iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
Godlike.Host offers a gaming VPS on AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D with full root access, if you want to run several game servers yourself.
To host a game server on a Windows gaming VPS, rent a Windows machine with enough CPU, memory, SSD performance and public networking, install the game’s dedicated-server files, configure its save and startup settings, allow only the required ports in both the VPS provider firewall and Windows Firewall, and run it under a restart and backup plan. Friends then connect to the VPS’s public address rather than to a computer on your home network.
This guide covers the decisions and procedures that matter for a persistent server, with concrete notes for Valheim and Palworld. Port numbers, memory needs and networking behavior are game-specific, so use the dedicated-server documentation for the title you are actually hosting.
What a Windows gaming VPS provides
A virtual private server is a remotely rented Windows computer in a data center. You administer it over Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) or another remote-management method, install server software, and leave the machine running so the world remains available when your personal PC is off. The provider supplies the virtual CPU, RAM, SSD volume, public IP address and upstream network; you remain responsible for the operating system, game files, configuration, access control and backups unless the plan includes management.
A VPS avoids home-router port forwarding and usually offers a more stable data-center connection. It does not automatically make a game server public: the provider’s security group and Windows Firewall can still block traffic, and a server process that is not running cannot accept connections.
#1 Best Overall
- Powerful Turbo Fan:CAGIWIRU Electric Air Duster have reached speed up to 130000RPM,Can efficient remove dust and debris.With LED light and Three Adjustable Speed to meet with different cleaning tasks.
- With Attached USB C Fasting Charging cable.Charing 3 hours,Enjoy up to 240 minutes of use on the lowest setting, For third speed can use for 25mins.with four charging options to meet with your needs.
- Wide Application: attached 5 different nozzles,making it suitable for a variety of scenes, such as car,pet, pc, keyboards, and other electronic devices. It also serves for office and home clean duster.
- Handy Design & Portable:Cordless air duster electric nozzle is Light weight and small size, design and comfortable to hold and space saving, convenient to carry around. You can put it in your room or inside the car without taking up space.
- Economical &Reusable: Built durable materials with a long-lasting battery,our CAGIWIRU air duster it's a sustainable alternative to disposable air cans.
Size the VPS before you install anything
Start with the game’s published requirements, then add headroom for Windows, mods, world growth, backups and the number of simultaneous players. Requirements marked “recommended” are a better starting point for a persistent multiplayer world than a minimum specification.
Palworld baseline
Pocketpair’s requirements for version 0.5.0 recommend Windows 64-bit, at least four CPU cores, 16 GB of RAM and faster SSD storage. The requirements warn that low-performance storage can corrupt saved data. Treat those figures as the floor for a small, lightly modded server, not as a guarantee for a busy world. Leave additional memory for Windows and monitoring, and choose a plan with CPU capacity left over during saves and player joins.
Other games
Look for the title’s dedicated-server requirements and note whether they distinguish a headless server from the client game. A server that supports large maps, many entities or heavy mods can become CPU- or memory-bound even when the base requirement appears modest. If the provider allows resizing, begin with a plan that has measurable headroom and monitor it before committing to a larger instance.
Rank #2
- Screen Cleaner is Your Screen’s New Bestfriend! - EVEO is proud to present a screen cleaner that’s perfectly suited for your TV. Meet your new screen cleaner, computer screen cleaner, laptop cleaner, iPad cleaner, Macbook,tv cleaner or any other electronic device. Our screen cleaner spray and wipe along with the included plush microfiber cloth, easily removes dust, fingerprints & other smudges on the screen’s surface. Clean effectively for a streak-free screen
- Gentle on your Screens - Our screen cleaner spray and wipes is compatible to be used even for the most sensitive LCD, LED, CRT, and OLED screens in proper use. Be at ease knowing that this product is compatible with all the major brands: LG, SONY, Samsung, Sharp, iPad, iPhone, Android screens, Kindle, PC monitors - we’ve got you covered! Can be used as LCD screen cleaner, tv cleaner, smart tv screen cleaner, and more
- Premium Super Soft Plush Microfiber Cloth - Included in this efficient screen cleaning kit. This screen cleaner spray and wipe has our signature plush microfiber cloth specially designed to comply with screens and monitors and leave them streak-free. Has been shown to effectively absorbs stubborn stains, zero streaks, and no fiber shedding. Always use this together with our screen cleaner for the best results
- Easy-to-Use Screen Cleaner Kit + microfiber cleaning cloth - The EVEO Screen Cleaning Kit will easily be your new favorite tool when it comes to taking care of the things you love most, quick and easy solution for a streak-free screen. Simply screw on the sprayer gun on the screen cleaner bottle. Spray the cleaning liquid onto the microfiber cloth, then wipe the screen until desired cleanliness & shine is achieved.
