Server hosting with AWS (Amazon Web Services)

[Kara]

Update: 22nd June 2016. I recommend that you use a hosting provider, such as one on this list. http://ark.gamepedia.com/Dedicated_Server_Providers Using AWS is likely to be more complex and cost more than using a real game server hosting provider. AWS is really only viable if you live in a region that has no local Game Server Providers or if they are un-reliable.

I spent a few hours this weekend testing out hosting a ARK server on AWS (Amazon Web Services). One of the issues with hosting is RAM, ARK is rather hungary with ram for larger servers. If you are a large'ish dedicated server now, 50+, then AWS is likely to be a good option.

For those who are not aware AWS is the 2nd or 3rd largest Hosting provider. Popular services such as Dropbox, Netflix, etc all use AWS for hosting. They have a very user friendly interface, over Google's or Microsoft Azure. You can run either Linux or Windows Server 2012 VMs to suit your needs. If you are willing to do a little bit of legwork to start it up, it can be a good way to have complete control over your server and not be at the wims of hosting companies. I managed to set up from scratch a Windows 2012 R2 Server with Ark up and running configured at 127 users in about 2 hours.

One of the ways to reduce costs is use their Spot instances. I chose a memory optimized instance, Dual core E5-2665 with 17.5 gb ram. The monthly cost will run you about $60-90. The variance will depend on how much outbound data is used. Raw cost of the server is $50, added in another $6 for backup data storage. I dont know how much actual outbound data would be used for an active server. There is no charge for inbound data. So all your updates and setup dont use billable data. Also if you are setting up a new AWS account you get several GB of outbound data per month free for the first year. FYI: the base cost for data is.09 cents/GB. even if you were sending out 10gb A day, which is a crazy amount of data, thats still only $27/month in outbound data, i suspect actual data would be a fraction of that.

I found that the game server hosting companies were skimpy on what they actually give your server for ram and cpu usuage. While the server i chose was listed as a dual core, its very fast, i had full server startups in 90sec. Thats considerablly faster than my system at home which took upwards of 5-6min and is a quad core system.

If you are also concerned about your ARK saved data there is an easy way to backup your data as often as you want to a seperate data container that you could even download locally if you wanted. After a few hours of initial setup this whole thing runs itself. You simply use remote desktop to access the server, i set it up with ARK Server Manager.

Images can be made of the server so that if you need to move locations, i.e. east coast to west coast, or to sydney, South america, EU. You dont need to resetup the whole server u can just send the image to the AWS hosting center and it'll be up and running in minutes. This also can allow you to increase or decrease server capacity w/o having to re-setup the entire server. Just launch a new instance and you can hot-swap to the new instance with just a disconnect/reconnect of clients, minimal downtime.

Understanding how to set it up can be a bit confusing if you are not familar with AWS, however i'd be willing to help get you going if u are interested.

I like ARK a lot and have seen quite a few issues with game hosting companies and the rates they charge seem to be a bit high for what they are actually providing.

[panacuba]

Hi, I added you to friends. Im extremely interested in doing exactly the same setup as you. I just activated everything AWS and im ready to start exploring. Im not tech-disable so speak to me freely and using as many tech words as posible. Please do accepta my friend request so we can talk :). Got like 15 person waiting for me to up our server.

[Kara]

Originally posted by xLcOneBlood537:

Hi, I added you to friends. Im extremely interested in doing exactly the same setup as you. I just activated everything AWS and im ready to start exploring. Im not tech-disable so speak to me freely and using as many tech words as posible. Please do accepta my friend request so we can talk :). Got like 15 person waiting for me to up our server.

Sorry i didnt see this message b4 i saw ur friend request, i sent one to u. Please send again.

[Pepe ThGk]

Im interested too

[Kara]

Originally posted by pepepollocr:

Im interested too

I accepted your friend request, message me when u want to talk.

[panacuba]

Guys this guide works wonderfully, i ask every one that wish to host a server to ask here and use AWS, its great!

[Edrom]

My current server is being hosted on a MS Azure windows 7 box with 8GB of ram, ssd drives.

The setup was easy and the server is running with awesome ping time. Latency with Steam is around 30 to 40. Average ping time to the server while playing has been 22 to 25.

