Hardware!!

[RedHairdYoda]

So the hardest topic in FTB, Hardware. I am currrently running a private SMP FTB ultimate server on my i7 machine 12Gb memory and 64 bit Vista (i know).

I have had no issues until of recent. I am wondering, should I be running my server on a different machine then the one I am playing on? If so what specs would be best for a dedicated server. I have access to a wide range of machines.

Also I was informed that Java and minecraft only run in a single core, so if this is true should I run an older dual core machine for just the server?

Please everyone be respectful in the comments. We are not all computer Geniuses. General specs of things I chould consider when setting up a dedicated server would be appreciated.

Good Luck and Have fun Mining!

 

[Ewokz750]

You're definitely going to want to run it on an external machine, MC is a cpu whore and so's the server so even your I7's going to be running into issues with sizable player bases (6+(?)) and your client. As for the server itself as long as your running a acceptable enough cpu and say 2-3 gb's of ram you should be safe enough. I've never really tried to run a server on anything less than a Q6600 so its a bit hard to judge, the server idled at about 40-50%, although we were running limited chunk loaders and 3-4 players at max. Still that cpu's pretty old and it handled itself well enough.
Specs on your machines would make it a bit easier to judge, definitely don't play and host on the same machine though.

 

[thr33p10]

Funny thing I've found running my server on an i7 processor and 16 GB RAM, the server java process only ever utilizes 10% of the CPU time at MOST (and rarely over 3GB RAM with up to 8 people). Honestly, I can only get the machine to get warm (i.e. over 30 Celcius) if there are at least one or two other significant processes running simultaneously.

The biggest concern about running the server and anything else on the same machine is the ultimate question: "What if something you're running besides that critical server process causes the computer to stop?"

That said, in my opinion, any i7 is overkill until the code finds a way to have the java process make PROPER use of many cores.

 

[CaelThunderwing]

this is what i adde dto my own serevrs startup batch/script
-XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -XX:+UseParNewGC -XX:+CMSIncrementalPacing -XXarallelGCThreads=3 -XX:+AggressiveOpts

might help Once you move it to an external Machine. seems to help client side too but adjust per avilable threads otherwise it'll make said system worse.

factors you want to consider.
HDD IOPs Speed, (SSDs would be perfect but not in long run.)
Ram 8GB+ is plenty for a small /friend server. 16GB will handle a sizable player base (15+)
CPU it cant be too old but the current gen i7 is more than enough or if you want on teh cheap? build AMD and FX, but make sure you get atleast the "Vishera" based 8350. (8core/4 FPUs shared at every 2 cores.) (Zambezi bulldozers are pure crap.)

but the biggest factor for Server hosting is always your total (average not rated Speed) Upload! and as well where you are. further you are from people especialy overseas. the harder the Bite of lag they will feel. same being if you get pro hosting.

if you pay for hosting? look for fre etrials google them look for a high ratio of bad to good responses. because otherwise it's Wasted money. same goes for server location. if you and most that will be on it are from the US? look into creeperhost. i dont know many decent hosting providers for the UK. and stay away from VPS hosting. its good for vanilla but not FTB.

 

[thr33p10]

this is what i adde dto my own serevrs startup batch/script
-XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -XX:+UseParNewGC -XX:+CMSIncrementalPacing -XXarallelGCThreads=3 -XX:+AggressiveOpts

might help Once you move it to an external Machine. seems to help client side too but adjust per avilable threads otherwise it'll make said system worse.

factors you want to consider.
HDD IOPs Speed, (SSDs would be perfect but not in long run.)
Ram 8GB+ is plenty for a small /friend server. 16GB will handle a sizable player base (15+)
CPU it cant be too old but the current gen i7 is more than enough or if you want on teh cheap? build AMD and FX, but make sure you get atleast the "Vishera" based 8350. (8core/4 FPUs shared at every 2 cores.) (Zambezi bulldozers are pure crap.)

but the biggest factor for Server hosting is always your total (average not rated Speed) Upload! and as well where you are. further you are from people especialy overseas. the harder the Bite of lag they will feel. same being if you get pro hosting.

if you pay for hosting? look for fre etrials google them look for a high ratio of bad to good responses. because otherwise it's Wasted money. same goes for server location. if you and most that will be on it are from the US? look into creeperhost. i dont know many decent hosting providers for the UK. and stay away from VPS hosting. its good for vanilla but not FTB.

