Pterodactyl gives you a powerful control panel for managing unlimited game servers with Docker isolation, automated backups, and resource controls, all hosted on Kamatera’s high-performance infrastructure, perfect for gaming workloads.
Standard web hosting isn’t enough for game-hosting businesses or private communities. By deploying the Pterodactyl panel on Kamatera’s enterprise-grade cloud, you get a stable, low-latency foundation built for the high-frequency demands of titles like Minecraft, Ark, and Rust. This ensures your community stays online and responsive, no matter how many players join.
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Frequently asked questions
Pterodactyl is a free, open-source game server management panel that provides a web interface for managing unlimited game servers. Think of it as a control panel similar to what game server hosting companies use, but you can run it yourself on your own infrastructure. It uses Docker containers to isolate each game server, provides resource management to prevent servers from impacting each other, includes automated backup systems, offers file management through a web interface, supports 200+ games out of the box, and features a permission system for granting controlled access to moderators and players.
Instead of managing game servers through SSH and command-line tools, Pterodactyl gives you an intuitive dashboard where you can start, stop, restart servers, view console output, edit configuration files, manage backups, and monitor resource usage—all through your web browser.
The hardware needs largely depend on the number and type of game servers you plan to run.
CPU: A minimum of two CPU cores is recommended, though four or more will boost performance, especially for resource-intensive games like large modded Minecraft servers.
RAM: At least 4 GB of RAM for the base system; 8 GB or more is better for larger setups or multiple servers. Each game server will require its own allocation of RAM, so plan accordingly.
Storage: A minimum of 10-32 GB of space is needed for the Pterodactyl installation itself, with significantly more required for game data and backups.
Network: A stable internet connection with sufficient bandwidth is essential. Ports 80, 443, 8080, 2022, and the specific ports for your game servers (e.g., 25565 for Minecraft) need to be open.
For more details, refer to the Pterodactyl installation guide.
Moderate Linux experience is helpful. Installation involves setting up a web server (NGINX or Apache), installing dependencies like PHP and MySQL, configuring Docker, and following Pterodactyl’s installation script.
If you’re comfortable with SSH, running commands, and editing configuration files, you can get Pterodactyl running. Many users successfully install Pterodactyl as their first self-hosted panel, though it takes 1-3 hours including setup and configuration. Once installed, day-to-day management through the web interface requires no technical skills—it’s designed for gamers, not system administrators.
This depends entirely on your server resources and what games you’re hosting. A modestly powerful server with 8GB RAM might run 3-5 Minecraft servers with 20 players each, or 1-2 heavily modded servers, or 10+ lightweight servers for games like Terraria. Resource-intensive games like ARK or Rust require significantly more RAM and CPU per server.
Start by researching your specific game’s requirements, then size your server accordingly. You can always start smaller and scale up, or add additional Kamatera servers as nodes to distribute game servers across more hardware.
Yes, this is one of Pterodactyl’s key features. The panel runs on one server (called the “panel node”) while game servers can run on the panel node or additional “wings” nodes. Deploy a Kamatera server to run the Pterodactyl panel, then add more Kamatera servers as wings nodes where game servers actually run. This architecture lets you scale horizontally—add more servers as you need more capacity. You can also distribute servers geographically, running wings nodes in different data centers for regional game server hosting.
Our 30-day free trial includes one server worth up to $100. You can set up your free VPS server, install an operating system, and select a location from one of our 20+ data centers worldwide.
If you choose monthly billing, you will receive your first invoice the month after the free trial expires. For example, if you start your free trial on November 20, the free trial will be until December 20. If you choose to continue using our services and don’t terminate your server, your first invoice will be sent out after January 1. That invoice will include a prorated charge for December 20-31, as well as the month of January.
We provide 24/7 technical support from real human experts. Whether you have a question about your cloud instance or need assistance with your network configuration, our team is always available to help.
Our flexible monthly and hourly pricing models allow you to keep your costs under control. If you choose an hourly server, we bill for the resources you use. You’re only charged for the time your server is running. You can see real-time usage in your dashboard, and there are no surprise charges or hidden fees.