5d ago

Running own server - basic questions

Hi all!

I've already posted, that the account of my nephew got deleted on his main server and he is pretty devastated because of that.

As he only wants to build things with his friends, I'm starting to think about renting and setting up a VPS, as I'm still having a pretty much unused reserved domain lying around, which I could use for that.

Is that much work to get working (would be running on a Linux server) and is it time consuming to maintain?

And what should I expect hardware wise?
So what would the requirements be?

Maybe some background:
I'm a software developer for real-time Linux applications and I'm running my own business server with a VM as a Wireguard every point into my business network, and then some Docker containers for stuff I need.
I'm not that relaxed with server stuff like that, but I usually get it working and it does what I need.
So, I guess, I should be technically equipped enough to setup a Minecraft server.
But I don't have that much time on hand to really care for it, if it needs like weekly attention.
That's why I wanted to ask, what the timely expense/effort would be, so I could guarantee him and his friends with a stable virtual world.

Thank you all again advance!
The last answers here were really helpful and so I'm really grateful to such a nice community!

8 comments

just gonna recommend for running a server that you use fabric with performance mods (lithium is the most important) instead of paper or similar server versions.
- Ok, first off, thank you very much for the input the important terms to search for
  I'm pretty much not computer illiterate, but that seems very Minecraft specific
  Could you give me some links or so to look for?
  Fabric, lithium and paper are all very much generally used terms and I need a bit of a hand here to know, what I'm looking at
  Are those different Minecraft server revisions, like Proton forks, or what do those names mean?
  Thank you very much for any clarification or hints where I could look into more detailed explanations!

I'm running a container of https://github.com/itzg/docker-minecraft-server in my basement (the bedrock one)
Also running containers: mcxboxbroadcast and Minecraft-bedrock-backup, for connectivity and backups.
Once they are up, I've ignored them mostly.
Edit: it's running on a Lenovo m910q in the basement with a ton of other services on the same machine. So far no complaints.
- That's really encouraging, thank you very much!
  As his friends usually play on windows and only he inherited my Linux laptop, I'd go with the Java variant.
  But to be honest, I've absolutely no clue, when it comes to Minecraft and don't really know what's compatible with what....
  And when I set up a server for them, I'd like to make it also technical interesting, so they can extend their world with mods - which, as far as I know, are existing and manifold
  Are such mods restricted to the respective version?
  Means, are there many differences between bedrock and Java?
  Really appreciate your input, thank you!
  
  While there are some client-side mods, they have limited functionality and are mostly cosmetic. For "modded" Minecraft you need to run the mods server-side. The easiest way to do this is to download the server packs from Curseforge and run one of those. Once running, they're pretty-much maintenance free. You can update when the server packs update, but unless they're critical updates, it's up to you if you do it or not (when you do, you need to ensure the clients are updated to the same version; which they can do easily with Curseforge) Set up scripts for backups and server reboots every so often and you're good.

I'm running a server for 4 years now. It's a small server. But I've seen everything. Be prepared for every eventuality. You will need to apply at least some level of moderation. Kids can be very toxic. But also: don't overdo it. Kids hate being moderated.
- Thanks, sounds reasonable
  Sorry for the late answer, had some hard private times, with my cat dying
  So I'm currently mostly focused on getting over that...

8 comments