5 ms·

Guildbit: deploy a mumble server

36 points by brownbat 11y ago

brownbat 11y ago
Maybe a weird submission, but I just think it's a really clean, well-designed site. Even having never visited the site before, the user's immediately invited to just type a password and go. You don't need to browse around and think about all the options. The philosophy is "do now, learn later" rather than "learn now, do later." It's really appealing for a user flitting around the internet with a 2 second attention span. (EDIT: If you have no idea what Mumble is, you'll need "How it Works" of course...)
mirimir 11y ago
Mumble is an amazing VoIP app! It uses TCP for control, and UDP for data. There's a training wizard, and cellphone-like sound quality is possible, even with limited bandwidth and high latency. Even, in my experience, via OpenVPN via Tor. Latency was 1-2 seconds, but sound was clear, with no clipping.
flashman 11y ago
This is a really nice thing to offer people, but with places like DigitalOcean offering one-click Mumble deployment for $5/mo[1], Guildbit might be a service looking for a niche. [1] https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-the-mumble-server-one-click-application-image https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-...
- rckclmbr 11y ago
  Same question as "Why should I use github, I can host the git repo myself"
  - alfg 11y ago
    Yep, this was the idea. The target audience are mostly gamers who want to get a quick server up and running, especially for PUGs (pick-up groups in MMOs). Most guilds already have some type of voip server they setup or are subscribed to.
- e12e 11y ago
  I think they already have a nice, as they say on the page: if you want a one-off mumble server for a raid etc for free. And it's still ~half the price if you want to go with their paid option (unless you destroy/recreate your d-o droplet between uses -- then those 5/month would go a long way).
huac 11y ago
In theory this is really nice (the design and user experience is well done). But Mumble servers are already so cheap ($1.65 a month for 15 users at the 'gold-standard' host) that I wonder how important this is. I don't really mind the markup on their upgrades though since I know that it's subsidizing the cost of others. And paying with Bitcoin has to be convenient for some people (though I assume they could grab your IP when you connect to the server if privacy is your main concern anyways).
- NamTaf 11y ago
  If you're 15 and want some of your school friends to chat whilst playing a game, this is inifnitely more affordable than trying to convince mum and dad to lay down their credit card.
- azylman 11y ago
  What is the 'gold-standard' host?
  - philtar 11y ago
    He probably means Multiplay.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
  - hirsin 11y ago
    We've used CommandChannel for about 6 years without issue ($0.18/slot/month), but for some reason certs need to be manually renewed. Pinged it with the Mumble client I'm building and got a cert that expired in 2012. something to keep in mind, I suppose.
fenesiistvan 11y ago
Non VPN (bare metal) VoIP server with automatic deployment: http://www.mizu-voip.com/Services/VoIPHosting.aspx http://www.mizu-voip.com/Services/VoIPHosting.aspx Configure and deploy: http://voipserver.mizu-voip.com/?function=allinone http://voipserver.mizu-voip.com/?function=allinone This actually uses the SIP protocol with all kind of traditional VoIP features such as voice, video, conference, chat, voicemail and others. Instead of imaging a VPN, this uses scripts to setup a new server instance with its own database.
- maccard 11y ago
  It's the same idea as: "Why use GitHub when I can host my own repo" and "Why use Dropbox when RSYNC exists" It's a nice, well presented website that serves an actual purpose.
alfg 11y ago
Hey all, I'm the author of this app. It's late here, but feel free to leave any questions and I'll answer when I can!
- josephb 11y ago
  Nice clean and simple. Service works as advertised! Keep up the good work :-)
  - alfg 11y ago
    Thank you!
- kazagistar 11y ago
  The upgrade sizes seem really small; I am not sure how many people will need at least 16, but never more then 25.
  - alfg 11y ago
    I agree. I plan to increase the upgrade sizes or offer more variety.
- alfg 11y ago
  Also, in case anyone is interested, I open-sourced the backend restful interface for administering Mumble servers in which this project is built off of. https://github.com/alfg/murmur-rest https://github.com/alfg/murmur-rest Still needs work and more documentation, but it's very minimal.
catshirt 11y ago
this is awesome! i will definitely give this a shot next time i queue up! though i'm traveling right now so that will be a week. i'm trying to reconcile the difference between my excitement and the skepticism of the other posters. i don't use Mumble because i am typically queuing with randoms. and i don't really have any interest in maintaining my own mumble server on the off chance some random i queue up with wants to join it. i would, however, be happy to click a simple "deploy" button on a case by case basis for the same purpose. first, i don't have the cognitive load of another server i have to maintain. and the effort required to set up a server on your app is near 0- much closer to 0 than the cost of owning and maintaining a mumble server.
jsingleton 11y ago
I used to use Teamspeak and Ventrilo a lot and even ran a server. Mumble is a good open source alternative. Too bad it's hosted on SourceForge. These guys look like they're using the same sort of tech to help remote working teams: http://speak.io/ http://speak.io/
- jozan 11y ago
  Mumble's source is on GitHub, maybe they might move binaries there, too.

