VPS for hosting my servers!

[DevCysera 2]

How exactly do I set up a VPS to host my server on Halo CE? I'm tired of paying like 15 dollars a month when i can be paying like 5 for some VPS. I just need to know which one is good and how to get started on setting it up! Someone please help me with this! So I can keep my server, but have it hosted for cheaper! Thanks very much!

[ShikuTeshi 1,037]

You can try contacting these guys to see if they'll do it and how their system works. https://gamehosting.co/
But personally I've never used a VPS before. These were just the only guys I found with a quick google offering servers at around $5 and sometimes a little less. I think the only wall would be if they needed to have an install of the game to host the server or if there's a portable package. Since the game requires a key and only used copies are sold, I think the chances are slim to none.

Edited September 2, 2018 by ShikuTeshi

[Kavawuvi 5,740]

13 hours ago, ShikuTeshi said:

You can try contacting these guys to see if they'll do it and how their system works. https://gamehosting.co/
But personally I've never used a VPS before. These were just the only guys I found with a quick google offering servers at around $5 and sometimes a little less. I think the only wall would be if they needed to have an install of the game to host the server or if there's a portable package. Since the game requires a key and only used copies are sold, I think the chances are slim to none.

Using a VPS requires a lot more setup than a game server, but the value is much, much better. Even if dedicated game hosting was $5, a $5 VPS can potentially host two or more servers or even be used to host other things in addition to your server, such as a web server. You can also use whatever player cap you want, too, rather than paying for a player cap.

 

13 hours ago, DevCysera said:

How exactly do I set up a VPS to host my server on Halo CE? I'm tired of paying like 15 dollars a month when i can be paying like 5 for some VPS. I just need to know which one is good and how to get started on setting it up! Someone please help me with this! So I can keep my server, but have it hosted for cheaper! Thanks very much!

So here are the requirements:

• A basic understanding of Linux, namely the command line interface - It isn't hard to learn, but it can be daunting to people unfamiliar with command line interfaces.
• A basic understanding of computer hardware, namely CPUs and RAM - Your VPS provider isn't going to know what kind of hardware you need for something.
• SFTP client to remotely access your VPS's files - Most FTP clients support SFTP. This is because most VPSes do not come with an FTP server due to it being massively insecure.
• SSH client to remotely access your VPS's command line interface - I recommend PuTTY

 

There are some other notes you should know:

• You are getting what is called an "unmanaged" VPS.
• An unmanaged VPS means that your VPS provider is NOT going to help you set up your VPS or troubleshoot any problems with your software. They probably don't even know or care how Halo, Wine, or Linux works, so please don't ask them to fix your Halo server.
• An unmanaged VPS is cheaper, however.

 

If you cannot do this and are not willing to learn how to do any of this, do not get a VPS. 

 

If you are, then here's a quick write-up of what you must do:

Spoiler

 

First you'll want to find a VPS provider. One fairly cheap provider I like to use for spinning up a quick test VPS is DigitalOcean, but there are other options out there. DigitalOcean costs around $5 per month for a 1 GB, 1 core VPS, their cheapest droplet (DO calls a VPS a "droplet"), and this is enough for a few Halo servers. Their user interface is also fairly intuitive.

 

First, register with them. Do NOT use a temporary e-mail because you WILL need this e-mail address for later.

 

Creating a VPS with them is simple.

• Click Droplets
• Click Create Droplet
• Select Ubuntu
• Change 16.04.4 to 18.04 or whichever version is latest
• Select the cheapest, $5 option
• Select your desired datacenter location (choose the closest datacenter for the best ping - San Francisco is a good choice if you're in Latin America or near the west coast of North America)
• Click Create

Next, check your e-mail address. You will see your VPS's name, IP address, username, and password. Open up PuTTY, select SSH for Connection type, then paste in the IP address you just got in the e-mail into Host Name. You will probably want to save these settings for later, so go to Saved Sessions, type in a memorable name like "Halo VPS", click Save, and then click Open.

 

You will be warned, for the first time, that the host key isn't cached. Click Yes. Login as the username and password you were given. To paste in PuTTY, you right-click instead of pressing control-V. You may notice that you do not see the number of characters you are typing with your password. This is normal and it's to make sure people cannot see your password length. You can still paste with right click just fine.

 

You'll now be asked to change your password, if you are signing in for the first time. For your current password, simply paste in the password again. Then for your new password, type in something you can remember. If you forget your password, you will not be able to get back in, and your VPS provider will not be able to help you, either.

 

Next, you will want to install Wine. Wine does not come with Ubuntu, but it can be installed fairly easily.

 

Before you install Wine, you will want to type or paste in each line below, and do it from top to bottom. You could alternatively use the Wine that's immediately available to you through the package manager, but it's severely outdated and may have issues.

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
wget -nc https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/Release.key
sudo apt-key add Release.key
sudo apt-add-repository https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

If you're ever asked "Do you want to continue? [Y/n]" or "keep the local version currently installed", then simply press enter in the prompt.

 

Next, for the actual Wine installation part, type in this command:

sudo apt-get install --install-recommends winehq-staging

If you're asked "Do you want to continue? [Y/n]", then simply press enter in the prompt.

 

To test to make sure Wine is installed, type in this command:

wineconsole cmd.exe

You'll probably get a bunch of messages the first time you run this, and you may have to wait a little bit, but eventually, it should show you a command prompt. Type "exit" here.

