Lag Issues

Understanding Types of Lag

This article is sort of a basic troubleshooting guide for any lag you may experience on the server. First we need to discuss the types of lag you may experience:

  • FPS Lag – This isn’t really lag at all, but rather just a low framerate. Your framerate is how many “pictures” your computer can generate per second. If you’re getting under 30, then you will experience something described as “choppiness”, almost like watching a slideshow. This really can’t be affected by the server very much, and you’ll need to seek out performance mods in order to try and fix it.
  • High Ping – High ping refers to the time it takes for you to send or receive a packet of data to or from the server. High ping will make you feel like your actions are delayed on the server. This can be caused by your home connection (Most likely), your internal network (especially if using wifi instead of a wired connection), the server (happens occasionally), or the proxy server system (read more further down on this page).
  • Packet Loss – Packet loss refers to informational packets being sent or received to or from the server, that get “dropped” before they make it to your computer. This is usually due to your own internet connection. Rarely does the server actually experience packet loss itself.

There may be a few other types of lag you can run into, but these are the most likely culprits in 95% of experiences. The first one (FPS Lag) doesn’t have anything to do with the server, and is far more reliant upon the hardware specs of your local computer. However, the second and third types…you may be able to troubleshoot with the method in this document.

The Proxy System

You may think of a Minecraft server as some ethereal piece of software, but the truth is that any server must be running on a physical computer. That’s no different with our Minecraft server, but when you do that yourself…you run into an issue. Your public IP address can be easily retrieved – and attackers can look for vulnerabilities in your network, and push DDoS attacks to take down your server (or even your entire network).

You also have the issue that if you are in one area of the world (Like US-East, as is our case) people from other parts of the world won’t have a great connection to your server (Such is the nature of how the internet connects people). In most cases (like with websites) this won’t really be noticeable, but when playing online games, this location delay becomes significant, and in some cases unplayable.

The best method to kill two birds with one stone, is to use a global proxy system. A proxy provides 3 different services:

  • Hides your IP address.
  • Includes DDoS Protection.
  • Improves connections from people further away from your server’s physical location.

The proxy system works like this:

  1. User connects to the server domain (play.minecraft.country).
  2. Proxy chooses a node close to the user, and connects them to that.
  3. The node forwards the user’s information/data to either another node (That’s close to the server) or directly to the server.

This improves the experience for the server owner, and for the average user. However, You can run into issues. Perhaps the proxy node closest to you is encountering issues, or just doesn’t have a very good connection at all. You can’t choose which node to connect to, the proxy does that automatically. So, What can be done?

Hitting WARP Speed

An easy and free method to try is to use Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 application. It’s available for all platforms (Desktop and Mobile), and has a free mode (WARP) and an OPTIONAL paid mode (WARP+). The desktop edition is often just simply called “Cloudflare WARP”, while the mobile version is wrapped in with the “1.1.1.1” application.

If you’re on desktop, simply go to their website – and click the version for your computer (In most cases windows). Then wait for the download to finish – and run through the installer. Then launch Cloudflare Warp. It should show up in your taskbar near your audio/wifi settings. Once you click the icon you should see this window:

Simply click the toggle button in the middle of the window, and wait for it to connect. Once connected the window should look slightly different:

Now that you are connected to Cloudflare warp, try relaunching Minecraft and joining the server. Monitor your ping (In the tab list, or with the connection item in /menu). Cloudflare WARP isn’t a traditional VPN—it doesn’t hide your location or route your traffic through another country. Instead, it focuses on improving your connection quality and privacy. It encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through Cloudflare’s optimized network, which can reduce latency, fix routing issues with your ISP, and protect you from network-based snooping. In the context of the Minecraft country server, it may help stabilize your connection to the proxy if your ISP is taking a weird or inefficient route. It’s free, lightweight, and easy to try.

I’ve already had a few users try this out, and many of them have no issues as long as they are connected via Cloudflare WARP. If you have more questions about cloudflare WARP you can visit the following websites:

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