Some info on hosting on a vps

[earthboundmisfit]

Hi,
thanks for all comments/info in advance. Looked through the first few pages of this sub-section of the forum and could not find my answers.

Here is what is up. My buddy wanted to start a FTB Unleashed server because the one where we chilled shut down. He understands all the minecraft configuration, plug-ins, and how to use FTP to edit and upload files. However he does not understand much about the back end of a server and/or how they work/operate. He has tasked me with starting to look for different hosting options. So far it looks like a VPS server is going to be the best bang for the buck. However, he does not understand anything about how to run a VPS/server just the minecraft part. I am the one with the understanding of servers.

What I have planned is:

• VPS Server
• Running Linux flavor of some kind (CentOS is my favorite, open to others)
• 16 RAM (start with 16GB and upgrade as needed)
• HDD 20GB+ (host side SSD or RAID preferable)
• 100Mbps or greater connection
• No monthly bandwidth requirements

I have a few hosts I have looked at and one or two I like. Nothing solid at the moment so if you want to throw a name out there let me know. Top price is $150 USD. Preferably less. We use Enjin to host the forums it has a good setup for what we desire, so no need to host forums/web page on it too.

My Questions:

1. I will probably use Webmin as a control panel for me to make the running of the server itself easier. Are there any other free control panels someone suggests?
2. What minecraft/ftb control panel does everyone suggest? I am looking for a free one. If absolutely necessary a small one time fee may be plausible. I would just need something simple for him: server stats (RAM use, Disk use, CPU use), a minecraft java console (not necessary, but preferred), backup & restore, restart server, and maybe a YAML/config editor(not necessary).

Thanks again for any and all information.

 

[Connor Gavitt]

Now you may just want to get something with around 8-32GB of ram as minecraft will never need that much, I have 50+ people on at a time and use about 11GB or ram at a time max. and you are going to get a terrible rip off with most hosts because 99% of VPS hosts sell ram very expensive at around $2-15 per GB. Now i'm very fond of a single host however they are a dedicated host but that just means more bang for your buck. You should check out www.ovh.com they have dedicated servers from 64GB 2TB quad core servers for $150 and all the way down to 8GB ram 2TB for $40 a month. They also have a quad core intel E3 3.4 ghz with 32GB ram 240GB SSD for $90 a month. Just this range of servers has unlimited bandwidth at 100-500mib/s up and down.

 

[Staxed]

if you have a budget of $150 and looking for 16gb VPS, you would be far better off getting a dedicated server. You can easily get a dedicated server with 16gb for ~$150.

As fort he control panel, I'll let someone else recommend that...I don't use one. Manual Install and SSH for the console work just fine if you know how to run a linux server .

What is your level or experience running servers, are you going to need support...or can you do everything from the command line?

 

[earthboundmisfit]

I am fine with running the server from SSH with console. I would not need any support. The only thing I wouldn't know how to do is access the minecraft server console. I guess this could be done with the screen command. The trouble is the buddy I am helping out knows very little and is too busy right know for me to teach him what he needs to know to work via SSH and terminal. I would say I have moderate Linux server experience. I have run low end web, ftp, and email server for Linux that was externally accessible for a small company. Anything I don't know/understand I can find the answer on the web if I look hard enough.

Never thought about going full dedicated. Would not guessed I could get a full dedicated for that cheap. Any recommendations on dedicated server hosting?

 

[Henry Link]

I'll give a 2nd to just using SSH and manually installing everything. And screen command is what I run my server on. My current server is Ubuntu but I have tried CentOS and MineOS/Crux. The CentOS was good, but I didn't care for MineOS/Crux. I didn't think the stripping out of stuff and adding the web management console did anything to speed performance and I had issues with how they were doing the backups.

 

[Staxed]

I am fine with running the server from SSH with console. I would not need any support. The only thing I wouldn't know how to do is access the minecraft server console. I guess this could be done with the screen command. The trouble is the buddy I am helping out knows very little and is too busy right know for me to teach him what he needs to know to work via SSH and terminal. I would say I have moderate Linux server experience. I have run low end web, ftp, and email server for Linux that was externally accessible for a small company. Anything I don't know/understand I can find the answer on the web if I look hard enough.

Never thought about going full dedicated. Would not guessed I could get a full dedicated for that cheap. Any recommendations on dedicated server hosting?

I run everything myself and it's actually quite simple to do, specially if you already have linux experience. I use Centos, but whatever you are familiar with would be fine.

For the console, just make sure you open a new screen before you start the server that way it will stay open when you close your console. I generally just do a "screen -S ftb" and then run the "./ServerStart.sh" script to start the server. Then whenever I want back into the console it's as simple as "screen -rd ftb" and I'm in.

I also run backups to an offsite server via rdiff-backup, but that's a different topic .

As for the server host itself, have a look here: you can normally find some awesome deals...specially if you don't mind not having a manged server. http://www.webhostingtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=36

 

[DZCreeper]

With that large of budget you can have some very nice dedicated hardware which will be better than a VPS.

I assume you have a large player base, so I would go for 2 servers. 1 to store backups on, the other with an SSD that is faster, but less storage.

ReliableServer seems to have a good package called Haswell E3-1240v3. Its $129.99 a month which leaves you a small budget for funding things in an emergency or renting that second server I mentioned so you have a testing server that can store your backups as well. https://www.reliableservers.com/dedicated_solutions/

As for a control panel, McMyAdmin is popular and its a one time cost. I believe there is an Android client for it now. http://www.mcmyadmin.com/

 

[systemv]

I'll give a 2nd to just using SSH and manually installing everything. And screen command is what I run my server on. My current server is Ubuntu but I have tried CentOS and MineOS/Crux. The CentOS was good, but I didn't care for MineOS/Crux. I didn't think the stripping out of stuff and adding the web management console did anything to speed performance and I had issues with how they were doing the backups.

+3 on ssh/root

For that budget, go dedicated.