[SpookyZalost]

Eh, I usually give at least 2gb so there's room for expansion.

My server is stable with around 12 people.

[Darth-Apple]

I didn’t know you had a server. Nice!

And yea I’m trying to get one server for everything. I was gonna use the MS server for it once we move off, but the current one only has 512MB of RAM.

[Lain]

I promise not to run a massive mob farm that causes memory leaks and pisses off your host.
I've done that in the past tbh and then had to commit genocide to bring RAM use down.

[Darth-Apple]

I promise not to run a massive mob farm that causes memory leaks and pisses off your host.
I've done that in the past tbh and then had to commit genocide to bring RAM use down.

Lmao   

How consistent is the CPU usage on a typical minecraft server?

Looking to see what would be better for us: 

• Ramnode. $10/month, 2GB of RAM. 2 CPU cores that are fair-share (e.g. we need to make sure we're responsible)
  
• BuyVM: $15/month, 4GB of RAM, 1 CPU core but it's a dedicated one. We can use it as much as we want without worrying about abuse. It's dedicated, unshared CPU.
  
• BuyVM: $30/month, 8GB of RAM, 2 dedicated CPU cores. 
  

With Ramnode, we get great prices on it. I'd prefer to use Ramnode because it's much more affordable, but we would have to be very responsible with the CPU. They don't really care what you do so long as you don't average a CPU core of use or more. In other words, as long as we keep server load above 1.0 cores in use to peak hours only and don't max anything out, we'll be okay.

But it's also better to be safe than to be sorry, and I've been with Ramnode for years and definitely want to be responsible. If we needed the dedicated CPU, would one core be enough?

Looking for pointers from those who have set these up before.

[Lain]

Ramnode wouldn't be too bad tbh. But you don't really need 2 cores for a server in this case.

Minecraft servers aren't too CPU intensive, or at least don't leak CPU usage most of the time for no reason.
It's usually the RAM that's terribly optimized in server software since most of it runs in the JVM anyway, and JVM garbage collection is, well, putting it nicely, it leaves more to be desired.

That being said, MC server software isn't well optimized for multithreading/multi-core support, because the JRE/JDK both just aren't designed with that in mind. Either the code is written to take advantage of multithreading, or it isn't. In the case of MC servers, it isn't until >=1.14 allegedly, and even then the wiki only lists the possibility with 'some tasks' rather than full optimization.

The good part about the JRE/JDK is that they impose RAM limits on themselves as well. By default, the JRE will run at 1GB of RAM iirc. You can pass arguments like -Xmx2048m to the JRE when you launch the server JAR file to increase the RAM cap.

So BuyVM would technically be a better option for more RAM and less worrying about CPU usage, but honestly either would probably do fine for a server with less than 10 people. If it's a hit after a couple months with a lot of activity, then you could worry about upgrades.

[Darth-Apple]

The nice thing about BuyVM is that I can upgrade easily to get a dedicated CPU, but if one core is enough, we'd be fine regardless of whether it's dedicated.

I can get 2GB for $7-10 on Ramnode easily (openVZ gives a discount, but it's Ivy Bridge CPUs instead of Skylake). 3GB is $15 on KVM, and 4GB is $14 on OpenVZ. I have a feeling I'll probably go the openVZ route if CPU isn't really an issue. If we're pretty much using low CPU 90% of the time, we'd have no problems with it. Would 2GB be sufficient for < 10 people on a server?

Won't be doing anything until the Summer, but when it's time, we'll at least know what the plan is. Thanks for the pointers.

[Lain]

id even go as far as just starting with 1gb and if the thing crashes when five players run around spawn, upgrade.
keep in mind that first we'd need to accurately gauge interest in the server, like how many from the community are willing to join, how many would bring other friends, what kind of plugins or style do they want (megabuilds and creative is gonna be way more RAM heavy than vanilla)

2gb would be a safer option to start out, but keeping costs minimal during initial launch might be more beneficial while everything else is still unknown.

[Darth-Apple]

Probably a good point. Might just go the openVZ route for now then. $7 for 2GB is a fantastic deal. I'll just have to monitor the CPU on OpenVZ to make sure we're being responsible. If need be, I can get the buyVM one with a dedicated core if we have enough people on the server to need it.

[Guardian]

@Darth-Apple ever built rail as you go down a ravine to make transit back and forth easy and quick?  If you ever strip mine one this works well, especially if you've got tons of iron and Redstone.... Ot if not Redstone then a furnace and an extra minecart 

Rails are a MUST! Probably my favorite part.

[Darth-Apple]

I'm definitely gonna have to play around with them more. It's hard to get enough supplies to make them worthwhile. That's the problem.

[Guardian]

I'm definitely gonna have to play around with them more. It's hard to get enough supplies to make them worthwhile. That's the problem.

The materials for them is considerable, considering the volume of Iron needed, and the gold for the powered rails. Overall though, I do think it worth it for well traveled routes. Don't go willy-nilly with them, and they're more manageable. I always create my paths and tunnels, then as I mine the materials I pick the most traveled route without rails, then start from there.

[Darth-Apple]

I'm testing out a new server on the Saturn Moon VPS. So far, so good. It seems to be working without any noticeable lag so far.

[Kyng]

Good to hear !

It's been a while since I've been on a server myself. Trouble is, I often run out of good ideas for things to make .

[Darth-Apple]

I mean, after you do something once, you sort of just get like "Okay, I've made a house before on the water, now what." It's so much more fun with other people. That's what makes it worth it.

I could use some help setting up the server by the way, if anyone knows a thing or two! It's going to be a relatively private server (we won't advertise it) but members here will know about it and I'll send the invites and the info. Surprisingly, the vanilla one works just fine on a relatively low-clock VPS, but I'm probably going to use Bukkit instead.

My questions:

• Are mods a no-go or yes? If so, what is normally included in a minecraft server?
  
• Does bukkit support multiple minecraft versions?
  
• Are there any policies or administrative practices that should be employed (to prevent unfair cheating, griefing, and so forth)?
  
• Would 2GB of RAM be enough for about 5 players online at once?
  

[Thomas]

I'd totally be down for Makestation minecraft. I'm not picky on mods or setup.

[campingrhino]

I'm also 100% interested!

[Lain]

anticheat is hit or miss tbh.
most of the time it doesnt do much against anyone who xrays or freecams or whatever, since it's all server sided and cant see what happens on the client side.
all it usually does is to just check if actions are performed humanly, i.e. in pvp, if you're always hitting the opponent when they step exactly one unit into your hit range, and you do it consistently, it'll flag and likely ban. most hacked clients have humanizers built-in anyway.

an economy plugin would be cool so we can facilitate trade in a free market™
also i personally like stuff like mcmmo where i can also level skills and grind shit out and actually feel like im progressing even tho all i did was get five full chests of cobblestone

[Towncrafter]

also i personally like stuff like mcmmo where i can also level skills and grind shit out and actually feel like im progressing even tho all i did was get five full chests of cobblestone

I love mcmmo. One server I played on about 3 years ago had that. I like to hunt the mobs at night and my archery skill was so high the mobs would die with one hit, and most the time I would get my arrow back.
Mcmmo would be a great addition to a server.