Tutorial: Installation & Configuration of ArmA3 Dedicated Server

[lennartmenzel 10]

Can i run an ArmA3 Server on my usual Windows 7 PC on which i want to play the game too ?

[terox 316]

Can i run an ArmA3 Server on my usual Windows 7 PC on which i want to play the game too ?[/Quote]

Yes but limited, you have to take into consideration hardware and bandwidth limitations and any performance hits you will get if trying to host for too many

[lennartmenzel 10]

Yes but limited, you have to take into consideration hardware and bandwidth limitations and any performance hits you will get if trying to host for too many

thank you for the answer - the only problem might be my connection - i have about 13MBit/s / ~1,6 MB/s Download and just 1MBit/s upload - probably too less up

[fejkr 10]

Hi friends, can someone please advise how to fix the error: BattlEye initialisation failed ?, I'm really at a loss ... I ended up with 16 points tutorial and i do not know how to continue. .. I've tried 3 times reinstal steamcmd, next update BattlEye on the lates version and nothing helped. I'll be glad for any further advice that would solve the problem :(

[terox 316]

Hi friends, can someone please advise how to fix the error: BattlEye initialisation failed ?, I'm really at a loss ... I ended up with 16 points tutorial and i do not know how to continue. .. I've tried 3 times reinstal steamcmd, next update BattlEye on the lates version and nothing helped. I'll be glad for any further advice that would solve the problem :(

two possibilities

1) You are NOT running the server as administrator (or as the system account if running them as services)

2) Port forwarding issue

Try this....

http://portforward.com/

Edited November 1, 2014 by Terox

[fejkr 10]

two possibilities

1) You are NOT running the server as administrator (or as the system account if running them as services)

2) Port forwarding issue

Try this....

http://portforward.com/

So,

1) My account is administrator and server I run as administrator. The representatives I have to run as administrator.

2) I opened my ports, reviewed and assist the Network Utilities Bundle program and writes that the port is open on my pc. But unfortunately still the same error with BattlEye initialisation failed.

Any other ideas?

Edit:

Yet I can think of one thing, a complete reinstall arma 3 games but it is quite a long process and you will lose all your settings and procedures. I think it would help?

Edit2:

So after another reinstal steamcmd, server running already. But the server is running two minutes and then spawn bug program to stop working.

Edited November 1, 2014 by fejkr

[terox 316]

So,

1) My account is administrator and server I run as administrator. The representatives I have to run as administrator.

2) I opened my ports, reviewed and assist the Network Utilities Bundle program and writes that the port is open on my pc. But unfortunately still the same error with BattlEye initialisation failed.

Any other ideas?

Edit:

Yet I can think of one thing, a complete reinstall arma 3 games but it is quite a long process and you will lose all your settings and procedures. I think it would help?

Edit2:

So after another reinstal steamcmd, server running already. But the server is running two minutes and then spawn bug program to stop working.

This is with a vanilla install running from a desktop shortcut ?

If not try this.....

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?182955-TUTORIAL-DEBUGGING-Server-issues-(e-g-not-loading-correctly)

[Cabot696 10]

this states that your server is reporting to steam correctly

You are possibly assuming it isnt reporting because you cannot see it.

Ask your friends if they can see it when you launch the server with an empty MpMissions folder or check the steam client server browser or use this

http://master.bistudio.com/?page=1&count=50&filter%5Bstatus%5D=1&sorting%5Bplayers%5D=desc&game_id=6

You will need to put the missions back into the mpmissions folder in small batches then restart the server and run the api.steampowered link until you find which batch of files is causing the issue

I am having the same exact issue as Legolasindar. I start a server with the barebones CONFIG_Vanilla.cfg config, and Steam reports successful connection to the server.

{
"response": {
	"success": true,
	"servers": [
		{
			"addr": "207.135.137.215:2303",
			"gmsindex": 65534,
			"appid": 107410,
			"gamedir": "Arma3",
			"region": -1,
			"secure": false,
			"lan": false,
			"gameport": 2302,
			"specport": 0
		}
	]

}
}

But the server never appears in the server browser (in-game, master.bistudio, steam browser, or direct connect). I can see the server under the LAN tab however. I do not believe port forwarding to be the issue. I have hosted servers for other games in the past and have never had issues forwarding ports. In this case I have forwarded 2302-2305 and other ports (such as 2322-2325) but the server never appears in the browser regardless of which port I set the server to use.

