The Isle Server Hosting

What is a The Isle Evrima server, and how does it differ from Legacy?

The Isle Evrima is the current version of the game, rewritten over the years by developer Afterthought, and it is what people mean by a The Isle server today. On Steam the old version is called “Legacy”, while Evrima is distributed from a separate beta branch. That's why you must select the evrima branch in SteamCMD when downloading the server files; the wrong branch gives you a server that is incompatible with players' clients.

Evrima gameplay revolves around dinosaurs growing, feeding, herd behaviour and migration zones on the map. The admin decides in Game.ini which species are playable, growth speed, AI dinosaurs, the migration system and whether human characters are enabled. This flexibility lets you build anything from realistic survival servers to faster-paced community servers.

Because Evrima is still in development, updates can add new fields to the server settings or change existing ones. The setting names and ports on this page are the values commonly used in community guides; we flag points where the developer hasn't published an official server manual.

How much RAM and CPU does a The Isle server need?

On a The Isle server, resource needs are set by player count together with the density of AI dinosaurs; the table above is an estimate for a server with AI enabled. Community guides say clock speed matters more than core count and recommend at least four high-frequency cores, because player and AI movement across the large map loads the main thread at busy moments.

• AI density: the higher AIDensity, the more creatures the server simulates and the more CPU and memory it uses. Reducing AI on busy servers is common practice.
• Player count: servers with over a hundred players need serious memory and network capacity; upload bandwidth matters too.
• Operating system: a server on Linux uses less memory for the OS than one on Windows.
• Disk: server files are large; leave room for updates and backups. NVMe storage shortens map load times.

When you first open the server, keep the player limit at the low end of the range and watch usage, so you grow resources based on real data. On Linux check in htop whether the server process keeps one core near 100%: if so, more cores won't help; lower AI density or the player limit, or move to a higher-clock server. Memory usually rises gradually with player count.

Should you choose a ready-made package or a VDS for The Isle?

This page shows VDS packages for The Isle: you can install the server yourself or request a ready-made setup through a support ticket. The Isle servers are usually busy community servers whose load climbs fast at peak hours; on a VDS cores and memory are reserved for you, so a neighbour's load won't slow your server at those moments.

On a VDS you control the whole server: edit Game.ini directly, apply updates whenever you like and run RCON-based management tools or Discord bots on the same machine. A Linux install uses fewer resources and needs no Windows Server licence; Windows suits those who prefer a graphical interface.

For a detailed comparison see game server package or VDS. Choose a package from the live table to match your target player count and AI settings. NVMe storage, KVM virtualisation, network-level DDoS filtering and 24/7 NOC monitoring are standard on every LIONFIN VDS, and you can add resources as your community grows.

Which Game.ini settings matter most?

Almost all rules of a The Isle Evrima server live in Game.ini; after the first launch the file is created in TheIsle/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/ on Linux and TheIsle\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\ on Windows. The fields most used in community guides are:

Stop the server before editing; changes made while it runs can be lost. Updates may add new fields, so compare the file with community announcements afterwards.

How do RCON and the queue system work on a The Isle server?

The Isle Evrima supports RCON for remote management, but according to community guides the protocol is Evrima-specific, so common Source-based RCON clients and tools such as mcrcon don't work. You need a client or management tool compatible with Evrima. RCON is enabled in Game.ini with the bRconEnabled, RconPassword and RconPort fields; the port commonly used in community guides is 8888/TCP.

Typical RCON tasks: sending announcements, viewing the player list, kicking or banning players, and saving and shutting down the server. Discord bots and admin panels mostly work over this protocol too.

On busy servers the queue matters: when the server is full, new players are queued. The queue is enabled with bQueueEnabled and QueuePort; community guides commonly use 10000/TCP. The VIPs list gives selected players queue priority.

The RCON password grants full control of the server: choose a long, unique password, open the RCON port only to your management tool's IP if possible, and never share the password in chat or screenshots.

How do you set game rules and species on a The Isle server?

A server's character is defined by which species are playable and how fast dinosaurs grow. The AllowedClasses list defines playable species one by one; according to community guides, if the list is left completely empty all species are enabled. Some servers close or limit certain species to keep the carnivore-herbivore balance.

With GrowthMultiplier at 1.0 growth runs at default speed. Higher values let players reach adulthood faster, popular with players who have little time but usually avoided by realism-focused communities.

• Migration: with migration systems on, dinosaurs are encouraged to move to certain zones, which stops everyone piling up in one area.
• Humans: bEnableHumans turns human characters on or off.
• AI: AI dinosaurs keep the world alive, especially on servers with few players.

Set rules before opening the server and announce them to players to avoid arguments over later changes. When you do change a setting, do it during a maintenance window and take a backup first.

Which ports should be opened for a The Isle server?

