Tsssss BOOM - A journey in running a Minecraft multiplayer server

This past weekend I spent a good deal of time setting up a Minecraft SMP (Survival Multiplayer, or Beta) server for a Minecraft group here at VPI. The catalyst for this was a desire to mine, and perhaps even craft, with other gamers on and off campus. Plus, the group didn't have an official SMP server so I figured i might as well put the Core i5 in my desktop to work. If only it was as easy as clicking the download link on the Minecraft page...

First, I naturally (and perhaps naively) downloaded the SMP server files and set them up on my desktop for easy access. I could run it and connect to it using the Minecraft client on the same computer, but had issues connecting using my laptop when on the same WiFi network. But I figured it was some weird issue with having shared IPs thanks to my router and that any computer off the network would have no issue. Wow, what a noob idea.

Quickly I was informed that other members were unable to log in. So, off to the Minecraft Wiki I went, eager to fix the connection woes my fellows were having. The rest of the afternoon passed with my delving into the world of port forwarding, router configuration, and learning of Tech's IT department's policies to prevent people from doing what I was trying to do - host servers. Now, a Minecraft server for a dozen or two nerds is hardly going to tax VT's network, but the policy is wisely aimed at people doing more data intensive things.

Still, my head was being ripped apart by ports and IP addresses and obscure router settings. So I gave up. 

Then, someone mentioned a simple piece of software that changed it all. Hamachi is a great little program to set up custom VPNs and is especially great for people looking to play older PC games online - Age of Empires, anyone? In short, I host a VPN alongside the Minecraft server on my desktop. Group members can simply download and install Hamachi, sign into my network, and then enter a special IP assigned by Hamachi for my desktop into Minecraft's multiplayer login. 

BAM! Done.

Minecraft, while awesome, is very much a beta product. There are still many bugs and the SMP server is probably the worst off. And there could still be a ton more work done to improve admin controls to manage servers. Still, multiplayer Minecraft is simply awesome and is well worth the minimal daily restarts and other small issues. Hopefully Notch and company will redouble their efforts on the SMP side in the coming months and running servers becomes easier and simpler. Until then... wait, hold on, need to restart it again. Re-log in like 30 seconds, OK?