Trying to make a Ark Survival Evolved Cluster

[VincedoubleO]

Thank You and Request for Advice on Setting Up an Ark Cluster

First, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has contributed to this project—it has been incredibly helpful! Thanks to the resources and tools shared here, I’m now able to run:

• 2 modded Minecraft servers
• 2 Ark: Survival Evolved servers
• 1 Ark: Survival Ascended server

However, my friends and I are starting to get bored with our current world, so I’d like to set up an Ark: Survival Evolved cluster. This would allow us to seamlessly transfer our dinos, items, and survivor data between different maps.

My Setup

Here’s an overview of my setup, which is running on TrueNAS Scale 24.10.1 as a custom app:

Hardware:

• AMD 5600G
• 64GB DDR4 RAM (2666 MHz)
• Storage:
  • 2 SSDs (1 for the OS: 500GB, 1 for the storage pool: 1TB Crucial P3 Plus)
  • 1 HDD (1TB, an old 2.5" drive from my laptop)

Server Management:

• Using AMP by CubeCoders to manage the instances

Networking:

• Playit.gg for remote access without exposing sensitive ports
• Tailscale to access the TrueNAS server and the AMP control panel
• Proper ports configured for each instance/game server

Steps Taken So Far

1. Setting Up the Cluster Directories

We created two directories for cluster data:

• /ArkCluster (shared cluster data on the SSD)
• /home/amp/arkcluster (local AMP-related storage)

Configured each server instance in AMP to point to these directories for cross-server travel.

TrueNAS scale shell commands for AMP instance setup:

# Create shared cluster directory
mkdir -p /ArkCluster
chmod -R 777 /ArkCluster
chown -R 568:568 /ArkCluster

# Create AMP-specific local directory
mkdir -p /home/amp/arkcluster
chmod -R 755 /home/amp/arkcluster
chown -R 568:568 /home/amp/arkcluster

2. Configuring the Network

• Implemented Tailscale and Playit.gg to ensure secure remote access to servers and AMP control panel.
• Using a GL.iNet GL-MT3000/Beryl AX portable router in repeater mode due to being behind a Wi-Fi with a captive portal and CGNAT.

3. Cluster Directory Setup (AMP-Dockerized Instance)

To prevent the directories from being deleted at each reboot, I added the following volumes to the AMP-dockerized instance:

volumes:
  - /mnt/The Flash Pool/arkcluster-data:/home/amp/arkcluster
  - ./ampdata:/home/amp/.ampdata
  - /home/amp/arkcluster:/ArkCluster/Data:rw

Difficulties Encountered

Cluster Directory Setup

• Ensuring directory permissions were correctly set so all server instances could access the files and prevent deletion of directories on reboot.

Networking Challenges

• Ensuring stable performance with two Playit.gg instances (versions 0.15.25 and 0.15.26) due to changes in UDP port handling.

Goal

My goal is to create a smooth experience for my friends and me by enabling cross-server travel. Specifically, I want to:

1. Set up a shared cluster directory for transferring dinos, items, and survivor data across maps.
2. Ensure proper networking and communication between server instances.
3. Sync mods and data across all servers.
4. Maintain stable performance while running multiple instances simultaneously.

Challenges

Although this is my first time setting up an Ark cluster, I have experience managing Minecraft servers, which gives me some confidence. However, I would greatly appreciate advice from anyone who has successfully built and maintained a similar setup.

Questions:

• What are the best practices for setting up and maintaining an Ark cluster?
• What are the common pitfalls to avoid during setup?
• Any tips on handling mod compatibility and ensuring smooth data synchronization between cluster servers?

Thanks in advance for any insights or suggestions! 🙏