Troubleshooting Server Lag and Performance Issues | Agila Host

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Understanding Server Lag

Lag can come from several sources. Understanding which type you are experiencing helps fix it faster.

TPS lag (server-side) — The server cannot keep up. TPS (ticks per second) drops below 20. Use /tps to check if your server supports it
Ping lag (network) — High latency between the player and server. This is usually geographic distance or the player's internet connection
Client FPS lag — The player's computer cannot render the game smoothly. This is not a server issue

Use Spark to identify what is consuming server resources:

Install the Spark profiler plugin (works on Paper, Fabric, and Forge)
Run /spark profiler start in the console
Let it run for a few minutes during lag
Run /spark profiler stop — it will generate a report link
The report shows exactly which plugins, mods, or game systems are consuming the most time

Note: Paper previously used Timings (/timings), but this has been deprecated in favor of Spark.

Too many entities — Mobs, item drops, and armor stands in loaded chunks. Use a mob stacking or entity limiter plugin
Large view/simulation distance — Reduce view-distance and simulation-distance in server.properties. These are the two most impactful settings for TPS
Chunk loading — Many players spread across different areas forces the server to load more chunks. Chunk loaders make this worse
Redstone clocks and contraptions — Rapid redstone pulses consume significant server resources
Poorly coded plugins — The Spark report will identify which plugins are using the most CPU time
World pregeneration — New chunk generation is expensive. Use a pregeneration plugin (like Chunky) to generate chunks ahead of time

RAM at max — Too many chunks loaded, too many mods, or a memory leak from a plugin
Check your panel for current RAM usage
Remove mods and plugins you do not need

Ping is determined by physical distance and internet routing — we cannot reduce it from our side
If a player has poor routing, a VPN with a nearby exit node may help

Only upgrade your plan after you have:

Identified the lag source using Spark
Optimized your server configuration
Confirmed the lag is not caused by a specific mod or plugin
Verified that your resource usage is consistently at the limit under normal load