Misconceptions about Bukkit and McMyAdmin

Discussion in 'Bukkit Help' started by PhonicUK, Feb 11, 2011.

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  1. Offline

    PhonicUK

    Hey All,

    There have been a few issues regarding the use of Bukkit and McMyAdmin going around - so I'm just going to put a few of these to rest:

    1) Issues regarding performance.

    A few people have suggested that using McMyAdmin with Bukkit causes poor performance. This is simply not true - why? Because McMyAdmin can't decrease server performance. It doesn't in any way manipulate the inner workings of the service or touch the network traffic - it just reads the console and writes to it. It also has minimal memory usage, and uses so little CPU time that it usually shows as < 1% - even on a very busy server .

    When people do complain of issues, its generally as a result of abusing the javaopts setting. When they go to 'test' without McMyAdmin - they don't use the same options as McMyAdmin uses and get different results, putting false blame on McMyAdmin.

    To check what arguments it is using, do either one of the following:

    A) From the McMyAdmin text console, stop the game server (using /stop) and run the /debug command to make McMyAdmin write data out to McMyAdmin-Debug.txt - which will include a full list of java arguments it uses

    B) Set loglevel=0 in your McMyAdmin.conf and restart the server - McMyAdmin will write out the java start arguments to the console.

    I've not yet found a case where on deeper investigation, some option or plugin was actually the cause. As I said earlier, there isn't anything McMyAdmin can actually do to affect performance.

    2) McMyAdmin doesn't support Bukkit.

    Officially, that is correct, unofficially however it does. As of version 0.8.4.0 - Support was added to let McMyAdmin start Bukkit. All this does is change the name of the .jar file it looks for to "craftbukkit.jar" and changes the main class to "org.bukkit.craftbukkit.Main". This also lets you use things like BiomeBukkit as an addon.

    At the moment McMyAdmin doesn't yet have permissions integration, mainly because the whole issue of permissions is up in the air. The current permissions plugin will soon be defunct once Bukkit gets its own permissions system (which McMyAdmin will support) - but until it's ready, I don't plan to support the 3rd party plugins that implement it.

    3) McMyAdmin won't have much Bukkit integration.

    I'm actually working with lukegb (The unofficial Bukkit <-> McMyAdmin liason) to help ensure tight integration between Bukkit and McMyAdmin. The final goal is that you'll be able to manage the whole of Bukkit from inside McMyAdmin. Right down to one-click installs of plugins via the web interface - no downloading, unpacking and FTP , just find the one you want - click - and it's all taken care of and kept up to date for you.

    If you've got any questions or comments I'd be happy to address them.
     
    Snipes01 likes this.
  2. Offline

    odielag

    For days I got 2 seconds of still with 2 seconds of smooth with the server up for an hour and 20+ people connected. The only change I made was to remove mcmyadmin and the server ran unbelievably smoothly... no more stars jittering etc... I Know mcmyadmin was having problems... Not to mention my world got corrupted with all the backups corrupted except the manual archive I made 4 days ago. I had to completely redo the world when up to 31 people would connect at the time. With bukkit now, it's for the best though... I heart CraftBukkit.
    --- merged: Feb 11, 2011 12:34 PM ---
    Oh yeah, should add my server specs:

    CraftBukkit version 304
    Core i7-930 cpu. 24GB ddr3 ram
    OS: CentOS5.5 x86_64
    java -version: 1.6.0_23
    Mono --version : 2.8.2
    100mbit up/down unmetered connection
    unmanaged dedicated host (remote KVM)
    What am I missing?
    --- merged: Feb 11, 2011 12:36 PM ---
    Oh yeah... 3gb tmpfs mount of the world folder.
     
  3. Offline

    Vanderburg

    I don't really understand why people are getting upset at Phonic. Regardless of whether or not he could offer better integration at the moment, Bukkit hasn't even gotten a preview release yet! You are all playing with a dev build! Why should he have to keep changing things in MCMA to keep up with all the changes in Bukkit before it's even been released? I don't understand this. If you really want to use Bukkit right now, then use it. Don't get mad at PhonicUK because he's not integrating during the initial development states.
     
  4. Offline

    TnT

    Isn't that what Fill will take care of anyway?

    I have to ask, because I honestly can't think of anything. What does McMyAdmin do for you? Just manage the settings files so you don't have to open them up and edit them manually?

    You're probably right about people screwing with the Java flags and causing them issues, so is there a setting in there for users to run "default settings" and see what happens? I would think that would make it easier on you (assuming you're the one making McMyAdmin) to debug issues. Aka: "Did you run it on the default settings? Does it run better?"

    I'm not trying to troll, or be an ass about this, I am honestly curious.
     
    dark navi likes this.
  5. Offline

    Vanderburg

    McMyAdmin is a server wrapper with similar functionality to, say, MCAdmin (But without the backdoor). The nice thing about McMyAdmin is that it allows you to manage your server through a web UI while providing you with a power API to integrate functions into your website. (www.franticme.com/yay.png for example)
     
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    Obsidian

    It does quite a bit for anyone running pure vanilla. Right now, I'm using it just so I can whitelist access to my server.
     
