Porting from client-hosted to Dedicated Game Server (DGS)

Learn how to port your game from a client-hosted architecture to a Dedicated Game Server (DGS) architecture. This section provides guidance on the differences between client-hosted and DGS, the changes you need to make in your game, and considerations for hosting.

You might have started developing your game with client-hosted in mind but then realized it wasn’t giving you the performance, reliability, or security you wanted. There are multiple reasons for choosing both a dedicated game server (DGS) solution and a client-hosted solution. This section provides guidance around switching from a client-hosted game to a dedicated-server game in Unity using Netcode for GameObjects (NGO).

There are two distinct meanings of the word “host” that you must take care not to confuse: the NGO host and the hardware host.

• The NGO host is where both a client and a server run simultaneously. The hosting provider (the hardware host) runs your Unity server build.
• The hardware host (virtual or bare-metal) runs your Unity server build in a data center or hosting provider.

Topic	Description
Client-hosted vs DGS-hosted	Understand the key differences between client-hosted and DGS architectures, and learn how to adapt your game accordingly.
Game changes	A list of changes you need to make in your game when porting to DGS.
Optimizing server builds	Tips and tricks for optimizing your server builds to improve performance and reduce resource usage.
Hosting considerations	Important considerations for hosting your DGS, including server configuration, network settings, and deployment strategies.