People have been asking about what goes on to make Hawknet SMP work the way it does.
It's mostly just a decent computer, and a bunch of plugins for functionality.
The computer that runs Hawknet SMP is a very high spec, gaming computer. It runs on an i7 2600K processor, which has 4 cores, and 8 threads to process data at the same time. It also has a whopping 16 GB of RAM, which the software directly has 8GB of. The software also stores to a 500GB hard drive, which can easily be upgraded if needed in the future.
The server machine also runs a webserver providing 6 websites, and it also runs Hawknet Freebuild Classic server, running under our very own HawkServ server software. We also have the features to run a second SMP server for future Minecraft upgrades, or whichever. We may even look at providing servers to other games besides Minecraft, like Terraria, or Source based games.
The server is connected via a CAT6 Ethernet cable to a router running custom firmware, DD-WRT. This firmware is very powerful, allowing for many connections at the same time, and full control over access. This router connects to my personal computer too, giving me access to the net. This router is then linked to a cable modem/router combo, which is set to DMZ (open
ALL the ports) to the better router. The cable modem/router acts as a wireless hub (taking the load off the better router, too, making it faster and more reliable) for wireless devices: my phone, mothers phone and her iPad, any laptops, etc.
Once all of that is set up, it's time to install the software. Our server runs Windows 7 Professional (Build 7601). This OS is altered a lot further than the version you may be using, since most of its features are turned off. Due to it not needing the code base for Internet Exploder, that is turned off. Printers, Aero, backgrounds, anything that can make it slower are all turned off at the services level. To an unsuspecting viewer, it could be mistaken for Windows 2000. With that, for SMP, we install the Bukkit software. Before 1.7.3 we used to use Hmod for the Minecraft Beta server, which came with a lot of commands, but also supported plugins. Hmod was abandoned though, and so we moved to Bukkit. As we used 1.7.3, and the server gained popularity, we progressed up the chain of versions until we reached 1.2.5, and then we waited an unbearable amount of time until the upgrade.
I did run through the list of plugins from the upgrade from 1.2.5 to 1.3.1, and I did get rid of a lot due to them not working, or not needing them.
I believe however, for every Bukkit server, regardless of what it runs, it needs these three plugins (or a variant) as a 100% requirement for public open access use (Private servers can get away with not having a logging system):
Useful commands and Chat formatting:
Essentials (Including, EssentialsChat, EssentialsProtect, EssentialsSpawn)
This does not include GroupManager, which is replaced by...Permissions System:
PermissionsEx (Replaces Permissions 3 due to abandonment)
Logging system:
Prism (Replaces LogBlock, due to Prism being better)
Of course, there are other plugins which perform the same actions (Essential's GroupManager is similar to PermissionsEx, and there are other permissions alts, same goes for logging), but these are the three that we use.
Other than that, there are a total (including the three above) of 19 plugins to make Hawknet SMP the server that is. These are, in alphabetical order:
These plugins add a variety of features, from allowing you to disguise as a mob, to changing your environment around you, to slowing down time and making creepers not damage terrain, to allowing easy management of multiple worlds, and creating a virtual economy. This is what makes Hawknet SMP what it is, and although most of it is restricted to trustworthy users, it still makes the whole blocky world go around.
I hope you enjoyed this little bit about what we as admins do to provide a free service to you. So when you next get a chance, don't forget to think about and thank the people and machines who do most of the work. ^^
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