ARK: Survival Ascended rarely drops below 12 GB of RAM on a dedicated server, even when empty, and the first start can stay silent for several dozen minutes while downloading. At the end, you have a named ASA server, protected by an administrator password, visible on the expected ports and reachable from the Steam client. The admin field is not decorative: without it, the server refuses to start correctly.
Preparing an ARK ASA server with 12 GB minimum
ARK: Survival Ascended uses more than most game servers. The realistic threshold starts at 12 GB of RAM for an official map like TheIsland_WP, without mods and with a few players connected. At 8 GB, the server may seem to start. Then the process crashes while loading assets or during a save. You are looking at the ports. The problem is memory.
Disk space matters just as much during installation. The Steam server application, identified by 2430930, quickly goes past 80 GB after download and validation. Keep 120 GB free if you plan to use CurseForge mods, backups, and two fallback archives. A single map save can go from 200 MB to several GB after a few weeks of play.
| Usage | RAM | Players | Limit to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private test, official map | 12 GB | 1 to 10 | Memory spikes on the first area load. |
| Light community, no heavy mods | 16 GB | 10 to 25 | Saves take longer after 20 players. |
| Mods, events, active map | 24 GB or more | 25 to 50 | The CPU bottlenecks before RAM on loaded bases. |
Open the ports before concluding it is an ASA bug: 7777 in UDP for server traffic, 7778 in UDP for the next pair port, 27015 in UDP for the Steam query, and 27020 in TCP if you enable RCON. A closed firewall looks like a stopped server. The browser finds nothing, then the connection ends in a timeout.
Install ARK ASA with SteamCMD or a server panel
Install SteamCMD on a 64 bit machine, then target a directory reserved for ASA. Do not share this folder with another game. Steam validations can overwrite files, and you do not want to find out at 22 h which binary just disappeared.
steamcmd +force_install_dir /srv/asa +login anonymous +app_update 2430930 validate +quit- force_install_dir /srv/asa sets the target folder. Change it if your data volume is mounted elsewhere, for example on a 200 GB disk. A path in the home folder works, but it makes systemd services and backups more complicated.
- login anonymous uses the public dedicated server download. A personal Steam account is not needed for this appid in the normal case.
- app_update 2430930 validate downloads ASA then checks the files. Validation makes installation longer, but it avoids a startup crash caused by an incomplete file.
- quit closes SteamCMD. Without this option, the console stays open and an installation script waits indefinitely.
The first download often takes 20 to 60 minutes on a 100 Mbps line. During that wait, port 27015 does not respond, the server process does not exist yet, and the Steam browser cannot show any entry. Test only when SteamCMD returns control.
At Starmine, the panel avoids manual SteamCMD installation, generates the required administrator password, keeps the ports aligned and launches the first validation without an SSH session.
Configure the map, the name and the admin password
The administrator password really blocks startup if it is missing. ASA expects a value for ServerAdminPassword at launch. If the field stays empty, the server does not complete its sequence properly and you lose an hour on NAT while the startup command is at fault. Use at least 12 characters, with no space at the start or end, then store it in your password manager.
The most common official starting map is still TheIsland_WP. Keep it for the first launch. A modified map adds a download, uses more memory, and creates a second failure path. When TheIsland_WP accepts a connection, you change map with a reliable comparison point.
The startup line follows a precise order. Map options come first, the parameters separated by question marks follow, then the options preceded by a hyphen. A minimal example looks like ?listen?SessionName=Tribu?ServerAdminPassword=ChangezMoi123?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015. SessionName is the name displayed in the list. Port sets player traffic in UDP. QueryPort sets Steam discovery. WinLiveMaxPlayers limits connections, with 20 as a sane value for 12 to 16 GB of RAM.
The persistent settings then live in GameUserSettings.ini, in the Saved/Config tree. Do not change everything before the first connection. Change the name, the number of players, and the admin password. Leave the harvesting, taming, and experience multipliers at 1.0 at the start. When a new server breaks, three modified lines are quick to review. Thirty lines copied from an old forum turn a simple test into a search.