- Quality Screen Care Kit Worth Purchasing - Enjoy a convenient Screen Cleaner anytime, anywhere you need it. Your satisfaction is our top priority. We stand behind the quality of our products and that’s why, you shouldn’t be worrying at all. We manufacture the Best Screen Cleaner. and can be used for laptop cleaning kit, laptop screen cleaner, tv screen cleaner for smart tv. MacBook screen cleaner, monitor cleaner or screen cleaner spray for electronic devices with microfiber cleaning cloth
| Resource | What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Published core recommendation plus spare capacity | Simulation ticks, world generation and connection bursts can compete with Windows processes. |
| Memory | Game recommendation plus Windows, mods and cache allowance | Exhausted RAM causes paging, lag and crashes. |
| Storage | SSD with adequate I/O performance and free space | World saves, logs and updates perform frequent reads and writes; slow or full disks increase risk. |
| Network | Public IPv4/IPv6 options, inbound rules and traffic limits | Players need a reachable address, and the provider must permit the game’s traffic. |
| Administration | Administrator access, RDP availability and recovery console | You need to install software, create firewall rules and recover from a failed update. |
| Snapshots and backups | Separate snapshot or backup storage and retention controls | A VPS disk failure or bad update should not destroy the only copy of a world. |
| Windows terms | Edition, license inclusion and update policy | The provider’s Windows licensing and maintenance terms vary by plan and region. |
Choose direct Internet access or relay networking
There are two common connection models.
Direct-port hosting
The game listens on the VPS public address. You allow its documented game, query and (if used) administration ports in the provider firewall and Windows Firewall. This is the normal model for many dedicated servers and gives you direct control, but every exposed port becomes part of the server’s attack surface.
Relay or crossplay hosting
Some games can relay player traffic through their backend. Valheim’s Crossplay backend is an example: traffic is relayed and router port forwarding is not required. You still need the server process and its local configuration, and the port can distinguish multiple servers sharing one public IP. Relay behavior, platform support and performance depend on the game, so do not assume that one title’s crossplay mode works for another.
| Question | Direct ports | Relay/crossplay |
|---|---|---|
| Inbound firewall rules | Required for each documented port | Often fewer or no game-port rules, depending on the title |
| Router forwarding | Not needed on a VPS, but required on a home server | Usually avoided where the game supports relaying |
| Player platforms | Determined by the server and game’s backend | May improve cross-platform reach, if supported |
| Control and troubleshooting | Direct path is easier to inspect with listening-port tools | Relay failures can involve the game’s service as well as your VPS |
Connect securely before installing the server
- Record the VPS public address, administrator account, Windows edition and provider console details.
- Use a strong, unique administrator password. Do not reuse a personal or workplace credential.
- Connect with RDP for initial setup. Microsoft documents two ways to reach a remote Windows computer: port forwarding or a VPN. A VPS already has a public interface, but exposing RDP broadly is still unsafe.
- Restrict RDP at the provider security-group layer to your trusted source address, or place administration behind a VPN. If your home address changes, use the provider console or VPN rather than leaving RDP open to every Internet address.
- Install Windows updates and reboot when required. Take a restorable world backup before updating the game server itself.
- Create a dedicated directory for the server, such as a data volume or a clearly named folder outside temporary download locations. Keep saves and logs in known paths that another administrator can find.
Install the dedicated-server files
Use the game’s official dedicated-server distribution. Steam-based games commonly offer either a graphical Steam tool or SteamCMD, Valve’s command-line installer. The GUI is convenient for one machine; SteamCMD is easier to repeat in a script or after rebuilding the VPS.
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallRank #3
- 【Large size】：Measuring 800 x 300 mm/ 31. 5×12 inches, which is wider and taller than others. Large mouse pad can perfectly fit your keyboard and mouse of any size, and there is also ample space for peripherals such as phones, tablets, etc.
- 【LED backlight mouse pad】：Blade Hawks RGB mouse pad provides 7 static modes and 7 dynamic modes will give you the options you are looking for. Power-off memory function remembers the last lighting mode you selected. The super glow fiber Chroma will give you a colorful gaming setup that you want.
- 【Anti-slip rubber base】：Made from Natural rubber, this gaming mousepad will firmly grip your desktop, allowing you to enjoy the ultimate precision in the games you are most passionate about. It also comes with a texture that enhances this ability even further.
