Run DayZ Server without the need of the DayZ Client

[MaxTheSurvivor 152]

Hi devs,

I'd like to move my test server 1.0.150192 (latest version at this time) into a pre-production environment now that my huge base building tests are finished and unlike the previous versions it hasn't crashed yet. I have a second steam account and I'd like to be able to run the DayZ Server without buying a second time the game since I'd like to install it on a VM on one of my esxi hosts.

The tests ran fine this time, they started on the 5th of January to this day and each time I made some major modifications to the base I made a backup of the "dayzOffline.chernarusplus" folder (backups available for you if you need them for analyzing how persistence behaves each time we add more stuff in). The test server is non-modded and I'd like to open the server to other players (only a few will be allowed in these final persistence test stages) so that they can mess around with persistence themselves and report to me the last actions they've done in case of a catastrophic crash.

The problem is that for the moment the servers can only be running on the same computer as the DayZ Client, in other words my gaming rig. This is not what I would call a controlled test environment since gaming computers usually have a lot of processes like LED software control and other bloatware that could cause crashes of the DayZ server without the latter being the culprit. This is too complex of an environment to run viable tests. And tbh I don't think people renting servers will have the patience to run tests that spread over several weeks and hundreds of hours of gaming potentially hunting nothing but rumors.

This kind of time-consuming tests should be offloaded to community members that want to give a hand by presenting you with precise data to analyze (like regular backups). I might be wrong but I haven't even seen a single thread talking of persistence, how to test it and how to run the server in a controlled environment (launch options, logs, CPU model, RAM, etc..) so that you guys have real life/production server pre-processed data to analyze instead of having you running multiple servers for hundreds of hours in hope that something interesting persistence related happens.

[G0ndalf 9]

Sorry i dont really get what your problem is :S i dunderstand that you want to hunt the problem with the persistence bug, but your topic kills my brain xD. You can surely run a DayZ Server without the normal DayZ client installed. I got so far a normal Survive Server a PvP Server and a Test Server for testing modifications or simply mission changes. That what i have seen so far was that the Main Server crashed after we build our base on it, before was not a single crash. Just get a hoster that you want (If you not got a own Server at home/datacenter) and transfer your Server data to it (in the mpmissions the storage_1 folder, steam itself would be nice if you dont got that much upload on your own so you can download the Server itself on the new mashine, port forwarding and the mission wich contains the "database").

Also i have never seen a Dev writing in this section, only a Mod, so if you really want to help them like me write them at https://feedback.dayz.com

Greetz

G0ndalf

 

btw i dont understand why they dont use sql like in the mod, if anything happens it got saved to the database the service was it own and never ever crashed for us in the mod time, never had the issues that we have today. (and it was a REAL database not some binarys that get corrupted very easely)

Edited January 23, 2019 by G0ndalf
Enter some informations here

[Uncle Zed 272]

Yeah, you don't need the DayZ SA client to be on the server. I rent a VPS and I just installed the DayZ SA server onto the VPS. No client required.

[mrwolv 46]

you dont need steam to run a dayz server  it will run without steam

[G0ndalf 9]

Sure it runs without i just mean if he got not much upload to load the server from his home pc on the server it would a better idea to load it from steam on the server ^^ 

[MaxTheSurvivor 152]

Thanks for all your replies guys. OK, I haven't seen any documentation telling me that I could run the server without the DayZ Client. I'll try that today see if I can make it work. Beans for you all

[MaxTheSurvivor 152]

The server is up and running, thanks for your help. I wasn't sure I could simply move the files to the server without having the client installed. Time to add the NAT and firewall rules and it'll be good to go. Thumbs up guys

[g4borg 74]

Actually I am pretty sure documentations mention that fact, but I would have to revisit those which I used to install.

they definitely mention, that you cannot use an anonymous account to download DayZ Server (which has its own ID on steam), you have to use a steam account. You do not need to buy anything tho. (Other Servers, like Ark, e.g. allow anonymous download)

Exception are mods, which you have to download with the client, and upload them manually to the server (which is unfortunate, as this could also be automated otherwise)

And as others have noted, technically you can run the server without steam, however I for one would use at least a steamcmd installation, and a dedicated empty steam user for your server, to make it easier to upgrade your server binaries.

Good luck.

 

Edit: Maybe this sentence made you ask yourself:

Quote

Due to a small issue right now you only have access to the files if you own a copy of DayZ. This will be fixed soon.

however this is dated. it definitely works without owning the client, and also back then it just meant, you have to have the client to download the files (not for using the server)

Edited January 24, 2019 by g4borg
bla

[MaxTheSurvivor 152]

1 hour ago, g4borg said:

Actually I am pretty sure documentations mention that fact, but I would have to revisit those which I used to install.

they definitely mention, that you cannot use an anonymous account to download DayZ Server (which has its own ID on steam), you have to use a steam account. You do not need to buy anything tho. (Other Servers, like Ark, e.g. allow anonymous download)

Exception are mods, which you have to download with the client, and upload them manually to the server (which is unfortunate, as this could also be automated otherwise)

And as others have noted, technically you can run the server without steam, however I for one would use at least a steamcmd installation, and a dedicated empty steam user for your server, to make it easier to upgrade your server binaries.

Good luck.

 

Edit: Maybe this sentence made you ask yourself:

however this is dated. it definitely works without owning the client, and also back then it just meant, you have to have the client to download the files (not for using the server)

Yep that's this sentence that put the doubt in my mind, I understood it as "You have to have DayZ Client on the same computer in order to run the server", basically forcing people to run the server on their gaming computer. But I was wrong and now I can leave the server running 24/7 on my virtualization servers. I wasn't sure we were allowed to run the server "outside" of steam and feared a BattleEye ban but the above comments clarified this for me.

[philippj 103]

You can download the DayZ server package using any Steam account you like. Anonymous downloads have been disabled. 

The game client doesnt need to be present on the system the server is being run on.