Swarm Host Compatibility¶
Swarm Hosts uses a small agent on a machine you control. Linux and Windows agents expose the same user-facing host and Swarm Server features. Platform differences are limited to runtime, service, filesystem, firewall, and network integration.
Recommended platforms¶
| Platform | Current support | Container runtime | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu LTS | Recommended | Docker Engine or rootful Podman | Smoothest installation and game-hosting path |
| Debian stable | Supported | Docker Engine or rootful Podman | Suitable for normal game hosting |
| Fedora and RHEL-compatible Linux | Supported with extra setup possible | Docker Engine or rootful Podman | Package names, firewall rules, and SELinux may need host-specific attention |
| Other Linux distributions | Best effort | A working Docker or Podman runtime | Install prerequisites manually when automatic package setup is unavailable; the installer requires systemd |
| Windows 10/11 | Supported | Docker Desktop in Linux-container mode | The Windows service account must be able to reach Docker |
| Windows Server | Not supported | — | Docker Desktop is not a Windows Server runtime |
| macOS | Not supported | — | Use a Linux host instead |
Feature overview¶
| Capability | Linux | Windows 10/11 |
|---|---|---|
| Register, heartbeat, health, and capacity | Supported | Supported |
| Start, stop, restart, update, and delete Swarm Servers | Supported | Supported when Docker is ready and service-visible |
| Image pulls and runtime storage management | Supported | Supported when Docker is ready and service-visible |
| Logs, files, backups, and restores | Supported | Supported when the data path and Docker runtime are reachable |
| Online consistent backup capture | Supported; reflink or staged-copy path | Supported through the shared Linux-container capture path |
| File gateway and browser file transfer | Supported | Supported when the host reports the required capability |
| Monitoring and storage inventory | Supported | Supported |
| Local storage location discovery and managed selection | Local mounted filesystems; symlinks and network filesystems rejected | Fixed/removable drives; junctions, UNC, and network drives rejected |
| Direct TCP and UDP ports | Supported | Requires compatible Windows Firewall and Docker port publishing |
| Public endpoint observation | Supported | Supported; UDP observation needs elevated raw-socket access |
| Managed relay routing | Supported when required networking tools are ready | Requires Docker Desktop in Linux-container mode and a ready routing helper |
| Agent updates and redacted support diagnostics | Supported | Supported |
| Diagnose Server inode-capacity evidence | Supported | Not applicable (Windows filesystems do not expose POSIX inode capacity) |
The web app reports both feature support and current availability. A supported feature can temporarily be unavailable when Docker is stopped, a data path is inaccessible, storage is full, a firewall prerequisite is missing, or the service account lacks a required permission. A host can remain registered and online while a workload capability is blocked; resolve the warning before launching a game that depends on it.
Games that require a consistent point in time use a portable online capture: the agent briefly pauses the container, stages declared game data, resumes the game, and compresses the backup afterward. ZFS is not required. Clone-capable filesystems shorten the pause; other filesystems use a bounded copy and retain a disclosed restart fallback. The same capture process applies to Windows Docker Desktop in Linux-container mode.
Public agent downloads and game images must also support the host's CPU architecture. Distribution detection alone does not establish compatibility.
Linux runtime notes¶
- Automatic selection prefers ready Docker, then falls back to ready Podman on Linux.
- Rootful Podman can be selected explicitly with the agent runtime setting.
- Rootless Podman has additional networking, port, user-service, and file ownership constraints and is not the recommended first setup.
- The default Swarm Server data root is
/var/swarm/deployments.
For installation, use Get Started: Install a Swarm Host. For a credential-safe service check, use Linux Agent Recovery.
Windows runtime notes¶
Before launching a game:
- start Docker Desktop;
- confirm Docker is using Linux containers;
- confirm the Swarm Hosts Windows service can reach Docker; and
- open the Swarm Host page and resolve any runtime or firewall warning.
The default Swarm Server data root is
C:\ProgramData\SwarmHosts\deployments. See the
Windows Agent guide for installation, diagnostics, updates,
rollback, and uninstall.
Choosing a host¶
For the smoothest first Swarm Server, use a currently supported Ubuntu or Debian machine with Docker, enough free disk, and a stable wired network connection. Windows 10/11 is also supported when Docker Desktop is running Linux containers and is reachable by the installed service. Check the selected game's guide for minimum CPU, memory, storage, and protocol requirements.