RPT file: http://pastebin.com/9HBjhWSm

Server Config: http://pastebin.com/tGpwvYfB

What should I do next to diagnose the problem? Thank you very much.

EDIT:

I forwarded the extra ports 27016 and 8766 and now the server appears in the server browser. Is this a mere coincidence or are these ports actually required? They aren't listed in the official dedicated server guide. In any case, if anybody else has the same issue as me, try opening those ports.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Cabot696

[SHARPxSHOOTER 1]

EDIT:

I forwarded the extra ports 27016 and 8766 and now the server appears in the server browser. Is this a mere coincidence or are these ports actually required? They aren't listed in the official dedicated server guide. In any case, if anybody else has the same issue as me, try opening those ports.

Like this?

My friends can join my server through STEAM and if I give them my IP and they use Remote Connect, but the server doesn't appear in the public browser, only in LAN. I forwarded all the ports possible and my server still only shows up on LAN. What am I doing wrong?

Edited December 16, 2014 by SHARPxSHOOTER

[Thatdutchidiot 10]

Close the console window down, then you will need to edit the following files which will have been created

D:\Games\Arma3\A3Master\Users\Adminstrator\Adminis trator.Arma3Profile

D:\Games\Arma3\A3Master\Users\Administrator\Arma3. cfg

I ran the arma3server as administrator, but these files weren't created. Instead, I got two different folders in the users file, one being my ingame name and one being my PC name (that one only contained arma3.cfg)

I saw in this thread somewhere someone with the same issue and the problem was not running it as administrator, yet I'm running the exe as admin

After searching, I tried the -name= line in the shortcut, and the server actually created the administrator folder in \users, but it still keeps creating my PC name with the arma3.cfg file.

What am I doing wrong here?

[terox 316]

I would imagine its because your not User "administrator"

[Richards.D 761]

Hey Terox:

I am trying this and I am stuck on the first step lol.

I've made the CMD file, filled it out.. but it does not install the game at all.

I made the paths.. in the CMD the directory is filled out, but not the branch.

What is the thing about the quotation marks needed? I did not understand that comment in the steam updater file.

this is my file... the only change made was I removed my username and password.

@echo off

SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION

      :: DEFINE the following variables where applicable to your install

   SET STEAMLOGIN=user pass
   SET SET A3BRANCH=233780 -beta
       :: For stable use SET A3BRANCH=107410
       :: For Dev use SET A3BRANCH=107410 -beta development
       :: For Dedi server stable package use SET A3BRANCH=233780 -beta
               :: Note, the missing qotation marks, these need to be wrapped around the entire "+app_data......"

SET A3Path=C:\Games\ArmA3\A3Master
     SET STEAMPATH=C:\apps\Steam


:: _________________________________________________________

echo.
echo     You are about to update ArmA3
echo        Dir: %A3Path%
echo        Branch: %A3BRANCH%
echo.
echo     Key "ENTER" to procede
pause
%STEAMPATH%\steamcmd.exe +login %STEAMLOGIN% +force_install_dir %A3Path% +"app_update %A3BRANCH%" validate +quit
echo .
echo     Your ArmA3 is now up to date
echo     key "ENTER" to exit
pause

[terox 316]

Hey Terox:

I am trying this and I am stuck on the first step lol.

I've made the CMD file, filled it out.. but it does not install the game at all.

I made the paths.. in the CMD the directory is filled out, but not the branch.

What is the thing about the quotation marks needed? I did not understand that comment in the steam updater file.

this is my file... the only change made was I removed my username and password.

@echo off

SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION

      :: DEFINE the following variables where applicable to your install

   SET STEAMLOGIN=user pass
   SET SET A3BRANCH=233780 -beta
       :: For stable use SET A3BRANCH=107410
       :: For Dev use SET A3BRANCH=107410 -beta development
       :: For Dedi server stable package use SET A3BRANCH=233780 -beta
               :: Note, the missing qotation marks, these need to be wrapped around the entire "+app_data......"

SET A3Path=C:\Games\ArmA3\A3Master
     SET STEAMPATH=C:\apps\Steam


:: _________________________________________________________

echo.
echo     You are about to update ArmA3
echo        Dir: %A3Path%
echo        Branch: %A3BRANCH%
echo.
echo     Key "ENTER" to procede
pause
%STEAMPATH%\steamcmd.exe +login %STEAMLOGIN% +force_install_dir %A3Path% +"app_update %A3BRANCH%" validate +quit
echo .
echo     Your ArmA3 is now up to date
echo     key "ENTER" to exit
pause

are you seeing a command prompt window on the backend ?

