I paid 100 people to test 1 computer.

Quick Overview

The caching server successfully offloaded internet bandwidth during a LAN party stress test, allowing multiple users to download games simultaneously at speeds exceeding the venue's internet connection.

Summary

Key Points: Linus built a caching server for his Whaleland LAN party to handle game downloads and updates for over 200 gamers. The server utilizes KIOXIA CM7 Enterprise NVMe SSDs and an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU for high-speed caching. Custom 3D-printed adapters and specific motherboard configurations were necessary to integrate the high-performance U.2 SSDs. The network infrastructure includes Ubiquiti Enterprise 48 PoE switches and custom power/Ethernet whips for efficient setup. LANCache.net and Flatcar Container Linux power the caching server, ensuring transparent and automated game delivery. During testing, combined download speeds from the cache reached 3.4 Gigabit, surpassing the venue's 3 Gigabit internet connection. The caching server's CPU usage remained low (around 10%), and SSDs were barely stressed, demonstrating significant headroom.

Context: Linus Sebastian, known for his tech content, combined his passion for technology and badminton by transforming his badminton club, Smash Champs, into an esports LAN gaming venue called Whaleland. To prepare for an upcoming 200+ person LAN event, he needed to stress test the extensive network and power infrastructure built over the past two years, particularly addressing potential bottlenecks from game updates and downloads.

Detailed Analysis

Linus Sebastian and his team undertook a massive project to transform a badminton club into a state-of-the-art esports LAN venue, Whaleland. The primary challenge was ensuring the network could handle over 200 gamers simultaneously downloading large game updates and titles, as the existing 3 Gigabit internet connection would quickly become a bottleneck. To solve this, they built a powerful caching server. This server features four KIOXIA CM7 Enterprise NVMe SSDs, each offering 15.36TB of storage and incredible speeds (14 GB/s sequential read, 2.4 million 4K random IOPS), running on an ASRock Rack EPYC4000D4U motherboard with an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D desktop CPU. Due to the lack of readily available components for integrating U.2 SSDs into a 2U rackmount chassis (Silverstone RM23-502-MINI), the team designed and 3D-printed custom adapters. The server runs LANCache.net on Flatcar Container Linux, an open-source, container-optimized OS that allows for automated updates and simplified management via a text-based configuration file. The network setup for the venue includes Ubiquiti Enterprise 48 PoE switches, custom-length CAT6A Ethernet cables, and heavy-duty 50 Amp 208V power distribution units from Coleman Cable, all designed for rapid deployment and teardown. During a stress test with 40-50 participants, the caching server successfully delivered combined download speeds of 3.4 Gigabit to two test PCs, significantly exceeding the venue's 3 Gigabit internet connection and demonstrating the effectiveness of the local caching. The server's CPU and SSDs showed minimal utilization, indicating substantial remaining capacity for a full-scale event.