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Running Multiple Server Instances on Windows Server 2016

Tags: windows, multi-instance, automation, hosting

You can host several 7DTD worlds on one Windows server as long as ports and folders are isolated.

Folder and config layout

  • Create a root folder per instance (e.g., D:/7dtd/alpha1, D:/7dtd/alpha2).
  • Copy the server files into each and give each instance its own serverconfig.xml and serveradmin.xml.
  • Point SaveGameFolder to separate paths to avoid cross-contamination.

Ports

  • Change ServerPort and the two companion ports (default 26900–26902) per instance: e.g., 26910–26912 for the second server.
  • Adjust firewall rules for each port set.

Services

  • Use NSSM or built-in Task Scheduler to run each instance as a service with auto-restart.
  • Name services clearly and set delayed start so they don’t all boot at once.

Resource planning

  • Budget one strong core and ~2–3 GB RAM per lightly populated server; more if heavily modded.
  • Stagger backups so they don’t overlap and saturate disk I/O.

Maintenance

  • Update instances one at a time and verify mods per server.
  • Keep a changelog per instance so you know which worlds run which mods and settings.