jpvelasco/redstone-rigger

Minecraft Server on EKS using AWS CDK

This project deploys a Minecraft server on Amazon EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service) using AWS CDK (Cloud Development Kit). It provides a scalable and maintainable way to run a Minecraft server in the cloud.

Prerequisites

• AWS CLI configured with appropriate credentials
• Node.js and npm installed (for CDK CLI)
• Python 3.x installed
• AWS CDK CLI installed (npm install -g aws-cdk)
• Docker installed (optional, for local testing)

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/jpvelasco/redstone-rigger.git
cd redstone-rigger

2. Create and activate a Python virtual environment:

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows use: .venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install the required dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Deployment

1. Bootstrap your AWS environment for CDK (if you haven't already):

cdk bootstrap

2. Synthesize the CloudFormation template to review changes:

cdk synth

3. Deploy the stack:

cdk deploy

4. After deployment, find your Minecraft server address:
   • Go to the AWS EC2 console
   • Navigate to "Load Balancers" in the left sidebar
   • Find the load balancer created by this stack (named like "MinecraftEks-*")
   • Use the DNS name from the "Description" tab as your Minecraft server address

Connecting to the Minecraft Server

1. Launch your Minecraft Java Edition client
2. Click "Multiplayer" > "Add Server"
3. Enter a name for your server (e.g., "My EKS Server")
4. For the server address, use:

   <load-balancer-dns-name>:25565
   

   Replace <load-balancer-dns-name> with the DNS name from step 4 of Deployment.
5. Click "Done" and connect to your server

Architecture

This project creates the following AWS infrastructure:

• An Amazon EKS cluster running Kubernetes v1.24+
• A VPC with public and private subnets across multiple Availability Zones
• An EKS managed node group with t3.medium EC2 instances
• A Kubernetes deployment running the official Minecraft server image
• A Kubernetes LoadBalancer service to expose the Minecraft server
• Associated IAM roles and security groups

Server Configuration

The Minecraft server can be customized through environment variables in the minecraft_server_manifest.yaml file. Common settings include:

• DIFFICULTY: Set game difficulty (peaceful/easy/normal/hard)
• MODE: Gameplay mode (survival/creative/adventure)
• MOTD: Server description shown in the client
• MAX_PLAYERS: Maximum number of concurrent players
• MEMORY: Server memory allocation (default: "2G")
• ONLINE_MODE: Enable/disable online mode verification
• ALLOW_NETHER: Enable/disable Nether dimension
• ENABLE_COMMAND_BLOCK: Enable/disable command blocks

Additional configuration options can be found in the official Minecraft server documentation.

Cost Considerations

Please be aware of the costs associated with running this infrastructure:

• EKS cluster management fee (~$0.10 per hour)
• EC2 instances in the node group (varies by instance type)
• Load Balancer charges
• Data transfer costs

Clean Up

To avoid ongoing charges, destroy the resources when not in use:

cdk destroy

Troubleshooting

1. Server Connection Issues:

   • Verify the security group allows inbound traffic on port 25565
   • Check if the EKS nodes are running: kubectl get nodes
   • View pod status: kubectl get pods
   • Check pod logs: kubectl logs deployment/minecraft-server

2. Performance Issues:

   • Monitor node resources: kubectl top nodes
   • Consider adjusting the server memory allocation
   • Scale the node group if needed

3. Common kubectl Commands:

kubectl get all                     # View all resources
kubectl describe pod <pod-name>     # Get detailed pod info
kubectl logs <pod-name>            # View pod logs
kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- sh  # Access pod shell

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.