Help with Setting Up Dedicated Server

[jpf190279]

I am trying to use an old laptop to host a private dedicated server for myself and a few friends (2-4), I am able at the minute to run the game client, dedicated server, a ventrilo server and a ventrilo client off my current gaming rig with no issues (another machine).

However when I run the dedicated server onto my laptop (Celeron T4200 Dual 2Ghz with 3GB Ram) with no other software other than the OS I am getting massive lag for even a single player (500ms - 4500ms).

Is the laptop just not powerful enough to host the game? I have read that privately hosted servers are running on less resources and hosting dozens of players at a time. I can't believe that this is possible given my experience so far or am I doing someone wrong in the setup?

Thoughts and comments are very much welcomed!

 

[Will2brown]

I have absolutely no idea, never hosted a server... Sorry.

 

[der_scheme]

[…]

Start by checking the memory settings. The default settings may be too low to properly run the game. Also, what's the OS?

I have absolutely no idea, never hosted a server... Sorry.

In that case it is usually best to refrain from posting.

 

[jpf190279]

I have absolutely no idea, never hosted a server... Sorry.

...................................................................................................................................................................................................... what!

O/S is windows 7 64bit ultimate, I tried Linux Ubuntu but that ended up consuming too much wattage so not ideal for my purpose.

I already assign 2GB to the game but it seems to be hitting the CPU particularly hard.

 

[Andir]

I run my game server on a Debian Linux box, so I can't tell you much about windows configs but I did run a dedicated on my Windows box a few times without this problem. What processor does the machine have? (I have an early Core i7 with 6GB RAM that I used and didn't notice any performance problems.)

Edit: Also, have you updated Java?

 

[jpf190279]

Celeron T4200 Dual 2Ghz with 3GB Ram

See original post, I re-ran the system today, I experienced a bit of lag upon loading on planets but afterwards it seemed to level out. The cpu is definitely getting hit the most, I sense it is the weak link in my configuration.

Yes to the updated Java, its a fresh Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit build with just Java and Starmade installed.

 

[AndyP]

On my 4 GB ram notebook, windows 7 home already uses ~1,25GB RAM in idle mode.
Assuming 3GB ram on your system, 2GB should force java to swap out badly and loose alot of performance.

My Ubuntu gnome install has an idle RAM @ ~450MB with GUI and already a few programs running.
Cant see how this may impact your performance or load.

However, check your exact free ram on idle system and adjust RAM settings on the server accordingly.
Set max-memory to your system max, set minimum to a value 256MB below max, or 50% of max, if max is >1GB.
Leave initial memory at default. (128MB IIRC)

Assuming a slow system your start-parameters for the game should be:

 java -d64 -Xmx2G -Xms1G -Xincgc -server -jar StarMade.jar  -server

Put this in a batch-file to make sure the garbage collector works in smaller chunks (may increase performance compared to before)

- Andy

 

[rocketman221]

I run my server on a Celeron G530 with 4GB of ram with no lag, except when generating planets. The server runs Debian 7 (64 bit, no gui) and 64 bit Oracle java 7. I just run the game with the default dedicated server script.
Make sure you are using a wired ethernet connection, wifi does not work for a server.