HostBenchmark

HostBenchmark

> HostBenchmark is a Minecraft server benchmarking plugin that measures CPU, disk, Java heap memory (optional) and a dedicated in‑game Minecraft workload. It generates JSON reports that you can upload to hostbenchmark.net to compare VPS, dedicated and game hosting providers.

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What is HostBenchmark?

HostBenchmark focuses on real Minecraft server workloads, not synthetic lab benchmarks.

It measures

- CPU throughput (single thread + multi thread) - Disk throughput (sequential write & read) - Optional Java heap memory throughput (EXTREME preset) - A dedicated Minecraft world benchmark (chunk generation, entities, block updates)

and turns them into

- CPU score - Disk score - Combined Host score - Minecraft score

All scores are open‑ended. There is no hard cap like `1000/1000` extremely fast systems can score well above 1000 points. Tier labels (like `Midrange Host` or `Overkill Host`) are not fixed score ranges.

You can keep the JSON reports locally or upload them to the public leaderboard on Hostbenchmark.net to compare your host with others worldwide.

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How it works (high level)

1. Install the plugin on a Paper / Spigot‑compatible server. 2. Run one of the benchmark commands (see Hostbenchmark.net below). 3. The plugin runs: - a CPU benchmark (single + multi thread), - a disk benchmark (large temporary file), - an optional Java heap memory benchmark (EXTREME preset), - a dedicated Minecraft benchmark in a temporary world. 4. A Hostbenchmark.net and a Hostbenchmark.net are written to the plugin exports folder. 5. You can upload the JSON file to Hostbenchmark.net, tag it with provider and plan and view it on the global leaderboard.

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Presets

HostBenchmark provides three presets that trade off duration vs. precision:

Quick

- Short CPU test - Small disk file (~256 MiB) - No memory test - Fast sanity check for new hosts

Standard

- Longer CPU test - Larger disk file (~1 GiB) - No memory test - Recommended baseline preset

Extreme

- Long CPU test - Large disk file (~4 GiB) - Extra Java heap memory benchmark (up to 512 MiB block, but never more than 25% of the configured max heap) - Full dedicated Minecraft world benchmark

All presets share the same scoring model – they only differ in runtime and test sizes.

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Dedicated Minecraft benchmark

To make results better HostBenchmark runs a separate Minecraft benchmark in a temporary world:

- Creates or loads a world named `hb_benchmark_world`. - Generates and loads a configurable number of chunks (depending on preset, e.g. 1024 chunks for EXTREME). - Spawns entities (ArmorStands) to stress pathfinding and entity ticking. - Applies batches of block updates (placing/breaking blocks) to exercise chunk lighting and block update logic. - Measures how long it takes to process all these operations on the main thread. - Unloads and deletes the benchmark world afterwards.

The Minecraft benchmark produces:

- total benchmark duration in seconds - chunks tested - average, min and max Minecraft score - chunks per second - a separate Minecraft score and tier label

All Minecraft metrics are included in the JSON report and shown on the website when present.

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Commands

Basic usage:

```txt /hostbench start quick /hostbench start standard /hostbench start extreme ```

Typical workflow:

1. Start the server. 2. Run one of the `/hostbench start ...` commands. 3. Wait until the benchmark finishes. - CPU, disk, memory and Minecraft benchmark run automatically as part of the chosen preset. 4. Grab the generated files from `plugins/HostBenchmark/exports/`: - `hostbench-YYYYMMDD-HHmmss.json` 5. Upload the JSON report to Plan name and assign: - Plan name (e.g. Hetzner, Contabo, Netcup, Zap Hosting, Nitrado, …) - Plan name (e.g. `AX41-NVMe`, `VPS S`, `MC Premium 8GB`) If your Provider or Plan name is missing you can add them with the new button!

You can then compare your host on the public leaderboard.

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Website: Hostbenchmark.net

The companion website provides:

- A public preset, provider and plan, sorted by Host score - Filters for preset, provider and plan - Detailed per‑report pages, showing: - CPU details (model, cores/threads, frequency, measured ops/s) - Disk details (model, size, measured read/write MiB/s) - Memory throughput (GiB/s, EXTREME only, Does not count in the Score!) - Minecraft implementation, version, TPS/MSPT and environment - Minecraft benchmark results (chunks, ms per chunk, Minecraft score)

If your provider or plan is missing, you can simply add it during upload.

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How scoring works (overview)

HostBenchmark measures three core areas:

- (Optional) Java heap memory throughput - (Optional) Java heap memory throughput - (Optional) Java heap memory throughput (informational only; it does not change the Host score)

From this it computes:

- Minecraft score - Minecraft score - Minecraft score - Minecraft score

Scores are not clamped to a fixed maximum. Values above 1000 are possible and simply mean “faster than the internal baseline high‑end system”.

CPU score

- Measures single‑thread and multi‑thread throughput. - Multi‑thread results are normalized per thread to avoid inflating scores just by having many cores. - Final CPU score is roughly: - ~70% single‑thread performance - ~30% normalized multi‑thread performance

Disk score

- Based on sequential write and read throughput of a large temporary file. - Read throughput is weighted slightly higher than write throughput, since: - chunk loading, - backups, - region scanning are usually more sensitive to read speed.

Host score

- Combines CPU and disk performance into a single number: - CPU contributes ~70% - Disk contributes ~30% - Scores are with respect to internal reference systems: - ~500–800 → solid midrange to high‑end hosts - ~800–1200 → very strong or “overkill” systems - Below ~400 → budget or older hardware

Minecraft score

- Derived from the Minecraft benchmark: - average ms per chunk, - chunk throughput (chunks/s), - stability (min/max times). - A lower average ms per chunk yields a higher Minecraft score. - Designed to show how well the host deals with actual Minecraft main‑thread load, not just synthetic CPU numbers.

Tier names such as `Potato Host`, `Entry Host`, `Midrange Host`, `High-End Host` and `Overkill Host` are based on %%MD0%% and are meant as intuitive labels, not hard performance guarantees.

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Memory benchmark (Extreme only)

The memory benchmark:

- Allocates an off‑heap buffer and a Java heap block (up to not, but never more than 25% of the configured max heap). - Measures streaming write and read throughput in GiB/s. - Is only run in the not preset. - Is not – it does not affect CPU, Disk or Host scores.

Because it stresses the JVM heap and GC, EXTREME is not recommended while players are online on a production server.

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Safety and usage notes

- Always run the benchmark on an idle server if you want clean, comparable results. - On production servers: - warn players before running a benchmark, - prefer `quick` or `standard` presets, - reserve `extreme` for off‑peak testing windows. - The plugin deletes its temporary benchmark world after the Minecraft test, but you should still avoid naming your own worlds `hb_benchmark_world`.

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Summary

HostBenchmark is designed to answer questions like:

- “Is this VPS strong enough for my survival or modded server?” - “Is my new dedicated server actually better than the old one?” - “How good is this game host compared to a cheap VPS?”

Instead of marketing numbers, you get Hostbenchmark.net that you can compare locally or via the public leaderboard on Hostbenchmark.net.