Minimize lag on Minecraft server

[Ser James Acinonyx of Compactis]

So I've been wanting to play Minecraft LAN with my brother. Now, due to some network issues (I suspect the router might be the culprit, but I cannot know for sure), sometimes it goes smoothly, other times it's laggy as hell. And in worst case scenario, one of us gets periodically disconnected from the server. So that led me to wonder what I could do to minimize the issues. I'm just starting to learn networking myself, so forgive me if I ask about stupid things.

 

Now, seeing as using cables gives more stability and capacity than wireless, I thought maybe use a patch cable and connect between the two computers (the machine I'd play on would run the server). Both computers have WiFi capability, so that should take care of login IDs and skins, while the cable would take care of the multiplayer server business.

I am aware that connecting both units to the router could yield better results, but without modifying the house, or running cables through the hallways and downstairs, my desktop can only connect through wireless.

[ClownFace1511]

It could be laggy due to the server running off your laptop rather than the network. Give your run.bat like 1G min and anything more than that is great. Plug the host pc into thr outer for it to be more stable but having run servers off wifi I haven't had any problems.

[vorticalbox]

23 minutes ago, ClownFace1511 said:

It could be laggy due to the server running off your laptop rather than the network. Give your run.bat like 1G min and anything more than that is great. Plug the host pc into thr outer for it to be more stable but having run servers off wifi I haven't had any problems.

 

 

I have also used a RAM disk to store the server files. This was before I got an SSD.

[Ser James Acinonyx of Compactis]

2 hours ago, ClownFace1511 said:

It could be laggy due to the server running off your laptop rather than the network.

The desktop is the server/gaming rig. The laptop is my brother's comp.

2 hours ago, ClownFace1511 said:

Give your run.bat like 1G min and anything more than that is great.

There is no run.bat. I use the Singleplayer "Open to LAN" option. Would dedicating more RAM to Minecraft work as well?

2 hours ago, ClownFace1511 said:

Plug the host pc into thr outer for it to be more stable but having run servers off wifi I haven't had any problems.

Again, my desktop is the host, and that's the one I can only use wireless for without stretching cables or hire someone to modify the house with internal LAN ports.

 

1 hour ago, vorticalbox said:

I have also used a RAM disk to store the server files. This was before I got an SSD.

Never heard of a RAM disk before. What's special about it?

[vorticalbox]

31 minutes ago, Ser James Acinonyx of Compactis said:

Never heard of a RAM disk before. What's special about it?

 

You section off a part of your ram and it acts as a normal drive this allows you can very high read and writes.

[AlTech]

3 hours ago, Ser James Acinonyx of Compactis said:

So I've been wanting to play Minecraft LAN with my brother. Now, due to some network issues (I suspect the router might be the culprit, but I cannot know for sure), sometimes it goes smoothly, other times it's laggy as hell. And in worst case scenario, one of us gets periodically disconnected from the server. So that led me to wonder what I could do to minimize the issues. I'm just starting to learn networking myself, so forgive me if I ask about stupid things.

 

Now, seeing as using cables gives more stability and capacity than wireless, I thought maybe use a patch cable and connect between the two computers (the machine I'd play on would run the server). Both computers have WiFi capability, so that should take care of login IDs and skins, while the cable would take care of the multiplayer server business.

I am aware that connecting both units to the router could yield better results, but without modifying the house, or running cables through the hallways and downstairs, my desktop can only connect through wireless.

Allocate more RAM to the server? A few friends and I run a school Minecraft Server Club and we fixed a lot of performance issues by increasing RAM on server and client side.

[brandishwar]

Minecraft runs on Java, meaning it is out-of-the-box going to be a memory hog. And given everything it tries to do, you need to put as much memory at this as possible. Given you're trying to run this off a laptop, I'm going to guess that you don't have a lot of memory to begin with, meaning if you're running the server on the same machine you're playing on, you're only hurting yourself even more.

