When launching a new community server, one of the biggest bottlenecks can be picking the wrong Virtual Private Server (VPS) package. The key to a lag-free experience usually boils down to single-core clock speed over multi-core counts, and lightning-fast memory.
Most game servers (like Minecraft or Source engine games) are heavily dependent on a single main thread. Therefore, a server with 2 cores at 4.5GHz will often vastly outperform a server with 8 cores running at 2.2GHz.
RAM dictates how many elements you can keep loaded at once. In a survival game, more active players mean more loaded chunks, entities, and data in memory. Generally, 4GB to 8GB is a strong starting point for medium communities.
World saving happens consistently and can cause massive stutters if the IO operations are queued. Standard HDDs or even SATA SSDs might not be enough during heavy save events. NVMe SSDs provide the raw bandwidth to make world-saves virtually unnoticeable.
By keeping these three core pillars in mind, you can save money while providing the best possible tick-rate for your gamers.