What could have been done to prevent the SimCity capacity issues.
A horrible looking box that can make all the difference in the world.
INVEST!!!
Ok, truth be told, crap will still happen and its possible that the game released will be so popular that no one would have ever predicted how much volume would occur on day 1. Because of this, it is extremely important that the game developer in question invests in a solid infrastructure for days like those. In today’s technology it’s all about virtual servers.
The general premise is that you have a couple really powerful machines sitting in a data center somewhere. These are split into smaller virtual servers which are used to power specific applications. The idea is that new servers can be added to an application relatively quickly and only on an “as needed” basis. So let’s say that EA had 4 servers dedicated to SimCity at launch. Once those servers were starting to reach capacity, 4 more could be stood up literally with a few button clicks. That gives them the opportunity to react in hours as opposed to days.
Naturally, the volume on SimCity will drop and even out over time. At that point, not as many servers will not be required. The ones that were stood up can be deleted and the resources can be reallocated to the next game that is about to launch from EA. No machines are wasted. Resources will be recycled and used as required. In fact, simple things like power savings of running the machines alone make this a fantastic solution for dynamic industries.
The main issue remains though; an upfront investment is required. The hardware and software that is needed in order to run all this smoothly is not cheap. However, when compared to the amount of negativity that can occur from a poor launch of a new product, and when considering that the setup can be used for multiple products going forward, the cost seems worth it.
