How to optimise your Vanilla Minecraft server

Optimising a Vanilla Minecraft server ensures a smooth experience for your players by reducing lag and improving tick rates. Whether you are on AwakeNode or another host, these steps will help you get the most out of your hardware.

Adjust Server Properties

Reducing the view distance is the most effective way to lower CPU and RAM usage.

On AwakeNode

Use the File Manager to open server.properties. Locate view-distance and set it to a value between 6 and 8. Save the file and restart your server.

On other hosts

Connect via SFTP, download server.properties, and edit the view-distance setting. Upload the file back to your base directory and restart your server.

Manage Entities and Mobs

High entity counts are a common cause of server lag. You can limit these in bukkit.yml or spigot.yml if you are using a server type that supports these configurations.

On AwakeNode

Navigate to the File Manager, locate spigot.yml, and adjust entity-activation-range. Reducing these values will stop entities from processing logic when players are further away.

On other hosts

Access your server files via SFTP and edit the configuration files manually. Ensure you restart the server after saving your changes.

Review Resource Allocation

If your server continues to struggle despite configuration changes, you may simply need more resources.

On AwakeNode

If you require more RAM, you can upgrade your plan directly through the client area. The system will automatically update your startup parameters (Xmx) to match your new plan without any manual configuration required.

On other hosts

Check your startup script for the -Xmx flag. If your server is hitting the memory limit, you will need to increase this value in your startup command, provided your host allows it.

Contact Support for Advanced Tuning

Sometimes, specific JVM startup flags or garbage collection settings are required to resolve persistent performance issues.

On AwakeNode

Clients cannot edit startup flags directly. If you believe your server requires custom JVM arguments, please open a support ticket and our team will configure them for you.

On other hosts

Consult your host's documentation to see if you have permission to modify the Java startup command line in your control panel.