How to set up a Rust server: the wipe cycle and resource planning

A Rust server's resource profile differs from other survival games at one point: world size and the wipe cycle. Hardware chosen without planning those two falls short on the first busy evening.

World size decides everything

The +server.worldsize parameter directly determines both RAM and start-up time:

Map generation is a single-threaded operation; on the first boot the server does not accept connections. Interrupting the process produces a corrupted save.

The wipe cycle

In Rust the world is reset periodically. The longer the gap between wipes, the more structures are saved, and with them both RAM and save time grow. The practical consequence: a server that wipes weekly and one that wipes monthly need different hardware at the same player count.

If you are planning monthly wipes, pick RAM one step higher.

Installation

1. Install with the Ubuntu 22.04 template and download the Rust dedicated server with SteamCMD (app 258550).
2. Decide on the launch parameters:

./RustDedicated -batchmode +server.port 28015 \
  +server.identity "server1" +server.worldsize 3500 \
  +server.seed 12345 +server.maxplayers 100 \
  +rcon.port 28016 +rcon.password "STRONG_PASSWORD"

1. Open the ports: 28015 UDP (game), 28016 TCP (RCON), 28082 TCP (optional web panel).
2. Be very careful about exposing the RCON port — RCON is full control of your server. Where possible, allow only your own IP address.
3. If you are going to install Oxide/uMod plugins, start the server once cleanly and wait for the configuration files to be created.

Record your +server.seed

The seed and worldsize together determine the map. If you do not write both down somewhere, you cannot generate the same map again — and when a reinstall is needed players land in a completely different world.

CPU

Rust runs the world simulation largely on a single thread. On a 100-player server 6-8 vCPU is the practical upper bound; more than that gives no measurable gain. If FPS drops at peak hours, the answer is not adding cores but upgrading the processor family or reducing the plugin/entity load. The general logic of the calculation: how many vCPUs and how much RAM?

Storage

The Rust installation alone is 15-25 GB, and saves and backups accumulate according to the wipe cycle. 100 GB is the practical baseline; if you are planning monthly wipes and regular backups, 160 GB is more comfortable.

Next step

We have put the recommended plans by player count and the Rust-specific questions on one page: Rust server plans.