Minecraft Server Troubleshooting Guide Print

Minecraft, although it has been out of beta testing for a long time, still can have its glitches at times. It will eventually experience problems such as crashes and lag when merged with third-party plugins such as CraftBukkit and Tekkit. Server problems are usually unavoidable with most Minecraft servers and the more plugins and the larger your world, the more likely you are to have these issues. This guide will provide detailed information on how to troubleshoot a Minecraft server to help you find the root cause.

One point we (GGServers) would like to make is that server crashes and [most] causes of lag have nothing to do with the host themselves (this goes for any hosting company). Every host runs the Minecraft/External Minecraft server software (which is a .jar file) through Java, which is cross-platform (Windows, Mac & Linux Compatible). This allows servers to run in the same way on all OSes. Due to this, it isn't the host that is actually starting/running your server, it is the Minecraft/External Minecraft server software that is running through Java that is the brain of everything, the only time a crash is an issue on the host's side is if their actual physical hardware breaks down or if the operating system crashes. All other crashes are caused directly by Minecraft/External Minecraft server software and plugins themselves.

As host companies do not have the ability to fix all Minecraft problems, CraftBukkit, Tekkit, or plugins, we cannot help you. However, we can offer our experience and best efforts to debug the problem. User error is also something that is difficult for a host to fix since we did not configure your server nor did we install the plugins (exception being if you ordered the Plugin and Modpack Support addon), so you always want to provide as much detailed information as possible of how the problems started if you need help on these types of issues/problems. Some problems are not possible to resolve without doing a full reset/rollback. This is the nature of Minecraft, and the plugins built upon it.

FIRST STEP IN ANY SERVER ISSUES

First, you, the server owner should check your console/server.log file (via FTP) or built-in file viewer. The console is a realtime copy of the server.log files (a text based file), however the server.log files has a longer historical record since it is all console log's output. While the console display is limited only to the last few line, it can be used as a history file. Some messages may look strange or cryptic, but you can usually find error messages that include the names of the plugins to which they are related. An error message is preceded by a tag like, or similar to "[SEVERE]". Some errors will indicate the exact problem. This makes it easier for the server owner to correct the problem. Though in some cases, the server.log file size will be in the gigabytes (1000MB+), which makes it impossible to open. Usually, a server.log file that is larger than 1GB is due to chunk errors.

Tip: Delete your server.log file without the server running to make it easier to see startup/shut down errors. It wouldn't be fun to have to download and open a 100MB log file each time, you can rename it to another name (example: server.logOLD1) if you want to keep it.

Once you have identified the problem, the next step will be to ensure that all plugins installed are up to date (including your Minecraft/External Minecraft JAR). Click the Update button in the Multicraft panel to do this. This should clear up most, next to all plugin related errors, but if you are still getting errors after updating your plugins, then they can be related to other issues, which will require further investigation.

REMOVING ALL THINGS WORLDWIDE AS A SOURCE OF THE ISSUE OF THE PROBLEM

Sometimes the problem is within the world. To test this, go to your multi-craft panel, change the "level name" setting (default is world), then hit the save button, and the server will automatically restart. This will create a new folder called "world2" in your server's directory. (Or other names, if you choose a different name). It will be a simple, automatic, and no-user-input world. If you see the same errors in your server.log, please check again. NOTE: Changing a level-name can affect the way multi-world Plugins work. In this case, you might need to delete the new world from the multiworld Plugin(s) config file. Otherwise the world will be generated again.

If this resolves the issue on your server then it means that there is an issue in your world file. This could be water, redstone and lava, large quantities of mobs, the non-removal or removal of dropped items, etc. You can also check your server.log file and console to see if your plugins are throwing error messages.

To change the world back into your old one, simply change its name back to what it was before (capitalizations or spaces are important, so type it exactly as before).

