Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention monitor and dynamically manage game instances within a game service. A game service provides a remote gaming environment to which users connect over a wide area network, such as the Internet. For example, embodiments of the invention may forecast demand for a specific game title. The demand forecast is used to determine how many standby game instances are needed to meet demand as players join and leave game sessions. Games with higher demand may have more standby game instances ready for players to drop in. Games with less demand may have fewer active game instances running waiting for players to drop in.

Abstract: Systems and methods for deleting non-key values from an index distributed over a plurality of computing devices maintains a non-key master list that includes the non-key values that are stored on each of the plurality of computing devices and receives a list of non-key values to delete. The systems and methods further intersect the list of non-key values to delete with the non-key master list, creating a first delete list for a first one of the plurality of computing devices that includes non-key values to be deleted that are stored on the first computing device. The systems and methods further transmit the first delete list to the first computing device and update the non-key master list based on the list of non-key values to delete.