Project Zomboid Dedicated Server on an Arm64 Server using FEX-Emu

[Punkxbass]

Hello everyone,

First of all, I understand that this is primarily the FEX-Emu GitHub repository and might not be the most specialized place to troubleshoot Project Zomboid dedicated server issues. However, since I'm using FEX-Emu to run it, I thought this would be a relevant place to post. If anyone could review the steps I've taken and offer assistance in resolving my problem, it would be incredibly appreciated.

Thank you for your understanding and assistance. Let's get started!

Here are the details about how I installed Project Zomboid Dedicated Server on an ARM64 Linux Server, specifically on an Oracle's Ampere VM.Standard.A1.Flex shape (4 cores, 24GB RAM) server, using FEX-Emu:

Machine: Oracle Ampere VM.Standard.A1.Flex
Shape: 4 cores, 24GB memory, standard boot volume
OS: Ubuntu 22.04

I SSH'd in as ubuntu, using the .ppk file generated with PuTTYgen, and executed the following commands:

sudo su
iptables -I INPUT -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 16261 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 16261 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 16262 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 16262 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables-save > /etc/iptables/rules.v4
sudo systemctl restart iptables
sudo ufw disable
apt update && apt upgrade
reboot

sudo su
apt-get install git cmake ninja-build pkg-config ccache clang llvm lld binfmt-support libsdl2-dev libepoxy-dev libssl-dev python-setuptools g++-x86-64-linux-gnu nasm python3-clang libstdc++-10-dev-i386-cross libstdc++-10-dev-amd64-cross libstdc++-10-dev-arm64-cross squashfs-tools squashfuse libc-bin expect curl sudo fuse wget
useradd -m -s /bin/bash fex
usermod -aG sudo fex
echo "fex ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL" >> /etc/sudoers.d/fex
exit

sudo su - fex
git clone --recurse-submodules [https://github.com/FEX-Emu/FEX.git](https://github.com/FEX-Emu/FEX.git)
cd FEX && mkdir Build && cd Build
cd
sudo apt install qtbase5-dev qtdeclarative5-dev qttools5-dev-tools libqt5svg5-dev
cd ~/FEX/Build
CC=clang CXX=clang++ cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DUSE_LINKER=lld -DENABLE_LTO=True -DBUILD_TESTS=False -DENABLE_ASSERTIONS=False -G Ninja ..
ninja
exit

sudo su
cd /home/fex/FEX/Build
ninja install
ninja binfmt_misc
useradd -m -s /bin/bash steam
echo 'root:steamcmd' | chpasswd
exit

exit
sudo usermod -aG steam ubuntu
sudo apt install acl
sudo setfacl -b /home/steam

sudo su - steam
mkdir -p ~/.fex-emu/RootFS && cd ~/.fex-emu/RootFS
wget -O Ubuntu_22_04.tar.gz [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/16mhn3jrwvzapdw50gt20/Ubuntu_22_04.tar.gz?rlkey=4m256iahwtcijkpzcv8abn7nf](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/16mhn3jrwvzapdw50gt20/Ubuntu_22_04.tar.gz?rlkey=4m256iahwtcijkpzcv8abn7nf)
tar xzf Ubuntu_22_04.tar.gz && rm Ubuntu_22_04.tar.gz
cd ~/.fex-emu
echo '{"Config":{"RootFS":"Ubuntu_22_04"}}' > ./Config.json
mkdir ~/Steam && cd ~/Steam
curl -sqL "[https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz](https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz)" | tar zxvf -

FEXBash ./steamcmd.sh
force_install_dir /home/steam/pz
login anonymous
app_update 380870 validate
quit

cd ~/pz
FEXBash "./start-server.sh -servername Panitas.V3" # -servername is to select the name of the .ini file to be used, Panitas.V3 is the name of the server I had set up to use mods.

These were all the steps I followed (with the exception of the modification of the ProjectZomboid64.json file, explained at the end of this post).

**Note:** Some parts of the commands I've executed or configurations I've modified were "reviewed or corrected" by AI (Gemini, ChatGPT, DeepSeek). Before attempting to set up this server, I had absolutely no prior experience with these tasks. I apologize in advance if anything I've done is incorrect or causes offense.

Scenario 1: NO MODS

Most of the time, I can successfully run a server with NO MODS. However, I occasionally encounter errors that prevent the server from running. The most common errors are:

"A fatal error has been detected by the Java Runtime Environment: SIGSEGV (0xb) at pc=0x00007ffff7926638, pid=16491, tid=16491": This error indicates a segmentation fault (SIGSEGV) in the libc.so.6 library during the execution of the Project Zomboid server with FEX-Emu. It signals an unauthorized memory access issue. When this error occurs, the server's loading crashes.

"ERROR: ld.so: object 'libjsig.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (cannot open shared object file): ignored.": This repeated error indicates that the libjsig.so library specified in LD_PRELOAD is either not found or cannot be loaded. (This error is ignored most of the time, but I'm wondering how to resolve it.)

Scenario 2: WITH MODS

When I try to run the Dedicated Server WITH MODS, it usually crashes with the following error:

# SIGSEGV (0xb) at pc=0x00007ffff7926638, pid=16491, tid=16491
#
# JRE version: OpenJDK Runtime Environment (17.0.5+8) (build 17.0.5+8)
# Java VM: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (17.0.5+8, mixed mode, sharing, tiered, compressed oops, compressed class ptrs)
# Problematic frame:
# C [libc.so.6+0x106638]
#
# No core dump will be written. Core dumps may be disabled by OS configuration or limited by ulimit.
#
# An error report file with more information is saved as:
# /home/steam/pz/hs_err_pid*.log

When it manages to continue, it usually freezes during the server loading files stage, or it freezes after loading all the files (it takes 20+ minutes to become available). When a player tries to connect, the screen goes black (on the player's side), the server stops responding, and no player can connect (from another Project Zomboid client).

I've modified the amount of available memory and tried routing some Java libraries manually, but it didn't resolve the problem.

These are the .ini config file of the server, the ProjectZomboid64.json config, and the .log file for the last time I tried to run the server.

Panitas.V3.ini.txt
27-02-25_15-57-53_DebugLog-server.log.txt
ProjectZomboid64.json

[Punkxbass]

Hey guys! I figured out how to solve the issue! I was importing the files incorrectly from my local server to the VPS. Here are the steps I followed, and now it's running stably with approximately 200 mods and 4 players at the same time (current max config is for 6 players).

These steps should be followed after the ones I provided:

Additional steps to import an existing server to Oracle Cloud:

Inside the VPS console, start a new server with the desired name (using the console, add this at the end of the script: -servername NameOfYourServer.ini). Once it is running, join the server with a player to verify its functionality.

Close the server, edit the .ini file on the VPS, and add the mod IDs (previously verified manually). Start the server again, ensure that at least one player joins to verify functionality, then exit and shut it down once more.

Compress the following folders located inside the Zomboid folder on the local server:

C:\Users\UserName\Zomboid\db
C:\Users\UserName\Zomboid\Saves\Multiplayer\ServerName
C:\Users\UserName\Zomboid\Server\

Edit the .ini file on the VPS and add the necessary configurations to match those of the local server.

Upload the previously compressed file to the VPS and extract it into the corresponding directories on the cloud server, replacing the existing files.

With these additional steps, it's now working perfectly.

Note: The error loading 'libjsig.so' has not yet been resolved.

Good luck, guys! If you have any questions or issues, I'll be keeping an eye 🚀