For updates and backups, i run my own custom powershell scripts that run hourly to scan for an update availability.

I had a script that saved hourly as well but disable dit for now as the auto save feature built in is not able to be turned off currently

[usedwolf]

I'm a certified AWS developer. If anyone has any questions, feel free to add me and ask.

[tametheark]

I'm interested in hosting ARK from an AWS. I already have an Amazon account and paid for, but I need to know where to put the actual game client, and if any specific commands needs to be give.

[Sims Smith]

Does ARK server supports Linux or Windows only? I am very interested in this as well.

Edit: Just read the sticky and Linux is supported!

[Vlerden]

I previously only used AWS as a mumble server, lol. I was just wondering why/how you fund the costs of hosting the server... I'm tired of fog and the 1x gathering rate on public servers because I'm not into big tribes.

[Unkiejay]

Are you still able to give me some pointers on starting an ARK server using Amazon AWS?

[Kara]

Sure, what would you like to know?

[Unkiejay]

Originally posted by AshleyLee:

Sure, what would you like to know?

If I was to start an Amazon server for ARK, how much roughly would I have to pay (Sydney host). I tried figuring out the maths for m4.large server and it was around $80 per month? Or would there be a better server to run an ARK server on with around 10-20 ppl?

[Archimodes]

One thing that should be noted - if you're going with your own setup (via AWS or elsewhere) it's highly advisable to get anti-DDoS protection. Otherwise, you will have an unplayable server or will end up paying a TON (with AWS) more than you anticipate. Ark server lists are constantly scanned for new servers to attack, and once you're on the list, they will not let up.

The easiest way to do this is to simply get a proxy service. It will forward game traffic to your server(s), and block the rest. AWS is pretty resilient as-is (and with proper planning/setup can be amazing - but that's if you know what you're doing), but again, one misstep and you're paying hundreds (possibly more) for one month. That's a costly mistake, especially when an anti-DDoS service costs ~$15 per month.

Just an FYI.

If you don't go with the added cost, at the very least make sure ONLY your game traffic ports are open, change your remote desktop/ssh port from the default to something only you know, and block the query port so only a few IP addresses can query your server (like Steam, the Master Server List, TopArkServers.com, etc.). These steps alone will make a DDoS attack pretty unlikely (but not impossible). They'll also help make hijack attempts (via brute force) a bit less likely, though making sure you protect your Linux instance with a public + private key and your Windows instance with a very complex RDP password is always advisable.

To be perfectly honest, this is why game hosting companies charge what they do. To get everything setup properly, and staying on top of prospective exploits/attacks, is often a pain in the ass. It's not just setting up a server, it's a tremendous amount more work than that. Setting up the server is the downright easy part.

PS. I'm not sure what your guide contains, but I hope it includes setting up a reserved IP address instead of just setting up an instance and calling it good. Otherwise, the IP may change, and players will instantly be unable to join without finding the server again.

[Unkiejay]

Originally posted by Archimodes:

One thing that should be noted - if you're going with your own setup (via AWS or elsewhere) it's highly advisable to get anti-DDoS protection. Otherwise, you will have an unplayable server or will end up paying a TON (with AWS) more than you anticipate. Ark server lists are constantly scanned for new servers to attack, and once you're on the list, they will not let up.

The easiest way to do this is to simply get a proxy service. It will forward game traffic to your server(s), and block the rest. AWS is pretty resilient as-is (and with proper planning/setup can be amazing - but that's if you know what you're doing), but again, one misstep and you're paying hundreds (possibly more) for one month. That's a costly mistake, especially when an anti-DDoS service costs ~$15 per month.

Just an FYI.

If you don't go with the added cost, at the very least make sure ONLY your game traffic ports are open, change your remote desktop/ssh port from the default to something only you know, and block the query port so only a few IP addresses can query your server (like Steam, the Master Server List, TopArkServers.com, etc.). These steps alone will make a DDoS attack pretty unlikely (but not impossible). They'll also help make hijack attempts (via brute force) a bit less likely, though making sure you protect your Linux instance with a public + private key and your Windows instance with a very complex RDP password is always advisable.

Ooohhh, thanks so much for that advice!