Setting up your own Minecraft server

The online multiplayer mode in Minecraft is often considered to be the heart of Minecraft. However, to play together on the Internet, you need a server that acts as the gateway to the Minecraft world. The available servers differ both in terms of their game modes and the number of players. As a user, you can browse public servers via various Minecraft server lists to find a suitable game world. However, on the Minecraft servers of other users, you have no control over the general conditions of the game, because these are set by the server operator.

You’ll only have a customized gaming experience if you make a Minecraft server - only then will you be able to determine which and how many players are allowed to be in your game world. You can also adjust the game mode and other settings to your preferences. But how do you set up a Minecraft server and which server is best for it? Let’s take a look.

If you want to create and run your own Minecraft server, you will first need the appropriate hardware. In theory, a home PC is adequate for this – but this also depends on the desired number of players and server setting. For three to five players, for example, the Minecraft team recommends three gigabytes of RAM, 18 gigabytes of hard drive space, and broadband resources of at least 12 MBit for the game. In addition, there are the requirements of the operating system; for Windows 10, this would be another one or two gigabytes of RAM (32-bit vs. 64-bit) and 16 or 32 gigabytes of hard drive space (32-bit vs. 64-bit).

These key numbers already make it clear that you cannot run other programs in parallel to the Minecraft server on the respective PC, so it functions exclusively as a host. The purchase of a second PC in addition to your normal device not only takes up the home broadband quota, but also means additional running costs in terms of power consumption. It is probably only an option for very few Minecraft enthusiasts.

The flexible and often even very cost-effective alternative is to rent the hardware resources for a Minecraft server - and this means hosting the game can be left to the hands of the provider, and you can enjoy customizing your game. With this option, you can also set up your server individually and decide whether the server should be public or private. Many server tariffs available today offer you the possibility to increase or decrease the booked hardware performance at any time or at least on a monthly basis - a clear advantage over a home server, where you can’t just scale this up or down.

In the previous section, we already gave an example for the hardware requirements of a Minecraft server, focusing on RAM and hard drive space. But what does the developer say about the recommended processor performance? And what are the requirements in terms of operating system and other mandatory software? We have summarized the most important system requirements here.

To be able to create your own Minecraft server, you’ll need the Minecraft server software. The developer Mojang provides you with a free setup for this, which is only compatible with Minecraft: Java Edition. A current version of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is also required.

Secondly, you will need an operating system to manage your server resources and install the Minecraft server software. In connection with the local home server, it has already been hinted that you can certainly get your own Minecraft world running on the standard user operating systems from Microsoft, such as Windows 10 or Windows 8. Installation on macOS (10.4 or higher) is also possible, according to developer information. For an optimal setup, however, the classic server operating systems (Windows, UNIX/Linux) are recommended:

• Windows Server 2019 (older editions possible)
• Ubuntu
• Debian
• CentOS
• openSUSE

Processor performance and RAM play a major role in the performance of a gaming server. You also have to make sure that you have enough computing power when compiling the hardware setup of your Minecraft server. How much CPU and RAM you need can’t be defined in a general way, because there are a lot of factors to consider:

For example, the number of players on your server and how they interact with the game world is crucial. While a player object only requires about 50 to 100 MB of RAM, the server often has to allocate much more memory per player if:

• different chunks are visited
• movement through chunks takes place at a very fast pace (e.g. on a boat, via train or by gliding with Elytren)
• the game world is large

The latter also automatically increases the requirements for the CPU power needed, which also depends on factors such as the number of redstone elements for Minecraft electronics.

To get an approximate idea of the computing requirements of your own Minecraft server, it is worth taking a look at Majong’s recommendations, which are based on the default settings in server.conf (so, for example, a maximum object visibility of 10):

Windows Server (from 2008)

UNIX/Linux-Server (GUI-Version)

UNIX/Linux-Server (Console-Version)

Of course, you also need to store the Minecraft server installation as well as user and game world data on your server. The following approximate values can be used here:

• 1 to 2 players: at least 2 gigabytes of free disk space (5 GB with constant backups)
• 3 to 5 players: at least 18 gigabytes of free disk space
• 6 players or more: at least 35 gigabytes of free space

However, size is not the only factor you should pay attention to when it comes to storage units. Relying on SSD storage for your server can speed up the startup process. However, for a smooth gaming experience on a Minecraft server, classic HDD storage is perfectly suitable, too.

The required broadband capacities also result from the number of active players on the Minecraft server. In terms of memory, Minecraft isn’t too demanding: Majong’s recommendations – from 5 Mbps for 1 to 2 players to 45 Mbps for 6 or more players - are not a problem if you rent the hardware and hosting for your Minecraft server. In case you have your own server at home, you will of course have to keep an eye on the key figures and order a larger broadband package if necessary.

The search for the right hardware base for your own Minecraft server is not only a question of finding the right provider: You also have to filter out the right server model from the wide range of offers. At IONOS, for example, you have the choice between

• a vServer (Virtual Private Server),
• a cloud server
• and a dedicated server.

With the latter model, you can also choose whether you take over the administration of the dedicated hardware yourself or whether you go for the managed solution, where we take care of the installation and administration of software (operating system etc.) for you.

A Dedicated Server with specially allocated hardware in our data center is an excellent solution for hosting individual applications. As a basis for server applications like a Minecraft server, this server model is ideal. Billing takes place per-minute with this package.

However, to make a Minecraft server, the virtualized resources you rent with a vServer or Cloud Server are also perfectly suitable. Even if you don’t get dedicated hardware components here, the selected performance is guaranteed at all times. When deciding between vServer and Cloud Server, the payment model might make a difference:

If you are unsure when and how often you want to run your Minecraft server, a Cloud Server Package is the perfect choice, as here we only charge for the resources you actually need and use.

If you rent a vServer, you pay a fixed monthly amount, regardless of whether your Minecraft server is running or not. However, if you’re planning on continuous operation, you will get significantly lower costs than with a cloud server.

Whichever server model you choose, at IONOS you’ll find various tariffs that differ in terms of the performance offered. Which of these tariffs is suitable for your purposes depends on how large the Minecraft world is and how many players are going to be active on your Minecraft server at the same time. In the following table, we present three possible scenarios for your gaming server including the appropriate rates within the three server models to help you decide.

After you have decided on a suitable server, you can now create and set up your Minecraft server. Whether you choose Windows Server or a Linux distribution like Ubuntu or Debian as your system base is up to you.

In the following tutorial, we will show you how to get a Minecraft server running on Windows Server 2016 as an IONOS customer (vServer, Cloud Server, Dedicated Server).

When you connect to the server for the first time, you will see a warning about the security credentials. To continue, simply click “Yes” here. This will establish the remote connection to the server.

After that, the tool will automatically find the download link to the appropriate Java edition and you just need to confirm the download. In the last step, you install Java using the downloaded file.

Click the server JAR file again to have your Minecraft server created.

For an overview of the various settings options, see the article about the server.properties file on the official Minecraft wiki.