Minecraft: Own server - how to start? Multiplayer guide, tips Minecraft guide, tips
Last update: 12 July 2020
To start the adventure with Minecraft as the server administrator, you first need to decide whether you want to start a server on a private computer, or buy a special server for multiplayer games. If your requirements, concerning a server, are not high, or if your computer is powerful enough and so is your internet connection, you can start a server of your own, on your computer.
From the Minecraft official website, you need to download a file that starts a server, in the .jar version, or as a binary .exe file.
Running the server with a binary file (.exe)
After you have downloaded the file, put it into any folder on the disk and start it.
Allow the application some time, until it creates all of the files required by the server game. You will notice two new folders and five new files. Switch the server off, now, and configure its settings. After you have saved the settings, you can start the file again and join the active server.
You can also allocate more RAM memory for the server to use, which will create a .bat batch file, in the same folder as the server file:
javaw -Xms1024m -Xmx1024m -jar minecraft_server.1.7.2.exe (unless the name of the .exe file is different), and save it as your_name.bat (the file must be in the same folder as the minecraft_server.jar file!).
Running a server with a Java file (.jar)
Starting a server with a .jar file is the same as starting it with the .exe file. If you are experiencing problems with starting the .jar file, you can create a .bat batch file, by writing in the Notepad:
java -Xms512M -Xmx1G -jar minecraft_server.1.7.2.jar (unless the name of the .jar file is different) (and "-d64" if you are starting it under a 64-bit operating system) and saving as your_name.bat (the file must be in the same folder as the minecraft_server.jar file!).
This way, you can also allocate more RAM memory for the server, which will influence the fluency of gameplay, with complex worlds and big number of players.
The numbers at the -Xms512M and -Xmx1G parameters, define how much ram memory you want to allocate to the server. Usually, it allocates 100MB RAM, which is very low, which is why, it is recommended to allocate more.