The Windows vs. Linux argument is not really a set-in-stone debate. Usually yeah Linux is what you want for serving shit because of the low overhead, but for what we're actually doing Windows binaries may work out better, plus there's the whole thing of one of our top contributors not knowing his ls from a hole in the ground. Otoh guess who has to clean shit up whenever there's a security breach.
The exact specs we need to do what we want are almost impossible to define because
A) What we want is not fully defined
B) Even if it was it's subject to change at a moment's notice.
I suspect that no matter what, our needs will expand to match our resources. So there're a couple ways we can play it:
1. Get the biggest, baddest thing possible right off the bat and start tossing shit into it
2. Find a really flexible provider that will be happy to move our shit to a more powerful system at whatever point we decide we need to
2 is the more sensible solution, though fraught with growing pains and frustration all around, if it's even at all possible. It all depends I guess on the size and level of insanity of The Secret Order of the Tyrannosauri.
EDIT
A little bit of research sheds some light on a few topics:
* Linux IS the recommended OS for running SrcDs (the dedicated server for Source games). For Minecraft... well, Minecraft uses the Java virtual machine, which runs like utter fucking shit in any conceivable Windows setup and is probably the real reason Joxam is having so many problems keeping it up. Heh heh.
* SrcDs only runs on one core, which is interesting, but kind of irrelevant since we're going to be using multiple threads for shit anyway. In fact we should probably try to get as many cores as possible, even if they're individually weaker.
* I thought I had something else but this chick is distracting me, sorry.