- 【Smooth and waterproof surface】: Micro-textured cloth surface, for extremely precise mouse control and a smooth movement. When liquid splashes on the gaming mouse pad, it forms water droplets and slides down. Will not delay your work or gameplay.
- 【Plug and play】: This mouse and keyboard pad is powered by USB, plug and play, no driver required. One button control light modes. Press one time to change the lighting mode, press twice to change the brightness, press and hold about 3 seconds turn ON/OFF.
| Method | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Steam client dedicated-server tool | One-off installation and administrators who prefer a graphical interface | Manual updates and less convenient automation |
| SteamCMD | Repeatable installs, scheduled updates and scripted recovery | Requires careful command-line paths and game-specific app settings |
| Game-provided installer or package | Titles with their own dedicated-server distribution | Documentation and update behavior differ by game |
- Install the current 64-bit Windows runtime components required by the game’s server documentation.
- Install SteamCMD or the title’s dedicated-server tool in a permanent directory.
- Sign in or authenticate as the documentation requires, select the dedicated-server package and download it to the permanent server directory. Do not leave the only copy in a temporary cache.
- Locate the Windows executable or launch script supplied by the game. Do not substitute the client executable unless the title explicitly supports that mode.
- Run the server once interactively. This creates default configuration files and reveals missing runtimes, permissions or folder paths before you automate startup.
Configure names, saves, access and startup
Configuration names differ by game, but the decisions are consistent:
- Server identity: Set a recognizable server name and, where applicable, a world or save name.
- Access: Set a strong in-game password when the game supports one. Decide whether the listing is public or private.
- Capacity: Set a player limit that matches the VPS’s tested resources rather than the game’s theoretical maximum.
- Persistence: Keep world and player saves on the permanent data volume, not in a temporary download directory.
- Startup flags: Apply the documented map, backend, port, crossplay, mod and logging arguments. Preserve the exact command in an administrator runbook.
- Logs: Put logs in a known directory and set a retention policy so they cannot fill the disk.
Change one setting at a time and restart cleanly. A typo in a startup argument can make a server appear to start while disabling the intended backend or save path.
Open only the ports the game documents
Configure the VPS provider firewall or security group first, then create matching inbound rules in Windows Firewall. Both layers must permit the same protocol and port range. Do not create an “any port” rule simply to make troubleshooting easier.
Rank #4
- 【Softer and More Comfortable】Vaydeer wrist rest has unique diamond pattern, which is the combination of softness and aesthetics. The materials of wrist rest are improved into higher quality memory foam and covered with silky smooth lycra. The computer wrist rest makes you as comfortable and cushiony as like rest your wrists on clouds.
- 【Ergonomic Wrist Saver】The wrist rests for keyboard and mouse comes with a 17.32×3.15×0.83 inch keyboard wrist pad and a 5.94×3.15×0.83 inch mouse wrist support. Based on ergonomic design, the unique concave shape is the perfect fit for your wrist joints. The wrist rest pad fits most computer keyboards and laptops, improve hand and wrist posture, release your wrist and arm stress.
- 【Non-Slip Rubber Bottom】Featuring an anti-skid silicone base on the bottom, this wrist keyboard support stays firmly in place on your desk, preventing the padding from sliding around, ensuring stable and consistent wrist support during extended computer sessions.
- 【Better Experience & Pain Relief】Our keyboard arm rest is beneficial to alleviate the soreness caused by direct contact and friction between your arm and a hard desk surface, reducing the risk of wrist fatigue or carpal tunnel. The soft texture of memory foam can evenly distribute the pressure around your wrists and provide good support with just enough give.
- 【Helpful in Multiple Scenarios】Whether you're working, studying, writing, typing, gaming, this keyboard and mouse rest combo is an essential accessory to add comfort and support to your hands and wrists. It’s also a great gift for men, women, family, friend, coworker, gamer, teacher, etc.
| Game or service | Documented traffic | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Valheim on the Steam backend | UDP 2456–2457 by default | Iron Gate’s dedicated-server guidance; the server needs direct Internet access. |
| Valheim on Crossplay | Relay backend; port still identifies a server when needed | Router port forwarding is not required for relayed traffic. |
| Palworld | UDP 8211 by default | Pocketpair’s documented default game port; retain any additional ports required by enabled features. |
| Steam game traffic | UDP remote ports 27000–27250 are listed by Steam Support | The exact ports depend on the individual title; do not open the entire range without confirming that the server uses it. |
Provider security-group rule
- Open the VPS dashboard’s networking, firewall or security-group page.
- Add an inbound rule for each documented game port and protocol. Use the narrowest source range practical; game traffic may need to allow players from the Internet, while RDP should be limited to trusted addresses.
