Requirements and sizing
What MuteCloud needs to run, which server fits your network, and a calculator for RAM, CPU and storage.
What the cloud itself needs
MuteCloud runs on Linux and Windows, on 64-bit x86 machines. Whether that is a VPS at a hosting provider, a dedicated server, a cloud instance or a machine at home does not matter; it needs a public IP or a port forward for the proxy and nothing else.
| Operating system | Linux (any current distribution) or Windows 10, 11, Server 2019 and newer |
| Architecture | x86-64 |
| Preinstalled software | none: no Java, no screen, no Docker |
| Cloud itself | around 10 MB of RAM and a fraction of one core |
| Minimum machine | 2 cores, 4 GB of RAM, 20 GB SSD for a small network |
| Ports | one public port for players, 25565 by default |
The cloud brings its own Java runtimes and downloads the matching one for every group, so a 1.8 BedWars server on Java 8 and a current lobby on Java 25 run side by side on the same machine. The rest of the memory belongs to the game servers, and that is what the sizing below is about.
What makes a good Minecraft machine
A Minecraft server does most of its work on one thread. Clock speed matters more than the number of cores: a CPU with fewer but faster cores beats a server CPU with many slow ones. Dedicated cores are worth more than shared vCPUs, which neighbours on the same host can slow down in the evening, exactly when your players are online.
Use an NVMe SSD. Rounds start by copying templates and loading worlds, and a slow disk turns that into seconds of waiting for every new round.
Plan RAM with room to spare. MuteCloud starts servers only while the memory budget allows it, so a machine that is too small does not crash; it simply stops starting new rounds when it is full.
Calculator
Enter what your network looks like at its busiest. The calculator suggests a machine and a
starting point for every group, with memory and scale values you can copy into the
group files.
Machine
1
RAM
24 GB
CPU cores
8
SSD
40 GB
| Group | Servers at peak | memory | scale.min | scale.max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proxy | 1 | 512 MB | 1 | 2 |
| Lobby | 2 | 1.5 GB | 2 | 4 |
| Game mode 1 | 4 | 1.5 GB | 2 | 8 |
| Game mode 2 | 4 | 1.5 GB | 2 | 8 |
The servers take 15.5 GB at peak, one gigabyte stays with the operating system and the cloud. An estimate for typical plugin loads; large maps, many entities or heavy plugins need more.
The numbers assume that about a quarter of the players are in the lobby at any time and that
round-based modes keep one free server ready so the next round starts at once. Adjust the
groups afterwards to what you actually see: service shows memory use per server, and the
dashboard shows it over time.
Typical sizes
| Network | Machine |
|---|---|
| Small community, up to 30 players, lobby and one mode | 4 cores, 8 GB RAM |
| Growing network, around 100 players, lobby and two modes | 8 cores, 24 GB RAM |
| Established network, around 300 players, lobby and three modes | 16 cores, 32 GB RAM |
| Beyond that | several machines in a cluster |
The values come from the calculator with round-based modes on a current version. Networks on 1.8 need noticeably less memory.
A cluster grows one machine at a time. A second node joins with a single code, and the cloud spreads servers over all nodes by their free memory.