So.. if you say that *GB, or 16GB would handle higher player numbers, how would you optimize the serverstart file for using that 8GB+ ? I've run 4GB, and tried 8GB, and found that the tps don't always follow getting better with increased memory... It's been a thorn in my side since getting that extra 8GB just for the server, and never fully utilizing it...

Sorry this may not be entirely on the original topic, but it's a question I've been finding no answers to myself..

 

[Quesenek]

Yes you need to run a server on another PC. My main PC is an i5-3570k OC @ 4.5GHz and it had troubles.
I run my Server on an old phenom II x4 running at 3.6GHz with 4GB of ram and with 20 maxed out chunkloaders over my world I get zero lag. The PC is also home to a media streaming server and a few oracle databases.

 

[CaelThunderwing]

So.. if you say that *GB, or 16GB would handle higher player numbers, how would you optimize the serverstart file for using that 8GB+ ? I've run 4GB, and tried 8GB, and found that the tps don't always follow getting better with increased memory... It's been a thorn in my side since getting that extra 8GB just for the server, and never fully utilizing it...

Sorry this may not be entirely on the original topic, but it's a question I've been finding no answers to myself..

if all you have is 8GB? you want Max 3GB for server and client. so you dont starve your OS of Ram. think of this for Minecraft and a windows OS host. you got 16GB you really only have 14GB to play with (7gb server/client) client shouldnt need more than 4

for server set this for ram -Xmn128M -Xms3G -Xmx3G you dont need to set aditional VJM Arguments for FTB Client unless its being launched outside MultiMC or the ftblauncher which is for options on ftblauncher and right-click settings on the instance in MultiMC.

but yea 2 biggest factors in Server Hosting is always Ram, and Upload speed. (Average not rated maximum) if you play same machine or within home network you wont feel the "Low/slow upload lag" like others will.

 

[Bigglesworth]

No, you shouldn't be playing on the same machine youre serving from. You have plenty of RAM/CPU for 2-3 dozen people.

What you should do is give the server itself 2 cores in the task manager (Set affinity) and make sure every other process IS NOT USING THOSE CORES. This is if you want to keep useing the same machine.

 

[netmc]

One of the biggest changes you can make that will affect the apparent lag on the server is to use QOS and prioritize the TCP ack flag on packets. Whenever your computer gets a request, it sends an acknowledgement packet back letting the sender know that the information was received. If your internet connection is bogged down sending other data, all the clients will end up waiting until the acknowledgement flag gets sent. Clients will see this as lag even though you may not be using all your bandwidth. One of the graphs I've seen on a saturated network connection saw a 20% change in throughput just by prioritizing the TCP ack packet above all others.

 

[Bigglesworth]

If he's saturating his network while wondering why the server is lagging Ill be amused.

 

[Omicron]

One of the biggest changes you can make that will affect the apparent lag on the server is to use QOS and prioritize the TCP ack flag on packets. Whenever your computer gets a request, it sends an acknowledgement packet back letting the sender know that the information was received. If your internet connection is bogged down sending other data, all the clients will end up waiting until the acknowledgement flag gets sent. Clients will see this as lag even though you may not be using all your bandwidth. One of the graphs I've seen on a saturated network connection saw a 20% change in throughput just by prioritizing the TCP ack packet above all others.

Would you need to do this on the router, or in Windows, or both?

 

[Bigglesworth]

Router most likely.

 

[RedHairdYoda]

Thank you all for your advice. I am planning on putting together an older machine for running the server and using my i7 machine as my client. Is there an advantage to running the server in a 64-bit environment or will a 32 bit machine work. I have easy access to many 32 bit machines of age. Will a Core2Dou machine work as a host?

 

[netmc]

The packet priority is set in the router. Not all routers have the granular controls needed to prioritize tcp ack packets. The best you can do without is to prioritize the traffic to/from the minecraft server.

 

[Bigglesworth]

Thank you all for your advice. I am planning on putting together an older machine for running the server and using my i7 machine as my client. Is there an advantage to running the server in a 64-bit environment or will a 32 bit machine work. I have easy access to many 32 bit machines of age. Will a Core2Dou machine work as a host?

Youll be limited to 4GB of RAM, otherwise it should be fine, as even 4GB should be plenty for a dozen people.