BASICS TO FIX PLUGIN PROBLEMS

Plugin errors can be caused by improperly installed plugins. It is important to ensure that your Minecraft/External Minecraft server files are always up-to-date (from the game panel) and that all plugins you install support the exact same Minecraft server software version. These differences in versions/different types can cause crashes, errors, and lag. It is better to avoid installing plugins that do not support CraftBukkit. Plugins can sometimes be updated frequently, so you will always want to check on http://plugins.bukkit.org for the latest versions of your plugins.

If the errors persist after updating, it could be a problem with your configuration file. Some plugins require things such as a MySQL database (which GGServers can provide by request), and if you don't enter in your MySQL database login info, then the plugin will throw errors. Other issues with plugin configs can come from out-dated config files used with an updated version of the plugin, so you will need to remove the config file, then restart the server so the plugin automatically generates a new config file for it.

Some plugins have data files that can become unusable. In some cases, you can edit the data files manually to fix the problem. However, you might need to rename the entire plugin data folder to fix the issue. Many causes of errors outputting from configs is in the .yml files (config files extensions are .yml). Those files have a very, very specific format that you must adhere to no matter what. Failure to follow this format, even if it is a simple capitalization error, can render the plugin and any associated plugins inoperable. You can check the syntax of any .yml file using this site: http://yaml-online-parser.appspot.com/

TYPES OF PLUGINS THAT CAN CAUSE LAG:

These plugins (but not all) can cause server lagged:

-Anti Xray (or any xray related plug-in) –World Edit –NPC –Anti-cheat –Wrong Anti-lag plugins –Outdated/wrong Version of plugins generally

PROCESS OF ELIMINATION

To test for server errors, disable plugins in groups to narrow down the issue and make the process faster. This is simple, a good way to do this is to append .disabled onto the plugin file name, (example) worldedit.jar.disabled. You can re-enable plugins by removing the.disabled and restarting the server.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR SERVER DISAPPOINTS TO START UP?

There are a few causes of why a server won't start up (at all), so we'll go over a few here.

1. If you are running out of disk space, check your multicraft profile page to see if it has been reached. How To Crossplay Minecraft This is common if you have backup plugins that you don't keep track of and it creates hundreds of backups, thus using up all of your disk space. How To Crossplay Minecraft You can remove something you don't use.

2. You have chunk errors. Chunk errors are error messages that spam your server.log and can cause your disk space to reach its maximum limit. The server.log file contains all error messages and can grow to gigabytes in size. In this situation, you will need the server.log file to be deleted and a new world to be created.

3. Your Minecraft server JAR file has been corrupted or is not usable. You can upload the current version using the update option in your multicraft panel.

4. There is a plugin that will stop/crashe your server upon start-up.

TYPES OF LAGA:

There are different types of lag that can mean different things on your server. Here are a few:

1. Delayed block breaking, movement delay (you are pushed back slightly in time after walking for a certain distance or time), also known as "rubber bandsing" and damage delay. This type of lag may be caused by network lag (on the clients or the hosts), lag on their own internet connection, server performance issues and plugin/world issues.

A plugin called "LagMeter", or another similar plugin, can be used to determine if lag is coming out of your world/plugins. You can also use the /lag command if you feel lag. If the TPS is near 20, then the issue is related to other things.

2. Framerate issues on client side - Simply can't (or hardly). -- This type of lag is usually caused by something wrong with the servers chunk generation. It can also be caused by TNT explosions and damage to chunks caused by TNT. If the lag lasts for more than 10 minutes, or continues after logging back into the server, a new universe may be necessary. This type of lag can also be caused by plugins that are anti-x-ray or ore obfuscation. The only way out is to update or to remove the plugin. Many servers have also disabled TNT in the world all together (not best for faction based servers).

IN CONCLUSION:

If you are experiencing some form of error or lag on your server and are unable to determine using this article, please feel free to open a ticket with our Technical Support team at: https://ggservers.com/billing/submitticket.php. To resolve your issue as quickly as possible, please include as much detail as possible and also describe any troubleshooting steps you have taken on your own. Our tech support team will not be able to help you if you don't provide enough information or if you haven't done any troubleshooting.