Minecraft server hosting glossary

Aikar Flags are a popular set of pre-tuned JVM flags created by Aikar to improve Minecraft server performance and reduce garbage collection pauses.

AMD is a major CPU manufacturer whose Ryzen and EPYC lines are widely used in game hosting.

An anarchy server has almost no rules: griefing, hacking, and exploiting are typically allowed.

A backup is a copy of your server’s world and configuration that you can restore if something breaks, corrupts, or gets griefed.

The cross-platform version of Minecraft for consoles, mobile, and Windows that focuses on performance and easy multiplayer.

Bukkit is an older server modding platform that introduced the idea of plugins for Minecraft servers.

The Bukkit API is the programming interface that plugin developers use to interact with the Minecraft server. Spigot, Paper, and many other forks implement the Bukkit API so most plugins are cross-compatible.

BungeeCord is one of the original Minecraft proxy systems that connects multiple servers into one network.

Chunk loading is the process of loading 16×16 block regions (chunks) into memory when players are near them or the server needs them.

Client-side refers to anything that runs on the player’s own game client.

Colocation means renting space, power, and connectivity in a datacenter for your own physical server. You own the hardware, the datacenter provides the environment.

A command is a text instruction run in chat or the server console to control the server.

Configuration refers to the settings files that control how your server and plugins behave.

A cracked server allows players with unofficial or non-paid Minecraft accounts to join by disabling Mojang’s online authentication (online-mode=false). This is not supported by Mojang’s EULA and can increase griefing and cheating.

A crash log is the detailed error output generated when your server crashes or fails to start.

Cross platform means players on different platforms like PC, console and mobile can play together.

CurseForge is a popular platform for hosting Minecraft mods, modpacks, plugins, shaders, resource packs, worlds, and other content.

A datacenter is a facility where servers are housed with backup power, cooling, and high-speed internet.

A datapack is a set of files that tweaks or extends vanilla Minecraft without needing client-side mods(custom recipes, loot tables, or advancements).

A DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack floods your server or host’s network with traffic from many sources, trying to overwhelm it and make it unreachable.

A dedicated IP is an IP address used solely by your server, allowing players to connect without a port number.

A dedicated server is an entire physical machine rented from the datacenter for your use, giving you full control of CPU, RAM, and storage for running Minecraft (and other services).

Disk usage is how much storage space your server’s files: worlds, plugins, mods, logs, backups are using.

DNS (Domain Name System) translates human-readable domains like play.example.com into IP addresses.

A DoS (Denial of Service) attack is similar to a DDoS but usually comes from a single source.

Entities are dynamic objects in the world: mobs, players, dropped items, projectiles, minecarts, armor stands, etc.

The EULA (End User License Agreement) is Mojang/Microsoft’s legal contract that defines what you’re allowed to do with Minecraft.

Fabric is a lightweight mod loader for Java Edition that focuses on fast updates and high performance.

Factions is a popular PvP server game mode where players form groups (factions), claim land, and raid others. It typically uses plugins for land-claiming, power, and territory control.

A firewall is a security system that controls which network traffic can reach your server. For Minecraft hosting, firewalls are used to block unwanted ports and limit attacks.

Forge is a mod loader and API for Java Edition that lets servers and clients run Minecraft mods that add new blocks, items, machines, and mechanics.

A fork is a modified version of an existing project’s codebase. In Minecraft hosting, Paper is a fork of Spigot, which is a fork of Bukkit.

FPS (frames per second) measures how many frames your client renders each second.

Free hosting offers Minecraft servers at no direct cost, often with heavy limits on RAM, CPU, uptime etc.

A game panel is a web interface provided by hosting companies that lets you manage a Minecraft server.

Garbage collection (GC) is how the Java Virtual Machine frees up memory that’s no longer used.

Griefing is when players intentionally destroy or vandalize others’ builds or items.

A hosting provider is a company that rents out server resources so you can run your server without managing hardware.

Intel is a major CPU manufacturer, known for Core and Xeon processors. Many datacenters and hosts still run on Intel-based nodes.

Java is the programming language and runtime that Minecraft: Java Edition and most server software run on.

The original PC version of Minecraft that runs on Java and allows deep customization through mods, plugins, and custom server jars.

JVM flags are advanced startup options passed to the Java Virtual Machine that runs your Minecraft server. They tune memory usage, garbage collection, and performance behavior.

A LAN world is a single-player Minecraft world temporarily opened to other players on the same local network (Wi-Fi or Ethernet).

A launcher is the program you start Minecraft with, often used to select versions, modpacks, or profiles.

Minecraft hosting is renting or using hardware specifically set up to run Minecraft server software so others can connect.

A Minecraft server is a program that runs the game world independently of any player, allowing multiple people to join and play together.

