database

[Tech_Support]

Why does arma3 epoch use redis and not use mysql database like arma2 ?

 

[Brian Soanes]

Why are there hybrid cars?

Why are CPU's getting more powerful?

If no one tried new things we would still be living in caves saying "ug" to each other.

[Ghostrider-GRG]

I am told Redis is faster.

[vbawol]

I feel Redis is well suited for game persistence in general because it is fast, stable, zero install has a ton of great features and we are not even close to using half of it's potential yet. I will try to give a brief summary of why I chose to use Redis for Epoch.  https://redis.io/

Most game data does not need to be saved forever. Redis gives us built-in features to control how long we save data. Thus, automatically preventing database bloat requiring no maintenance on the part of the server admin, it just works.

The schema concept is based on saving data as an Arma Array data type. The actual schema is completely in the hands of the Arma engine and SQF coder and should never require external schema changes.

Every player in Arma 3 has a unique steam64ID so we use that to our advantage as a unique identifier or "Key". As our method does not use tables it does not slow down as more database entries are added as relational databases often do.

Don't get me wrong I like using MySQL and have done so for many years. Redis has a lot of potential and we have not even touched some of the more advanced features yet.

That said the sources for our DLL and gamemode are here if you want to take a further look.
Epoch gamemode for Arma 3 - https://github.com/EpochModTeam/Epoch
Epoch Server DB extension (DLL / so) for Arma 3 - 
Epoch Server SQF Persistence Framework for Arma 3 -
https://github.com/EpochModTeam/EpochServer