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View Full Version : Updating/upgrading existing plugins


=|[76AD]|= TatsuSaisei
02-25-2007, 08:12 AM
the MORAL of the story: SHUT OFF your server when you add an update or upgraded plugin

Adding plugins is as easy as uploading the file (plugin.AMXX) to the proper folder (addons/amxmodx/plugins) on the game server and then properly listing that file in the plugins.ini (addons/amxmodx/config/plugins.ini) file and then either restarting the server or simply changing maps...

now that was easy.... but what about adding an upgrade or an update to an existing plugin ?? This can also be as easy but there is an important step here that is not necessary when adding a completely new plugin....

you MUST shut server off then turn it back on !!!

When you initially start a game server all the important information regarding the game is loaded into system RAM (memory) and kept there... as maps change and time goes on, the information in memory rarely changes and is used to speed up processing. When you add an update/upgrade to the server and do not reboot, you are adding MORE information to the memory without first removing the useless or unneeded information... sometimes this will never cause a problem, but other times, such drastic changes occur to a plugin that cause parts of it to no longer work, especially if the plugin then depends on the state of a variable in memory which has probably become corrupt by stacking more into it without removing the useless...

my explanation is heading toward rambling so I will leave of here....

the MORAL of the story: SHUT OFF your server when you add an update or upgraded plugin... you will lose all of 30-60 seconds of live server time and will save days/weeks of hassles and frustration for you and the plugin author...

diamond-optic
02-25-2007, 09:37 PM
well thats a bit of an extreme i think..

at least for someone like myself.. who may upload 10 different changed plugins daily.. and usually im doing it when theres a lot of ppl on..


tho my server does reboot itself almost every night around 3 or 4 AM.. so that probably helps me alot anyway

=|[76AD]|= TatsuSaisei
02-25-2007, 09:48 PM
well thats a bit of an extreme i think..

at least for someone like myself.. who may upload 10 different changed plugins daily.. and usually im doing it when theres a lot of ppl on..


tho my server does reboot itself almost every night around 3 or 4 AM.. so that probably helps me alot anyway

extreme for those who understand more about computers then the average user... but yes, in most circumtances adding updates will not have adverse effects, atleast not immediately sometimes... and if your server reboots on a schedule.. then to be fair for you it may be difficult to ever notice any problems, since the "issue" is corrected every morning... lol

in any case it does not HURT to shut off the server and turn it back on every so often... therefore when adding in a major update... why not kill a bunch of birds with one stone !! :eek:

:D

Wilson [29th ID]
02-26-2007, 02:06 AM
The only time I reboot my server is when a test plugin I make causes it to crash, which is at least once per day :P

pope12
03-12-2007, 07:28 PM
Some servers do not need to reboot or change maps after adding a plugin or admin etc. It depends on which server provider you buy from.

Hood [10th MD]
04-16-2007, 10:04 PM
'Tis always a good idea, especially on windows boxes, to truly reboot - Windows has always been bad about memory leaks, and forgetting what it has stopped using.
Linux boxes, I have less experience with, but rebooting is never a bad thing.
Kinda like it's great for your home computer to reformat and start new every once in a while.