Do flash files take up resources or just bandwidth?

Lazlo90 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-07-09, 15:12

One of the sites I run has flash games in it and while most games are small, I'd like to add a couple of large ones that are over 5MB.

My question is, if a lot of people are playing these large flash games at the same time will that put a load on the CPU or will it just consume bandwidth?

Rocky · #2 (**permalink**) 03-12-09, 01:42

Flash files will consume the bandwidth, nothing to do with the CPU as they'd be run on the browsers.. But yes, if they are large, the web server would definitely need more CPU to process them..

bluetrance05 · #3 (**permalink**) 03-12-09, 07:00

Flash games are multimedia type of files. So if you're running a flash game site, it is like serving multimedia files to your visitors and it will take up a lot of resources in your bandwidth. Always have enough bandwidth storage so that you won't end up with a

e bill for the bandwidth usage.

Amelia · #4 (**permalink**) 03-12-09, 07:18

I agree..

If you expect

e amount of visitors, a dedicated server is probably the best option.

On a dedicated server you can always keep some resources free to cover up spikes in usage at anytime.

Lazlo90 · #5 (**permalink**) 03-12-09, 17:14

Yeah it looks like bandwidth is the biggest concern but indeed a dedicated server is better in the long run as there's no need to worry about any possible CPU issues and/or bandwidth concerns assuming you don't get millions of visitors..

Thanks for the responses.

carl owen · #6 (**permalink**) 03-13-09, 15:09

A Dedicated server is always considered as the best option due to all the features and benefits of it and as you will be hosting Flash games which will definitely need bandwidth and more CPU resources, you should go for a Dedicated server.

sam · #7 (**permalink**) 03-13-09, 17:43

It's not necessary to have Dedicated server, you can also start with VPS. Later you can upgrade to a Dedicated server at any point of time

carl owen · #8 (**permalink**) 03-14-09, 14:57

It is definitely possible to start with a VPS and upgrade to a Dedicated server later on. However, it is recommended that you go for a Dedicated server if you wish to have flash files on the server as the dedicated server will offer a better performance. The basic level Dedicated server would be fine to start with.

Nefrec · #9 (**permalink**) 03-14-09, 15:47

It just depends on the games you have. If the games are big, then it will need lots of bandwidth even if not a lot of people play them. Dedicated hosting is a good idea but maybe you could limit certain people's playing ability. For example, they have to pay or post in order to play new games or something.