Game Server Schedules: Automatic Restarts and Backups on GlassHosting

Why schedules matter on a game server

Most game servers run better with a regular restart and a fresh backup. Doing both by hand works until the night you forget. The Schedules tab in the GlassHosting game panel runs those jobs for you on a clock you choose, so the 3 a.m. restart and the nightly backup happen whether or not anyone is awake.

This guide is for home users and friend groups who already have a server running. Glass Gaming, powered by GlassHosting. New to the panel? Start with the game panel beginner guide and the Stop, Backup, Edit, Start habit.

How a schedule is built

A schedule is two parts: when it runs, and what it does.

When. Five time fields: Minute, Hour, Day of Month, Month, and Day of Week. This is the same format Linux uses for cron jobs. A * means "every".
What. One or more tasks that run in order. A task can send a console command, send a power action (start, stop, restart), or create a backup. Each task after the first can wait a set number of seconds before it runs.

Some panels also offer an option to run a schedule only while the server is online. Use it for restarts and warnings. Leave it off for backups if you want a backup even when the server is stopped.

Cron fields in plain words

Goal	Minute	Hour	Day of Month	Month	Day of Week
Every day at 4:00	`0`	`4`	`*`	`*`	`*`
Every 6 hours, on the hour	`0`	`*/6`	`*`	`*`	`*`
Every Sunday at 5:30	`30`	`5`	`*`	`*`	`0`
Weekdays at 3:15	`15`	`3`	`*`	`*`	`1-5`

After you save, the Schedules list shows the next run time. Check that it matches the hour you meant before you trust it. Server clocks and your home time zone are not always the same.

Recipe 1: nightly restart with player warnings

Pick a quiet hour for your group. For a Minecraft server, build one schedule with three tasks:

Send command, no delay: say Server restarting in 5 minutes
Send command, wait 240 seconds: say Server restarting in 1 minute
Power action: Restart, wait 60 seconds.

Other games use different console commands, and some have no broadcast command at all. If yours does not, skip the warnings and keep the restart at an hour nobody plays. Turn on "only when online" for this schedule so it does not try to restart a server you stopped on purpose.

Recipe 2: nightly named backup

Create a schedule about 30 minutes before the nightly restart, for example 3:30 if the restart is at 4:00.
For Minecraft, add a first task that sends save-all so recent chunks are written to disk.
Add a Create backup task, waiting about 30 seconds after the save.

Spacing the backup and the restart apart keeps the two jobs from running into each other on a busy world.

Backup slots and locked backups

Every plan has a set number of backup slots, shown on the Backups tab. Scheduled backups use those same slots. Before you rely on a nightly job:

Lock at least one known-good backup you never want removed, such as the one from right before a big mod or version change.
Leave free slots for the schedule to use.
After the first scheduled run, open Backups and confirm a new entry appeared with a sensible size. If slots were full, the job may not have done what you expected. Fix that now, not on the night you need a restore.

When you do need one, follow restore a game server backup.

Verify every new schedule once

Save the schedule and read the next run time.
Use the panel's option to run it now, if your schedule page offers one, or set a test time a few minutes out.
Watch the Console for the warning messages and the restart.
Check Backups for the new entry.
Set the real time back and save.

Habits that keep schedules safe

Pause or disable the restart schedule while you install mods or update versions by hand. See safe Minecraft version updates and backups before mods.
Take a manual named backup before any big change, even with a nightly job running.
A daily restart is a tidy habit. It is not a cure for lag. If the server falls behind between restarts, read Minecraft TPS and "Can't keep up" and how much RAM you need.
Tell your group the restart time once so nobody is surprised.

What we will not claim

A schedule is not an off-site disaster recovery plan, and a backup you never tested is a hope, not a backup. GlassHosting gives you panel tools to automate the routine work and human support when something breaks.

Related guides

MSP note

GlassHosting runs its own infrastructure the same way: routine work on a schedule, a backup before every change, and a check that each job did what it said. Order or manage plans at billing.glasshosting.com; operate day to day at panel.glasshosting.com. Glass Gaming, powered by GlassHosting.