We, at Ultimate TW, have decided to upgrade our hardware to a new box with dual processors and a variety of bells and whistles.

We are currently using MS Windows Server 2003. Is this the best Operating System or should I use some other one like Windows Server 2000 or XP ?

WinXP Pro is as stable as the server OSes, but has less overhead spent on all of the server-related background tasks. But you can improve XP's overhead by changing unneeded services to Manual startup, and removing all of the unnecessary applications or preventing them from starting. You can even go so far as to trim unnecessary apps from the installation of WinXP, but that requires 3rd party apps (free). Be sure to use only signed device drivers, and stick with hardware on the WHQL list.

Once you've selected the OS and trimmed the unnecessary apps, you need to consider what other necessary programs should be installed, and select those that impact performance the least. I'm thinking specifically about AntiVirus software here. Avoid the bloat of the Norton & McAfee products. Instead look at Eset's Nod32 product, as it dramatically reduces the overhead compared to the other AV products out there, and has a better detection rate.

+EP+

also is good for ease of use, cause if you set TWGS as a service on the server 2003, no matter how you have it set to run on it the TWGS will not display on the screen for the GUI, I know I have tried it many times on my server 2003, but as a service on XP Pro, the TWGS does as it should. But server 2003 has one thing that is better on it than the XP Pro. You can set filters on it to allow just about anything, and set it to not accept what you don't want, and can help stop some things from getting on the system, in some cases it is better than an A/V program, but you might want to look into one that has low overhead as EP stated. Cause even with the filters set right, spyware, malware, and virus' will still find their way in.

Also U.N. Is your setup online or home? This is a big factor on some things you can do. Mine is online and have the protection of the network firewall of the server host I use, and A/V protection on the connections thru their network, some server hosts offer a bundle of things, and some just offer just a server, who you use is up to you. I use the company that is at the bottom of the forum pages. You can click that and it will take you to them to check things out.
But that is another story. But I hope what EP and I have said can help you.

My server is physically located in another country (well it might be YOUR country but it's foreign to me lol)

I also use PHP software to run the forums. We are trying to run a server tnat can take our user load without lag. Generally we have between 30 & 60 users on at any given time.

The objective is to increase the capacity while reducing any lag without impacting the other services here. We use remote desktop connection to access rhe server now. If we can't find a solution that eliminates lag then I will consider a static IP and bring the box to my house.

If the server is an online server with a T1 connection or better then you shouldn't get any lag from the server end then, what is the server setup you are looking at? I got mine upgraded to a P4 dual core 3.0 gig processor and 120 gig hard drive and 2 gig ram, and it does what I need with pretty much no lag, only lag players get is from isp connections from their isp's and if something is happening on the other outside lines, not all players get this cause not all players connect through the same routes. But as a stable server I have to admit the server I have with windows server 2003 is doing a superb job and like it. I just wish twgs would setup properly as a service on it, it works fine as a service, but you won't get to access the gui, i got around this by keeping my connection open, and just clicking the close X in the upper right corner of the window, this just disconnects you an leaves the twgs running.

In all I think you will like the new server setup if you are getting the bells and whistles setup, which company are you going with? I use the one that is at the bottom of my forums. Click my link in my signature and look at the bottom of the page and see if my company offers you a better deal on the server you want.

I hope this helps you on choosing a setup.

Another consideration if your box is going to be hosting several apps... QoS. Try to use a router that you can configure QoS on so it prioritizes telnet traffic. And what goes hand-in-hand with this concept is Process Priority. You can configure the TWGS components to start with a higher-priority under Windows, further reducing any lag associated with other running processes (like the forum) on that PC.

And if you really want to get nerdy, you can set the processor affinity (since it's dual processor) for specific processes. That means you could assign the PHP software to use CPU 1, and the TWGS components to use CPU 2. For a critical app, you want to move nearly all processes to one CPU, and set the critical app to use the unloaded CPU.

One more thing Vulcan and Owen, you can use Remote Desktop to access the console (meaning the primary desktop) of a Windows 2003 server by using the following remote desktop command-line syntax:
mstsc /v:127.0.0.1 /console

Obviously, substitute your IP address or URL instead of 127.0.0.1. This can be especially handy when dealing with apps that start in the console when the PC is booted. Generally, I'd expect you guys to have your PCs/Servers set to automatically login, and have the TWGS app start automatically. Well all of that will take place in the console session. The above Remote Desktop command will allow you to interact with the console session where those apps launched. If you don't have it setup this way and need help, I'm happy to advise you.

+EP+

I have mine setup like that EP, and it still will not do the twgs as a service properly, so I have it set to be on during my session, and just disconnect, so as to not let the twgs shut down, like it would if I logged off, I experimented with this many times on the old server and showed the data to JP, he will be working on some things for correcting this, I don't know if it will be on a next phase of v3 or be in v4, maybe for both, not sure, but he is aware that the service function of twgs doesn't work correctly with server 2003, I like how it works and will keep it, and will think about using the affinity option you spoke of, it makes real sense to do that. Thanks for the idea.

Oh, and for Owen, I use php, asp, asp.net, and access based programs on the server and they all are working fine. EIS is an acess db forum, my forum is php, and I have a portal that is using mssql server and developed with an asp.net program, and all are running fine.as well as the twgs and another game called funeral quest, all running on the server and all running great.