 

Buy a cheap used system. You can find refurbished systems for very cheap through sites like refurb.io and Arrow Direct. They don't come with a lot of memory out of the box, but memory is cheap, especially DDR3 now that DDR4 is gaining more of a foothold. Have a dedicated server set up that has at MINIMUM 8GB of RAM, 16GB preferred, and the more the better, especially if you intend to later open this up to friends.

[Ser James Acinonyx of Compactis]

9 minutes ago, brandishwar said:

Given you're trying to run this off a laptop

[SNIP]

that has at MINIMUM 8GB of RAM, 16GB preferred, and the more the better, especially if you intend to later open this up to friends.

As I stated in a previous comment, I am using a desktop computer, not a laptop. I have 16GB of RAM (see my PcPartPicker in my signature or check my profile).

[brandishwar]

1 hour ago, Ser James Acinonyx of Compactis said:

As I stated in a previous comment, I am using a desktop computer, not a laptop. I have 16GB of RAM (see my PcPartPicker in my signature or check my profile).

Apologies for the oversight. Then the concern is likely your setup. One thing to check is that Minecraft is running on the 64-bit (Windows x64) version of the Java Runtime. If you're not using that, it will be hard-capped on how much memory it uses. It's a common oversight, so double-check that. If you're not using the 64-bit Java Runtime, do that first.

 

Second thing to check is your Wi-Fi. Most Wi-Fi routers are set to automatically select your channel, and they're typically not that great about it either, and this can be a problem if you live in an area with a lot of Wi-Fi traffic (such as an apartment building or neighborhood with a lot of people nearby). If you have an Android phone or tablet, there is a tool called "Wi-Fi Analyzer" that can help you determine the best channel. Switching the channel for your Wi-Fi will benefit a lot more than just your Minecraft setup as well.

 

Depending on your existing router, you may need to get a new router as well, or a second one to allow for better Wi-Fi coverage in your home so that everything involved has a nice strong signal.

[Ser James Acinonyx of Compactis]

1 hour ago, brandishwar said:

Apologies for the oversight. Then the concern is likely your setup. One thing to check is that Minecraft is running on the 64-bit (Windows x64) version of the Java Runtime. If you're not using that, it will be hard-capped on how much memory it uses. It's a common oversight, so double-check that. If you're not using the 64-bit Java Runtime, do that first.

I have now made sure Minecraft is running with 64-bit Java. I have yet to test how it all works, but that step is at least taken care of.

1 hour ago, brandishwar said:

Second thing to check is your Wi-Fi. Most Wi-Fi routers are set to automatically select your channel, and they're typically not that great about it either, and this can be a problem if you live in an area with a lot of Wi-Fi traffic (such as an apartment building or neighborhood with a lot of people nearby). If you have an Android phone or tablet, there is a tool called "Wi-Fi Analyzer" that can help you determine the best channel. Switching the channel for your Wi-Fi will benefit a lot more than just your Minecraft setup as well.

The router is already configured for best performance.

1 hour ago, brandishwar said:

Depending on your existing router, you may need to get a new router as well, or a second one to allow for better Wi-Fi coverage in your home so that everything involved has a nice strong signal.

The router we have is a combined modem/router provided by our ISP, so swapping it isn't the most attractive idea. However, I have a WiFi range extender installed in the hallway between the rooms where the host computer and "guest" one will be.

As said earlier, I haven't yet tested if it works, but I have done what I can of what you have suggested.

[WhatsCS]

You could set up ICS with a patch cable bridging your wireless internet over into the patch cable allowing the minecraft server and clients to listen on the NIC but still have access outside for resource downloading if it needs to. I've only done this for Hyper-V to allow VM's outside access but not require the DHCP server to issue more IP Addresses to them. If done correctly the internal IP address between you and your brothers computer would be probably 192.168.137.XXX.

[samiscool51]

the MC server is notorious for useing SO MUCH

the best advice i can give is expand the amount of RAM is can use, that sometimes works

[Ser James Acinonyx of Compactis]

I hereby choose to let you know I have fixed the issue, via some tweaking of settings with the firewall and some other knick-knack. I thank you all for your suggestions and answers, although I never got an answer to my initial suggestion (not that it's necessary anymore).