With Minecraft being so varied with different settings, mods, and plugins, there can be several things that can be done to improve lag on the server.
Minecraft Lag Types and How To Fix Them
Common Reasons:
- Too many players without sufficient RAM.
- Too many mobs/items without sufficient RAM.
- The player is too far away from the server.
- Corrupt chunks/Entities
- Too many worlds are running on the server without sufficient RAM.
- Errors are spamming in the console.
- Too many plugins are running on the server without sufficient RAM.
Console Errors
Always check for console errors before submitting a ticket.
Step 1. Check if there are any errors in the console. If there are any SEVERE errors, this maybe be the cause of the lag.
Step 2. Try and troubleshoot these errors. MelonCube has a knowledgebase full of guides.
Do not be alarmed if there is an End of Stream with a SEVERE tag unless this is spamming in the console.
TPS Lag (Server Lag)
The next type of lag is server lag. It is described in Minecraft as TPS. TPS stands for Ticks Per Second. TPS is otherwise known as game ticks and is a maximum of 20. 20 TPS is hardwired into Minecraft as the universal speed. That is to say, the smallest amount of time possible is distinguishable from the game's perspective. Each "tick" causes the game to recalculate the directions of mobs, as well as other things such as growing crops, adjusting the direction of mobs, etc. To get an idea of how long it is, each redstone tick is equivalent to 2 game ticks. This is also why redstone "half" ticks exist, being 1 game tick. Remember that TPS and FPS are different—the speed and capabilities of the server control TPS. FPS is based on the player's computer.
Reduce View Distance
It is recommended to reduce the view distance of the server from the default 10 to a value between 6-8.
ClearLag
This plugin is excellent and very configurable and is recommended for any server. ClearLag can be found on Bukkit here.
Step 1. Once ClearLag is installed, run the command lagg check to see how many entities are on the server.
Step 2. If it is a small server, anything over the value "500" may be the reason for the lag.
Step 3. If there are many entities, run the commands lagg clear and lagg killmobs. This will remove the lag-causing entities from the server, i.e., items on the ground and mobs.
Remove Plugins
The more players and plugins there are, the more RAM is needed. If there are many plugins and insufficient RAM, the server will be overloaded, causing lag spikes and crashes.
The best thing to do is limit the plugins on the server, as some plugins, such as Survival Games, can use up to 1GB of RAM.
Corrupted Chunks + Entity Buildup
A common issue with Minecraft servers is world "chunks" becoming corrupted. Example: Chunk Corruption Errors. Additionally, entities can build up within the world, and many entities in a small area (mobs, items on the floor, etc.) can also cause FPS and TPS lag. Running a region fixer is suggested. When running a server with MelonCube, a support ticket can be created to get this done. Alternatively, the player can use the tool here: Minecraft Region Fixer
Low Memory
Running the server without enough memory for the world/plugins/mods can often cause lag. Read more about this here: Out of Memory issues
FPS Lag (Client Lag)
As a player, client lag is concerning. This lag is a direct result of the client caused by their computer running the Minecraft game. Client lag is affected by many entities (e.g., thousands of dropped blocks or animals) and other related items, such as light values on structures running shader packs, mods, etc.). This will cause the FPS (Frames Per Second) to drop and is the most common type of lag. When playing on servers, this is reduced, as the game engine calculations are running on another computer (the server), minimizing the measures the player's computer needs to run and giving the player more resources to play the game. This is the only kind of lag affected by the computer's quality.
Fixing FPS lag
The Optifine mod can help players achieve higher FPS with the same quality. Another strategy is to create a void world with only the spawn area, removing all unnecessary land. Additionally, if the spawn area is within the same world where players will be playing, using WorldEdit to fill the caves below with stone can help reduce the number of light values calculated when a player spawns. Another helpful step is to remove any unnecessary and fast-flashing redstone mechanisms. To limit the presence of mobs near the spawn area, WorldGuard can be utilized on regions and flags to block mob spawning.
Latency
Finally, there is Latency or Internet lag. Internet lag usually results from being geographically far from the server host. This means the electrical impulses take many milliseconds to reach the server and then travel back. There can be a lag between input from the computer to appearing on the player's screens, for example, placing a block in front of a friend. Firstly, the player has to click to place the block; that information then has to travel up to 12,756 km (diameter of the earth) to the server. Then, this information must be processed and sent to the player's friend's computer, which might be up to another 12,756 km away. Traveling this long distance can take a while. Other kinds of internet lag can include bandwidth issues, common in the event of a DDoS (Distributed Denial Of Service) attack, where the server is bombarded with so many connections that it is unable to process standard connections. This is similar to how roads get slower and block traffic when there are many cars.
Fixing Latency Lag
To check the latency with a server, log onto Minecraft and add the server to the test. When it's added, there will be a small icon in the top right on the server field just above the number of slots the server holds. Hover over the icon to see the ping of the server.
Fast Ping: <100ms
Medium Ping: 100-200ms
Satisfactory Ping: 200-300
Slow Ping: 300-500ms
Laggy Ping: >500ms
Latency lag is when a player is too far from the server, so the connection is slightly delayed. Check the server Daemon/Node location and see the proximity with MelonCube servers. If any of the server locations are closer than the current server's location, submit a ticket and request a transfer free of charge.
Want a super-fast, lag-free server experience? Get a Minecraft Server with MelonCube and run a server with the experts!