Boosting Your Server Performance

Nobody likes lag. While Fern runs on top-tier hardware, how you set up your world can make or break the experience. Let's look at a few "pro-level" tweaks to keep your TPS at a steady 20 and your players happy.

1. Switch to Better Software

Minecraft's official "Vanilla" software is notoriously slow. If you’re running more than a couple of players, you need an upgrade.

Paper: Our #1 recommendation for 99% of servers. It fixes thousands of lag-inducing bugs while still supporting all your favorite plugins.
Fabric: If you’re a technical player, Fabric with performance mods like Lithium and Starlight is unbeatable.

2. Find Your Tier Sweet Spot

Don't overpay, but don't starve your server either. Here’s a rough guide for what each tier can handle:

Tier	Vibe	Best For
Small	1 - 5 players	Testing plugins or a tiny private survival world.
Medium	5 - 15 players	Your standard SMP with some light plugins.
Large	15 - 40 players	Competitive networks or heavy world-exploration.
XX-Large	40+ players	Massive public communities and heavy modpacks.

3. The "View Distance" Trick

This is the single biggest performance booster. In your Settings > Server tab, drop your View Distance from 16 to 8 or 10.

4. Pregenerate to Save Your CPU

Most lag happens when players explore new areas, forcing the server to generate chunks on the fly. Use the Chunky plugin to pre-generate your world radius while nobody is online. It’s a game-changer.

5. Advanced Lag Hunting

If you’ve tried the basics and the server is still lagging, use these tools to find the exact culprit:

Spark Profiling: See exactly which plugin or entity is eating your CPU.
Timings Reports: A historic view of where your server is struggling.
Performance Settings: Our master list of optimized config values.
Lag Diagnostics: A step-by-step way to identify what's slowing you down.

Pro tip: Keep an eye on the Live Console. If you see "Can't keep up!", it’s time to either optimize your settings or upgrade your tier.