How to automatically reboot my server every 4 hours?

Question

I need help with my dedicated Ubuntu server.
How can I reboot my server every 4 hours?

Solution

The crontab Method

• Open your Terminal or SSH into your server
• Type sudo crontab -e and the press ENTER
• Use the down arrow key to go to the bottom of the text
• Type 0 */4 * * * sudo reboot
• Press CTRL+X
• Press Y
• Press ENTER

If all went well, it should reboot every 4 hours, on the hour.

Comments

[AnotherKiwiGuy]

Have you thought about cron? Something like 0 */4 * * * sudo reboot?

[G. Macasero]

Im just new with ubuntu. but i know about crontab

[John N]

Why do you need your server rebooted? As ThatGuy mentioned, cron may be a good place to start. But in general Unix and Unix-like machines should be capable of running for days (or even weeks or months!) without needing restarted. It sounds like there may be another issue that needs addressing.

[G. Macasero]

Because i'm runnning 8 minecraft servers in my dedicated server.

[AnotherKiwiGuy]

@JohnN has a point. Even with Minecraft servers, they should not require that the server be rebooted that frequently, unless you've misconfigured the game servers, or use mods with severe memory leaks.

[Giridhur]

But would it automatically log in to the user account?

[AnotherKiwiGuy]

What user account? It would reboot the server using the root account, which should override every other user, regardless who is logged in.

[Admin]

@ThatGuy I think Giridhur is asking if after restart the log-in will be automatic.

[AnotherKiwiGuy]

@tomas - I see. If it is using Ubuntu Server, then definitely not. It would be a potential security problem, no administrator wants their server to auto login. If it's Ubuntu Desktop, then it depends on how he configured it.

[Admin]

@ThatGuy I think you should address your reply @ Giridhur.