- Keep the rule description specific, such as “Valheim game UDP 2456-2457,” so another administrator can audit it.
- Save the rule and confirm that it is attached to the correct VPS interface.
Windows Firewall rule
- Open Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security.
- Select Inbound Rules, choose New Rule, select Port, choose UDP (or TCP only when the game’s documentation requires it), and enter the exact port or range.
- Select Allow the connection only for the network profiles the VPS uses, then give the rule a descriptive name.
- Repeat for each required game, query or RCON port. Keep RDP in a separate rule restricted to trusted sources.
- After the server is running, disable unused rules and remove temporary test exceptions.
Valheim: Windows dedicated-server path
Iron Gate describes a dedicated server as a way to provide a persistent world that friends can join at any time. The Steam backend uses UDP 2456–2457 by default and requires direct Internet access.
- Install Valheim’s Dedicated Server tool through the Steam client or the distribution method in the official guide.
- Copy the supplied Windows
start_headless_server.batworkflow to a permanent server directory rather than running it from a temporary Steam folder. - Edit the script’s documented values for server name, world/save name, password, public visibility and any backend or port options. Keep the password compliant with the game’s rules.
- Choose the Steam backend when you want direct Internet connectivity and have opened UDP 2456–2457 in both firewall layers. Choose Crossplay when its relay behavior and supported player platforms better match your group.
- Run the script interactively and watch the console for the message that the world has finished loading. Stop it through the script or console command so the world is saved cleanly.
- Once the settings work, run the script through a restart-capable service or scheduled task and back up the world directory while the process is stopped.
Palworld: Windows SteamCMD path
Pocketpair documents Windows Steam client and Windows SteamCMD deployment, as well as Linux and Docker alternatives. On Windows, the dedicated server is launched with PalServer.exe. UDP 8211 is the default game port.
- Install SteamCMD in a permanent directory and download Palworld’s dedicated-server package using the app identifier and commands in Pocketpair’s current deployment documentation.
- Run
PalServer.exeonce from the installation directory to generate its configuration and save folders. - Set the server name, world/save name, password, player limit, public visibility and any documented startup flags. Keep the save directory on the persistent SSD volume.
- Allow UDP 8211 in the provider firewall and Windows Firewall. Add other ports only when the enabled feature or current documentation requires them.
- Confirm that the process remains running after the initial world load, then stop it cleanly before copying saves for a backup.
- After validation, place the executable and its arguments under a restart policy or service wrapper. Record the exact working directory; launching from a different directory can create a second, apparently empty save.
Run the server continuously
A command window left open in an RDP session is not an operations plan. If the session closes, the process may stop; if the process crashes, nobody may notice. Use one of these approaches supported by your Windows environment and the game’s documentation:
Best Value
- 【No Drill Mounted】Cable management tray can be assembled in as little as 3 minutes or less-simply. Side clips easily clampe the edge of desk, pass through the holes on the sides, and secure excess cables with baskets. Desk cable management supports inward or outward installation to meet your needs in different scenarios, and provides you with great convenience when collecting and organizing wires.
- 【Rubber Pad Protects Desk】Wire organizer under desk built-in soft rubber pads on the clamp protect your desk from scratches, so you will not damage your furniture or office.
- 【Sturdy and Beautiful】Cord management under desk is made of high-quality carbon steel and holds about 15 lbs. The wire basket has 2 holes on each side of the tray to enable your cables to pass freely. Cable baskets are suitable for desk thickness use from 0.4" to 2.4".
- 【Space Saving & Keep Organized】Desk cable management tray holds all your power cords, outlet strips, USB hubs and computer transformers hidden from your feet, and the data cables will not enter the vacuum cleaner to keep your desk clean and tidy. Desk wire organizer is also suitable for use in the kitchen and outdoors.
- 【Reduce Safety Risks】Cable tray under desk keeps all plugs away from your kids, no more worry about tripping. Using 2 holes wire tray saves extra space, helps you easily cabling and wire protection. The mesh design is not easy to accumulate dust, but avoids safety accidents caused by messy wires.
- Scheduled task: Start the server at boot with a specified working directory and a service account. Configure restart-on-failure behavior where available.
- Service wrapper: Run the executable as a Windows service with automatic startup and restart delays. Ensure the wrapper preserves the game’s save and log paths.
- Provider startup/recovery: Combine the server’s restart policy with VPS automatic reboot or recovery features, but test the order in which Windows, storage and the game start.
