I have a few questions about network programming. I do have experience in network programming, it's limited but I understand the concept of how TCP and UDP work. I have designed a few peices of small software (testing) that uses both TCP and UDP-- so yes, I understand the concept. First off, I'm using C# 2.0. I have plenty of experience in C#... but I never used anything networking-related to C# or .NET for that matter. I'm planning to design a full-scaled networking code in C# for use in all of the software I create (it won't be free avaliable). So it has to be scalable, of course. The most important thing is it MUST be fast to use, also it must use the least possible memory as possible. The code will be used in multiplayer games (at least handling 200 players at a time, if not more!), instant messaging software, voice chat software (like Teamspeak/Ventrilo), video streaming, updating/downloading software, etc. The most important is that it can work in the game I'm developing. So... here's my questions. 1. Should the server be multithreaded? This is a lot harder, but can pay off-- is it worth it? *Note: The server for the game will ahve to load maps, scripts (npcs), etc.. so is it almost required? 2. Use low-level "sockets" or use the built in "TCPClient", "TCPListener", "UDPClient"? 3. For the game, should I use strictly UDP or TCP? I've had people tell me to use UDP for movement/game related, and TCP for chatting/etc. I prefer UDP. My game will be a 2D MMORPG with NPCs and other things. I can't think of anything else at the moment-- long day at work. If someone could answer my three questions, I'd apperciate it.

Thanks-- the most important thing I need to know if should use SOCKETS or TCPClient/TCPListener (and the UDP ones)?

Is TCPClient more limited then using regular sockets?

I built a scalable server architecture in C# awhile ago and used the base sockets library. IOCP with the .NET framework is dead simple compared to unmanaged C++ in my opinion, and there is no reason not to use it.

I think .Net's asynchronous sockets (look it up in the help or MSDN) are designed to be scalable, so I recommend you just use those. The TCPClient and friends are relatively thin covers on the Socket class anyway, so use whichever you're more comfortable with.