Setting Up an Ark: Survival Evolved Dedicated Server on a Linux VPS

Linux VPS Requirements for an ARK Dedicated Server

Running a private ARK: Survival Evolved dedicated server on a Linux VPS provides full administrative control over game rules, difficulty settings, active maps, and installed mods. Deploying on high-performance Linux cloud VPS hosting plans ensures dedicated CPU core allocation and NVMe storage bandwidth necessary to handle map streaming and world save state writing without severe tick rate drops.

An ARK server instance requires a 64-bit Linux distribution (such as Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Debian 12, or AlmaLinux 9). While the unmodded base server executable can initialize on 8GB of RAM, production servers supporting 10 to 30 concurrent players and custom workshop mods require at least 12GB to 16GB of system RAM to prevent Out-Of-Memory (OOM) kernel kills.

Choosing VPS Resources and Server Location for ARK

Game server stability depends on physical compute performance, disk write throughput, and network latency. Choosing the right VPS specifications for an ARK server involves three critical hardware factors:

Prepare Linux System and Install SteamCMD

Log in to your VPS via SSH as the root user. Start by updating existing package indexes and enabling 32-bit architecture libraries required by SteamCMD:

# Update Linux packages (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install SteamCMD runtime dependencies & utility tools
sudo apt install -y steamcmd lib32gcc-s1 lib32stdc++6 net-tools ufw tar curl htop

Never run the ARK game server directly as the root superuser. Create a dedicated, unprivileged system user named ark and switch to its environment:

# Create non-root user 'ark' with home directory
sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash ark

# Switch to the ark user workspace
sudo su - ark
mkdir -p ~/arkserver

Download ARK Server Binaries via SteamCMD

Execute SteamCMD as the ark user to download and validate the official ARK: Survival Evolved dedicated server binaries (App ID 376030):

# Download ARK dedicated server files (App ID 376030)
steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/ark/arkserver +login anonymous +app_update 376030 validate +quit

Depending on network bandwidth, the download may take several minutes. Once completed, increase system file handle limits by adding the following line to /etc/security/limits.conf (as root) to prevent “Too many open files” errors during heavy player concurrency:

# Add file descriptor limits in /etc/security/limits.conf
ark soft nofile 100000
ark hard nofile 100000

Required ARK Dedicated Server Ports Matrix

An ARK dedicated server requires specific UDP and TCP ports to receive client connections and list on the Steam server browser. Ensure these ports are open in both your Linux firewall (UFW/firewalld) and your cloud provider’s security group settings:

Linux Firewall and Provider Security Group Configuration

Configure Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW) on Ubuntu/Debian as the root user to permit incoming game connections while securing SSH management:

# Configure UFW firewall rules for ARK server
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 7777/udp
sudo ufw allow 7778/udp
sudo ufw allow 27015/udp
sudo ufw allow 27020/tcp
sudo ufw enable

Crucial Check: If your VPS cloud provider utilizes external network firewalls or Security Groups (such as AWS, Google Cloud, or custom hosting panels), you must also allow inbound UDP 7777, 7778, and 27015 traffic in the cloud console dashboard. Utilizing essential server security guidelines ensures unauthorized administrative ports remain closed.

Configuring ARK GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini

ARK server configuration files are located in the installation path under: /home/ark/arkserver/ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/

Edit GameUserSettings.ini to define server name, admin password, and core settings:

[ServerSettings]
ServerName=My OnliveServer ARK Community
ServerPassword=YourPlayerPassword
ServerAdminPassword=YourSecretAdminPassword
MaxPlayers=30
DifficultyOffset=1.0
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
bRawSockets=True
RCONEnabled=True
RCONPort=27020

Systemd Service Management for Persistent 24/7 Operation

To keep the server running continuously after closing your SSH terminal session and enable automatic reboot recovery, create a systemd service file at /etc/systemd/system/arkserver.service (as root):

[Unit]
Description=ARK Survival Evolved Dedicated Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=ark
Group=ark
WorkingDirectory=/home/ark/arkserver/ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/
ExecStart=/home/ark/arkserver/ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/ShooterGameServer TheIsland?listen?SessionName="My OnliveServer ARK"?ServerPassword="Pass"?ServerAdminPassword="AdminPass" -server -log
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
LimitNOFILE=100000

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Reload the systemd daemon, enable automatic boot startup, and launch the ARK server:

# Reload systemd and enable server service
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable arkserver
sudo systemctl start arkserver

# Verify running server process status
sudo systemctl status arkserver

Server Updates and Automated World Save Backups

Protecting game world save files against corruption requires regular backup schedules. ARK save files are located at /home/ark/arkserver/ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks/.

Before updating server files via SteamCMD, safely stop the running systemd service:

# Safely stop ARK server before applying updates
sudo systemctl stop arkserver

# Backup world save directory
tar -czvf /home/ark/ark_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /home/ark/arkserver/ShooterGame/Saved/

# Update server files via SteamCMD
steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/ark/arkserver +login anonymous +app_update 376030 validate +quit

# Restart server
sudo systemctl start arkserver

Pre-Production Deployment Checklist

Before inviting players to connect to your Linux VPS ARK server, verify these eight deployment checks:

1. Non-Root Execution: Verify that ShooterGameServer runs under the ark user, not root.
2. File Handle Limits: Confirm LimitNOFILE=100000 is set in systemd to prevent file handle exhaustion.
3. UDP Firewall Ports: Test that UDP ports 7777 and 27015 are listening using netstat -ulpn.
4. Cloud Security Groups: Ensure your hosting provider dashboard permits incoming UDP traffic on game ports.
5. Steam Browser Query: Search for your server name in the Steam Favorites server list (IP:27015).
6. Admin Password Enforcement: Confirm ServerAdminPassword is set in GameUserSettings.ini.
7. Systemd Autostart: Verify systemctl is-enabled arkserver returns enabled.
8. Automated Backups: Confirm off-site tar.gz snapshot crons are active for SavedArks/.

Frequently Asked Questions