Interpreting the Resource Graph
Last modified on Feb 25, 2021 in control panel
The server resource graph is a useful tool to get a quick overview our your servers general health by displaying the approximate CPU and RAM usage while online from our control panel. This graph can be located on the Server Details page of the respective server around the top-right section. Reading the graph is pretty straightforward; the blue portion of the graph represents the CPU, and gray represents the RAM. The CPU can be thought of as the brain of the server, while the RAM acts as the body, the force that physically holds what the server CPU has access to.
Now you generally want to keep both the CPU and RAM as low as possible. If you have a high CPU usage, like 90% or higher with a fairly empty server then this suggests something is wrong. In most cases, it’s related to the world, or more so something in the world. If you have high RAM usage with a fairly empty server then this suggests you are either running a rather large world, too many plugins or mods or simply do not have enough RAM needed for what your server is doing.
Let’s use the image to the right as an example. That particular server was restarted and is running on 1GB of RAM with our standard CPU. As it restarts we see a significant spike in the CPU usage as it runs through it initialization phase. This is normal for all servers as they start up and can take anywhere from one second to a minute to settle out. As it settles we can see the CPU indicator slowly decline to 1% without any activity on the server. As the server gains activity (players joining, building, mods interacting in the world, etc) the CPU usage will increase. But even with this activity, it shouldn’t exceed a steady 90%.
The RAM represents the stored information the CPU is processing at any given point in time. The majority of this information is comprised of loaded chunks, entities, and tile entities. But most players would associate RAM usage with the number the players on the server and plugins or mods installed. As these variables increase (loading more chunks, adding more plugins/mods), so will the RAM usage. With this in mind, you should also be aware that the RAM usage can increase even further as the plugins/mods perform their functions in creating new information the CPU would then access.
If you notice your server is maintaining a significant CPU and RAM usage, then the first thing to do is to deduce the cause. In most cases, it’s related to the world or the type of server you’re trying to run. You can quickly check to see if its an issue with the world by temporarily creating a new world. If the high usage persists then this may indicate an issue with the type of server you’re trying to run. If you are unsure of the cause then feel free to contact support at any time for a possible resolution.