How far is the batch file running. e.g what text messages are you seeing in the batch window

Are you running it as administrator ?

You should see

-------------------------

You are about to update ArmA3

(Then you would need to key 'ENTER')

then you would have to wait a few minutes perhaps

then you would have to key 'Enter'

You would then need to check the dates of the files/folder to see if any were todays date to see if updates did occur

Syntax error in my example.

It means wrap quootations around the

"app_update %A3BRANCH%"

which you have done.

thanks for pointing that out. I've updated the first post accordingly

Edited February 8, 2015 by Terox

[eaglestrike999 13]

Hi Terox,

First off thanks for the great guide, I started with almost no experience in doing this and have ended up with a seriously organised and NEARLY functional server :)

The only issue I am having is with running multiple servers at the same time.

I have opened up all the ports needed and am trying to run one server on port 2302 and the other on 2382 as well as a few others on different ports, however I am sure if I can find the fix to running these two at the same time I can sort the others out.

Both servers launch individually perfectly fine on their corresponding ports, however when I launch both together I get the following error:

ArmA3 Out of memory. Your swap file is too small. only 5MB of free space left. Increase your swap file size or delete some files from your hard disk.

I have no idea what is causing this as I have followed the guide word for word (hopefully!)

I am using Firedaemon and am running no mods until I can get all the servers fully working.

Server Specs:

Four full, dedicated HT CPU cores (Nehalem or better)

4096 MB of RAM

400 GB of RAID-protected storage

16000 GB of bandwidth transfer

OS: Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard 64-bit

Connecting via Remote Desktop Connection

First server launched - RPT

http://pastebin.com/tch6dyNk

Second server launched AFTER the first one - RPT

http://pastebin.com/KAFL3YAJ

First Server CONFIG

http://pastebin.com/sDEwggbr

Second Server CONFIG

http://pastebin.com/2LHe9J5u

First Server Command Line

-port=2382 "-profiles=C:\Games\ArmA3\Server_Public" -config=CONFIG_Public.cfg -world=empty

Second Server Command Line

-port=2302 "-profiles=C:\Games\ArmA3\Server_Operations" -config=CONFIG_Operations.cfg -world=empty

Edited February 11, 2015 by Eaglestrike999

[bravo17 1]

You need to increase the size of your Windows swapfile - but I would guess that 4GB is too little memory to run 2 instances of Arma 3 smoothly since ideally you do not want to really use the swapfile at all.

[terox 316]

You need to increase the size of your Windows swapfile - but I would guess that 4GB is too little memory to run 2 instances of Arma 3 smoothly since ideally you do not want to really use the swapfile at all.

As Bravo17 stated. Basically sounds like you've run out of space on your C: drive and your going to need need more ram

Edited February 12, 2015 by Terox

[eaglestrike999 13]

Thanks for this guys.

Our group currently owns two of the same boxes from the same company, NFO. The one I am trying to set up and our old one which runs TADST. Our old one can run two servers no problem as we often leave our Training Server up.

I am not opposed to buying more RAM if it means we can run two servers smoothly but it just strikes me as odd that this setup won't actually let me even start the second server whereas our old one using TADST does it with no hesitation or problems.

Also here's an image of my C: Drive. It's not even a quarter of the way full.

SOLVED

Double checked that ArmA3Server was running as an administrator by default and it wasn't, changed that and now it works like a charm.

Edited February 12, 2015 by Eaglestrike999

[dwarfer 10]

Thanks

[eaglestrike999 13]

Ok I'm now getting an error when anyone tries to join the server...?

"Server error: Player without identity ****"

I have tried restarting the box, restarting the server multiple times and re-making the CONFIG, none of those have worked.

Edit:

Fixed it.. For some reason it was reading from the wrong directory and was reading the old config which was causing random errors..

Why is it whenever I finally decide I've spent long enough trying to fix a problem to post it on the forums that, I find a solution in under 24 hours after that -_-

Edited February 18, 2015 by Eaglestrike999

[Jastreb 69]

In order to serve your mpmissions from another location than the root game folder, simply delete the folder and create a Junction (aka Symlink) instead.

mklink /J C:\steam\steamapps\common\user\Arma 3\mpmissions C:\Users\user\Desktop\Dropbox\mpmissions

We are using this to replace the standard mpmissions folder with a folder residing in a local dropbox. This way we can easily sync files from our local machines to the server. Those files are loaded into the server on runtime and then locked once the serverprocess gets hold of them (e.g. going to the mission selection). You can delete them from your local dropbox. On the server they'll get deleted once the gameserver has been stopped and unlocked the resources.

