Rust Server Hosting

Why rent a Rust server?

Renting a Rust server is the most practical way to build a community where you set the rules, the wipe schedule and the plugins. On official servers you have no say over map size, gather rate, team limits or raid hours; on your own server you control everything from the server.maxplayers value to the kit system.

Running a server from home is especially hard with Rust. The server side calculates thousands of building blocks, plants, animals and dropped items (entities) every frame, which keeps a home PC's processor and memory constantly busy. Home connections also have low upload speeds, so latency rises beyond 20–30 players, and the moment your IP address is exposed you become an easy target for attacks.

A rented game server removes these problems: it stays online 24/7 in a data center, NVMe storage writes map saves quickly, and network-level DDoS filtering protects your players. For players connecting from Türkiye and the surrounding region, a server located in Türkiye keeps the route short, which matters in close-range fights and during raids.

Which type of Rust server should you run: vanilla, modded or PvE?

Rust community servers generally fall into four types, and the type you pick directly determines both resource usage and admin workload. Players filter the server browser by tags such as “Vanilla”, “Modded”, “Community” and PvE, so it pays to define your target audience from the start.

• Vanilla: runs with Facepunch's default rates and rules, either without plugins or with admin plugins only. It has the most predictable resource usage and the gameplay closest to official servers.
• Community: uses plugins that improve quality of life without changing gameplay (chat filters, voting, reporting). This is the type small teams launch most often.
• Modded: speeds up the pace with 2x, 5x or 10x gather rates, kits, teleportation and economy systems. CPU and memory load rise with every plugin, and a daily restart becomes practically mandatory.
• PvE: disables or limits player-versus-player combat and focuses on building and exploration. Without raid pressure, structures pile up over the wipe, so entity counts and memory needs grow quickly on PvE servers.

Whichever type you choose, state your wipe days, team limit and rules clearly in the server description. Rust players look at those three things first when picking a server, and clear rules also reduce complaints and admin workload.

How do you configure a Rust server?

The core settings of a Rust server are passed as launch parameters or through the cfg/server.cfg file in the server identity folder; the same values can also be changed from the console at runtime. To make a setting persistent, write it to server.cfg or run server.writecfg in the console.

+server.identity "community"
+server.hostname "Your Server Name | Weekly Wipe"
+server.level "Procedural Map"
+server.seed 12345
+server.worldsize 3500
+server.maxplayers 75
+rcon.web 1
+rcon.password "a-long-and-unique-password"

Of these parameters, server.identity sets the name of the folder where save files are kept; if you run more than one Rust server on the same machine, give each a different identity. server.seed and server.worldsize define the shape of the map, so do not change them outside a wipe. The server description (server.description), header image (server.headerimage) and web address (server.url) are the promotional fields players see in the server browser. Admins are assigned by SteamID64 with the ownerid and moderatorid commands and stored in the users.cfg file.

How much RAM does a Rust server need per player count?

A Rust server's RAM requirement depends less on player count than on map size and the total number of entities on the map; an empty 3000-size map starts with a few gigabytes, but by the second week of a wipe the same server can use nearly twice as much memory. That is why the table above gives estimates that assume a “mid-wipe” load.

When planning resources, look at these four factors:

• Map size (server.worldsize): a larger area means more terrain data, monuments and natural resources. 2500–3000 is common for small communities, 3500–4250 for busy servers.
• Number of structures: as clans build large bases, every wall and door becomes a separate entity, so memory and CPU load climb throughout the wipe.
• Plugins: every Oxide/uMod or Carbon plugin consumes memory and CPU time. Plugins that constantly scan the map or store a lot of data add noticeably more load.
• CPU clock speed: the main game loop of a Rust server runs largely on a single thread, so single-core performance matters more than core count.

When memory runs short, the server starts to stutter, freeze during saves or crash. On Linux, the htop and free -h commands are a good starting point for monitoring usage.

Should you choose a ready-made Rust package or a VDS?

For a vanilla or lightly modded community server with a defined player capacity, a ready-made Rust package is the fastest route; if you plan custom maps, heavy plugin use or several servers, a VDS is more flexible. The package table on this page shows the current capacity and features of the Rust package live.

The LIONFIN Rust package includes a web-based game panel, Oxide/uMod plugin support, scheduled wipes (map resets), RCON and console access, automatic daily backups and DDoS protection. You start, stop and update the server and upload plugin files from the panel; no SteamCMD or Linux knowledge is required.

With a VDS server, the cores, memory and disk are dedicated entirely to you; you choose the operating system (Windows Server or Ubuntu) and install RustDedicated yourself with SteamCMD. This route suits anyone who wants to run custom RustEdit maps, a test server on the same machine, or extra services such as a website or a Discord bot side by side. For a detailed comparison of the two options, see game server package or VDS.

When deciding, ask yourself one question: who will maintain the server? With a ready-made package, operating system updates, SteamCMD and file permissions are not your job; you simply press the update button in the panel. On a VDS you get full administrator rights, but the firewall, automatic restart scripts and OS patches are also your responsibility. If you have no Linux experience, starting with a ready-made package and moving to a VDS once your community grows is the lowest-risk path.

Which ports does a Rust server use?

By default a Rust server uses 28015/UDP for game traffic and 28016/TCP for remote management (WebRCON); to be listed in the server browser, it is recommended to set the query port (server.queryport) explicitly, for example to 28017/UDP. If no query port is defined, the server picks one automatically, which may clash with your firewall rules.

