We started Kitely with the idea of providing a new type of OpenSim service: virtual worlds that are started on demand. This innovation has allowed us to provide tremendous value to our customers, with very high-performing worlds at a reasonable price. Instead of cramming dozens of worlds into a single server, we placed a maximum of four worlds on each server.
However, some of our customers have told us that the on-demand system doesn’t work well for their worlds, because very complex worlds can take a long time to start, and they (and their visitors) don’t want to wait that long. So they’ve asked us for an option to run complex worlds that never shut down.
We are therefore very happy to announce a new type of world: a Dedicated Server world. These worlds are always-on, can be up to 64 regions in size, and support up to 180,000 objects. Each Dedicated Server world can be as big as four of our Advanced Worlds combined, and gets an entire server for itself, so it doesn’t have to share server resources with any other world. Dedicated Servers are Kitely’s biggest and fastest worlds, and they never shut down (except for maintenance).
Dedicated Servers vs. Advanced Worlds
If you want to build a complex or large world then you’ll probably want to choose between Kitely’s Advanced Worlds and our Dedicated Server worlds. To help you make this choice, here are the differences between these world types:
Advanced Worlds are started on-demand. This means that worlds that aren’t in use are turned off, and when someone enters them they turn back on. An Advanced World may share the server with up to two other worlds. This is a very low number, which is significant because many OpenSim providers cram a lot of different worlds (VarRegions) into each server, which makes them run slowly because they don’t have sufficient resources. Also, when multiple regions are hosted on the same server it becomes possible for a region to be slowed down by what happens in the other regions that are hosted on the same server, so keeping the number of worlds per server low is very important for maintaining consistently high performance.
Dedicated Server worlds are kept always on – they are only shut down during maintenance. A Dedicated Server world is guaranteed to always get a full server of its own, so it can fully use all of the server’s resources without being impacted by other people’s worlds.
The following table compares Advanced Worlds and Dedicated Server worlds.
Advanced World | Dedicated Server | |
---|---|---|
Maximum world size | 16 Regions | 64 Regions |
Maximum prims | 120,000 | 180,000 |
Dedicated memory (RAM) | 4 GB | 7 GB |
Guaranteed a Dedicated Server? | No | Yes |
Always on? | No | Yes |
Maximum avatar capacity? | 80 | 80 |
User idle timeout | 1 hour | 3 hours |
Price | $39.95 / month | $149.95 / month |
Here’s how these world types stack up:
- Dedicated Server worlds can be up to 4 times bigger than Advanced Worlds.
- Dedicated Server worlds can include 50% more prims than Advanced Worlds.
- Dedicated Server worlds get 75% more RAM than Advanced Worlds.
- An Advanced World might share a server with other worlds, but a Dedicated Server worlds always runs alone on its server, so it gets all the server’s CPU, RAM and network resources.
- An Advanced World is shut down when it’s empty and started when someone enters it, but this can take some time. A Dedicated Server world is kept on even when there is no one inside it: it’s only shut down during maintenance.
- Both world types allow up to 80 avatars to visit them at the same time. But Dedicated Server worlds will perform better, because they can use more server resources to support many avatars.
- The Kitely system automatically disconnects users that are inactive for a long period of time. The user idle timeout in Advanced Worlds is 1 hour for visitors and 2 hours for the world owner. The user idle timeout in Dedicated Server worlds is 3 hours for everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is this a limited time offer?
A: We haven’t set an expiration date for this deal, but like all of our deals it might be discontinued in the future.
Q: What happens if the offer ends?
A: You get to keep your existing Dedicated Servers for as long as you continue paying for them; you just won’t be able to create new ones.
Q: Does ordering a Dedicated Server world require a setup fee or a long term commitment?
A: No, there are no setup fees. We bill for worlds on a monthly basis, and you can cancel your subscription at any time.
Q: Can I order multiple Dedicated Server worlds?
A: Yes, you can get as many as you want while this offer lasts.
Q: Can I upgrade an existing world to be a Dedicated Server world?
A: Yes, you can upgrade any Kitely world to be a Dedicated Server world. The price you pay for the first month will be the difference between the price of your current world type and the price of a Dedicated Server world, adjusted for the number of days remaining in the month.
Q: Can a Dedicated Server world be smaller than 64 regions in size?
A: Yes, all our world types are VarRegions and you can resize any Kitely World.
Q: Is there a benefit to making a world that is smaller than 64 regions be a Dedicated Server world?
A: Yes, there are three main benefits:
- Dedicated Server worlds have a lot more server resources at their disposal than the other world types that we currently offer. You can use these extra resources to build more complex worlds and support more visitors without lag.
- Dedicated Server worlds are kept always on. This is useful if you want to avoid having to wait for your world to start up, or if you run scripts that need to be constantly active.
- Dedicated Server worlds have a much longer idle user timeout, and that can help people that may be logged into the world but are using other applications for extended periods of time.
Q: Is there a benefit to upgrading a Mega World to be a Dedicated Server world?
Last year we had a limited time offer for Mega Worlds (this offer has already ended). You’ll gain the following benefits if you upgrade your Mega World to be a Dedicated Server world:
- Your world will be kept always on, so you won’t have to wait for it to start up.
- Your prim quota will increase from 150,000 prims to 180,000 prims.
- The user idle timeout in your world will increase from 1 hour for your visitors (and 2 hours for yourself) to 3 hours for everyone.
High Performance Worlds
Dedicated Server worlds are our most powerful world type. In addition to getting a dedicated server, this new world type takes advantage of the fast performance that every Kitely world enjoys:
Our service runs on the world’s leading cloud computing platform: the Amazon Web Services data center in California. We run OpenSim on powerful servers with gigabit network connections, and we place no more than 4 worlds on each server to ensure that each world gets plenty of RAM, CPU, and network resources. (Of course, Dedicated Server worlds each get their own server.)
We use CloudFront, Amazon’s renowned Content Delivery Network, to quickly deliver content to people’s viewers. CloudFront has practically unlimited bandwidth, and it has servers in many cities around the world (see this map). This ensures that your world’s visitors can quickly download content from Kitely no matter where they’re located or how many other people are currently using our system.
In addition to running excellent hardware in one of the world’s top datacenters, we use a proprietary and highly optimized version of OpenSim which further improves performance. This includes using our own cloud-based Asset and Inventory services, which run on top of high-availability Amazon systems. This enables our services to be much faster than the services that come with regular OpenSim. As a result, Kitely worlds are rendered quickly, and Kitely users don’t have to wait for their inventory to load.
The following video demonstrates how well our worlds perform:
Act Now!
We encourage you to take advantage of this offer to create a new Dedicated Server world, or upgrade your existing Kitely world. We can’t promise we’ll always offer this option, so if you want these benefits then you should order now.