 

Next, you'll want to install screen so your Halo server will persist after you disconnect. Chances are, it's already installed, but just in case, do this:

sudo apt install screen

 

Now that your software is set up, you will want to get the Halo server on your VPS. In your SFTP client, make sure SFTP (or SSH File Transfer Protocol) is selected, connect to your VPS using the IP you were given, root for the username, and the password you just set. Copy your Halo CE server files. If you aren't sure, these are the files you need to copy:

• haloceded.exe
• init.txt
• strings.dll (if using SAPP, copy the strings.dll that comes with SAPP as well as sapp.dll)
• maps/
•     bitmaps.map
•     loc.map
•     sounds.map
•     ui.map
•     <any multiplayer maps you want to use>
• sapp (optional if copying an already existing SAPP configuration)
• savegames (optional if using custom gametypes)

bitmaps.map and sounds.map are very large files and may take a while to send. If so, download the bitmaps.map and sounds.map from here and send those, instead.

 

To start your server, run this command:

screen -S Halo1 wineconsole haloceded.exe -path .

This will also create some folders in the current directory. You can create a savegames folder here to put custom gametypes in there, too. If SAPP is loaded, your SAPP configuration will also be found here.

 

Press ctrl-A ctrl-D to detach from your server window without closing your server. You may disconnect now.

 

If you ever want to go back to your server console, connect with PuTTY and type this:

screen -x Halo1

 

 

 

 

[Solaris 3,495]

On 9/2/2018 at 10:51 AM, Kavawuvi said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

First you'll want to find a VPS provider. One fairly cheap provider I like to use for spinning up a quick test VPS is DigitalOcean, but there are other options out there. DigitalOcean costs around $5 per month for a 1 GB, 1 core VPS, their cheapest droplet (DO calls a VPS a "droplet"), and this is enough for a few Halo servers. Their user interface is also fairly intuitive.

 

First, register with them. Do NOT use a temporary e-mail because you WILL need this e-mail address for later.

 

Creating a VPS with them is simple.

• Click Droplets
• Click Create Droplet
• Select Ubuntu
• Change 16.04.4 to 18.04 or whichever version is latest
• Select the cheapest, $5 option
• Select your desired datacenter location (choose the closest datacenter for the best ping - San Francisco is a good choice if you're in Latin America or near the west coast of North America)
• Click Create

Next, check your e-mail address. You will see your VPS's name, IP address, username, and password. Open up PuTTY, select SSH for Connection type, then paste in the IP address you just got in the e-mail into Host Name. You will probably want to save these settings for later, so go to Saved Sessions, type in a memorable name like "Halo VPS", click Save, and then click Open.

 

You will be warned, for the first time, that the host key isn't cached. Click Yes. Login as the username and password you were given. To paste in PuTTY, you right-click instead of pressing control-V. You may notice that you do not see the number of characters you are typing with your password. This is normal and it's to make sure people cannot see your password length. You can still paste with right click just fine.

 

You'll now be asked to change your password, if you are signing in for the first time. For your current password, simply paste in the password again. Then for your new password, type in something you can remember. If you forget your password, you will not be able to get back in, and your VPS provider will not be able to help you, either.

 

Next, you will want to install Wine. Wine does not come with Ubuntu, but it can be installed fairly easily.

 

Before you install Wine, you will want to type or paste in each line below, and do it from top to bottom. You could alternatively use the Wine that's immediately available to you through the package manager, but it's severely outdated and may have issues.

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
wget -nc https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/Release.key
sudo apt-key add Release.key
sudo apt-add-repository https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

If you're ever asked "Do you want to continue? [Y/n]" or "keep the local version currently installed", then simply press enter in the prompt.

 

Next, for the actual Wine installation part, type in this command:

sudo apt-get install --install-recommends winehq-staging

If you're asked "Do you want to continue? [Y/n]", then simply press enter in the prompt.

 

To test to make sure Wine is installed, type in this command:

wineconsole cmd.exe

You'll probably get a bunch of messages the first time you run this, and you may have to wait a little bit, but eventually, it should show you a command prompt. Type "exit" here.

 

Next, you'll want to install screen so your Halo server will persist after you disconnect. Chances are, it's already installed, but just in case, do this:

sudo apt install screen

 

Now that your software is set up, you will want to get the Halo server on your VPS. In your SFTP client, make sure SFTP (or SSH File Transfer Protocol) is selected, connect to your VPS using the IP you were given, root for the username, and the password you just set. Copy your Halo CE server files. If you aren't sure, these are the files you need to copy:

• haloceded.exe
• init.txt
• strings.dll (if using SAPP, copy the strings.dll that comes with SAPP as well as sapp.dll)
• maps/
•     bitmaps.map
•     loc.map
•     sounds.map
•     ui.map
•     <any multiplayer maps you want to use>
• sapp (optional if copying an already existing SAPP configuration)
• savegames (optional if using custom gametypes)

bitmaps.map and sounds.map are very large files and may take a while to send. If so, download the bitmaps.map and sounds.map from here and send those, instead.

 

To start your server, run this command:

screen -S Halo1 wineconsole haloceded.exe -path .

This will also create some folders in the current directory. You can create a savegames folder here to put custom gametypes in there, too. If SAPP is loaded, your SAPP configuration will also be found here.

 

Press ctrl-A ctrl-D to detach from your server window without closing your server. You may disconnect now.

 

If you ever want to go back to your server console, connect with PuTTY and type this:

screen -x Halo1

 

 

 

 

Pretty much all of this.

 

You will also need to figure out what the average peak usage is so you are not suffering from latency issues. A $5 VPS is great until your services stop responding due to over-allocating resources. Then you may as well spend the $10-15 to offset the overhead usage. Also check your host's network bandwidth limitations as well for these types of hosting as they can start charging you extra if your game servers start using a lot of bandwidth and activity.

[WaeV 5,013]

DigitalOcean is a fine VPS host. Maybe a tad pricey but nice UI. I also really like Ramnode and Vultr.