Notes

Minecraft Server Optimization

Lag is one of the most common concerns for server administrators. Lag can happen for many reasons. It could be due to the hardware or resources your server has. Luckily, if you host with Apex, hardware should not be an issue. There are many options to reduce the lag on your server.



There are plugins that can reduce the lag. You can upgrade your server RAM, switch to a more optimized Minecraft jar, optimize your files, etc.



All of these options may leave you wondering what causes lag and how to get rid of it. There are several types of lag, including latency, TPS and FPS. In this guide, we will give a breakdown of the different types of lag and the best way to mitigate it on your Minecraft Server.



Types of Lag



Server Lag (TPS)



TPS (Ticks per Second) is a measure of overall server performance. TPS (Ticks per Second) is the equivalent of a heartbeat. Your server beats at a fixed rate, 20 ticks per second. That's one tick every 0.05 seconds.



On each tick, various aspects of the server advance a little bit; Mobs move, grass grows, animals spawn, almost everything that happens on the server relies on ticks. When at peak performance, 20 TPS, you'll experience normal gameplay without any server-side lag. However, if your server's TPS begins to drop, you will begin to experience lag while playing.



The server's hardware and what happens on it play a crucial role in determining the server’s total server performance score (TPS). Poor server management can be as damaging as inadequate hardware.



When adding mods and plugins to your website, it is important that you consider the long-term implications of your choices. Many new server owners mistakenly think that the server's popularity is all that matters. While the effect of server players can be significant, it is small in comparison to the impact redstone machines, mob farm, and mods/plugins. The primary cause of TPS drops is a result of what you have going on in your world at a given time.



Client Lag (FPS)



Low FPS can cause your game to behave slowly. A low frame rate can make it feel like you are watching a slideshow. Low frame rates do not indicate that your server is slowing down. However, it could mean that your computer cannot keep up with your game. If you experience a low framerate on your computer, it is likely that you need to adjust the game settings, update your drivers, or replace your graphics card, RAM or CPU.



It is important to know the difference between server lag and low FPS. Low FPS can sometimes appear simultaneously with server lag. While you may believe that the FPS is due the server's lag, it is often a separate problem with the device running the game.



There are many options to fix low FPS, without having to upgrade your hardware. In Minecraft, you can go to the video settings and reduce all of the functions. To turn clouds off, your computer won't have to attempt to render them. It's also a good idea for your computer to shut down any background processes you don't use. This frees up resources your computer can use for the game. This can be done quickly by closing any open Taskbar items.



Another option is switching to the high performing plan in your device’s energy options. Windows PC users can do this by pressing Windows Key + X. Then choose "Power Options" to open up your settings. Change the Power Mode to "Best performance".



Connection Lag (Ping)



Connection lag is related to your ping. Ping refers the latency between your server and your game. This is how long it takes data to travel and process. If your ping is high, it's possible your connection may be lost. High ping is not a sign of lag. It can cause lag. It could also cause the game's crash.



Low ping is the best because it provides smoother gameplay. Your ping will rise the farther a server is from you. The best way to minimize this is to move your server to the location closest to you and your players. Some factors that might affect ping include Internet connection speed, the quality of a user's Internet service provider, issues with the Minecraft servers network, and the configuration of firewalls.



Latency can vary depending on network conditions and server status. You can check the latency of a server by "pinging it". This determines how long it takes for the server to receive a message and respond. There are many ways to test your Ping, but we recommend using your Command Prompt. Open a terminal (or command prompt) and type "ping ServerIP". For example: "ping play.apexmc.co". While the process may take some time, you will see the average Ping once it is complete.



Create a timings report



A timings report lets you monitor the time it takes for your server's event to process. This allows you to see where lag issues may arise and cause the server TPS to drop. To run a timings analysis, join your server and run the command "timings on". After 30 minutes, you can run the command "timings paste". This will give you a link. You can click on it to open the report from your browser.



Reading a timings report



The top section of the timings report will have a simple graph that shows your server's average TPS over time in five-minute intervals. The graph's left side shows a brief summary of your server, including the average TPS. These are great for getting a quick overview of your server's performance, but they won’t tell you why your server is slowing down. To determine the cause of lag, you should look at the data under the graph.