The layout most often cited in community guides is 7777/UDP for game traffic, 8888/TCP for RCON and 10000/TCP for the queue. Some guides also recommend opening the 7777–7779/UDP range, and note that the Steam ports from the Legacy era (around 27015) don't apply to Evrima.

As the developer hasn't published this layout officially, the most reliable approach is to check in the log which ports the server listens on after its first start. To change ports, the game port is set with ?Port= in the launch command, and the RCON and queue ports with fields in Game.ini.

• Open the game port to everyone over UDP.
• Open the RCON port only to your management tool or your own IP address.
• If you don't use the queue, keep its port closed.

On Linux you can define these rules with a few UFW commands.

How is a The Isle server protected against DDoS attacks?

Busy and competitive The Isle servers are frequent targets of denial-of-service attacks because of disputes between communities, so network-level protection matters especially for this game. On LIONFIN infrastructure traffic is filtered at network level by the RouteFence firewall, DDoS traffic is filtered before it reaches your server where possible, 600 Gbit/s of total upstream capacity leaves headroom for spikes, and everything is monitored 24/7 by our NOC and SOC (see our data center).

• Keep only the necessary ports open; never leave RCON open to everyone.
• Tie admins to Steam IDs with AdminsSteamIDs and don't hand out rights more widely than needed.
• Use a whitelist or password for closed communities.
• On Linux run the server as a non-root user, connect to SSH with a key and limit password attempts with Fail2ban.

During an attack players disconnect en masse or the server drops off the list. Note the time and symptoms and open a support ticket from the customer panel; network logs can be reviewed faster with that information.

How do you run a The Isle community server?

A successful The Isle server survives on community management more than technical settings; without clear rules, a consistent admin team and a fast communication channel, even the strongest server loses players. Evrima's interaction-driven design often causes disputes between carnivore and herbivore players, so rules should be written down where everyone can read them.

• Written rules: define random killing, herd size limits, cross-species cooperation and nesting zones from the start.
• Admin team: add admins to AdminsSteamIDs and agree within the team which sanction applies to what.
• Communication channel: most communities use a Discord server for announcements, complaints and events; RCON-based bots can relay in-game events there.
• Access level: use a whitelist for closed or application-based communities, and the queue and VIPs list for busy servers.
• Scheduled maintenance: announce restart and update times so players can leave their dinosaurs somewhere safe.

Rules and settings go together: on a server with a fast growth multiplier death costs less, so rules can be looser.

How do you back up data on a The Isle server?

The data to back up is players' dinosaur progress and the server settings; both live under the TheIsle/Saved folder of the server install. Config files are in the Config subfolder; because the location of player data may change between versions, backing up the entire Saved folder is the safest approach.

1. Save and shut down the server via RCON, or stop it at a quiet hour.
2. Compress the Saved folder into a dated archive.
3. Copy the archive off the server; a backup on the same disk doesn't protect against disk failure.
4. Prune old backups after a while, but always keep a few days of history.

Always take a manual backup before updates: Evrima is still in development and an update can change the player data format. When a player's dinosaur disappears or the server starts with corrupt data, a recent backup protects weeks of your community's work. On Linux you can automate these steps with a script and a cron job.

Can you install mods on a The Isle server?

At the time of writing there is no official modding toolkit or Workshop support published by the developer for The Isle Evrima; an Evrima server's content is shaped mostly by Game.ini settings. What hosting companies offer as “mod support” is usually admin tools, Discord bots and RCON-based automation, not mods that change the game's content.

For admins this has two consequences. First, what sets your server apart is your choice of settings and your community management: species balance, growth speed, AI density, migration settings and well-enforced rules. Second, be careful with third-party files claiming to change game content; they may conflict with the game's terms of use and put your server's security at risk.

On the management side, RCON-based tools are a big help: automatic announcements, player statistics, admin commands via Discord and scheduled restarts. You can run them as a separate process on the same VDS. If the developer announces official mod support later, follow the official docs. Until then the safest approach is to put only official content delivered through SteamCMD in your server files.

What are the most common The Isle server problems?

Most The Isle server problems come from the wrong beta branch, ports or config file mistakes; the server logs usually show the cause.

• Players can't connect, version mismatch: the server was downloaded from the default branch instead of Evrima. Use app_update 412680 -beta evrima validate in SteamCMD.
• Not visible in the server list: the game port isn't open over UDP, or the log shows a different listening port. Check the port rules and the log.
• RCON won't connect: a Source-based RCON client is being used; you need an Evrima-compatible tool. bRconEnabled must also be on and the port allowed.
• Game.ini changes disappear: the file was edited while the server was running, or the wrong file was edited (don't mix up the LinuxServer and WindowsServer folders).
• Stutter at peak hours: AI density or the player limit is too high for the hardware; try lowering AIDensity.
• Admin commands don't work: the Steam ID wasn't added correctly to AdminsSteamIDs.

If you get stuck, open a support ticket from the customer panel with the logs attached.