Automated Game Server Deployment and Scaling with GameLift

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To create an automated game server deployment and scaling setup using Amazon GameLift, you will need to define infrastructure that includes a build or a script that contains your game server binaries, a fleet to deploy game servers, and potentially an alias and scaling policies to manage the fleet capacity.

Below is a Pulumi program written in Python that illustrates how you can achieve this. We will create a GameLift build, followed by a fleet, which includes auto-scaling policies, and then an alias for the fleet to make it easily accessible.

Here's an overview of the resources we will use:

- `aws.gamelift.Build`: This resource allows you to upload your game server build to GameLift. It contains your game binaries and tells GameLift how to launch server processes. For this example, we will assume that the build has already been uploaded to an S3 bucket and provide GameLift with the necessary access details.
- `aws.gamelift.Fleet`: This resource defines a set of EC2 instances on which to deploy game servers based on the build or script that we previously defined. Here, we can specify configurations like instance type and fleet type.
- `aws.gamelift.Alias`: Once the fleet is active, you can create an alias pointing to the fleet, which can be used in place of fleet IDs. Using an alias allows you to swap the fleet without updating the client or other services.

Before running this Pulumi program, make sure that the AWS credentials and Pulumi are set up correctly on your machine.

```python
import pulumi
import pulumi_aws as aws

# Assume an S3 bucket and game build are already created and setup with an IAM role to access the build objects.
# The below are placeholder values for the bucket name, build object key, and IAM role ARN.
s3_bucket_name = "my-game-builds-bucket"
build_object_key = "MyGameBuild.zip"
role_arn = "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/GameLiftAccess"

# GameLift Build defined using an existing build file in S3
game_build = aws.gamelift.Build("game-build",
    name="MyGameBuild",
    operating_system="WINDOWS_2012",
    storage_location={
        "bucket": s3_bucket_name,
        "key": build_object_key,
        "role_arn": role_arn,
    },
    version="0.1"
)

# GameLift Fleet defined using the Build
fleet = aws.gamelift.Fleet("game-fleet",
    build_id=game_build.id,
    ec2_instance_type="c5.large",
    name="MyGameFleet",
    fleet_type="ON_DEMAND",
    runtime_configuration={
        "server_processes": [{
            "concurrent_executions": 1,
            "launch_path": "C:\game\MyGameServer.exe"
        }]
    },
    # Assuming you have defined your own inbound permissions for game clients to connect to the server
    ec2_inbound_permissions=[{
        "from_port": 7777,
        "to_port": 7777,
        "ip_range": "0.0.0.0/0",
        "protocol": "TCP"
    }]
)

# Alias for the Fleet
alias = aws.gamelift.Alias("game-fleet-alias",
    name="MyGameFleetAlias",
    description="Alias for MyGameFleet",
    routing_strategy={
        "type": "SIMPLE",
        "fleet_id": fleet.id
    }
)

# Export the alias ID to be used in game client configurations
pulumi.export("game_fleet_alias_id", alias.id)
```

Each of these resources has properties that need to be customized based on your game's requirements. In this program:

- We start by creating a `Build` resource, specifying the S3 bucket and object where the game build is stored, along with the IAM role which GameLift will assume to access the build.
- Next, we create a `Fleet` resource which will use the build we specified. The fleet needs to know the EC2 instance type to use, the path to launch the game server executable, and any necessary networking rules, such as the port your game server listens on for incoming player connections.
- Finally, we set up an `Alias` resource, which acts as a pointer to our fleet. You can give an alias an easily recognizable name and then use that alias within your game client to connect to the GameLift servers. When you need to update the fleet, you can do so without changing the alias, making the transition smoother for your players.

After you deploy this Pulumi stack, you will have a GameLift environment that is ready to scale based on game demand.