> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/minekube/gate/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Deployment Overview > Learn about deployment options and architecture for Gate proxy Gate is a flexible Minecraft proxy that can be deployed in various environments, from simple Docker containers to complex Kubernetes clusters. This guide covers the available deployment options and architectural considerations. ## Deployment Options Gate supports multiple deployment methods to suit different infrastructure needs: ### Docker Deployment The simplest way to run Gate in production. Gate provides official Docker images with two variants: * **Distroless variant** (default): Minimal security-focused image based on Debian * **JRE variant**: Includes Java Runtime Environment for plugin support ```bash theme={null} docker pull ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest ``` **Use cases:** * Quick deployments and testing * Single-server setups * Development environments ### Docker Compose Ideal for multi-server networks with Gate as the frontend proxy. ```yaml docker-compose.yml theme={null} version: "3.8" services: gate: image: ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest container_name: gate restart: unless-stopped network_mode: host volumes: - ./config.yml:/config.yml environment: - OTEL_METRICS_ENABLED=true - OTEL_TRACES_ENABLED=true server-0: image: itzg/minecraft-server container_name: server-0 environment: EULA: "true" TYPE: "PUFFERFISH" ONLINE_MODE: "false" ports: - "25566:25565" volumes: - ./serverdata0:/data restart: unless-stopped ``` **Use cases:** * Local multi-server networks * Development and testing * Small to medium production deployments ### Kubernetes Production-grade orchestration for scalable and resilient deployments. ```yaml deploy.yaml theme={null} apiVersion: apps/v1 kind: Deployment metadata: name: gate spec: replicas: 3 selector: matchLabels: app: gate template: metadata: labels: app: gate spec: containers: - name: gate image: ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest ports: - containerPort: 25565 name: minecraft - containerPort: 9090 name: health volumeMounts: - name: config mountPath: /config.yml subPath: config.yml livenessProbe: grpc: port: 9090 initialDelaySeconds: 10 periodSeconds: 10 readinessProbe: grpc: port: 9090 initialDelaySeconds: 5 periodSeconds: 5 volumes: - name: config configMap: name: gate-config --- apiVersion: v1 kind: Service metadata: name: gate spec: selector: app: gate type: LoadBalancer ports: - port: 25565 targetPort: minecraft protocol: TCP name: minecraft ``` **Use cases:** * Large-scale production deployments * High availability requirements * Auto-scaling needs * Multi-region deployments ### Bare Metal / VM Direct installation on servers or virtual machines. ```bash theme={null} # Download the binary wget https://github.com/minekube/gate/releases/latest/download/gate-linux-amd64 # Make it executable chmod +x gate-linux-amd64 # Run with config ./gate-linux-amd64 -config config.yml ``` **Use cases:** * Existing infrastructure * Maximum performance requirements * Custom system integration ## Architectural Patterns ### Single Proxy Architecture Simplest deployment with one Gate instance routing to multiple backend servers. ``` ┌─────────┐ │ Players │ └────┬────┘ │ v ┌─────────┐ ┌──────────┐ │ Gate ├─────>│ Server 1 │ │ Proxy ├─────>│ Server 2 │ └─────────┘ │ Server 3 │ └──────────┘ ``` **Pros:** * Simple to configure and maintain * Low latency * Minimal resource overhead **Cons:** * Single point of failure * Limited scalability ### High Availability Architecture Multiple Gate instances behind a load balancer for redundancy. ``` ┌─────────┐ │ Players │ └────┬────┘ │ v ┌──────────────┐ │ Load Balancer│ └──────┬───────┘ ┌───┴───┬───────┐ v v v ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ │Gate1│ │Gate2│ │Gate3│ └──┬──┘ └──┬──┘ └──┬──┘ │ │ │ └───┬───┴───┬───┘ v v ┌──────────────┐ │ Servers │ └──────────────┘ ``` **Pros:** * No single point of failure * Horizontal scalability * Rolling updates possible **Cons:** * More complex setup * Requires load balancer * Higher resource usage ### Lite Mode Architecture Gate Lite acts as a lightweight reverse proxy routing by virtual host. ``` ┌──────────────────────┐ │ play.domain.com │ │ lobby.domain.com │ │ survival.domain.com │ └──────────┬───────────┘ │ v ┌──────────┐ │ Gate Lite│ └────┬─────┘ │ ┌────┴─────────┬───────────┐ v v v ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ │ Lobby │ │ Survival│ │Creative│ │ Server │ │ Server │ │ Server │ └────────┘ └─────────┘ └────────┘ ``` **Pros:** * Minimal overhead * Host-based routing * Supports proxy-behind-proxy **Cons:** * Limited features (no server switching) * Players can't move between servers ## Network Topology ### Edge Deployment Gate at network edge, directly exposed to internet: ```yaml theme={null} config: bind: 0.0.0.0:25565 onlineMode: true forwarding: mode: velocity velocitySecret: ${GATE_VELOCITY_SECRET} ``` **Security considerations:** * Enable rate limiting (quota settings) * Use strong forwarding secrets * Enable forceKeyAuthentication * Configure proper firewall rules ### Behind Load Balancer Gate behind TCP/Layer 4 load balancer: ```yaml theme={null} config: bind: 0.0.0.0:25565 # Enable proxy protocol to preserve client IPs proxyProtocol: true forwarding: mode: velocity ``` **Load balancer requirements:** * TCP (Layer 4) load balancing * Support for proxy protocol v2 * Session persistence (optional) * Health checks on port 9090 ## Resource Requirements ### Minimum Requirements * **CPU**: 1 core * **RAM**: 512 MB * **Network**: 100 Mbps * **Storage**: 100 MB **Suitable for**: Up to 100 concurrent players ### Recommended Production * **CPU**: 2-4 cores * **RAM**: 1-2 GB * **Network**: 1 Gbps * **Storage**: 1 GB **Suitable for**: 500-1000 concurrent players ### High Performance * **CPU**: 4-8 cores * **RAM**: 4-8 GB * **Network**: 10 Gbps * **Storage**: 5 GB **Suitable for**: 1000+ concurrent players ## Environment Variables Gate supports configuration through environment variables: ### Core Configuration ```bash theme={null} # Velocity forwarding secret GATE_VELOCITY_SECRET=your-secret-here # BungeeGuard secret GATE_BUNGEEGUARD_SECRET=your-secret-here ``` ### Observability ```bash theme={null} # OpenTelemetry configuration OTEL_SERVICE_NAME=gate OTEL_METRICS_ENABLED=true OTEL_TRACES_ENABLED=true OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://collector:4317 ``` ### Java/Runtime Options ```bash theme={null} # For JRE variant only JAVA_OPTS="-Xmx2G -Xms2G" ``` ## Configuration Management ### ConfigMap (Kubernetes) ```yaml theme={null} apiVersion: v1 kind: ConfigMap metadata: name: gate-config data: config.yml: | config: bind: 0.0.0.0:25565 onlineMode: true servers: lobby: lobby-service:25565 survival: survival-service:25565 ``` ### Docker Volume Mounts ```bash theme={null} docker run -d \ -v $(pwd)/config.yml:/config.yml \ -p 25565:25565 \ ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest ``` ### File Watching Gate automatically reloads configuration when the config file changes. To disable: ```yaml theme={null} noAutoReload: true ``` ## Next Steps Essential steps before going live Set up health checks and metrics