Notes

Minecraft Bedrock Edition - Ubuntu Dedicated Server Guide

Minecraft Bedrock Edition is the version of Minecraft that powers the iPhone / Android versions (formerly Minecraft Pocket Edition), the Xbox / PlayStation / Nintendo Switch editions and the free Windows 10 Minecraft edition.



Mojang has released a dedicated server which is considered to be in alpha testing. It has been very stable and is able to run on a variety of hardware.



This script and guide are written to help you get a robust Minecraft Bedrock dedicated server up and running in only a few minutes!



It is now possible to get a Docker containerized edition.



- Sets up the official Minecraft Bedrock Server (currently in alpha testing) - Fully operational Minecraft Bedrock edition server in a couple of minutes


- Ubuntu / Debian distributions supported


- Sets Minecraft up as a system service with the option of autostarting at boot


- Automatic backups during server restarts


- Multiple instances support - multiple Bedrock servers can be run on the same system


- Automatic updates to the latest version or user-defined version, when the server is started


- Easy control of server with start.sh, stop.sh and restart.sh scripts


- Adds logging with timestamps into the "logs" directory


- Optional scheduled daily reboot of server usingcron


Requirements



- A 64-bit processor on a computer (if you want to use ARM, read my article about the limitations). 32 bit binaries are not available on the official server so it needs 64 bit!


- 1GB RAM or More


- Ubuntu 22.04/20.04 (current LTS recommended) is Microsoft's only supported platform.


- Other Linux flavors supported by this script as well as long as they use systemd (for the service). The script assumes that apt is installed. However, there are very few dependencies so you can install them on another distro (that does not have apt) and then use the script as normal.


Recommended Gear



Game Editions



Minecraft: Bedrock Edition is the "Windows 10" version of Minecraft as well as the version of Minecraft on the Xbox / Playstation / Switch. The Bedrock Edition also includes Minecraft for iOS and Android.



All versions are cross-platform compatible (but not with Java edition).



This is the PC Minecraft 10 (Bedrock), edition. It is able to play cross-platform with other players on Android / iOS / Playstation / Xbox / Switch. It is available as a code that can be instantly activated to grant you permanent access to this game!



Links: Amazon.com*, Amazon.co.jp*, Amazon.co.uk*, Amazon.de*, Amazon.es*, Amazon.fr*, Amazon.it*



The Sony PlayStation Minecraft Edition.



Links: Amazon.com*, Amazon.ca*, Amazon.com.au*, Amazon.co.jp*, Amazon.co.uk*, Amazon.de*, Amazon.es*, Amazon.fr*, Amazon.it*, Amazon.nl*, Amazon.se*, Amazon.sg*



This is Minecraft's Nintendo Switch version: Bedrock edition.



Links: Amazon.com*, Amazon.ca*, Amazon.com.au*, Amazon.co.jp*, Amazon.co.uk*, Amazon.de*, Amazon.es*, Amazon.fr*, Amazon.it*, Amazon.nl*, Amazon.pl*, Amazon.se*, Amazon.sg*



This is Minecraft: Bedrock edition on Microsoft Xbox.



Links: Amazon.com*, Amazon.ca*, Amazon.com.au*, Amazon.co.uk*, Amazon.de*, Amazon.es*, Amazon.fr*, Amazon.it*, Amazon.nl*, Amazon.sg*



Recommended Storage (Solid State Drive).



Solid State drives (SSDs), are highly recommended for servers. This is because Minecraft reads and stores chunks to the hard drive all the time, making I/O performance critical.



These are much cheaper than they used to be. This 120 GB model is a good choice (higher capacities are also available) and it's very affordable.



The Kingston A400 is reliable, easily accessible around the globe, and performs well. It's also very affordable. This drive has been benchmarked over 1000x at Pi Benchmarks. It is the #1 most loved SSD in the community!



A high end drive is possible if your motherboard has an M.2 NVMe slot. This will give your server maximum performance, even if there are many players changing blocks and triggering disk drives.



This is the one I have in my machine. These can range from 250 GB up to 2 TB, depending on how large your server might grow.



The Samsung 980 Pro (NVMe), a professional-grade SSD, is one of the fastest in its class. Samsung NVMe drives have been a top choice in this category for many years and are highly regarded for their reliability/long life expectancy.



Links: AliExpress*, Amazon.com*, Amazon.ca*, Amazon.com.au*, Amazon.co.jp*, Amazon.co.uk*, Amazon.de*, Amazon.es*, Amazon.fr*, Amazon.it*, Amazon.nl*, Amazon.pl*, Amazon.se*, Amazon.sg*



Computer / CPU/Memory



Nearly every computer made in the last few decades will be an x86_64bit computer. If you have an older computer around that isn't being used then it will most likely have the right CPU and amount of memory (as well as fast storage) to run a basic server.



Throwing a SSD in one of these older computers will provide an excellent server experience for small and larger player counts.



The speed of your storage is what will make the biggest difference. Older HDDs have slower performance than modern SSDs, despite all other hardware being equal. This is because the Minecraft server is constantly reading/writing chunks of your world as well as updates to it to the disk so this tends to be the bottleneck.



Operating System



I highly recommend using Ubuntu Server to run the Minecraft dedicated server. It is available here: https://ubuntu.com/download/server



At the time of writing the current version is Ubuntu Server 20.04. This is a stable and robust operating system that will give the server plenty of resources.



