Hosting a Minecraft server on VPS

Creating a Minecraft server on a VPS frees you from the limits of shared hosting or locked, pre-configured "Minecraft" plans. You choose the version, the mods, the plugins and the rules of your community, without depending on an imposed control panel. But a poorly sized server causes lag, disconnections and widespread frustration among your players. Here's how to properly size and secure your infrastructure.

RAM and CPU: sizing for your players

Memory consumption depends on the game mode, the number of simultaneous players and the installed extensions. A server undersized in RAM suffers frequent memory purges, which translate into visible stutter on your players' screens.

On the CPU side, Minecraft remains very sensitive to single-thread performance. Favor recent, high-frequency vCPUs over a large number of slower cores. A Ryzen-type processor delivers excellent performance for server tick handling and chunk generation, two operations that don't parallelize efficiently across many cores.

Paper and Spigot: optimizing server ticks

Paper, an optimized fork of Spigot, is today the go-to choice for public servers. It reduces CPU load, improves entity handling and offers advanced tuning options (view distance, mob spawning, redstone). Spigot remains viable for lightweight configurations or modpacks requiring strict compatibility. In both cases, limit the view distance to 8 or 10 chunks and monitor TPS (ticks per second): below 18 TPS, your players will notice perceptible slowdowns.

NVMe storage and backups

Minecraft worlds generate constant disk access during exploration and automatic saves. NVMe storage noticeably reduces micro-freezes during I/O operations. Schedule regular backups of your world folder — via cron and rsync, or a dedicated script — and always test the restore process before you actually need it in a crisis.

Anti-DDoS and network for a public server

Minecraft servers exposed to the Internet are frequent targets of denial-of-service attacks, sometimes driven by rivalry between communities or simple nuisance actors. Active Anti-DDoS protection, capable of filtering UDP and TCP floods without disconnecting legitimate players, is essential to keep your server online. Place your Minecraft VPS in a datacenter close to your players — Paris for a French-speaking community — to minimize the in-game ping.

Going further: mods, community and monetization

Once your technical base is stable, think about moderation (plugins like LuckPerms for permissions), automated off-site backups, and possible monetization through a rank system that respects Mojang's rules (no pay-to-win advantage). For larger community servers, a gaming VPS with more vCPUs better absorbs the combined load of multiple worlds or a Velocity/BungeeCord proxy.

Multi-world setups and the Velocity proxy

Growing communities often end up wanting several themed worlds — survival, creative, minigames — linked by a proxy like Velocity or BungeeCord. This architecture spreads the load across several independent Java processes, each with its own memory allocation, rather than running everything on a single overloaded instance. The proxy handles authentication and routes players between worlds, while each backend server stays dedicated to its own gameplay. This setup requires more overall RAM but noticeably improves the stability players perceive during transitions.

Monitoring server health

Install a monitoring plugin (Spark or Paper's built-in tool) to precisely identify which plugins or world areas consume the most CPU resources. Regular profiling helps spot poorly designed redstone, an entity duplicating abnormally, or an outdated plugin degrading the entire server's performance before players even complain about it directly.

By combining a properly sized VPS, optimized Paper or Spigot, NVMe storage and Anti-DDoS protection, you give your community a stable and enjoyable experience, 24 hours a day. Check out our step-by-step installation guides, or contact our team via the contact page to validate your configuration.