A minigame server hosts small, focused games like BedWars, SkyWars, parkour, or spleef instead of traditional survival. These servers rely heavily on plugins and custom maps.

A mod is a code modification that changes or adds game content (new blocks, machines, mobs, dimensions, etc.)

A mod loader, like Forge, Fabric, NeoForge, Quilt, is the software layer that loads and manages mods in Minecraft.

A modpack is a collection of Minecraft mods bundled together with a specific configuration.

Modrinth is a newer, community-focused platform for Minecraft mods, plugins, and modpacks, often emphasizing open-source.

Mohist is a hybrid server software that combines Forge mods with Bukkit/Spigot-style plugins. It’s used when you want both a mods and plugins on your server.

The MOTD (Message of the Day) is the short description that appears in the multiplayer server list, under the server name.

Network bandwidth is the amount of data that can move through a connection per second often measured in Mbps or Gbps.

A node is a physical or virtual machine that runs multiple Minecraft servers for a hosting provider.

OP (operator) is a permission level on a Minecraft server that grants elevated or full administrative powers.

The OS is the software layer that manages the hardware and runs programs like your Minecraft server (for example, Linux, Windows, or macOS).

Overallocation is when a hosting provider allocates more resources especially RAM or CPU to customer servers than the node physically has.

Pay-to-win describes a monetization model where players can buy ranks, items, or perks that give unfair competitive advantages. Minecraft’s EULA restricts certain forms of pay-to-win on public servers.

Ping is the time it takes for data to travel between a player’s computer and the server, measured in milliseconds.

Plugins are server-side extensions that add features like minigames, ranks or extra commands.

A plugin conflict happens when two or more plugins interfere with each other leading to bugs, errors, or crashes.

Port forwarding is a router configuration that exposes your local Minecraft server to the internet by mapping an external port to your machine.

A proxy in Minecraft like BungeeCord, Waterfall, or Velocity sits in front of multiple backend servers and connects players to them as one network. It lets you link separate servers behind a single IP and port.

Pterodactyl is an open-source game panel used by many modern hosts. It runs game servers inside Docker containers and provides a clean web UI for managing Minecraft.

A public server is open for anyone (or almost anyone) to join, usually by sharing the IP or domain on server lists and communities.

RAM is server’s short-term memory, used to store chunks, entities, mod and plugin data while the server runs.

Reload is the act of reloading plugins or configuration without fully restarting the server.

Root access is full administrative control over the underlying operating system, typically available on VPS or dedicated servers.

Rubberbanding is when a player’s position snaps back to a previous spot after moving, usually due to network or server-side lag.

Self-hosting means running your Minecraft server on hardware you control directly like your home PC.

The connection “name” players type into Minecraft to join your server, usually combining a domain or hostname with an optional port (for example, play.example.com). It’s what you share with friends or a community instead of exposing raw IP and ports directly.

An IP (Internet Protocol) address is the numeric label assigned to your server’s machine, like a phone number for its network location (for example, 192.168.1.10). In Minecraft hosting, it’s what your domain or server address ultimately points to so players can reach your server.

server.properties is the main configuration file that controls core server behavior, such as game mode, difficulty, view distance, and online mode. Editing it lets you shape how your Minecraft world feels and performs for players.

Server software is the program that runs your Minecraft server and handles all player connections and game logic. For example: Vanilla, Paper, Spigot, Forge, Fabric, Purpur.

Server-side refers to anything that runs on the Minecraft server rather than on the player’s computer.

SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) is a secure method to upload, download, and manage server files.

Shared hosting places your Minecraft server on a machine where many other servers run alongside it, sharing the same hardware resources.

Simulation distance is the radius (in chunks) around each player in which the game actively processes entities (mos, minecarts, items), redstone components or fluids like flowing water or lava. Anything outside that radius is frozen until a player comes closer.

SMP stands for Survival Multiplayer. The community uses “SMP” for any survival Minecraft server where multiple players share the same world, build up infrastructure, and create some kind of social meta around it (politics, economy, lore, whatever).

Spigot is an optimized version of the old Bukkit server that introduced most of the plugin ecosystem we still use today.

Storage is where your world files, configs, backups, and server jars are saved.

A subdomain is the part of a domain that appears before the main name, like play.example.com

Tick speed is how often the server updates the game world (by default 20 ticks per second). Changing it affects how fast crops grow, redstone runs, and entities move.

TPS (Ticks Per Second) measures how many game ticks the server completes each second with 20 TPS being ideal. When TPS drops, everything is laggy.

Uptime is the percentage of time your server or node stays online and reachable.

The unmodified game with no mods or plugins. It's the official version of Minecraft from Mojang.

View distance shows how many chunks are visible to each player.

VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting gives you a slice of a powerful machine with dedicated resources CPU, RAM and root access, created through virtualization.

A whitelist is a list of allowed player usernames that are permitted to join your server.