Do not run multiple copies against the same world. A duplicate process can lock files, split players between worlds or corrupt saves.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Test reachability without guessing
- On the VPS, confirm that the server process is running and listening on the configured local port. Windows tools such as Resource Monitor or PowerShell can show listening endpoints; the result must match the game’s protocol and port.
- In the provider dashboard, verify that the security-group rule is attached to the correct interface and has not been superseded by a higher-priority deny rule.
- In Windows Firewall, verify that the enabled inbound rule uses the same protocol, port and network profile.
- From a player outside the VPS network, connect using the public address and the game’s documented port or server browser. Testing from the VPS itself does not prove Internet reachability.
- If the connection fails, change one layer at a time and inspect the server log. Do not leave a broad temporary firewall opening in place after testing.
Only describe a server as reachable after an external player has connected successfully. A listening socket alone proves that the process opened a port; it does not prove that upstream filtering, Windows Firewall and the game’s discovery service are all correct.
Backups, updates and recovery
Back up the right data
Back up the world, player and configuration directories identified by the game’s documentation. Keep copies outside the live VPS disk, such as provider backup storage or another controlled location. A snapshot of the entire VPS is useful for rapid rollback, but it should not be your only copy of a changing world.
Use a clean-save procedure
- Announce maintenance to players and stop the server using its normal shutdown command or script.
- Wait for the process to exit and confirm that no server process still holds the save files.
- Copy or snapshot the world and configuration data, then verify that the backup contains recent timestamps and a plausible size.
- Apply Windows or server updates.
- Start the server and inspect logs before allowing players back in.
Test restoration
Periodically restore a copy to a separate directory or test VPS. Confirm that the world loads and that the documented startup command points to the restored save. A backup that has never been restored is an unverified assumption, not a recovery plan.
Monitor the limits that cause most outages
- Memory: Watch sustained usage and paging, especially after adding mods or increasing the player limit.
- CPU: Look for saturation during world generation, saves and peak joins. Persistent saturation usually requires reducing load or resizing the VPS.
- Disk space: Track world, log, update and backup growth. Set log retention before the disk reaches capacity.
- Disk latency: Slow saves can create lag and increase corruption risk; SSD performance matters for games that save frequently.
- Process health: Alert when the executable exits, the listening port disappears or the server stops producing logs.
- Network exposure: Review inbound rules after every change and remove ports no longer used.
Troubleshoot by symptom
The server starts but nobody can join
- Confirm that the process is listening on the expected port and protocol.
- Check the provider security group, then Windows Firewall, for a matching allow rule.
- Verify the public address and that the player is using the correct backend (Steam versus Crossplay, where applicable).
- Check whether the provider assigned a public address or placed the VPS behind an additional network layer.
Players connect, but the world is empty or reset
- Inspect the working directory and save path in the startup script.
- Ensure only one server instance is running.
- Restore the known-good save to a test directory and compare timestamps before deleting anything.
The server crashes or becomes unresponsive
- Check Windows Event Viewer and the game’s logs for missing runtimes, access errors or mod failures.
- Compare RAM and CPU use with the plan’s capacity; reduce player or mod load before resizing.
- Check free SSD space and storage latency.
- Roll back to the last restorable server and world backup, then reapply updates one at a time.
RDP is unavailable
- Use the provider’s web console or recovery console to inspect Windows and firewall changes.
- Check whether a recent rule change blocked your trusted address.
- Restore access before changing game ports; game connectivity does not help if administration is locked out.
Security checklist for a public server
- Use a unique administrator credential and restrict RDP to a VPN or trusted source addresses.
- Permit only documented game, query and RCON ports. Avoid broad “any port” rules.
- Patch Windows and the server software, taking a restorable world backup first.
- Store backups separately from the live VPS and verify a restore periodically.
- Monitor memory, CPU, disk space and log growth.
- Document the public address, ports, startup command, save path, administrator access method and recovery procedure for other trusted administrators.
- Review the provider’s DDoS controls, traffic limits, snapshot behavior and Windows licensing terms before choosing a plan.
When a Windows VPS is the right deployment
Windows is a practical choice when the game’s official server workflow, mods or administration tools are Windows-first, or when you want familiar RDP management. Linux can use fewer resources for some titles, but switching operating systems may remove a supported installer or complicate mod and monitoring workflows. Compare the actual game documentation, not operating-system stereotypes.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Choose a Windows VPS when you need a persistent public address, administrator access, SSD storage, provider firewall controls and optional snapshots. A managed game-server service can reduce routine administration, but confirm that it exposes the required ports, supports the game’s current server build, states Windows licensing clearly and explains backup and DDoS terms. For either model, keep your own verified world backup.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