I got this setup, and main idea is to lessen the traffic and bandwidth usage, but I dont see any difference. By deleting files from local dropbox, what do you exactly mean? If I delete them from there, they would get deleted from the cloud also? Of course not if I shutdown dropbox client, but then again, I dont understand how would it work?

I was thinking of doing this with a remote ftp folder. I have a web server hosting account, on which I can setup mpmissions folder somewhere in "\public_html\mpmissions\" and connect that folder on my machine where Arma3 server is running, sftp or whatever the means. Then I would use your method of creating a symlink on

mklink /J C:\steam\steamapps\common\user\Arma 3\mpmissions ftp://ftp.mywebdomian.tld/mpmissions/

Would this work? I read that ftp wouldnt work with symlink and Id have to use sftp. Its not a problem, but if this works it would be great.

Few questions though.

Server would still need to connect to that remote ftp/sftp folder and download a mission? I guess so if it would really work.

Would client connecting to the arma3 server download the mission from the remote folder directly, ro would it go over the server where server would have to fetch it first, lock it in memory and then pass it to client?

Would arma3 server actually read the remote ftp folder and list all available missions in mission selection screen?

I have no idea if this would actually work, but if it does that would be awesome. If not, can you explain further how does this dropbox method works? Is traffic actually going over the arma3 server to client connecting or are clients actually downloading missions directly from remote folder ( in this case dropbox ).

I think that this feature or alike was requested long time ago for arma2, but it never got implemented.

To be clear, my main problem currently is throughput, primarily upload. Its on a 20/2 Mbit connection. Until this is upgraded, ( and it will be in a few months ) I have to make a solution, which would not make a lagfest on other services ( such as TS3 ) running on the same machine as Arma3 server. Thank you for reading.

Edited March 13, 2015 by _MaSSive

[Revelator 10]

I'm having a major problem with my server set up.

I'm reaching this step.

Close the console window down, then you will need to edit the following files which will have been created

D:\Games\Arma3\A3Master\Users\Adminstrator\Adminis trator.Arma3Profile

D:\Games\Arma3\A3Master\Users\Administrator\Arma3. cfg

(See below for example files)

However, as soon as the console loads, I close it and yet there is no Users folder at all. I've been searching high and low for this and still can't seem to find the solution. I can join the server, but things such as persistence and the server name aren't saving as they should. Any ideas how I might be able to fix this or anywhere I can copy these files/folders from to create a folder and place them?

Edit: Added image to show that I lack any sort of folder after the install.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Revelator

[terox 316]

I can only assume from the picture that either

1. you havent set your -profile parameter correctly
   eg "-profiles=d:\Games\Arma3\A3Master"
   or
   
2. If you have for some reason your server didn't fully load.
   

if "2)" Restart the console but leave it running for a minute or so.

Maybe you closed it too early.

When it has fully loaded you should also get an ****.rpt file created in the root of your arma server install

[SwordfishBR 11]

Sorry for the bad english, I have the server with the settings placed just below, and would like to make the most of it, I wonder if anyone has any similar configuration, playing missions using the AliveMod get a result of 22 FPS with 20 Players but my CPS this too low between 1 and 2 CPS

I thank you

settings

[InItToWinIt 10]

Hi, I've recently attempted to create my server, everything's fine, except when I try to connect to my own server and log in using the admin password, nothing happens. I tried typing in "#login (my admin password)" and nothing happens, I also tried with the regular password. I changed the admin password several times and still, nothing happens. I checked to make sure nothing was wrong with the CFG file, restarted the server multiple times, and still nothing works. I am just stuck at the blank continent screen. If there is a solution I can try, I'd appreciate the help :)

[terox 316]

I try to connect to my own server and log in using the admin password, nothing happens.

What happens if you just connect to your server and not try to login as an admin?

Maybe the server is not running correctly!

Try this.........

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?182955-TUTORIAL-DEBUGGING-Server-issues-(e-g-not-loading-correctly)

if this doesnt work then follow the guidelines in the troubleshooting section of the 1st post in this guide and post the required information that it asks for.