Home-hosting any server - game, web, or otherwise - is an incredibly rewarding challenge for those who choose to dive in. Even with a basic understanding of PC hardware, software, and home networking, anyone can get a home server up and running without too much hassle. The benefits are clear and valuable - no monthly hosting fees, potentially zero upfront cost if you have a spare computer, and full control over your hosted service and everything it runs on. As this is Planet Minecraft, this guide will focus on hosting a Minecraft server.


Step 1: Determining If Your Internet Connection Is Strong Enough

One of the major arguments against hosting a server from home is that the typical home Internet connection is not fast enough to handle the traffic. This used to be true, but with average internet speeds in the US reaching over 200 Mbps (> 20 Mbps up), this is no longer the case. Upload speed is just as important as download, but most modern Internet plans are symmetrical or at least provide usable upload speeds.

http://canihostaminecraftserver.com/ is a very good tool to use to determine how many players you can host with your Internet connection. Simply enter an absurd number in the entry for RAM (to remove it from the equation), and input your connection speed. In order to make sure the rest of your house has enough bandwidth for regular Internet use, a good rule of thumb is to divide the resulting player count in half. If your Internet connection is strong enough to handle the amount of players you wish to host, then you are free to continue to Step 2. If it isn't strong enough, you will either need to consider an online host or rework your server plans to fit your Internet limitations.


Step 2: Securing the Hardware

Now that you've determined how many players you can host, it is time to secure the hardware needed to run your server. For best results, you will want to use a desktop computer dedicated to hosting. In most cases, any older computer purchased/built within the past few years will be perfect. Try to shoot for something with at least 4 cores for an ideal server box. As for RAM, you ideally want at least 8GB. Allocate as much RAM as you want for your server, but leave around 4GB spare for the operating system to use. GPU power is completely irrelevant for a server because the most graphical work it would do is render the desktop. If you do not have a spare machine to host on, you have multiple avenues to obtain hosting hardware - purchasing a new system, buying a used system on eBay or Craigslist, or building a custom system.

Although it is the least cost-effective route, purchasing a brand new prebuilt computer is a good option for those who want a good amount of compute power without having to build a system themselves. You will definitely not get the most for your money, but you will be able to have modern hardware in your server without having to build it yourself.

If you want to save money but have no desire to do a custom build, purchasing a used computer off of eBay or Craigslist is a fantastic choice. Older i5/i7 workstation systems such as the Dell OptiPlex line can be purchased for under $100 and offer "good enough" compute performance. Though they will trail behind a new prebuilt or a custom system, the money you save is nothing to laugh at.

If you're into getting the most out of your money, building a custom server computer is your best option. Not only will you save a lot of money over a prebuilt, but you will also have complete control over how much performance you want. http://pcpartpicker.com/ is the go-to website for configuring a custom PC. It pulls prices from major PC part retailers to get you the lowest total cost, and checks to make sure the parts you picked are compatible with each other. If you do not wish to spend time parting together a system, I have created a couple parts lists at different price points to suit your budgetary needs. Each can realistically hold as many people as you want (Spigot has a "safe maximum" of 200 players), but the more expensive one adds things like extra storage and more performance for hosting more than just a Minecraft server. All include a pair of SSDs for drive mirroring, also known as RAID 1, in case of a drive failure. THIS WILL NOT REPLACE A PROPER BACKUP SOLUTION. These days, there are good plugins you can use to back up your Minecraft server to the cloud, but backing up the entire system is definitely recommended if you plan to host more than just Minecraft. This can be done to a local internal or external hard drive, a NAS (network storage server), or a cloud service like Backblaze.

• Good server - 6 cores, 16 GB RAM, 2x 500 GB NVMe SSD
  
• Great server - 8 cores, 32 GB RAM, 2x 1 TB NVMe SSD
  
• Overkill server - 14 cores, 64 GB RAM, 2x 2 TB NVMe SSD

If you would like a tutorial on how to build a PC, this guide from Linus Tech Tips is very comprehensive.


Step 3: Choosing the Operating System

The OS you use is completely up to you. From a performance and resource footprint standpoint, modern desktop versions of Windows are just as capable of hosting a Minecraft server as many Linux distributions. If your prebuilt PC already has an OS installed, you can get going quickly by just using what's already loaded on the machine. If you desire the smallest footprint possible, however, Linux is the way to go.

While things like Ubuntu server are always completely free, Windows (or Windows Server) licenses can be very expensive in official retail channels. If you know where to look, though, Windows licenses can be had for $20-30. At the end of the day, choose the option you are most comfortable working with.


Step 4: Setting Everything Up and Port Forwarding

Now that you have the hardware and the operating system, it is time to get everything set up. If you need to install an operating system, there are many good guides online on how to do so. Simply search "how to install <your OS of choice>," pick a tutorial that looks good, and follow it.

As for port forwarding, I have written a fairly comprehensive guide on it here.

Setting up the Minecraft server itself is fairly straightforward. You can download official server software directly from Mojang, or make use of custom servers, such as Spigot or Paper. If you are planning to host a Bedrock server but the official software doesn't allow you to do what you want, I strongly suggest setting up a Spigot/Paper Java server and installing Geyser-Spigot and Floodgate-Spigot from GeyserMC. Major Bedrock server software such as Pocketmine and Nukkit unfortunately do not have nearly as much plugin support as the long-established CraftBukkit family.

The official server software is more or less run-and-go - just put the executable wherever you want the server files to be, and either run it (Windows) or start it with a script similar to custom servers (Ubuntu). Custom servers do not require additional initial setup, but installing and configuring plugins can take time to get everything exactly how you like.

For custom servers or the official Java server, a startup script could be as simple as two lines:




Where -Xms1G means to start with 1 GB RAM, and -Xmx8G tells it to use no more than 8 GB. As you update the server over time, the name of the JAR file you download may change. It is my recommendation to rename the JAR to something generic (server.jar, spigot.jar, etc.) so you don't have to edit this start script for every update.

NOTE: On Linux, you may need to open the terminal in the folder containing your server and run chmod +x <start script name>.sh in order for it to run when you double-click it (or run from the terminal directly). For Windows, the BAT file you create is automatically executable.


Step 5: Enjoying the Fruits of Your Labor and Maintenance

If you've followed this guide, you are now the proud owner of a home-hosted server that fits your exact needs. Congratulations! However, your job is not done.

Be sure to take care of your server. Put it in a well-ventilated space so it can keep cool, and power it down every month or so in order to clean out any dust that may have accumulated using a can of compressed air. Purchasing magnetic dust filters is a great option to minimize dust buildup, though there are some computer cases that have removable ones built-in. You can pull them out and clean them with a cloth to save time.