Performance Optimization

Optimize your game servers for best performance.

Overview

Performance optimization improves:

• Server FPS/TPS (ticks per second)
• Player experience and latency
• Resource efficiency
• Server stability
• Player capacity

General Optimization

Resource Allocation

CPU Allocation:

• Allocate enough cores for game engine
• Leave headroom for OS and other processes
• Monitor CPU usage patterns
• Consider single-thread vs multi-thread performance

Memory Allocation:

• Set appropriate heap/RAM limits
• Leave 20-30% buffer for OS
• Monitor for memory leaks
• Increase if swapping occurs

Disk I/O:

• Use SSD instead of HDD
• Separate OS disk from game disk
• Monitor disk usage
• Enable write caching if safe

Network Optimization

Bandwidth:

• Ensure sufficient upstream bandwidth
• Monitor network saturation
• Use QoS if multiple servers
• Consider CDN for downloads

Latency:

• Choose server location near players
• Optimize network stack
• Reduce packet loss
• Use DDoS protection

Game-Specific Optimization

Minecraft

Server Software:

• Use Paper/Purpur for better performance
• Avoid Bukkit/Spigot for large servers
• Consider Fabric for modded

Configuration:

# server.properties
view-distance=8  # Lower for better performance
simulation-distance=6
entity-broadcast-range-percentage=75

# paper.yml
max-auto-save-chunks-per-tick: 8
optimize-explosions: true
mob-spawner-tick-rate: 2

Performance Tips:

• Limit entities (item frames, mobs, minecarts)
• Use entity culling
• Optimize redstone contraptions
• Pregenerate world chunks
• Enable async chunk loading

ARK: Survival Evolved

Configuration:

# GameUserSettings.ini
bDisableStructurePlacementCollision=True
OverrideStructurePlatformPrevention=True
bAllowUnlimitedRespecs=True

# Reduce entity counts
StructureResistanceMultiplier=0.5
RaidDinoCharacterFoodDrainMultiplier=2.0

Performance Tips:

• Limit max tamed dinos per tribe
• Reduce wild dino spawn rate
• Lower item spoil times
• Use structure limits
• Clear abandoned structures regularly
• Optimize tribe/player counts

Rust

Configuration:

# server.cfg
server.maxplayers 100  # Don't exceed capacity
server.worldsize 3500  # Smaller = better performance
server.seed 12345      # Consistent world
server.saveinterval 300  # Save less frequently

Performance Tips:

• Reduce entity count
• Optimize Bradley/Heli spawns
• Lower plant growth rates
• Reduce decay times
• Wipe regularly
• Use smaller maps for fewer players

Valheim

Configuration:

# Start parameters
-nographics
-batchmode
-crossplay

Performance Tips:

• Regular world saves
• Limit concurrent players
• Reduce world size
• Clear old structures
• Optimize building complexity

System-Level Optimization

Linux Kernel Tuning

# /etc/sysctl.conf

# Network performance
net.core.rmem_max = 16777216
net.core.wmem_max = 16777216
net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 4096 87380 16777216
net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 4096 65536 16777216

# File system
vm.swappiness = 10
vm.vfs_cache_pressure = 50

CPU Governor

# Use performance governor
sudo cpupower frequency-set -g performance

# Or in /etc/default/grub
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet intel_pstate=disable"

Disable Unnecessary Services

# Stop services you don't need
sudo systemctl disable bluetooth
sudo systemctl disable cups
sudo systemctl disable avahi-daemon

Monitoring & Diagnostics

Key Metrics

Server Performance:

• TPS/FPS (should be steady)
• CPU usage per core
• RAM usage and allocation
• Disk I/O wait times

Player Experience:

• Average ping
• Packet loss
• Rubber-banding incidents
• Connection timeouts

Monitoring Tools

Built-in:

• Arcadium dashboard metrics
• Game server console
• Server query stats

External:

• htop (CPU/RAM)
• iotop (Disk I/O)
• iftop (Network)
• nethogs (Per-process network)

Profiling

Game-Specific:

Minecraft:

/spark profiler start
[wait 30-60 seconds]
/spark profiler stop

ARK: Check server logs for:

• Slow ticks
• Long save times
• Entity count warnings

Optimization Checklist

Before Launch

• [ ] Appropriate hardware selected
• [ ] Server software configured
• [ ] World/map pregenerated
• [ ] Resource limits set
• [ ] Monitoring enabled
• [ ] Backup system tested

Weekly Maintenance

• [ ] Review performance metrics
• [ ] Check for memory leaks
• [ ] Clear old/abandoned structures
• [ ] Update game/mods
• [ ] Optimize database (if applicable)
• [ ] Test backup restoration

Monthly Review

• [ ] Analyze player capacity trends
• [ ] Review resource utilization
• [ ] Plan hardware upgrades if needed
• [ ] Optimize entity limits
• [ ] Review and adjust configs

Common Performance Issues

Low TPS/FPS

Causes:

• Too many entities
• Complex redstone/logic
• Large player count
• Insufficient CPU

Solutions:

• Reduce entity counts
• Optimize contraptions
• Upgrade CPU
• Lower player limit

High Memory Usage

Causes:

• Memory leaks
• Insufficient allocation
• Too many loaded chunks
• Large mod packs

Solutions:

• Increase allocation
• Restart regularly
• Reduce view distance
• Remove problematic mods

Disk I/O Bottleneck

Causes:

• HDD instead of SSD
• Frequent world saves
• Large world size
• Insufficient RAM (causes swapping)

Solutions:

• Upgrade to SSD
• Reduce save frequency
• Increase RAM
• Optimize file system

Network Lag

Causes:

• Insufficient bandwidth
• DDoS attack
• Network congestion
• ISP issues

Solutions:

• Upgrade bandwidth
• Enable DDoS protection
• Optimize network stack
• Consider different host/location

Advanced Techniques

Load Balancing

For multiple servers:

• Distribute players across servers
• Use proxy (BungeeCord, Velocity)
• Geographic load balancing
• Dynamic scaling

Caching

• Cache frequently accessed data
• Use Redis for session data
• CDN for static content
• Database query caching

Containerization

Benefits of Docker:

• Resource isolation
• Easy scaling
• Consistent environments
• Better resource utilization

Next Steps

• Server Management
• Troubleshooting
• Monitoring