Host Multiple Minecraft Servers Without Port Numbers (SRV Records)

If you’re running more than one Minecraft server on the same host, you know the pain: secondary servers need custom ports, and asking players to remember yourserver.com:25566 is a terrible user experience. SRV records fix this.

The Problem

You’ve got a machine running two Minecraft servers:

• Server 1 (main): Port 25565 → play.yourdomain.com works fine
• Server 2 (creative): Port 25566 → Players have to type play.yourdomain.com:25566

Nobody remembers port numbers. Half your players will forget the :25566 part, connect to the wrong server, and message you asking why their creative world is gone.

Why SRV Records Are Perfect for This

Minecraft’s built-in support for DNS SRV (Service) records lets you map subdomains to specific ports. Instead of making players remember ports, you give them clean addresses:

• survival.yourdomain.com → connects to port 25565
• creative.yourdomain.com → connects to port 25566
• modded.yourdomain.com → connects to port 25567

Players just type the subdomain. No ports. No confusion.

Prerequisites

You’ll need:

• A domain name (GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Namecheap, whatever)
• DNS management access (zone file editor)
• Multiple Minecraft servers already running on different ports
• 10 minutes

Note: This works for Minecraft Java Edition. Bedrock Edition has limited SRV support depending on platform.

The Solution: Configure DNS SRV Records

Step 1: Create A Records for Your Server

First, set up a standard A record pointing to your server’s IP:

This creates play.yourdomain.com that resolves to your server.

Step 2: Add SRV Records for Each Server

Now for the magic. Create an SRV record for each Minecraft server:

For your creative server on port 25566:

For your modded server on port 25567:

Field Breakdown

• Name: Must be _minecraft._tcp.<subdomain> format
• Priority: 0 is fine (used for failover, not relevant here)
• Weight: 5 is standard (load balancing, also not relevant)
• Port: The actual port your Minecraft server listens on
• Target: The A record (or IP) of your server

GoDaddy-Specific Steps

If you’re using GoDaddy (common for beginners):

1. Log in → My Products → DNS
2. Click “Add” → Select “SRV”

3. Fill in:
   • Service: _minecraft
   • Protocol: _tcp
   • Name: Your subdomain (e.g., creative)
   • Target: Your A record hostname
   • Port: Server port (e.g., 25566)
   • Priority: 0
   • Weight: 5

4. Save

Cloudflare Note

Cloudflare’s free tier supports SRV records, but you may need to set the DNS record to “DNS only” (gray cloud) instead of “Proxied” (orange cloud) for Minecraft to work.

Step 3: Test the Connection

DNS changes take 5-60 minutes to propagate. Test with:

nslookup -type=SRV _minecraft._tcp.creative.yourdomain.com

You should see output showing the port and target.

In Minecraft:

1. Add Server
2. Server Address: creative.yourdomain.com (no port!)
3. Hit Refresh

Minecraft will automatically query the SRV record and connect to the right port.

What I Learned / Gotchas

Subdomain setup first. Some DNS providers require you to create the subdomain (even as a dummy A record) before allowing SRV records pointing to it. If you get validation errors, add an A record for creative.yourdomain.com first, then add the SRV.

SRV records don’t work on the root domain. You can’t do _minecraft._tcp.yourdomain.com. It has to be a subdomain like _minecraft._tcp.play.yourdomain.com.

TTL (Time To Live) matters. Set a low TTL (like 600 seconds / 10 minutes) while testing. Once everything works, increase it to 3600 or 86400 to reduce DNS query load.

Not all Minecraft clients support SRV. Java Edition fully supports it. Bedrock Edition has spotty support depending on platform (works on Windows 10, unreliable on mobile/console).

Priority and Weight only matter for multiple targets. If you’re just pointing one subdomain to one server, leave Priority at 0 and Weight at 5. These fields are for load balancing or failover setups.

Real-World Example: My Setup

I run three servers on one host:

• survival.brandontillman.com → Port 25565 (vanilla)
• creative.brandontillman.com → Port 25566 (creative mode)
• modded.brandontillman.com → Port 25567 (FTB modpack)

Players only need to remember the subdomain that matches what they want to play. No ports. No confusion. No “I connected to the wrong server” messages.

Going Further

Dynamic DNS + SRV

If you’re hosting at home without a static IP, use a DDNS service like No-IP or DuckDNS. Point your SRV records to the DDNS hostname:

Docker + SRV

Running Minecraft servers in Docker containers? Map each container to a different host port:

• Container 1: -p 25565:25565
• Container 2: -p 25566:25565
• Container 3: -p 25567:25565

Then set up SRV records pointing to the host machine on the mapped ports. Works perfectly with my Docker Bedrock setup.

BungeeCord Alternative

SRV records are simpler than BungeeCord for most hobbyist setups. BungeeCord is overkill unless you need:

• Players to switch servers without disconnecting
• Centralized authentication
• A network lobby system

For just running separate worlds, SRV records are dead simple and maintenance-free.

Resources

• Minecraft Wiki: SRV Records
• Cloudflare DNS Documentation
• No-IP Dynamic DNS

Questions? I’m @brandontillman everywhere.