Het-Grid FAQ

Het-Grid is short for Heterogenous Grid, a grid for which there is more than one version of server code running at the same time. Different versions of the server code may change how scripts are interpreted and run, how physics is simulated, or other various features that the region handles. This means that your client may play well with certain features, but not be able to access other features.

Viewer versions are different from server versions. The "viewer" is what we call the client application that you download onto your personal computer. The viewer is responsible for client side features such as drawing everything your avatar sees on your computer or telling the server what you want other people to see about yourself. The server is responsible for simulating how your avatar plays with other objects and avatars in that region and does the handshaking and communications between other regions and the data store that keeps your avatar's information alive.

The possibilities of having multiple server versions on the grid is important to residents of Second Life because depending on which region you connect to, your experience may change. You will receive a notification when you enter a region of a different version than the region you came from so that you can judge for yourself whether the server version on that region is safe or not. If there is a bug in a beta region running a beta version and your avatar steps into that region, you may experience significant differences in performance, so it is important to read release notes on beta regions before doing anything that might be damaging such as inventory access.

Server versions and viewer versions are both grouped by common functionality. We call these groupings channels. Examples of server channels are "Second Life Server" which contains common bug improvements to the main Second Life server code and "Havok Beta Server" which contains a set of beta versions that make improvements to a new Havok physics engine. Examples of viewer channels are "Second Life Viewer" which contains common bug improvements to the main Second Life viewer code and "Firstlook" which contains a set of versions that provide the 3D voice features and bug improvements for that.

What is a viewer?

The "viewer" is what we call the client application that you download onto your personal computer.

What is a server?

The server is responsible for simulating how your avatar plays with other objects and avatars in that region and does the handshaking and communications between other regions and the data store that keeps your avatar's information alive.

What are regions?

Regions refer to the 256x256 square meter of land that represent a block on the Second Life Grid.

What are simulators?

A simulator is the process that simulates one region on the Second Life Grid.

What are simulator hosts?

A simulator host is a machine that can run multiple simulator processes. There are other services running on a particular simulator host that handle requests from every simulator on that machine.

How are Server Versions different from Viewer Versions?

Server versions are different versions of the server code whereas viewer versions are different versions of the client code. See What is a viewer? and :[What is a server?]

What is a channel?

Channels group versions by functionality. For example, the "Second Life Server" channel groups server versions that implement the main functionalities of the major released server features while the "Havok Beta Server" channel may group server versions that implement a different Havok physics engine.

How are Server Channels different from Viewer Channels?

Server channels group server versions and viewer channels group viewer versions. See How are Server Versions different from Viewer Versions?