---
title: "Server Maintenance"
description: "How to keep your server healthy — updates, restarts, monitoring, and scheduled tasks."
category: "Server Management"
tags: ["Maintenance", "Uptime", "Intermediate"]
readTime: 4
---

Regular maintenance keeps your server fast, stable, and secure. This guide covers the essential routines you should perform monthly, weekly, and daily.

## Scheduled Restarts

Game servers benefit from periodic restarts to clear memory fragmentation and apply plugin updates.

<Steps>
  <Step number={1} title="Open the Schedules tab">
    In the control panel, go to your server → **Schedules**. Click **Create Schedule**.
  </Step>
  <Step number={2} title="Configure the cron expression">
    Set the restart frequency using cron syntax. Common values:

    - Daily at 4 AM: `0 4 * * *`
    - Every 12 hours: `0 */12 * * *`
    - Weekly on Sunday: `0 3 * * 0`
  </Step>
  <Step number={3} title="Add a pre-restart broadcast">
    Add a **Send Command** task 5 minutes before the restart task to warn players. Example command: `say Server restarting in 5 minutes for maintenance.`
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Callout type="tip" title="Low-traffic windows">
  Schedule restarts during off-peak hours (late night / early morning) to minimize disruption to active players.
</Callout>

## Updating Game Servers

Most games require server updates when new versions release. To update:

1. Stop your server from the Console tab
2. Go to **Settings → Reinstall** (this only reinstalls the base files, not your world data)
3. Start the server — the updater will run automatically

<Callout type="warning" title="Backup before updating">
  Always create a manual backup **before** updating. Major game updates sometimes break plugin compatibility or corrupt world data.
</Callout>

## Monitoring Server Health

Use the **Resource Usage** graph in the Overview tab to monitor CPU and RAM over time. Healthy indicators:

| Metric | Healthy Range | Action Needed |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | < 80% average | Above 90% sustained: upgrade tier |
| RAM | < 85% allocated | Above 90%: add more RAM or reduce plugins |
| Disk | < 70% | Clear old backups or logs |

## Cleaning Up Logs and Old Backups

Log files and old backups accumulate quickly. Periodically:

- Delete log files older than 30 days from `logs/` in the file manager
- Remove backup snapshots older than your retention policy
- Clear crash reports from the `crash-reports/` directory