Minecraft server lag issues help!

[SkyguyXD]

Hello,

I am currently running a modded minecraft forge server for some friends on a dedicated pc

 

Specs of the server:

Intel Xeon 1650 v2

16gb (4x4gb) ddr3 1866mhz ECC memory

2tb Seagate 7200rpm HDD

Radeon HD 7470 gpu (just so I have a display)

Windows 10, (not linux sorry)

(its a slightly modified HP Z420 if that helps)

 

The issue is that server often lags and I am unsure as to why. There's never more than 3 people on a time

 

It is wired through a gigabit ethernet connection on a 1000mbs internet plan so i dont think its the internet

I would believe that the Xeon would be strong enough to handle the server

I have 12gb of the 16gb of memory allocated to the server

Temps don't seem to be an issue as I've monitored them while the server was in use and never passed or came close to the threshold of throttling

 

I'm just not sure why it is doing it.The mods are relatively light minus a couple biome generating mods.   

Is it the CPU?

Is it the HDD?

Or is it something I am missing?

 

Bonus question: 

If it is the CPU, would moving the server to a 9th gen i5 help a lot or would there be little improvement? 

[Electronics Wizardy]

what does task manager look like when its lagging?

 

Does it lag when your on the same local network?

 

Normally this is single threaded limited, and modded minecraft loves high single threaded performance cpus

[Drama Lama]

7 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Normally this is single threaded limited, and modded minecraft loves high single threaded performance cpus

I agree I run Minecraft on my NAS with 16gb of ram and the server is always hitting the cpu limit

 

I don’t know how fast a Intel Xeon 1650 v2 is If it is more in the slower side that might be the reason 

 

so so check in taskmanager how high cpu and ram usage are and wether there are any backgroundprograms that are slowing the system down 

[manikyath]

my guess is that it's a modpack issue more than a server issue.

is it a particular modpack you're playing, or just some mods thrown together yourself?

 

a modded server essentially relies on single core performance of your server for 95%. if one person is exploring new chunks, and there is a mod that makes terrain gen notably heavier, you'll quickly get your server to its knees.

 

to pinpoint the exact issue.. that'll be difficult.. best i can say is, take note what stuff is happening when you notice the lag, and what *isnt* happening when you notice the lag.

[BobVonBob]

Probably CPU issues. Java Minecraft is all but single threaded, and the Xeon 1650 v2 is a relatively slow chip. The other possibility is seek time problems with your HDD. I'd say this is most likely if you experience problems while people are exploring already explored areas, but I doubt this is the primary issue.

[TehDwonz]

32 minutes ago, SkyguyXD said:

Bonus question: 

If it is the CPU, would moving the server to a 9th gen i5 help a lot or would there be little improvement? 

It's all about the single-thread performance. So yes, a 9th gen i5 (9600) would destroy the old xeon in minecraft server performance. A possibly cheaper option is an older i7-7700k, or 8700k, which will still out-perform the xeon (4GHz+ clock).

 

Obv, go as new as you can afford. If you have access to an i5-9600(k) system, then go for it.

[Craftyawesome]

Try using "forge tps". This should be 20 tps if the server is full speed. If it is lower, try using "debug start", wait a bit, then "debug stop". There will then be results in the bebug folder.

 

Are the players generating any new chunks?

[Jarsky]

1 hour ago, SkyguyXD said:

2tb Seagate 7200rpm HDD

 

I would consider that your hdd is probably taking a beating with chunk generation, and especially if you're running scheduled backups and/or have a third party addon like map generation. 

 

Since its Windows, open Resource Monitor so you can have a look at the CPU/Memory/Disk utilization when you notice the issue