Completely written by Dartz654
IntroductionBefore you even think about getting the software, staff, and plugins needed to properly run a Minecraft server you need to know what type of server you want to run. There are two main types, Survival and Creative. Survival servers are usually against spawning items, have PvP & mobs turned on, and are for the more hardcore players. Creative servers normally allow the spawning of items in a safe world free of PvP and horrendous creepers, allowing the construction of magnificent creations. Maybe you'd like to make a mix of the two, be creative. It's your server after all!
Bukkit vs. VanillaOnce you've decided on the type of server you want to make, you need to decide what software you want to run the server on. Minecraft server software regulates pretty much everything about your server - it's the core of it.
Bukkit is, in my opinion (and a TON of other people's opinion, as well) the best software to run your Minecraft server.
An alternative to Bukkit is the
vanilla software provided by Notch. Some upsides of using the vanilla software is that it A) is always up to date, and B) has less bugs than Bukkit. Bukkit, on the other hand, has been criticized for not having a stable release (see below) the second a new Minecraft update comes out, and has been known to have many more bugs than the vanilla software that Notch provides.
Why Bukkit?This tutorial, although, only covers how to set up your server with Bukkit. Despite the few cons of Bukkit, it has many more pros than the vanilla software. Bukkit allows the use of addons to your server, making it unique and more fun. If you have a proficient knowledge (or a basic one, even, developing plugins is really easy!) of the Java programming language, you can develop your own plugins for your Bukkit server.
Example of such plugins are
> BigBrother, that track every single block deleted and placed, allowing you to spot griefers.
> WorldEdit, which lets you easily edit your terrain and buildings.
> Essentials, which comes with built-in features such as a private messaging system, a message of the day, an extensive addition to Notch's bland admin system, and much much more.
There are thousands of plugins available
here, all ready to be added too your server - with new ones being added every day.
Machine RequirementsOnce you've decided what you want your server to be like, and what software your going to use to run it, you need to decide if your machine is capable of hosting a Minecraft server. There are two main aspects to this - your Internet speed and your computer's RAM. To find how much RAM your computer has, open the Start Menu, click Control Panel, click System and Security, then click "View amount of RAM and processor speed" under the 'System' category.
If you want to host a Minecraft server with minimal amount of lag, I recommend running it on a server with at least a usable 4GB of RAM, on a 64-bit operating system. To find your internet speed, you can
click here. I'm no networking master, but I know that my horrible internet (5kb/s up, 50kb/s down) is not ideal for hosting a Mineraft server. To get a detailed analysis of if you can run a Minecraft server with or without lag,
click here. Don't even front, you can run a Minecraft server on almost any machine with Java installed, your internet speed and RAM just effect the lag for other users.
Virtual Private Servers (optional)If you're not comfortable running a Mineraft server on your computer, and are willing to spend a few dollars, read on. If not, you may entirely skip this section.If you can't run a Minecraft Server, you can pay someone to do it for you. I've used
Servercraft to host my Minecraft server before, and I was satisfied with my results. Another Minecraft server provider, that I've never used but has heard as being good can be
found here. If your more savvy with computers and Linux commands, you may want to look into purchasing a VPS to run your server.
Click here for a cheap but slow/bad uptime VPS provider, or
click here for an expensive but fast VPS provider. If you choose a hoster that isn't listed here, I reccomend having at least 512 MB RAM for small servers, and 2GB RAM for bigger servers. Some servers, though, such as
Buxville or
Minerealm are massive and are on 16GB or 64GB servers, which (for several hundred dollars) can be purchased from
Rackspace or
Softlayer. Should you buy a VPS and don't know how to set it up into a Minecraft server, feel free to message me and I can set it up via Teamviewer.
Hosting the Server (finally!)Finally, the part we've all been waiting for. The first thing your going to want to do is download the server software. As of writing this guide for the first time, the most recent Bukkit build is #1000, compatible with Minecraft version 1.7.3. If this is the most recent version,
click here for a direct link. If it is not, you can go to
Bukkit's official website, and on the right side of your screen (where it says 'Reccomended Builds') and get the most recent version.
