Finally we found a way to run a bedrock server for ps4 players that is pretty stable. We had zero rollbacks since the beginning of the server, and it is running for a few months already.
Just sharing with those that are interested in running 24/7 servers not in their PS4.
Previously we run a world for months in a ps4 always on, it was quite painful to keep it running (restarts when crashing), the ps4 didn't manage to let us explore beyond a 2000 block square, we had frequent rollbacks which was the most frustrating part for players, and to not risk completely loosing the world we had to backup multiple times a day the 1GB file of the world via the PS4 menus, which was more laborious and stressful than I was happy with.
The solution we use now is to run a Dedicated Bedrock Server in the cloud, there are services you can purchase online that offer those server with seamless setup, or if you are a tech person you can assemble your own server, which is what I did.
In order to players to join they have to use a PC running in the same network their PS4 running the phantom program that is a proxy from your LAN to the server, so that the PS4 connects to the server thinking it is a LAN game.
(phantom project page: https://github.com/jhead/phantom)
The main drawback is that you cannot export your worlds out of PS4 since it is encrypted with your PSN user keys. There are paid programs that are meant to de-encrypt the game saves for you, but I didn't test them.
In my solution I run a Digital Ocean instance with 4 shared CPUs in NY. The lag isn't great, it is ok until you have 4 or more players, or if you have a chunk loaded with a lot of villagers. I will test other cloud suppliers in search for the least lag.
Finally we found a way to run a bedrock server for ps4 players that is pretty stable. We had zero rollbacks since the beginning of the server, and it is running for a few months already.
Just sharing with those that are interested in running 24/7 servers not in their PS4.
Previously we run a world for months in a ps4 always on, it was quite painful to keep it running (restarts when crashing), the ps4 didn't manage to let us explore beyond a 2000 block square, we had frequent rollbacks which was the most frustrating part for players, and to not risk completely loosing the world we had to backup multiple times a day the 1GB file of the world via the PS4 menus, which was more laborious and stressful than I was happy with.
The solution we use now is to run a Dedicated Bedrock Server in the cloud, there are services you can purchase online that offer those server with seamless setup, or if you are a tech person you can assemble your own server, which is what I did.
In order to players to join they have to use a PC running in the same network their PS4 running the phantom program that is a proxy from your LAN to the server, so that the PS4 connects to the server thinking it is a LAN game.
(phantom project page: https://github.com/jhead/phantom)
The main drawback is that you cannot export your worlds out of PS4 since it is encrypted with your PSN user keys. There are paid programs that are meant to de-encrypt the game saves for you, but I didn't test them.
In my solution I run a Digital Ocean instance with 4 shared CPUs in NY. The lag isn't great, it is ok until you have 4 or more players, or if you have a chunk loaded with a lot of villagers. I will test other cloud suppliers in search for the least lag.
Feel free to ask questions.