Minecraft is a sandbox game that Swedish programmer Markus Persson created alone a few years ago. His game, the world of which consists entirely of cubes, became a hit and conquered millions of people around the world. It should be noted that there is both a singleplayer version and a multiplayer version. The latter can be played on special servers together with other live players. Those who have been traveling the world of Minecraft for a long time, sooner or later wonder how to become a server administrator.
What Any Minecraft Server Administrator Should Know
The administrator must be a fair and adequate person, know a lot of game teams, it is desirable to be able to build and maintain various mini-games. If you decide to be an administrator on your personal server, then you also need to know and be able to set up server configuration files, install and configure plugins, and pay for hosting.
The easy way to become an administrator
If you already have some gaming experience and know a lot of teams, you can try your luck on various existing servers. Go to them, find the coordinates of the main administrator and communicate in such a way that he wants to see you as his assistant. In this case, you will not need to buy hosting, create a server on it, configure it, order advertising and promotion, so that there is traffic, create a website, group, etc.
The main thing here is to show yourself in the right light, you cannot just add to the messenger and start begging. Write competently, without mistakes, with dignity. Justify your desire to become an administrator, point out your positive qualities. Keep in mind that a huge number of people usually write to the chief administrator and they all ask for something.
Administrator rights are often sold for a certain amount of money. Here, pay attention to the reputation of the project, the server. How long has it existed, what people leave reviews about it. Pay attention to the server, is it running smoothly? Does he completely suit you? If everything is in order and you are ready to invest, start negotiating a transfer.
Difficult and costly way
You can become the main administrator only if you create your own Minecraft server. First of all, you need to find a decent hosting that suits you for the price. Today it is enough to use any search engine for this. Pay attention to its characteristics. A good processor is needed for the full operation of the Minecraft server. Too little power on one of the cores will cause malfunctions. In other words, a few low-power cores will not save your server from lags, because almost all the basic information is processed in one thread. Namely: chunks, tiles, light, entity (almost all game objects), spawning mobs, processing player data, generating and loading chunks, saving chunks, etc. If there is a choice of 2 powerful cores or 8 weak ones, it is better to take 2 powerful. This also applies to the case when you rent a car somewhere (buy a VDS), and when you assemble a home server machine.
When choosing the amount of RAM for a server machine, proceed from the calculation - 50 megabytes per 1 slot. That is, if you want to have a server for 100 people, multiply 100 by 50 and, to be sure, add another 200 so that there is no shortage of RAM for sure.
By purchasing a server, you will have a permanent IP address at your disposal, which will serve as the address for the Minecraft game server. Download the distribution kit from the official site, then upload it to one of the directories of the host machine. To do this, you can use the WinSCP program. The Putty program is usually used to control the host machine. Access data is provided by the company when concluding a contract, after payment. The subtleties of setting up a Minecraft server cannot be described in one article, so you need to study this issue yourself.
Almost free way
If you have a good, powerful computer, a good internet connection, and a constant, white IP address, you can host a Minecraft server at home. The only inconvenience here is that when you turn off the computer, the server will also stop working. In addition, you need to immediately prepare for the fact that the server will consume a large amount of RAM and processing power. If the system is not powerful enough, you cannot create a server with many slots. This option is more suitable for friendly cooperative play.
If you use a router, you must remember to forward the port that you specified in your Minecraft server config. As in the case of paid hosting, you need to download the server distribution kit from the official website and configure it. Optionally add plugins, mods, etc. Do not forget that all additional things consume a certain amount of resources.
Another important point is the server and client version. Today, the most popular version is Minecraft 1.5.2, a huge number of plugins and mods have been created for it, but soon the same number of plugins will be created for 1.6.4 and subsequent versions. If you downloaded, installed and started the server version 1.5.2, then the client should have the corresponding value. Otherwise, the player will not be able to connect and nothing will work.
When the port is forwarded, the server is configured and running, you can distribute the IP address of your computer to those who wish to connect.
The type of IP address provided by the ISP
It won't work if your IP address is dynamic. After all, then you, at least, will have to communicate its new value every time to everyone who wants to play on the created server. You can find out what address you have by contacting the technical department or the helpdesk of the provider. Often, due to the lack of "white" addresses to which one can easily connect, users are connected to "gray" ones, which are not suitable for the idea with a home Minecraft server. In this case, find out if it is possible to switch the address from "gray" to "white" and how much it costs.
Hamachi
The most unassuming option is to simulate a local network using the Hamachi program. Each player sets himself this program. Someone alone runs a Minecraft server on a computer. The Hamachi program issues a permanent IP address, which is communicated to the rest of the team by the server holder.
The good thing about this option is that even a user with a dynamic IP address can use it. The downside is the reluctance of the masses to play on a homemade home server, and even through some additional programs. The competition among Minecraft server holders is great, so all players try to choose the most successful and stable projects. Hamachi is an option for a close circle of friends and acquaintances.
