Server Side Niceties

[Ambedrake]

While speaking with Doom about some things that would make server side administration a lot easier these ideas were brought up.

• Version checking : It would be nice to have a direct version check kind of like the launcher has, but that a server side script can periodically check. If the server becomes out of date it can send a message to the clients, initiate a timed shutdown, update, then restart itself.
• Console Commands : Really this one is a necessity, having the console able to take direct commands from the console. Much like most other games this helps especially if you can not get into the game due to bugs to issue the proper shutdown and save commands.
• ToolKit : Much like starmote, but attached to the server itself. Similar to vanilla minecraft, the server has an optional "wrapper" that comes with some basic tools in it. Starmote is great at the moment, but still requires connection, some level of control or a server side tool kit would be great for those moments that the server just doesn't like any of the clients.
• Query : I know the query has been requested before, but it holds merit with this set of tools. With a proper query it's possible to detect when the server hangs and freezes. With that ability we can get a cron job or similar to kill the server and restart it when there is no admin available, all the while we can use the same script to package up and send logs with an automated message such as "Server hang (some datetime here)" etc.

Anyways ideas that were thrown about, the reasons for them, and the uses. If you have any other idea's to add to this, or I missed something in chat, I invite all server admins to attach similarly detailed suggestions in this thread. (Would be nice to keep the category to a thread to keep from over crowding the forum with clutter).



Cheers,

Ambedrake
NightSong Entertainment

 

[mag0ca]

Personally I would consider Console commands more of a requirement. There seams to be no other way to automate server administration.