The Ultimate Guide to Minecraft Server

With 54+ million copies sold, Minecraft has become a worldwide phenomenon. For some players, single-player Minecraft is enough. Most avid players want to go further, connecting with Minecrafters worldwide on multiplayer servers. Increasingly, many want to take the next step beyond that, and host their own servers. This is the world's first complete guide to successfully hosting your Minecraft server, even if you have no networking or server administration experience.

Best-selling tech author Tim Warner covers everything you need to know, from the absolute basics of Minecraft networking and multiplayer environments to cutting-edge customization and troubleshooting. Step by step, Warner guides you through all this, and much more:

• Configuring your computer to host a reliable Minecraft server
• Implementing a MySQL database for Minecraft
• Planning your Minecraft server - either "vanilla" or Bukkit
• Considering commercial Minecraft hosting solutions
• Installing a Minecraft server and configuring its environment
• Creating and administering your users and the rules they must follow
• Extending your server with mods, plugins, and your own new extensions
• Protecting your server, your users, and everyone else - including the best ways to avoid griefing
• Monetizing your server with advertising (in- and out-of-game) and in-game purchases
• Learning from today's best public and members-only Minecraft servers

Unlike the information you'll find scattered across the web, this guide presents detailed "recipe" instructions designed for simplicity and updated through the latest versions of Minecraft. You don't need any experience in technology or interest in a tech career - but if you are interested in one, you'll master skills you can use in a wide variety of IT careers!