Help random disconnects on a Minecraft server ($ reward if solved)
Help random disconnects on a Minecraft server ($ reward if solved)
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Hello! I’m looking for assistance with a persistent problem. We’re offering a $100 reward for its solution. I work on a Minecraft server with several hundred daily players. Recently, over the past couple of months, we’ve experienced random network disruptions—every few minutes, a player disconnects unexpectedly. This issue started without warning, even though it occurred during a full season when no major changes were made except for our own plugin updates for gamemode patches. We haven’t released any new plugins that could trigger the problem.
Previously, we relied on Hetzner’s dedicated server and used TCPShield for DDoS protection. We contacted their support team, but they couldn’t pinpoint the cause. Eventually, we tried switching providers: first to Papyrus, then to another DDoS service, and finally to Pufferfish, which we rented a VPS from. We set up HAProxy to proxy traffic between our Hetzner machine and the new provider, but the issue persisted.
Our server setup includes a proxy with Bungeecord, five hub servers, and the main Prison game mode. When players disconnect, they’re sent to a hub instead of being removed from their current server. We attempted to change the proxy software from Bungeecord to Velocity, yet the problem continued. We also checked our plugins—most were up-to-date and seemed harmless, except for a few we suspected.
We tried different DDoS protection methods, thinking those were the culprits, but none resolved the issue. Switching hosting providers to OVH helped, removing an extra layer of protection, but it didn’t eliminate the problem. Now we have a new dedicated server on a different host and network entirely. We still face disconnections regardless of the server type or location.
Our current configuration uses Ubuntu 22.04 with a Ryzen 9 5900X, 128GB RAM, gigabit networking, and runs several services including Minecraft, Docker, and various plugins. Despite our efforts to troubleshoot—disabling plugins, adjusting settings, and ensuring proper configurations—we haven’t found a solution.
We’re hoping someone can help us resolve this persistent issue.
Investigating what appears to be erratic network problems becomes challenging without logs linking the user to the server. I’d start by gathering information about the affected users, searching for shared traits among them. For instance, are all those leaving connected in the same area? Do they rely on identical internet service providers? Do their ISPs route connections through the same Internet Exchanges? What are the peering arrangements between their ISPs and the main backbone companies at each exchange? Also consider your own provider’s agreements. Understanding these details is crucial since intermittent data loss could stem from a backbone provider or peering deal neither you nor the users can directly influence. Good luck!
It's definitely frustrating, but you're right to bring it up. We examined some IP locations affected by these outages, and they were spread out significantly, suggesting it's not a local problem. For example, one player was in the U.S. while another was in the Netherlands. We also lack a method to reproduce this issue, which adds to the difficulty of resolving it. I love and hate tech x.x