Open the ports and check the first connection
An ASA server can run correctly and stay invisible. The cause often comes back to confusion between the game port and the query port. The client plays on 7777 in UDP. Steam looks for the server on 27015 in UDP. If you add the IP in Steam favorites with 7777, the list stays empty for many players. Add the address with 27015.
| Port | Protocol | Role | Useful test |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7777 | UDP | ASA player traffic | The client connects to it after discovery. |
| 7778 | UDP | Neighbor port used by the server | Open it with 7777 to avoid odd cases. |
| 27015 | UDP | Steam query | Address to add to Steam favorites. |
| 27020 | TCP | RCON if enabled | Close it if you do not use an administration tool. |
- Start the server and wait at least 5 minutes after the download finishes. On ASA, a cold start can take 3 to 8 minutes with 12 GB of RAM.
- Open Steam, then View, Game Servers, Favorites. Add IP:27015, not IP:7777.
- Launch ARK: Survival Ascended, filter on unofficial servers, then look for the SessionName set above.
- Connect once without mods. A successful entry must load the map, then create your character.
Check the log if the list stays empty. The file ShooterGame/Saved/Logs/ShooterGame.log must contain a line close to LogNet: GameNetDriver IpNetDriver_0 IpNetDriver listening on port 7777. This line confirms that the process is listening. It does not guarantee that your router, your Linux firewall, or your NAT rule lets UDP through from the Internet.
Fix common errors and roll back
Diagnose in this order: download, launch, network listening, player connection. Do not change three settings at once. You hide the failure and create a second error. Note the test time, the port tested, and the last 50 lines of the log. This information is often more useful than a server browser screenshot.
| Exact message | Probable cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| ERROR! Failed to install app '2430930' (No subscription) | SteamCMD is using an account that does not have access, or the Steam session is broken. | Restart with login anonymous and delete the old SteamCMD tokens if needed. |
| Error! App '2430930' state is 0x202 after update job. | Incomplete download, disk full, or network interruption during validation. | Free up at least 20 Go, restart validation, then restart the server. |
| LogNet: Warning: UNetConnection::Tick: Connection TIMED OUT. Closing connection. | The client is not reaching the server correctly, or UDP 7777 is blocked on the way back. | Check NAT, local firewall, host rule, and public IP address. |
| Unable to query server info for invite. | The Steam query port is not responding. | Test IP:27015 in Steam favorites and open 27015 in UDP. |
To undo a bad configuration, stop the server, restore the last known copy of the configuration file, then restart. If the issue happens right after an update, run a Steam validation before touching the map. Validation replaces the game files. It does not delete your world.
Delete ShooterGame\/Saved\/SavedArks\/ deletes the map progress, bases, dinos, items on the ground, and characters local to the server. Make a full backup before doing this.A clean reset is done with the server stopped. Rename the SavedArks folder to SavedArks.old, keep it for 7 days, then start on TheIsland_WP with the same 7777 port and the same QueryPort 27015. If the connection works on a new map, the issue comes from the save, a mod, or a setting, not from the ASA installation.
Guides
Why is my ARK ASA server still invisible after installation?
The first start can take several minutes after an 80 Go download or more. Then Steam discovery goes through UDP port 27015, not through player port 7777. Add the IP address with 27015 in Steam favorites.
Can I run an ARK Survival Ascended server with 8 Go of RAM?
For a very short test, sometimes yes. For a community, no, 12 Go is the realistic minimum, and 16 Go gives more room as soon as several players build in the same place. Below 12 Go, saves and area loads quickly trigger shutdowns.
Is the admin password only used for admin commands?
No. On ASA, the admin password setting must be defined at startup. It is then used for admin commands in game, but if it is missing, it can prevent the server from finishing startup.
Should mods be installed before the first connection?
Keep the first connection without mods. First validate SteamCMD, ports 7777 and 27015, the TheIsland_WP map, and the admin password. Then add the mods, one batch at a time, with a backup before each addition.