I'm new to homelabbing and recently started learning about Docker. It seems like containers could be useful for running persistent game servers such as Vintage Story and Minecraft, especially for making deployments repeatable and easier to manage. I'm preparing a small tower PC for my homelab and was originally considering Windows Server, but I've heard Docker can be less reliable or more complicated on some operating systems. Would Docker be a good fit for hosting these game servers, and should I use a Linux distribution such as Debian or Ubuntu instead of Windows Server? I'd also like to use this as a learning opportunity to understand Docker and containerization more deeply.
5 Answers
For a small homelab, Debian or Ubuntu Server is plenty. You can manage everything from the command line, or add something like Portainer if you want a web interface for viewing containers. Compose files are also easy to manage from an editor such as VS Code, but learning the Docker CLI is useful too.
Docker Compose is a good way to organize game servers. Each server can have its own Compose file, configuration, exposed ports, volume mounts, and restart policy. Use bind mounts or named volumes for the world data and configuration so those files survive container updates or recreation. A restart policy can also bring a server back up after a crash or reboot, although it is still worth having backups.
If you want a ready-made game-server management panel, Pterodactyl is worth looking at. It can simplify deploying and managing multiple servers, but setting everything up manually with Docker Compose may be more educational if your priority is learning containerization.
Linux is the better choice if your goal is to learn and run Docker directly. Ubuntu Server LTS or Debian would both be solid options. Docker is fundamentally built around Linux features, while Docker on Windows runs Linux containers inside a lightweight Linux virtual machine, adding another layer and using extra resources.
That makes sense. I’m leaning toward Linux now since learning how Docker works is one of the main reasons I’m setting this up.
Docker works well for this use case, but persistence comes from how you store the data rather than from the container itself. Keep the world files on the host through a bind mount or volume, and make sure you understand permissions, backups, networking, and port forwarding. If friends need access from outside your home, a VPN overlay can be simpler and safer to start with than exposing every server directly to the internet.
That’s helpful. I may eventually try a management panel, but I’d prefer to build the first version myself so I understand what is happening underneath.