The lower section of a timings reports is a detailed breakdown of all ticks that occurred during the reporting period. It is also known as a 'treeview'. Each tree starts as a broad overview of what type of tick is happening. The top tree in the list will often be a complete summary of the entire server's average ticks. To expand these trees and see more information about each layer, you can click on them. As you get to the end of each layer, you can see which block is ticking and how much time it takes.



A timings report by default will sort information so processes that take the longest time to tick appear first. These items are often responsible for any lag that you might be experiencing on the server. This is the fastest way to determine the cause of your lag. Once you know the cause, you can go back to your server and remove it, or edit your settings to reduce the impact it has.



Reading a timings report can be a little intimidating at first. If you get stuck, or if it is unclear how you are reading it, there are some great resources to help clarify any confusion. Contacting our support team is the best option. All of our tech support agents are familiar with timings reports and can analyze them for you, or walk you through how to read a report if you are getting stuck.



How to fix a laggy Minecraft server



Server lag can often be avoided by knowing how to optimize your server. There are many tools to help you get the best performance out of your server. You can even push it beyond its current performance limits.



Tick/Lag Machines Can Be Removed



Redstone is a fantastic mechanic that can be used to create almost any type or machine. However, having too many machines will cause problems to arise. It will cause lag for all players and decrease your TPS. This can be solved by limiting the machines and installing anti-redstone lag plugins such as this one. Otherwise, try not to have too many automated farms, mob grinders, or anything else that would involve complex redstone mechanics. If possible, you should include a way for your machines and farms to be turned off so they aren't running constantly and consuming your server resources.



Pre-generating your world



A vital step in lag removal is pregenerating the world. This must be done before any other steps. The Chunky plugin is the best way to do it. You can install the plugin by running the following commands: http://chunky-radius.5000 followed closely by http://chunky start.



This will pre-generate an area of 5,000 blocks around the world spawn. The server will slow down while this process is running but it will soon be completed. Your performance will improve greatly once the process is complete. You can increase the radius as much as you like, but we recommend keeping it under 20,000 blocks. You could create more lag than what you are trying to prevent by making it larger.



One option that is beneficial to reduce on any type of Minecraft server is the view distance from the server.properties file. Any number between 6-8 could optimize the server without affecting gameplay. To further improve server performance, it is recommended to change the view distance to 64 and the "Net Compression Threshold to 64".



If you are running Spigot or Vanilla, we strongly recommend switching to Paper. Paper provides excellent performance due to its many optimization and anti-cheat capabilities.



Optimizing your config files



Bukkit is one file you will need to modify to optimize your server.
kd76
yml. Paper.yml. Spigot.yml. Below you'll find the settings you need to adjust to get the best performance with minimal impact on your gameplay.

To access these settings, first stop your server by going to your control panel. Next, click on the tabs to display the optimized settings. These files can be found under the FTP File Access tab in your control panel. You can access them online by clicking on "edit" at the top of the file. After editing is complete, click on the green button to save the file. The server will then be restarted to allow the changes to take place.



Bukkit.yml



Spigot.yml



Paper.yml



It is not enough to just change the base server file. There are many plugins that are specifically designed to reduce lag. You can reduce lag significantly on your server by knowing which plugins to use. Here's a list containing the plugins we recommend the most frequently to our users.



ClearLagg (1.8+), Limit Pillagers (1.14+), Village Optimiser (1.14+), MergedMobs (1.14+), Entity Tracker Fixer (1.14+), Farm Limiter (Premium 1.7+), Farm Manager (Premium 1.7+), Mob Farm Manager (1.14+), Farm Limiter (Premium 1.7+), Lag Assist (1.18+), Spark (1.16+), Armor Stand-Limiter (1.8+).



Although these plugins won't stop all lag from your server, they can help. If you do not know how to install plugins on your Minecraft server, We have an easy guide for you to follow.



Owning a server is an important aspect. Players don't expect to experience lag when they join a server. It is impossible to control the lag that clients experience on client-side. However, there are some things you can do to reduce server-side lag.



If you are running a Vanilla Minecraft server, you may think that it won't experience lag. It is the base game. Unfortunately, the base game doesn't offer a lot of options for optimization and can be really laggy as a result. The game is now resource-hungry thanks to newer updates like 1.17+. Your performance will be dramatically improved by switching to Paper and one of its forks like Purpur, Airplane or Airplane. This guide will help you improve performance, keep your servers lag-free, and keep your players happy.


My Website: https://www.kd76.com/