A Guide to Proficient Server Managing

Are you new to the server owning community? Do you want to set up a good server, but don't know how? You've come to the right place! This guide will show you a proficient way at setting up a server! Let's get started!

First thing's first, the best way to run a server is by buying a host. In this guide, we are going to use MinecraftPanel provided by Fluctis Hosting as an example. MinecraftPanel, in my opinion, is the best.



MinecraftPanel is an easy way to manage your server which is provided by Fluctis Hosting. MinecraftPanel, opposed to the MultiCraft panel is very simple to navigate.

Where Do I Start?

Once you have purchased your server, and have logged into your MinecraftPanel, the first thing you are going to want to do is set your account password. You can do this by going to Account at the top of the page, like such:


After you've done this, you'll want to set your server so it uses Bukkit to run the server. You can do this by going to Configurationand clicking the drop down menu on Server Platform. If you need a visual example, here's one:


Next, you'll want to grab Essentials, and a permissions plugin. In this guide, we'll be using GroupManager as an example. When you get Essentials, I recommend these four only: EssentialsGroupManager, EssentialsSpawn, Essentials, and EssentialsChat, but before you start to configure GroupManager, there's a few things you'll want to do first.


It's obvious; nobody wants to have their ranks looking a little something like this: Default [Default]Notch. You want it to look a little more like this: [Default]Notch. In order to do this, you'll have to make sure a few things are set correctly! You can start with going into your Essentials.config, which can be found in your server's plugin folder. Next, make sure your settings are like so:



Now we get to the fun part! What's fun about it? Well, this is the simplest part! Yay! To begin, you'll need to go into your groups.yml file. This can be found in Plugins > GroupManager > Worlds > (World Name Here) > groups.yml. I suggest using Notepad++ whilst editing your .YML files. First off, a .YML cannot read a tab, and when you hit enter, naturally, Notepad++ will automatically tab. Just hit backspace and then space four times. Here's an example of a default rank from my server:


Allow me to explain how this works, piece by piece.
groups:, obviously, is stating that anything below it are defined ranks.
Default:, is the defined rank, and is what you refer to when promoting. eg: /manuadd Notch Default.
default: true This line states that this is the rank a player should automatically be when they join the server. Set this to false on any other rank(for obvious reasons).
Inheritance: This is what groups this group should be taking after. For example, if I were to have a Moderator rank, under inheritance, I would put default, so that the Moderator rank would inherit the permissions from the default rank, and I would not have to re-type all of the permission nodes again. For example:
Inheritance:
- Default
Permissions Nodes: A permission node is what you put down to allow the user to use that certain command. Yes, you have to manually type these in, but as long as you know the command name, you'll be fine. eg: - essentials.help
Info: This contains information such as prefixes and suffixes about the rank, and whether or not the rank is allowed to break/build block.
Prefix: This is displayed before the player's name.
Suffix: This is displayed after the player's name.
Build: True if player is allowed to break/build blocks, false if player is not allowed to break/build blocks.

Hopefully this guide has helped you in your quest to create a server!

If you have any questions/comments please feel free to leave them below