Once you have the .jar file downloaded (name something like craftbukkit-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar), create a folder on your Desktop (or anywhere else) named Minecraft Server and drag that into it. Next, create a .bat file named "RUN.bat", and inside it put this:
@ECHO OFF
SET BINDIR=%~dp0
CD /D "%BINDIR%"
"%ProgramFiles%\Java\jre6\bin\java.exe" -Xincgc -Xmx1G -jar craftbukkit-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar
PAUSE
Note (copied from bukkit's help page): If you are running java in 32bit mode on a 64bit machine, change %ProgramFiles% to %ProgramFiles(x86)%Save the file, and make sure it is saved as a Run.bat, NOT Run.txt or Run.bat.txt. Now, when you do this a command prompt should pop up. If you close this command prompt, your server will shut down without being saved. You must keep the command prompt running at all times on your computer, or your server will be offline.
If you do want to close your server, type the command "save-all" (no quotes), and then "stop". This will ensure that all your edits and creations on that server is saved. Additionally, you may get a plugin (see below) that automatically saves over a period of time.
The first thing you should do after running your server for the first time is let it load the world and the nether. Open Minecraft, and connect to the Multiplayer server's IP: "127.0.0.1". This is YOUR server. Look around and see if you like the world. If it doesn't match your likings, stop the Minecraft server (with the command "stop") and delete the "world" folder in the folder Minecraft Server, then re-run RUN.bat.
Configuring Server PropertiesOnce you've found a world that you've liked, shut it down (make sure you use "save-all"!) then open the file "server.properties" inside your Minecraft Server with a text editor like Notepad.
allow-nether Change this to false if you don't want nether portals to work on your server.
spawn-monsters Change this to false if you don't want aggressive mobs (creepers, spiders, skeletons, etc.) to spawn on your server.
spawn-animals Change this to false if you don't want passive/friendly mobs (pigs, cows, chickens, etc.) to spawn on your server.
max-players This is the number of players that can be connected to your server at once. While the default is 20, I've yet to find a home connection that can support 20 active Minecraft connections at once. If your like me, your server lags a ton with 5 people online.
pvp Change this to false if you want to disable all PvP on your server.
white-list If you'd like to make it where only certain players can enter your server, change this to true then write their names in the white-list.txt file.
Once your edits are done, make sure there aren't any typos (like type treu instead of true) or any stray letters (falsee) then save it. Boot your server back up with RUN.bat, and the server should be done!
Making Your Server Multiplayer (allowing outside connections)A router-specific guide can be find out here.To do this, you need to port forward. If you know before reading this that your router doesn't allow port forwarding, you can use Hamachi to allow others connect. You'll rarely find people who will play a server that needs Hamachi due to rumors that it is adware, but if it's just you and your friends you can find tutorials on Google. I've never used Hamachi for Minecraft, so I couldn't tell you how to do it.
Every router is different on how to port forward, but it's usually the same. Go to the URL 192.168.1.1 (may change depending on router, but that's it for linksys and netgear) and log in. The default login combination is admin/admin, or admin/password. You may have to ask your parents, or your ISP, for the login if you don't know it.
Once you've logged in, you need to find the part of the website that allows you to forward ports. For Linksys routers, you hit the tab Application & Gaming.
Once you've found the area where you enter ports, you want to forward the port "25565". This is the port Minecraft servers act on. When it asks what Protocal, you need to hit "TCP & UDP", or "Both" You may need to enter what IP address you want to forward it too, which in that case would be your static IP address. For help on configuring a static IP address, you can
click here. Once this is done, save the changes. You may have to reboot your computer or wait a few minutes for the changes to take place.
Adding Plugins To Your ServerComing eventually!
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Topic: How To Create & Run A Minecraft Server (Read 2333 times)