance and optimization are crucial.

=== Database Maintenance Tasks ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Task
! Frequency
! Description
|-
| `VACUUM`
| Weekly
| Reclaims storage occupied by deleted or updated rows.
|-
| `ANALYZE`
| Weekly
| Updates statistics used by the query planner for efficient query execution.
|-
| `REINDEX`
| Monthly
| Rebuilds indexes, improving query performance.
|-
| Backup
| Daily
| Creates a backup of your database in case of corruption or data loss.  [[Database Backups]] are essential.
|}

=== Database Configuration ===

The database server itself (typically MySQL or MariaDB) requires tuning. Consider the following:

{| class="wikitable"
! Setting
! Description
! Recommended Value
|-
| `innodb_buffer_pool_size`
| Amount of RAM allocated to the InnoDB buffer pool.
| 50-80% of available RAM.
|-
| `query_cache_size`
| Size of the query cache.
| 64-128MB (or disable if RAM is limited).
|-
| `max_connections`
| Maximum number of simultaneous database connections.
| 100-150 (adjust based on player count).
|}

== Operating System Level Optimizations ==

Don’t neglect the underlying operating system!

*   '''Kernel Tuning:'''  Adjust kernel parameters (e.g., `net.core.somaxconn`, `vm.swappiness`) to optimize network performance and memory management.  See [[Kernel Parameters]] for details.
*   '''Firewall Rules:'''  Ensure your firewall is configured efficiently to only allow necessary traffic.
*   '''Process Priority:'''  Give the Dawn server process a higher priority using `nice` or `renice` commands. [[Process Priority]] explains this further.
*   '''Disable Unnecessary Services:'''  Stop any services that are not required for the server to run, freeing up resources.

== Monitoring and Iteration ==

Optimizing a server is not a one-time task. Continuously monitor your KPIs (mentioned earlier) and iterate on your configuration changes. Use tools like `top`, `htop`, and database monitoring utilities to identify bottlenecks.  Regularly review [[Server Logs]] for errors or warnings.

== Resources ==

*   [[Server Administration Guide]]
*   [[Database Backups]]
*   [[Kernel Parameters]]
*   [[Process Priority]]
*   [[Server Logs]]
*   [[Troubleshooting Common Issues]]
*   [[Dawn Wiki Homepage]]

[[Category:Server Hardware]]


== Intel-Based Server Configurations ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Configuration
! Specifications
! Benchmark
|-
| [[Core i7-6700K/7700 Server]]
| 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 512 GB
| CPU Benchmark: 8046
|-
| [[Core i7-8700 Server]]
| 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2x1 TB
| CPU Benchmark: 13124
|-
| [[Core i9-9900K Server]]
| 128 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 1 TB
| CPU Benchmark: 49969
|-
| [[Core i9-13900 Server (64GB)]]
| 64 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD
| 
|-
| [[Core i9-13900 Server (128GB)]]
| 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD
| 
|-
| [[Core i5-13500 Server (64GB)]]
| 64 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD
| 
|-
| [[Core i5-13500 Server (128GB)]]
| 128 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD
| 
|-
| [[Core i5-13500 Workstation]]
| 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2 NVMe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 4000
| 
|}

== AMD-Based Server Configurations ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Configuration
! Specifications
! Benchmark
|-
| [[Ryzen 5 3600 Server]]
| 64 GB RAM, 2x480 GB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 17849
|-
| [[Ryzen 7 7700 Server]]
| 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2x1 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 35224
|-
| [[Ryzen 9 5950X Server]]
| 128 GB RAM, 2x4 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 46045
|-
| [[Ryzen 9 7950X Server]]
| 128 GB DDR5 ECC, 2x2 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 63561
|-
| [[EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/1TB)]]
| 128 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 48021
|-
| [[EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/2TB)]]
| 128 GB RAM, 2 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 48021
|-
| [[EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/4TB)]]
| 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 48021
|-
| [[EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/1TB)]]
| 256 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 48021
|-
| [[EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/4TB)]]
| 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 48021
|-
| [[EPYC 9454P Server]]
| 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe
| 
|}

== Order Your Dedicated Server ==
[https://powervps.net/?from=32 Configure and order] your ideal server configuration

=== Need Assistance? ===
* Telegram: [https://t.me/powervps @powervps Servers at a discounted price]

⚠️ *Note: All benchmark scores are approximate and may vary based on configuration. Server availability subject to stock.* ⚠️