Glossary

In alphabetical order. Where a guide covers the thing, the entry links to it.

Allocation#

On the game panel, an address and port your server listens on. The primary one is where players join. See A tour of the game panel.

Auto-pay#

Renewals charged to your saved payment method on their due date, without you doing anything. See Save a payment method.

Console#

The server's own screen and keyboard, in your browser. It works when SSH doesn't. See Use the browser console (dedicated). On the game panel, Console is the server's live output.

Credit#

Money held on your account. When a renewal invoice is raised, credit pays it first. See Add credit to your account.

DDoS mitigation#

Protection against floods of traffic meant to knock a server offline. Ours works at layers 3 and 4, the network and the ports, and is included. See Network and location.

Dedicated server#

A physical machine that is yours alone, with root access. See Dedicated servers.

Game panel#

The site where game servers and Discord bots are run, at panel.darkless.cloud. It is Pterodactyl, and the portal opens it for you, signed in. See Open the game panel.

Invoice#

A bill for a service, a renewal, an upgrade or credit. Every invoice is under Billing, and you can download any of them as a PDF. See Download an invoice.

IPv4 and IPv6#

The two kinds of internet address: 203.0.113.10 is IPv4, 2001:db8::10 is IPv6. Our servers have IPv4 for now; IPv6 is coming soon. See IP addresses and reverse DNS.

Latency#

How long a packet takes to reach the server and come back, in milliseconds. Lower is better, and it depends on the route as much as the distance. See Network and location.

MSPT#

Milliseconds per tick: how long a Minecraft server takes to run each step of the world. Under 50 keeps it at full speed. See Make Minecraft run smoother.

Operator (op)#

A Minecraft player allowed every command. In the portal, Operator is also a team role that works on servers but can't invite people. See Plugins, mods, whitelist and ops and Invite people and choose their roles.

Organisation#

What your servers, invoices and tickets belong to. Several people can be in one, each with their own login and role. See Invite people and choose their roles.

Portal#

The site at portal.darkless.cloud where you buy, pay for and manage everything, and where VPS and dedicated servers are run from.

Pterodactyl#

The software the game panel runs on, used by many game hosts. If you have used another host's Pterodactyl panel, ours works the same way. See A tour of the game panel.

Recovery codes#

One-time codes you save when you turn on two-factor, for signing in when your phone is lost. See Turn on two-factor.

Reinstall#

Erasing a server's disk and installing a fresh operating system. The server keeps its address. See Reinstall the operating system.

Renewal#

The date a service is paid for again, the same day each period. The invoice for it is raised 14 days before. See How billing and renewals work.

Rescue system#

A small system started instead of the installed one, for repairing a server or copying files off it, without erasing anything. See Locked out, or it won't boot. On a VPS, it is Rescue mode, which we set up for you.

Reverse DNS#

The name an address points back to, the opposite of a normal DNS record. Mail servers check it. See IP addresses and reverse DNS.

Root#

The all-powerful user on a Linux system, who can change anything. VPS and dedicated servers come with root access; game servers and bots don't, and use the panel instead.

SFTP#

A safe way to copy files to and from a server, used with programs like FileZilla, WinSCP and Cyberduck. See Upload files over SFTP.

SSH#

How you log in to a Linux server from your own computer: a terminal on the server, over an encrypted connection. See Log in for the first time.

SSH key#

A pair of files that logs you in over SSH without a password. The public half goes on the server and the private half never leaves your computer. See Add an SSH key.

Subscription#

A service you pay for on a schedule: what renews, when and for how much. They are under Billing, Subscriptions. See How billing and renewals work.

Subuser#

Someone you have added to a server on the game panel, with only the permissions you chose. See Give a friend access to your server.

Suspension#

A service stopped because a renewal wasn't paid. Its data is kept, and paying the invoice starts it again. See A payment is late or declined.

TPS#

Ticks per second: how many steps of the world a Minecraft server runs each second. 20 is full speed. See Make Minecraft run smoother.

Two-factor#

Signing in with a code from your phone as well as your password, so a stolen password isn't enough. See Turn on two-factor.

Unmetered#

No limit on how much traffic the server sends or receives in a month. The port's speed, 1 Gbps, is the limit. See Network and location.

VPS#

A virtual private server: a server of your own, with root access, running beside others on one physical machine. See VPS.

Whitelist#

A list of the only players allowed to join a Minecraft server. See Plugins, mods, whitelist and ops.