Although the script will run on any Debian-based Linux flavor, I recommend using it because the Minecraft Bedrock server was compiled specifically for Ubuntu. If you have a GUI flavor of Ubuntu and a decent PC (>= 2 GB of RAM) the server will work just fine on it.



Note: People have reported in the comments that Ubuntu 16.x is no longer working with the latest official Mojang binaries. Ubuntu 18.04 will suffice for the latest versions. However, 20.04 would be a good choice.



Log in to your Linux server using SSH or a mouse with keyboard. Copy/type the following command.



The script will setup your Minecraft server and then ask you questions about how to make it work. These are the meanings of them.



The first question you will need to answer is the installation path. This is the root path to all servers. This path should be used to install additional servers. It should always be set as the default (~).



The only exception is if you have something like a completely dedicated disk for the Minecraft server. For any new or additional server, you must use the same root path as /mnt/yourdrive.



"Start Minecraft server at startup automatically (y/n)?" - This will set the Minecraft service to start automatically when your server boots. This is a great way of setting up a Minecraft server which is always available.



"Automatically start and backup server at four o'clock every morning (y/n)" - This will add to the server a cron job that restarts the server every day at four o'clock in the morning. This is great as it backs up the server every time it restarts and updates to the most recent version. You can modify the time or cancel the reboot by going to the "Scheduled Daily Reboots” subsection below.



That is it for the setup script. The server will finish configuring and start!



First Run



The server will start up and start displaying output to the console.



Once you see the "Server started" line you will be able to connect from the client.



To add the server to the client open Minecraft and click "Play". Next, click on "Play" at top of screen to open Minecraft.



This will ask you to enter a Server Name, and a Server IP Address. You can type anything as the name. For the server IP address, enter the address for your Linux server. Leave the default port at 19132. For more information on how you can let people outside your network, please see the "Port Forwarding” section.



Now choose the server from the list you just added and connect!



Server can be started, stopped and restarted



The server can be restarted, stopped, or started in two different ways. You can use the provided scripts in the Minecraft folder or you can use systemctl. Here are the commands



Automatic Backups



Every time the server starts, it backs up. This helps you recover easily if something goes wrong. This system works best when the server is set to restart every day. It means that you have a backup of your data every day.



To access these backups, type:



When a backup is created, the filename will reflect the date and time that the backup was made. It's very easy to restore a backup. You can substitute the timestamp from my example for the backup to which you want to rollback. Type:



Your world has been restored! It's a good idea to download these backups off the server periodically just in case the server's storage fails.



Installation Resource Packs / Support for RTX



For instructions on how to install resource packs (including optional RTX support) view my step by step Minecraft Bedrock Dedicated Server Resource Packs guide here.



Scheduled Daily Reboots



The cron program schedules daily reboots.

It is very simple to modify the time when your server restarts.

To change the time that the server restarts type: crontab -e



This will open a new window asking you to choose a text editor (I prefer nano) and show the cronjobs on the server. The Minecraft version will look like this:



These are the fields. The default restart time for the computer is set to reboot at the hour of 4 AM. The 3 remaining fields are left blank to represent every month. You can make any changes here, and then press Ctrl+X for exit nano and to update the cronjob.



To remove the daily reboot simply delete the line and save.



Reconfigure/Update scripts



You can always reconfigure the scripts and update them by downloading the latest SetupMinecraft.sh file and running the installer once again. It will update all scripts in the Minecraft directory, and reinstall startup service.



Running SetupMinecraft.sh again will also give you a chance to reconfigure options such as the memory dedicated to the server, daily reboots, starting the server on boot, etc.



This will not erase your world or any other data, so it is safe for you to run!



This is not necessary if everyone on your server has the same WiFi network or LAN as you. Port forwarding allows you to allow people to connect from other networks.



This process is different for each router. The best thing is to look at your router, find the model #, and then use google with port forwarding to get easy instructions.
Gservers.Org


You want to forward port 19132. TCP or UDP is the type of connection. Some routers require you to make a TCP and UDP entry.



After this, anyone can connect to your Minecraft server via your public IP address. This is different to your local IP address which is usually a 192.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x. If you don't know what that is just go to google and type "what's my ip" and Google will kindly tell you!



Version Override



You can go back to a previous version by using the script revert.sh found in your directory.



If you have a specific version you would like to run you can also create version_pin.txt yourself like this:



The version hold can be removed by deleting version_pin.txt. This will allow it to update to the latest version again!



Wireless vs. Wire



A wired ethernet connection is faster and more reliable. There's so much wireless traffic and other interference in the air that running your server on WiFi is not recommended.



Even if your WiFi is working well, it can quickly ruin your experience if it stops working for a few seconds or you are hacked by a creeper!



Wireless is fine, however, the server still works well. With a wireless connection, the script will work as it is.



Benchmarking / Testing Storage



If you are experiencing poor performance, you might consider running my storage benchmark with:



PC results won't show up on the site yet (it's meant for Raspberry Pi) but it will run on Linux just fine and give you a score. Pi Benchmarks allows you to compare your score and verify that your drive is performing properly by searching for the model.



The Minecraft Bedrock Edition dedicated server runs much better than previous third party servers in the past that were missing critical features. Even on low-end hardware the performance is exceptional. It's easier than ever to create a Minecraft Bedrock server.



Let me know if you have any suggestions or feedback. Many of the changes made in this guide and script were directly contributed by readers.


Here's my website: https://gservers.org/