If you've ever been interested, here is a way to set up your own Minecraft Server using Microsoft Azure. Depending on what you use to play Minecraft, such as Windows 10 PCs or Macs, there are many reasons why you might choose to use Microsoft Azure to host Minecraft Servers instead of your own.
Here's a short list:
- Choose a preconfigured Minecraft virtual machine that you can launch from the Azure Marketplace. There is no installation required. - You can choose from a variety VM sizes that meet your performance and budget requirements. Running a server on your own physical machine means choosing between limiting access to your home network, or dealing with the security risk of exposing your home network to the internet. - Avoid hardware costs - pay for a VM when you need it and shut it down when you don't. Whitelist trusted users to connect from anywhere, without needing to deal with firewalls and port forwarding. - Freedom from worry about losing data to hardware failure with disks backed by Azure Storage Service. - If you mess up the whole machine no big deal, delete it and deploy another. You can start from the beginning if you regularly back up your world.
Now that you know why Azure is so great, let's look at the steps required to set up your Minecraft Server.
1. Purchase Minecraft and create a Mojang Account. You need these in order to play Minecraft and to be successful in actually setting up a Minecraft Server.
2. Get a Microsoft Azure account. You can get a trial for free and some credits to your first month of Microsoft Azure.
3. Select the Minecraft Server Virtual Machine (Azure Marketplace)
4. Click "Create Virtual Machine"
5. Next, log in to your Microsoft Azure Account. Click "Create"
6. Here, you'll have to do some important configuration steps (some are optional):
- Pick a name for your server (the url for your server will be name.cloudapp.net) - Enter a username to use as an administrator - Define a password or upload an ssh key you will use to access your server - Select a server size / pricing tier, A1 will be a good size to start with - Optional: Configure Network, Storage and Diagnostics - Optional: Select or define a name to group your Azure resources - Optional: Select the subscription to use if you have got multiple - Select a location / data center to host your server, pick a location close to your users
7. Click "Create", to have Azure create your Minecraft Server. It may take several minutes, so don't panic!
8. Your Minecraft server will now be ready. In order to connect to your server in Minecraft, use the URL and Port 25565 like this: Minecraftservername.cloudapp.net:25565
9. You might receive an error message telling to update your Minecraft server if Minecraft is not up-to-date. Minecraft Update your Minecraft Server to the latest version.
10. In order to update your server, as well as manage some additional settings, log into your server using SSH (available on Linux or Mac) or a tool like PuTTY (available on Windows). Windows 10 will soon get SSH and bash in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update.
11. After logging into your Minecraft server with you username and password, go to the folder of your Minecraft Server "cd /srv/minecraft_server".
12. Download the current version of the Minecraft server using CURL. Currently, this would be "sudo curl -remote-name ttps://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/versions/1.10/minecraft_server.1.10.jar". Here is the link you can use to download the most current server version.
13. You can edit the ops.json file while you are logged in to our server by placing it in the correct folder. You can edit the file by using nano: "sudo nu ops.json". Edit the file like shown below using your Minecraft username and unique ID. Go here to find your Minecraft unique ID.
[ "uuid": "uuid", "name": "minecraft_username", "level": 4 ]
14. You can now save the file. Save the file by using "CTRL + o" and exit Nano using "CTRL + x". You can also edit the "server.properties” file to manage different configuration settings. More information about Minecraft server properties can found on the Minecraft Wiki.
15. In order to use the current version of Minecraft Server that you downloaded, you need to edit the service configuration using Nano like this: "sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/minecraft-server.service". You will need the Minecraft Server update here (see below).
16. Now all you have left to do is save the file, and exit Nano.
17. Next, stop the Minecraft Server service and restart it. You may also need "systemctl darmon-reload" to reload the systemd. To restart the service, run "systemctl restart mincraft-server".
18. It may take some time for the service's restart to complete. After that, you can restart your Minecraft client to refresh the server and connect your server for creating your Minecraft Server.
19. Hooray! Congratulations!
If you run into any problems or need help with error messages, be sure to visit the Minecraft Wiki on "Setting up a server" for more information and help. The Minecraft Wiki provides helpful information on managing and configuring Minecraft server configuration settings.