  7. Offline

    TnT

    So if I understand correctly, it allows you to edit the flat files for the MC server, as well as manage permissions (which aren't included yet, correct?). What other API functions does this give you? How would this be any different from running the "Crafty" gui, besides being web based?
     
  8. Offline

    Obsidian

    Not really. Run it yourself, there's quite a bit more functionality than that.
    Most of what it does, however, will likely be handled by Bukkit plugins once everything stabilizes and there's a usable release. Things like the automation, permissions (which it does provide, just not integrate them with bukkit plugins) and whitelisting are just holding me over during Bukkit's development stages; I believe I'll end up dropping MCMA once that's all handled.
     
  9. Offline

    TnT

    As of yet, I have no idea why I would need to run it myself. On top of that, you went on to say it will likely become obsolete. Not a very convincing reason for me to use it.
     
  10. Offline

    Obsidian

    I meant to say, if you want to see what it does, run a test install of it. Easier to see for yourself.
     
  11. Offline

    Toasty

    Also take note that using a web UI means significantly easier remote management. You don't have to forward windows over SSH, or use a slow VNC/RDP connection. Just VPN and type the web address for the MCMA, and you can manage everything from there.

    Besides, MCMA will probably be able to interface with those plugins you claim will make it obsolete. Which actually serves to make it less obsolete.

    From what I understand, MCMA's job is to provide a web-based GUI through which you can manage your server and your plugins (correct me if I'm wrong). It can't become obsolete unless someone makes a better webui and development on MCMA stops.
     
  12. Offline

    drdanick

    I have a problem with this point. If the stdout/stderr streams aren't read correctly from a java child process (i assume McMyAdmin spawns a child process) through buffering/etc it can cause the child process to go into deadlock momentarily for every byte that is read from the streams. Its subtle, but the more that is being printed to the console, the more of a problem it is. This was a small problem with my own wrapper that prevented it from being run on large production servers (completely fixed now through proper buffering).
    Now, I have no idea how the streams are being read in McMyAdmin, but I know for a fact that wrappers can have a direct effect on performance of a child process, even if all they do is read the streams of said child process.

    This is a good read: http://kylecartmell.com/?p=9
     
  13. Offline

    PhonicUK

    McMyAdmin is a *huge* amount more than a flat-file editor and an API. It's as much a management tool as it is a configuration tool.

    Some of its features:

    * A built in cron-like scheduler to automatically perform events such as server restarts, world saves, announcements and backups at regular intervals, easily managed via the Web UI
    * Integrated backup manager
    * World Templates to quickly spawn new a world in the style of the users choice
    * User and group management for its own in-game commands (such as lookup, whois, giveme, giveto, and many more) which can also delegate 'vanilla' commands such as kick and ban to non-op players.
    * CPU and memory usage monitoring
    * One-click updates of the Minecraft server
    * Server stability and uptime tracking (watches for crashes and stalls, performs automated restarts if needed)

    See a non-functioning demo of the frontend to get a better idea of its feature set: http://phonicuk.com/McMyAdmin-Demo/

    It's so useful that over 1500 servers and 8 different GSPs use it ;)

    For those wondering about how MCMA handles the IO stream, reads from the console are performed on a dedicated thread using blocking IO reads to get the best possible response time. The crafthub server has demonstrated its performance beautifully before with over 100 players at the same time, and MCMA taking it all like a champ.

    For those wondering about the one-click plugin install, it is being done by integrating with the Fill repository. It's something I'm working with lukegb to sort out.
     
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    TnT

    Thank you, that was what I was looking for - a detailed explanation of what it does.
     
  15. Offline

    Readle

    Hey I am using McMyAdmin with Bukkit, I start the server it sais its on but when I connect (or anyone trys to connect) it doesnt work.
     
  16. Offline

    bob7

    Well i've been using McMyAdmin for about 2 months now. It seems to crash every 13 hours or so. This has been testing on 2 different dedicated servers. Currently i'm running a 12gb, i7 quad core 3.3GHz, SSH harddrive, 10Tb bandwith, and i just don't understand why my server crashes every 13 hours? I've used MultiCraft without any problems..
     
  17. Offline

    codename_B

    necroooo
     
    Darky1126 likes this.
  18. when is bukkit goingg to update with mc my admin?
    or do i have to download it and add it as if it were a plguin? THIS IS FOR BUKKIT 1.2.3 THANKS. if anyone has a link to download if i neeed to please post it thanks.
     
  19. Offline

    TnT

    This post keeps getting necro'd with help requests for McMyAdmin. Go to their forums and request help there, you'll get a better response than necroing this post.

    Yes, I realize the irony of me necroing this post to say I've locked it for being necro'd.

    Locked.
     
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