Does a Knight Online server need Windows or Linux?

Windows is required. The Knight Online server processes are compiled for Windows and the database layer is Microsoft SQL Server; neither runs directly on Linux. You need to select a Windows template when ordering.

Is MSSQL Express enough?

It can be enough on small, newly opened servers, but two hard limits matter: the buffer pool is capped at roughly 1410 MB and the database at 10 GB. Once your player and inventory tables grow, adding RAM to the server fixes nothing because the limit is in the edition. Plan to move to a full edition beyond 200-300 concurrent players.

Which ports need to be open?

Only ports 15100 (login) and 15001 (game) need to face outward. Exposing MSSQL's port 1433 externally is a common and serious mistake; the database should accept local connections only. Port management and extra IP requests are handled from the customer panel.

Game servers

Knight Online Server Hosting

Unlike most games on this list, a Knight Online private server is built on Windows and Microsoft SQL Server. The server side consists of cooperating processes: Login handles logins, Ebenezer runs the game world, Aujard bridges the database and the game server, and AIServer processes creature behaviour. MSSQL rather than the game processes sits at the centre of resource planning: as the player, inventory and clan tables grow, database memory and storage latency become the deciding factors.

What is a Knight Online server?

A Knight Online private server hosts a persistent world where two races face each other, and it has a long-established player base in Türkiye. Like Metin2 the architecture is multi-component: the login server, game server and database run separately. What sets Knight Online apart is that its database runs on Microsoft SQL Server, which pulls the operating system choice towards Windows and affects both licensing and the resource plan. Resource needs are driven by concurrent players and by density in the war zones; during crowded siege moments CPU and the database are stressed at the same time, so storage latency shows up directly in gameplay at peak.

Recommended plan by player count

These values map one to one onto the VDS plan steps in our catalogue. Intermediate values can also be selected in the configurator.

Players	RAM	vCPU	Storage	Intel i9-10920XDDR4 · Value	Ryzen 9 7950XDDR5 · Performance	Note
1-200	8 GB	4	100 GB	₺1.550,00 / mo	₺2.080,00 / mo	Windows Server, MSSQL and all game processes on one machine. The typical starting point for newly opened private servers.
200-600	16 GB	8	200 GB	₺3.250,00 / mo	₺4.280,00 / mo	Growing player and inventory tables, an active Colony Zone and clan wars. The memory allocated to MSSQL is the real variable here.
600+	32 GB	12	300 GBmax 250 GB on this product	₺5.400,00 / mo	₺7.330,00 / mo	At this scale, moving MSSQL to a separate server and switching from Express to a full edition is more effective than growing resources on one machine.

The amounts in the table are the monthly net price of each processor option and match the calculation in the configurator. The value option uses DDR4 memory, the performance option DDR5. Billing period (3, 6, 12, 24, 36 months) and extra resources are calculated in the configurator. Some recommended values exceed this product's maximum, so the price is calculated from the configuration clamped to that limit; for higher resources, review the dedicated servers.

Prices exclude VAT (20%).

How to choose the hardware

Windows Server itself consumes a 2-3 GB baseline, and the MSSQL buffer pool sits on top of that. The game processes (Ebenezer, Aujard, AIServer, Login) total around 2-4 GB, so most of the memory planning goes to the database. A common trap here is the MSSQL Express edition: it caps the buffer pool at roughly 1410 MB and the database size at 10 GB. When your player table approaches that limit, the problem is the edition choice rather than the hardware. On storage, account for MSSQL data and log files growing separately; NVMe makes a clear difference to query latency.

Which processor family?

Most game servers run on a single thread, so per-core performance matters more than core count.

Intel i9-10920X

DDR4Value

The value option. 12 cores / 24 threads with DDR4. Because Knight Online's processes (Ebenezer, AIServer, Aujard) run separately and MSSQL uses its own thread pool, core count helps directly.

View plans

Ryzen 9 7950X

DDR5Performance

The performance option. Zen 4 with DDR5. MSSQL is sensitive to memory bandwidth, and query latency on large player and inventory tables depends directly on it. Clock speed also helps the single-threaded load on the Ebenezer side during busy event hours.

View plans

Setup steps

1Provision the server with a Windows Server template; the Knight Online server processes and MSSQL require Windows.
2Install MSSQL Server and check the edition limits up front; the Express edition caps the buffer pool at roughly 1410 MB and the database at 10 GB.
3Restore the databases and configure the ODBC/connection string that Aujard uses.
4Start the processes in order: MSSQL, then Aujard, then Ebenezer and AIServer, and Login last.
5Open ports 15100 (login) and 15001 (game); do NOT expose the MSSQL port (1433) externally, allow local connections only.
6Keep the server behind Fexwall and request a custom security profile matched to your attack profile.

Full step-by-step guide: how to set up a Knight Online server →

Common mistakes

Buying a Linux plan and only then noticing the MSSQL requirement. The database runs on Microsoft SQL Server, so decide the OS up front.
Sizing resources for the average player count. What decides is peak load during sieges and war events.
Ignoring storage latency. At peak, CPU and the database are stressed together, and that is where NVMe shows its difference.

Migrating from another provider

The order matters when moving a live server: back up the game files and the database on the old server, install the same version on the new one, import the database, then update the address your players connect to. Move the database last — if both servers stay online together for a while, player data splits in two and cannot be merged afterwards. Do not shut the old server down until the new one is verified.

If you get stuck on a step, open a support ticket; we help with the installation steps.

What is included at Datafex

Fexwall L3/L4 DDoS filtering is included free on every plan. That is the layer a game server needs; a CDN in front of HTTP does not protect the game's UDP traffic.

Every plan uses NVMe SSD. The database runs on the same machine as the game server, so storage latency turns directly into in-game stutter.

Servers are in Türkiye, at the DGN data centre in Bursa. Transit is 100 Gbps domestic and 10 Tbps international.

Setup completes automatically within minutes. Extra IPs, rDNS and firewall rules are managed from the customer panel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Configure your server

Pick the plan that matches your player count, choose the operating system and start provisioning within minutes.

Buy a virtual server All game servers

Other game servers

Games that run on the same infrastructure with comparable resource needs. Each page lists RAM, vCPU and storage guidance by player count.

Server hardware and the operating system are included; the game's server software and any game licence are NOT included — you obtain and install those yourself. Our guides walk through the setup.

Game names and logos are property of their respective owners. Datafex is not an official partner or authorised reseller of these games.