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Java server questions
Hey, I don’t know much about Minecraft servers, and my friend and I would like to do some building together over a long distance. So here are some questions.
Are servers easy to set up?
Do they cost any money to run for a couple players only?
Do they require good internet to run?
If anyone knows the answers they’d be appreciated!
Thanks!
Are servers easy to set up?
Do they cost any money to run for a couple players only?
Do they require good internet to run?
If anyone knows the answers they’d be appreciated!
Thanks!
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7
This is assuming a very lightweight server, yes? Just a few friends doing some builds. With that in mind...
1. For your purposes, yes. Most people go in with a server that's trying to 'get big'. That makes for something 'easy to learn, hard to master'. If you're good with technical stuff, it shouldn't be hard. If not, trial and error and following instructions closely. Be sure to do your research, and try something out 'locally' to see how it works even if you want an online host. A bit more in point 2.
2. If it's two friends and you can afford to have your computer running a lot (or only run it if you want to play with your friend), it can cost nothing. This would be self hosted, and the main technical overhead is "portforwarding" - getting your connection to actually host a minecraft server. You'll have to figure out your own router's process for doing it. From there you need to have a decent computer, key features being a few spare gigabytes of memory, a mid-line CPU (if you're running an i3 or 'budget computer', you will have slowdown troubles) and otherwise fair hardware. Don't need a gaming PC, but the more the better. Again, how painful this is depends on how well you get along with technology.
Per the below poster and what owners usually do, the home hosted setup is generally not good enough. A 'professional' server should run 24/7 (you may not need to) and have access to reliable, dedicated hardware + internet connection. This is where a paid host comes in. If the above sounds enough for you and your internet is moderately good, this may be overkill. Otherwise last I checked this could be as low as $3 a month for more than enough to do what you're asking; at that point all you need to do is configure the server (again varies, depending if you want to go all the way on plugins or keep it mostly vanilla).
I advise against a host like Alternos, which is generally low quality in hosting, completely unreliable for uptime, and is basically designed to make your experience mildly uncomfortable. For a small fee you get complete uptime, or doing it yourself you at least have full control. The usual free host is an unhappy compromise between the two styles and isn't a sign of longevity.
3. Home hosted, yes, it should at least be decent. Ideally the internet is stable; I've had servers run acceptably despite having a 1mbps download speed all the time. If it tends to bounce a lot (high ping), you have a problem. Better internet always helps and this is also a matter of having a decent upload speed, which service providers often try to cheat you out of depending where you live. The stronger internet should be the host, assuming that comes with an equal or better computer.
In the end it depends on your situation and what out of the above you'd want to explore. The technical, free path that requires you have somewhat decent hardware; the free host option, which can ultimately still work; or the cheap paid option that skips the setup nonsense while giving you (almost) the level of freedom as home hosted under almost certainly reliable internet and hardware for your needs.
If you have the Bedrock edition, Realms might suit you, but given you asked here that's probably not the path.
1. For your purposes, yes. Most people go in with a server that's trying to 'get big'. That makes for something 'easy to learn, hard to master'. If you're good with technical stuff, it shouldn't be hard. If not, trial and error and following instructions closely. Be sure to do your research, and try something out 'locally' to see how it works even if you want an online host. A bit more in point 2.
2. If it's two friends and you can afford to have your computer running a lot (or only run it if you want to play with your friend), it can cost nothing. This would be self hosted, and the main technical overhead is "portforwarding" - getting your connection to actually host a minecraft server. You'll have to figure out your own router's process for doing it. From there you need to have a decent computer, key features being a few spare gigabytes of memory, a mid-line CPU (if you're running an i3 or 'budget computer', you will have slowdown troubles) and otherwise fair hardware. Don't need a gaming PC, but the more the better. Again, how painful this is depends on how well you get along with technology.
Per the below poster and what owners usually do, the home hosted setup is generally not good enough. A 'professional' server should run 24/7 (you may not need to) and have access to reliable, dedicated hardware + internet connection. This is where a paid host comes in. If the above sounds enough for you and your internet is moderately good, this may be overkill. Otherwise last I checked this could be as low as $3 a month for more than enough to do what you're asking; at that point all you need to do is configure the server (again varies, depending if you want to go all the way on plugins or keep it mostly vanilla).
I advise against a host like Alternos, which is generally low quality in hosting, completely unreliable for uptime, and is basically designed to make your experience mildly uncomfortable. For a small fee you get complete uptime, or doing it yourself you at least have full control. The usual free host is an unhappy compromise between the two styles and isn't a sign of longevity.
3. Home hosted, yes, it should at least be decent. Ideally the internet is stable; I've had servers run acceptably despite having a 1mbps download speed all the time. If it tends to bounce a lot (high ping), you have a problem. Better internet always helps and this is also a matter of having a decent upload speed, which service providers often try to cheat you out of depending where you live. The stronger internet should be the host, assuming that comes with an equal or better computer.
In the end it depends on your situation and what out of the above you'd want to explore. The technical, free path that requires you have somewhat decent hardware; the free host option, which can ultimately still work; or the cheap paid option that skips the setup nonsense while giving you (almost) the level of freedom as home hosted under almost certainly reliable internet and hardware for your needs.
If you have the Bedrock edition, Realms might suit you, but given you asked here that's probably not the path.
Thanks for the help!
I have a server, but I'm still in the process of setting it up. I might be able to answer some of the questions though. It depends on the type of server. Are you thinking of using a hosting site, or actually having a physical server at your house? (I'm not sure which one you mean based on your last question.)
Thanks for the reply! I’m not familiar at all with servers, so whichever would be easiest.
The kind I'm setting up is with a hosting site, which I think is easier. If you had a physical one, you would definitely need fast internet, and it would probably require more technical knowledge to maintain, since you would have to do everything yourself.
As for the questions:
Are they easy to set up? Depends on what you want to do, but it's not extremely complicated. If you want to play in pure vanilla Minecraft, almost nothing is required - just set up an account with the hosting site. If you want to add plugins, that does take some effort, depending on the host, but in my case, it's just downloading a program, connecting it to the server, and selecting the files I want to add.
Do they cost any money? Most hosting sites do charge a subscription fee. If you're only going to have a few players, it doesn't cost much, since you don't need as much processing power. The fee varies quite a bit depending on the provider. There is a hosting site called Aternos that hosts for free, but I can't really imagine how that would work. Some people here have used it, like anonpmc2713049, so they would know more about it than I do.
Do they require good internet to run? With a hosting site, the server is hosted on hardware at the host company's location, so your own internet is not involved in others connecting to the server. Keep in mind, though, that better internet would still be helpful for your own use of the server.
Hopefully this helps!
As for the questions:
Are they easy to set up? Depends on what you want to do, but it's not extremely complicated. If you want to play in pure vanilla Minecraft, almost nothing is required - just set up an account with the hosting site. If you want to add plugins, that does take some effort, depending on the host, but in my case, it's just downloading a program, connecting it to the server, and selecting the files I want to add.
Do they cost any money? Most hosting sites do charge a subscription fee. If you're only going to have a few players, it doesn't cost much, since you don't need as much processing power. The fee varies quite a bit depending on the provider. There is a hosting site called Aternos that hosts for free, but I can't really imagine how that would work. Some people here have used it, like anonpmc2713049, so they would know more about it than I do.
Do they require good internet to run? With a hosting site, the server is hosted on hardware at the host company's location, so your own internet is not involved in others connecting to the server. Keep in mind, though, that better internet would still be helpful for your own use of the server.
Hopefully this helps!
That does help, thanks!
You're welcome!
