A computer that is to be used as a Minecraft server should have good processor, a decent amount of storage space and a significant amount of RAM. Most people who are unaware of these requirements consider using notebooks/laptops as servers. They soon realize that notebooks with low end hardware can barely support more than one player on a server (which isn’t much fun). Server requirements depend on the maximum number of people that will be playing at any one time and the resource requirements of the extra applications/plugins installed on the server. Here is an overview of Minecraft server requirements.
System Requirements for Minecraft
As mentioned above, requirements vary depending on whether it is a single or multi-player server. The system configuration determines how many players can play at a time without experiencing any lag.
Single Player Servers
Computers that are currently available in stores can very easily serve as single player Minecraft servers. The server requirements to support a single player are:
• RAM: 1GB or 500MB.
• Processor: Single core 1GHz processor.
• Upload speed and download speed: 512 kbps.
• Free disk space: 100MB.
Multiplayer Server Requirements
The upload speed and the internet connection are often the determining factors of a system’s ability to work as a multiplayer server. The higher the upload speed, the higher the number of players can be supported at a time. These days, most desktops are equipped with plenty of RAM and more than enough storage space to support multiple players. For best server performance, it is recommended to play Minecraft on a separate computer instead of on the system that is being used to run the server. Minecraft server requirements to support multiple players are:
1. Processor: Dual core processor with 1.5GHz speed or more. Note: The video card used on the server computer does not make much that much of a difference since graphics are only rendered on computers the game is being played on.
2. Upload speed: A minimum of 1Mbps to support three players. The speed increases with the increase in the number of players to be supported. For example, a speed of 10Mbps is required to support 30 players.
3. Download speeds: 2Mbps or more of download speed is essential to support three players. The requirement increases with the increase in number of players.
4. RAM: 500MB or more of RAM is required to support 3 players. For a Minecraft to support 30 players RAM of 4GB is required.
5. Internet connection: Wired internet connection is preferred over wireless connections. A wired connection increases reliability.
6. Storage space: The amount of storage space depends on the number of players the server would be supporting. It is always recommended to go for more amount of storage space for high performance. Computers these days have way more than enough space.
A single Minecraft server can be made to support more than 100 players. The system requirements for such a server are very high (based on the requirements mentioned in the list above). It is quite expensive to install and maintain such high performance servers. For low maintenance, cost effective and acceptable performance, it is recommended to limit the number of players per server to 25 to 30.
To install and maintain a server it is essential to know the most useful server commands and understand the details specified in the Minecraft server properties file. Changing the values of the parameters in the properties file to meet the requirements of the server can help provide a more enjoyable gaming experience. It is also essential to understand how to delete a player, interpret death messages and know the gametypes available (survival, PvP, roleplaying, creative etc.). Furthermore, it is important to know how to backup a server and how to edit a player’s attributes.
To find out if your computer can host a Minecraft server, check out this handy tool.
Players who don’t want to deal with the hassles of maintaining a server themselves can play on any of the public servers on our best minecraft servers list.