36 points by brownbat 11y ago

Maybe a weird submission, but I just think it's a really clean, well-designed site. Even having never visited the site before, the user's immediately invited to just type a password and go. You don't need to browse around and think about all the options. The philosophy is "do now, learn later" rather than "learn now, do later." It's really appealing for a user flitting around the internet with a 2 second attention span. (EDIT: If you have no idea what Mumble is, you'll need "How it Works" of course...)

mirimir 11y ago

Mumble is an amazing VoIP app! It uses TCP for control, and UDP for data. There's a training wizard, and cellphone-like sound quality is possible, even with limited bandwidth and high latency. Even, in my experience, via OpenVPN via Tor. Latency was 1-2 seconds, but sound was clear, with no clipping.

flashman 11y ago

This is a really nice thing to offer people, but with places like DigitalOcean offering one-click Mumble deployment for $5/mo[1], Guildbit might be a service looking for a niche. [1] https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-the-mumble-server-one-click-application-image https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-...

rckclmbr 11y ago
Same question as "Why should I use github, I can host the git repo myself"
- alfg 11y ago
  Yep, this was the idea. The target audience are mostly gamers who want to get a quick server up and running, especially for PUGs (pick-up groups in MMOs). Most guilds already have some type of voip server they setup or are subscribed to.
e12e 11y ago
I think they already have a nice, as they say on the page: if you want a one-off mumble server for a raid etc for free. And it's still ~half the price if you want to go with their paid option (unless you destroy/recreate your d-o droplet between uses -- then those 5/month would go a long way).

huac 11y ago

In theory this is really nice (the design and user experience is well done). But Mumble servers are already so cheap ($1.65 a month for 15 users at the 'gold-standard' host) that I wonder how important this is. I don't really mind the markup on their upgrades though since I know that it's subsidizing the cost of others. And paying with Bitcoin has to be convenient for some people (though I assume they could grab your IP when you connect to the server if privacy is your main concern anyways).

NamTaf 11y ago
If you're 15 and want some of your school friends to chat whilst playing a game, this is inifnitely more affordable than trying to convince mum and dad to lay down their credit card.
azylman 11y ago
What is the 'gold-standard' host?
- philtar 11y ago
  He probably means Multiplay.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- hirsin 11y ago
  We've used CommandChannel for about 6 years without issue ($0.18/slot/month), but for some reason certs need to be manually renewed. Pinged it with the Mumble client I'm building and got a cert that expired in 2012. something to keep in mind, I suppose.

fenesiistvan 11y ago

Non VPN (bare metal) VoIP server with automatic deployment: http://www.mizu-voip.com/Services/VoIPHosting.aspx http://www.mizu-voip.com/Services/VoIPHosting.aspx Configure and deploy: http://voipserver.mizu-voip.com/?function=allinone http://voipserver.mizu-voip.com/?function=allinone This actually uses the SIP protocol with all kind of traditional VoIP features such as voice, video, conference, chat, voicemail and others. Instead of imaging a VPN, this uses scripts to setup a new server instance with its own database.

maccard 11y ago
It's the same idea as: "Why use GitHub when I can host my own repo" and "Why use Dropbox when RSYNC exists" It's a nice, well presented website that serves an actual purpose.

alfg 11y ago

Hey all, I'm the author of this app. It's late here, but feel free to leave any questions and I'll answer when I can!

josephb 11y ago
Nice clean and simple. Service works as advertised! Keep up the good work :-)
- alfg 11y ago
  Thank you!
kazagistar 11y ago
The upgrade sizes seem really small; I am not sure how many people will need at least 16, but never more then 25.
- alfg 11y ago
  I agree. I plan to increase the upgrade sizes or offer more variety.
alfg 11y ago
Also, in case anyone is interested, I open-sourced the backend restful interface for administering Mumble servers in which this project is built off of. https://github.com/alfg/murmur-rest https://github.com/alfg/murmur-rest Still needs work and more documentation, but it's very minimal.

catshirt 11y ago

this is awesome! i will definitely give this a shot next time i queue up! though i'm traveling right now so that will be a week. i'm trying to reconcile the difference between my excitement and the skepticism of the other posters. i don't use Mumble because i am typically queuing with randoms. and i don't really have any interest in maintaining my own mumble server on the off chance some random i queue up with wants to join it. i would, however, be happy to click a simple "deploy" button on a case by case basis for the same purpose. first, i don't have the cognitive load of another server i have to maintain. and the effort required to set up a server on your app is near 0- much closer to 0 than the cost of owning and maintaining a mumble server.

jsingleton 11y ago

I used to use Teamspeak and Ventrilo a lot and even ran a server. Mumble is a good open source alternative. Too bad it's hosted on SourceForge. These guys look like they're using the same sort of tech to help remote working teams: http://speak.io/ http://speak.io/

jozan 11y ago
Mumble's source is on GitHub, maybe they might move binaries there, too.