You can see the actual value of the Rust+ app port with the app.info command in the server console. If you are installing on a VDS, open only the ports you use; rather than exposing the RCON port to the whole internet, it is safer to allow only your own IP address.

If you run a second Rust server on the same machine, shift the port ranges so they do not overlap; for example, give the second server 28025 for the game, 28026 for RCON and 28027 for queries. Players connecting directly type client.connect IP:28015 into the F1 console; if the port differs from the default, it must be included in the address. On ready-made packages the panel assigns the ports and shows the connection address.

Should you use Oxide (uMod) or Carbon?

Oxide (uMod) is Rust's oldest and most widely used plugin framework; Carbon is a newer, performance-focused alternative that can run most Oxide plugins. The two are not installed at the same time: you pick one and manage your plugins accordingly.

Once Oxide is installed, the server folder gets oxide/plugins, oxide/config and oxide/data directories. Plugins are C# files with the .cs extension and are compiled and loaded automatically when dropped into the plugins folder. Permissions are granted with the oxide.grant and oxide.group commands. Plugin types frequently used on community servers include:

• Kit, teleport (home/TPR) and economy systems
• 2x, 5x and 10x settings that raise the gather rate
• Clans, alliances and raid protection (raid hours, offline protection)
• Admin tools: bans, spectating, player reports

Because Carbon can load most existing Oxide plugins unchanged, switching is easy; however, compatibility is not guaranteed for every plugin, so test on a staging server before migrating. After the monthly Rust update, the framework also needs updating; an outdated Oxide or Carbon build can prevent the server from starting.

How do you plan a Rust wipe schedule?

In Rust, a wipe resets the map (and optionally the learned blueprints); with the monthly update released on the first Thursday of every month, Facepunch forces a map wipe on all servers. Any wipes beyond that are up to you.

Common schedules are:

• Weekly wipe: preferred on competitive, busy servers; a new map every Thursday, with blueprints reset monthly.
• Bi-weekly wipe: a good balance for mid-sized communities.
• Monthly wipe: resetting only at the forced update; suits slower-paced and PvE-focused servers.

Technically, a map wipe means deleting the .sav and .map files in the server identity folder (server/identity) or changing the server.seed value; for a blueprint wipe, the player.blueprints database file is also cleared. The scheduled wipe feature in the LIONFIN Rust package does this for you at the time you set. To announce the wipe and avoid losing players, include the date and time in the server description.

How can you improve Rust server performance?

The key to Rust server performance is keeping the entity count under control, being selective with plugins and writing saves to a fast disk. When server FPS drops, players feel it as delayed hit registration and “rubber banding”.

1. Match map size to player count: a 4500-size map for a 30-player community both looks empty and wastes resources.
2. Do not disable decay: letting abandoned structures decay over time prevents entities from piling up.
3. Measure heavy plugins: the output of Oxide's oxide.plugins and plugin timings show which plugin is adding load.
4. Balance the save interval: frequent saves reduce data loss but cause short hitches on large maps; NVMe storage shortens these hitches noticeably.
5. Schedule regular restarts: memory usage grows on servers that stay up for a long time; one planned restart per day is common practice.

Server-side processing speed and a player's network latency are different things. Before blaming the server, check whether a lag complaint comes from a single player's connection or from the server as a whole.

How do you protect a Rust server against DDoS attacks?

Rust servers often face DDoS attacks because they are targeted by rival communities and by players who lost a raid; protection comes from filtering traffic at the network level before it reaches the server. A software firewall on the server alone cannot stop a volumetric attack, because once the line is saturated, legitimate packets cannot get through either.

On LIONFIN infrastructure, the RouteFence firewall filters attack traffic at the network level, backed by 600 Gbit/s of total upstream capacity and 24/7 NOC and SOC monitoring in our data center. Measures you can take on your side include:

• Keep the RCON password long and unique; open the WebRCON port only to admin IP addresses.
• Instead of sharing the server IP on Discord and your website, point players to the server name in the browser.
• Keep server.secure enabled; do not turn off Easy Anti-Cheat protection.
• Grant admin accounts (ownerid, moderatorid) only to SteamIDs you trust.

During an attack, players usually report mass disconnects or sudden latency spikes. Restarting the server immediately rarely helps in that situation; if the attack is ongoing at the network layer, the server should keep running while filtering stays in place. Noting the time of the incident, the number of affected players and the console output, and adding them to your support ticket, speeds up the investigation.

How do you back up and migrate a Rust map and player data?

All persistent data of a Rust server lives in the server identity folder (server/identity); backing up this folder is enough to preserve the map, blueprints and settings. Plugin data is kept separately in oxide/data or in Carbon's data folder.

When migrating from another provider, follow this order:

1. Save the old server with the save command and shut it down.
2. Archive the server/identity folder (cfg, .sav, .map and .db files) along with the plugin folders.
3. Use the same Rust version and the same server.seed and server.worldsize values on the new server; otherwise the map file will not match.
4. Upload the files via SFTP or the panel's file manager and start the server.

The LIONFIN Rust package takes automatic daily backups; even so, taking a manual backup before each wipe and before major plugin changes is a good habit.

What are the most common Rust server errors?

Most Rust server problems come from version mismatches after the monthly update, incorrect port settings or insufficient memory. Symptoms and fixes can be summarised as follows:

If the problem is not in the table, first read the last lines of the server console: Rust writes an error message to the console for every component that fails to start. To avoid trouble on update day, announce maintenance to players on Thursday evening, then update the Rust server first, the plugin framework second and the plugins last. If you cannot solve it, open a support ticket from the Support section of the customer panel and include the console output.