upgrading server setup

[Dark_Arkon]

I have a new ftb server set up on my home desktop. When I play on the server with the same desktop it lags a decent amount. I've thought about having a separate computer for the server but space in my house is limited and so are finances. I was wondering if I set the server up on a SSHD would fix the lag? I have never used a SSHD and I'm not sure how it would work with the server if at all. Anyone that has knowledge or experience with this, your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Booker The Geek]

Hm... Things to consider when setting up your very own server....

1. Minecraft's Official Server/Requirments thread
   • This is for running without any mods, You will need more then this
2. Minecraft IS NOT (The cake is a lie!) Multi-threaded. At least not enough to matter.
   • Because of this, You will get better performance With a faster Dual core Cpu then A slower Quad/Six/Eight core CPU (Dual cause the OS can use the other core
3. Minecraft Loves Ram, really loves it. After It runs out of ram, it starts eating HD. (Eating HD space as in the paging/Virtual Memory file.)
   • Ram, Ram.... Did I mention that Ram is Good?
   • Yes, An SSHD is better for minecraft performance then not. Two are even better if you install the OS onto one of them and minecraft onto the other.
4. Operating System. Please, DON"T RUN WINDOWS OR MAC for your server.
   • But why you ask? IBM & APPLE are both resource hogs. You will get better performance on a linux machine the the other two. Use a Linux based OS. Free to use and setup. Plenty of free help to get you started in the servers section. WHERE THIS MOST LIKELY SHOULD HAVE BEEN POSTED.... Just saying

 

[Dark_Arkon]

I have a dual core 3.2 GHz with 8 gb ddr3 1333 installed. So that's plenty to run minecraft or ftb with all its awesome mods. The lag comes when using the server and playing on the server with the same desktop. So would putting the server on a separate hard drive help, and would a SSHD help/work?

 

[Booker The Geek]

Yes, I t would help to install the server on a separate HD. an SSHD would help more then not because the access time is faster. Realistically, It would be better to drop a couple c-notes onto s small server box, install linux, and run the server off of that. I actuall am running a server for my son on a G-sale $5 special. One core, about 1 gb ram, and an old IDE 40GB HD. Runs my ftb server just dandy.

 

[Zexmaxwell001]

Yes, I t would help to install the server on a separate HD. an SSHD would help more then not because the access time is faster.

I do not recommend SSHD. SSDs Are great on the read times, but crap on the write times. on top of They are not Reliable. They will Die on a minecraft server. Keep the minecraft server on a normal Highend HDD. since server bootup times are not a big deal, there is no need for them on a server.

 

[Booker The Geek]

{Off-Topic}{Rant}
Ok, Good thing I got my off-topic tag a going.....

.... crap on the write times.

Really? Do you have an SSD, or are you just repeating what you read on the internet? Cause everybody knows that the internet never lies. I DO have an SSD. I actually have a lot of them. I am using them them in a Raid. One of my setup? 4 WD SiliconDrive A100 16GB in raid zero. Are you telling me that I am going to get the same performance if I droped normal HD's in their? (Granted these not normal... ) So for normal people? SSD Hard Drives have a faster almost everything then normal Hard Drives. Nature of the beast. If you really want to get into it, try loading up your OS onto a PCI-Express SLC SSD..... I want!!!!!

They are not Reliable

... Sure. They do have that issue about how many time you can write to a section of memory and then it goes bad thing. Have you looked at the numbers? Better yet, have you tried to get one to fail? I have. Both. (Yes, I'm a geek, I do this for a living. And I used to for the Army.) I very much doubt that installing only a server onto an SSD and running it, Even 10-15 servers with loads of people, will have any notable effect on lifespan. OP will most likely have upgraded every other part of his (her?) computer and upgrade the SSD anyways just cause they tossed him a free one from newegg when he buys a new motherboard.
{/Off-Topic}{/Rant}

So where was I.... Oh yeah.

...the access time is faster.

Sorry, should have said "...The everything with an SSD is faster."

OP was asking about performance. Performance wise, an SSD will outperform a normal HD Every Single Time.

1. Make sure to buy an SSD, if you decide to go that way, that is "SLC" and not "MLC'
2. The larger the HD, the longer the lifespan.
3. You get what you pay for.
4. An PCI-Express SSD is as fast as you can get, some of them 8x faster then a normal HD.

{edited for spelling}

 

[Zexmaxwell001]

Really? Do you have an SSD, or are you just repeating what you read on the internet?

Yes, I have one to load with my OS. And it corrupted my data once. I started out with 64GB~. After the corruption i now have 59.6 GB. So something happened to the SSD to loose about 3GB of data.

The larger the HD, the longer the lifespan.

Wait, what?! the larger the drive, the higher chances it is for the data to fail.

To an avg user. no one will know how to optimize the SSD so it WONT die. Unlike HDDs once data is gone on the SSD its gone, unrecoverable for the average user even if you did have forensics' tools to salvage the data. For a server environment. I don't see a point to it, unless you want to keep buying replacements.

Do you have an SSD, or are you just repeating what you read on the internet?

 

[Booker The Geek]

Very informative point. I am assuming (Yes, I know, not good) that the OP will ask/research before buying one to know what to get.

Yes, I have one to load with my OS. And it corrupted my data once. I started out with 64GB~. After the corruption i now have 59.6 GB. So something happened to the SSD to loose about 3GB of data.

No matter what type of HD you get, if it be SSD or normal, you can get a bad one. Did you RMA it to get a new one/your money back?

Wait, what?! the larger the drive, the higher chances it is for the data to fail.

The bigger the drive, the more sectors it has, so the longer it will last because it has more areas to write to. Because the lifespan of a SSD is related to how many times you can write data over a specific area, the more the better. You are saying that one apple is better then 10 cause you have a higher chance of getting a rotten one with ten then one? True if you are picking apples at random. BUT going with industrial SSD's, where the components are cherry picked one by one will negate that issue all together.

The video is informative, but not in a way that that relates to the OP's question.

... I was wondering if I set the server up on a SSHD would fix the lag? ...

Will it fix lag? It will have less lag then a normal HD. This is the question of the OP. As to the pro's and con's of actually using a SSD for this function is a different question. Would I use an SSD for mission critical data? I might, under specific conditions. I do not think that a home server for minecraft would fall under that. Also, setting up the computer/server to backup the SSD to a normal HHD once a day or so would be a good option.


There are other options to fix lag. Their might be better options to fix it. BUT using an SSD will, WILL, reduce the amount of lag that occurs when the game is saving data to the HD. You will get even less lag if you install the OS onto a different HD then the Minecraft Server because then the OS writes and Minecraft writes are using two different areas to write data to, and so you do not have to share bandwidth.

 

[Dark_Arkon]

I feel so loved, both you guys fighting over me. I'm married though. Lol. Thank you for the info though. I'm new to setting up servers and I just really enjoy ftb and playing it with my wife and friends. I think my lag problem might be coming from trying to run the server and play the game on the same dual core system, my core might have a good speed but it's still just a dual core. I think the SSHD will help to a degree but I think ultimately I'm gonna have to give the server its own computer to run on. Like Booker The Geek originally suggested. Props on giving your kid a server to play on man. And thanks Zexmaxwell001 for giving another side of the coin to look at. You can't have a good discussion without two different opinions. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Booker The Geek]

Good luck and I would luv to hear from you latter on about the hardware you choose for your server. (SSD or HD. lol)