How do I setup a cluster for my LAN dedicated server?

[BirdyChow]

I have been trying for a week to setup a cluster with The Isle, SE, Rag, Valguero and Crystal Isles but I cannot for the life of me set it up properly OR find a video/ forum discussion that has explained it to me. I did not want to make this post but Jesus Christ i'm getting super frustrated.

[zerassar]

Well start by explaining how your servers are setup. What hosting service if any. And what you have read and attempted so far to get this done.

This is all rather exhaustively documented on the Wiki with many other guides and discussions online. So lets look at what you've tried already and work up from there.

[BirdyChow]

Originally posted by zerassar:

Well start by explaining how your servers are setup. What hosting service if any. And what you have read and attempted so far to get this done.

This is all rather exhaustively documented on the Wiki with many other guides and discussions online. So lets look at what you've tried already and work up from there.

Well I host the server from my own computer with no 3rd party applications. I have port forwarded, set different save directories, I have a unique cluster id (which is the same between maps i'm trying to play on) and all my map servers run at the same time just not as part of the same cluster.

[zerassar]

All servers must have their own ports assigned.
Unique cluster ID sounds like you've done right.

So what is the issue you are identifying? What are the problems?
They're all running but when you try to transfer you can't see the servers?
Can you join each server directly using the unofficial servers list in game... Not using the LAN list or favourites.

[BirdyChow]

Originally posted by zerassar:

All servers must have their own ports assigned.
Unique cluster ID sounds like you've done right.

So what is the issue you are identifying? What are the problems?
They're all running but when you try to transfer you can't see the servers?
Can you join each server directly using the unofficial servers list in game... Not using the LAN list or favourites.

They all have different ports assigned to them. I do not see them when I try to transfer and I can't see them on Unofficial.

[zerassar]

Originally posted by BirdyChow:

Originally posted by zerassar:

All servers must have their own ports assigned.
Unique cluster ID sounds like you've done right.

So what is the issue you are identifying? What are the problems?
They're all running but when you try to transfer you can't see the servers?
Can you join each server directly using the unofficial servers list in game... Not using the LAN list or favourites.

They all have different ports assigned to them. I do not see them when I try to transfer and I can't see them on Unofficial.

Right. If other players can see your servers... Then this is now a loopback/router problem.

Do you have an ASUS router? If you do, go into it's config, locate and disable "NAT Acceleration".

Does your router, and ISP, support NAT loopback?

Essentially this means the ability to access stuff on the local network using your public IP address. It pretty much means that the router and ISP understand that the traffic aimed at the public IP should be turned around and spat back to the local network rather than going out to the internet.

Another way you can see if this is a related issue is to try to add it to your steam server favourites list using PublicIP:QueryPort. As opposed to LocalIP:QueryPort.

If your steam can't locate any game servers, using the publicIP, that way then its a loopback issue.

[BirdyChow]

Originally posted by zerassar:

Originally posted by BirdyChow:

They all have different ports assigned to them. I do not see them when I try to transfer and I can't see them on Unofficial.

Right. If other players can see your servers... Then this is now a loopback/router problem.

Do you have an ASUS router? If you do, go into it's config, locate and disable "NAT Acceleration".

Does your router, and ISP, support NAT loopback?

Essentially this means the ability to access stuff on the local network using your public IP address. It pretty much means that the router and ISP understand that the traffic aimed at the public IP should be turned around and spat back to the local network rather than going out to the internet.

Another way you can see if this is a related issue is to try to add it to your steam server favourites list using PublicIP:QueryPort. As opposed to LocalIP:QueryPort.

If your steam can't locate any game servers that way then its a loopback issue.

Okay now we're getting to the real headache. I have a Mercku router. I have zero Idea how to do anything you just said with my router. And no public IP does not work on the steam view favorite servers.

[zerassar]

Well if you can confirm that people off of your network work ok... Then it is a loopback issue.
I would suggest going to your router vendors community forum and raising the topic of loopback there. AFTER having thoroughly read the manual first.

[BirdyChow]

Originally posted by zerassar:

Well if you can confirm that people off of your network work ok... Then it is a loopback issue.
I would suggest going to your router vendors community forum and raising the topic of loopback there. AFTER having thoroughly read the manual first.

So the user manual has nothing in it about loopback (or anything related to it) and there is currently no forum for Mercku that I have found.

[zerassar]

Originally posted by BirdyChow:

Originally posted by zerassar:

Well if you can confirm that people off of your network work ok... Then it is a loopback issue.
I would suggest going to your router vendors community forum and raising the topic of loopback there. AFTER having thoroughly read the manual first.

So the user manual has nothing in it about loopback (or anything related to it) and there is currently no forum for Mercku that I have found.

Assuming that you've confirmed that third party users can connect OK... Then I would say call/email the vendor and log a support case. Additionally touch base with your ISP to rule them out as a problem.

No point in you doing port forwarding at your router... If your ISP isn't even allowing those ports to reach it.

[BirdyChow]

Originally posted by zerassar:

Originally posted by BirdyChow:

So the user manual has nothing in it about loopback (or anything related to it) and there is currently no forum for Mercku that I have found.

Assuming that you've confirmed that third party users can connect OK... Then I would say call/email the vendor and log a support case. Additionally touch base with your ISP to rule them out as a problem.

No point in you doing port forwarding at your router... If your ISP isn't even allowing those ports to reach it.

Well for now I will have to give up on it till tomorrow. Thank you for all your help good sir.

[Jaggid Edje]

Using ASM for the servers I run literally the ONLY thing required to set up a server cluster was to make sure they all had unique ports and set the field "Cross-Ark Data Transfer Cluster ID" to the same thing for all of them.
That's it.

Sounds like your issue is more about just the base setup of the servers/ports/router than it is the cluster set up.

[BirdyChow]

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

Using ASM for the servers I run literally the ONLY thing required to set up a server cluster was to make sure they all had unique ports and set the field "Cross-Ark Data Transfer Cluster ID" to the same thing for all of them.
That's it.

Sounds like your issue is more about just the base setup of the servers/ports/router than it is the cluster set up.

Well if that would work how do I put my current world save into ASM?

[Jaggid Edje]

Originally posted by BirdyChow:

Well if that would work how do I put my current world save into ASM?

You just have to copy the "savedarks" folders (which you indicated you have in folders with custom names for each of your servers) to the new servers setup by ASM once you get them configured/installed. That's it.

[zerassar]

ASM literally just automates some of the management of the servers.
The folder hierarchy and all config options do not change. Neither does ASM change whatever problem you are having on your router/internet.

[Jaggid Edje]

@zerassar is is 100% correct. Literally the only part of setting up a server that it doesn't do is the needed port forwarding on the router.

And obviously if you have a router that doesn't support NAT loopback, it can't change that.

Based on all the threads I read back when I was investigating "how" to set up server clusters, NAT loopback not being supported by a router seems to be the common reasons for problems with cross server transfers in a cluster.