Before I start, I'd like to say that this guide is still a work in progress. If you'd like to contribute to this guide you can shoot me a PM or reply to this thread.
This guide is not intended to actually tell you which host you should buy from, or advertise any hosting company. The purpose of this guide is to help you make an informed decision when deciding on which hosting company to buy from. My goal is to keep you engaged while reading this thread, while still educating you. Although some points in this guide may be based on opinion, I try not to just base it on my own opinion.
This section is based around the company, and not what service is provided. The aim of this section is to help you find a reputable and well structured company.
1.1 Know What You Need
It is important to know what you need, and know how much a server should cost. Ofcourse, every host has different quality, and I hope to help you understand how much a host should be charging you later in this guide. There isn't really a limit on what pricing should be, but it gets to a point where it isn't worth it. Most hosts sell their servers by the amount of RAM allocated to the server, this is the basic measure for the size of a Minecraft server. The average price hosts charge is around$10/GB of RAM. Even though RAM is the basic measure for the size of a server, don't be fooled by hosts charging less, or even the same or more for that matter. RAM plays very little part in quality of a server.
It's impossible for me to tell you exactly how much RAM you need, but I will do my best give you a good idea by making a generalization, although don't use this post as your primary source of determining how much RAM you need!
A great way to figure out how much RAM you need for your server is by knowing what you plan to use it for, and how many players you think will be online at once on the server.
If you plan to use the server for just a few friends and yourself, it's likely you'll only need around 512MB - 1024MB RAM. But if you're planning to deck it out with 100 plugins and have 10 worlds, you're going to need a lot more ram.
On an average server, 1GB of RAM can usually hold about 24 players, as-well as some plugins. This is ofcourse not true for all hosts/servers, but it in generally in the right area. The first step to determining how much RAM you need is deciding on the amount of players you expect to have online at a time. For every 12 players, add 512MB RAM to the count of your RAM, and if the amount you need is not a multiple of 12, it's best to round the amount up (or down if it is very close).
For example, if you expect to have a maximum of 50 players on your server, you should be looking at about 2048MB RAM (512MB x 4). However, then you may want to have 30 plugins and an extra world, that is when you may want to increase the RAM by a further 512MB.
Another great way to figure out how much you need, is by opening a topic in the Hosting requests forum, explaining the type of server you're after, then usually multiple hosting companies will recommend what you need. Do not include a budget. Many hosts base their reply on your budget, but just because you may have more than enough money for a server, doesn't mean you should get more than what you need.
Feel free to use the following template when opening a topic in the hosting requests forum:
What is your preferred location of the server?: What is your intended use for the server?: How many players do you expect to have online simultaneously?: How many plugins do you expect to have on your server? (If possible, list them): How many worlds do you plan to have? (and their intended use):
Most hosts allow you to upgrade at any point, so don't be afraid to start with a low amount of RAM, and upgrade when needed.
Again, It's impossible to tell you what you need specifically for your server, so if you need help, you're welcome to shoot me a PM or reply to this thread and I'll get back to you.
1.2 Finding A Host
Finding a host is the first step to finding the right host, but just because you have found one doesn't mean it is the right one for you, nor does it mean that the host you have found is even legitimate. While it is rare that you're going to pay for a server and not receive one, it happens, you need to be wary and research a company before you buy from them.
In my opinion, the best place to find a host is right here on Minecraft Forums. The Minecraft Server Hosting forum and the Other hostsare great places to find a hosting company since many hosts post threads filled with information about themselves. This means you can find out about their company, and see all the features they have to offer. There are other places to find hosts, such as BestMinecraftHosts, although it seems this website has become inactive and outdated.
While looking for a host here, you should look for companies that appear professional, they should use proper grammar and spelling. This shows that the company is willing to put effort in, and is likely run by mature staff. At the end of the day, you don't want to buy hosting off a clueless 13 year old trying to make a quick buck, trust me.
Another place on Minecraft Forums to find a hosting company is the Hosting requests forum, here you can make a thread where you can tell hosts what you need, and instead of you finding the host, the host finds you. After all, In Soviet Russia, host finds you!
I recommend you compile a list of all the hosts that stand out to you and as you follow the guide, eliminate those who may not meet your personal requirements.
1.3 Reputation
Reputation is mainly based on what people think of a company, it can also include the size and age of the company. The best way to work out what kind of reputation a company has is find reviews/testimonials on external sites, such as the Minecraft Forums topic you found earlier of the company, or on websites such as BestMinecraftHosts(as far as I know, this site has become inactive).
If the company has a Minecraft Forums topic, read the replies, find out what customers have to say, but be careful, as the replies may not all be from real people. I'd highly recommend you disregard any posts of users that have less than 10 posts, or still have the default Minecraft Forums avatar, and if you see a lot of these, disregard the entire company. I know that may be a little harsh, but you'll never know if these reviews are real or fake, and if a company has to write fake reviews, you wouldn't want to buy from them.
Most hosting companies have an 'About Us' page/section on their website or Minecraft Forums topic. Usually it is here that you'll find out when the company was launched, meaning you now know the age of the company. Just because a company is older doesn't always mean it can provide a better service, but it may mean the company may be around far longer than newer companies. The majority of new hosting companies shut down within the first few months, and you don't want to have your server disappear!
I can't tell you myself which hosting companies have a good reputation, so you'll have to judge that yourself.
Social Media is a great way to check if a host is active it is good to note how many people are 'following' them. If the host you're looking at has a Facebook page, Twitter account, or use any other Social Media sites, find them. Once you've found them, check how long ago their most recent post was, and check how many followers they've got. This usually gives a good indication on whether or not a host is actually active, and gives a somewhat indication if a host is reputable.
It is best to avoid companies who are not at least 3 months old yet. Buying from an older host will mean there is a higher chance they will stand the test of time, you don't want your host closing down halfway through a month when you have a server with them.
1.4 Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Service Level Agreement & Other Policies
EVERY company should have a Terms of Service and a Privacy Policy. These are usually found on the host's website. You should locate these, and read them (they're there for a reason). While reading them, make sure they are related to the company, and don't include another company's name. You'd be surprised how many of these are copied and pasted and aren't related to the company whatsoever. You shouldn't be looking for a company that is too lazy to copy someone else's. You should also make sure that you agree with everything stated in these policies, because if you decide to go with the company, you must agree to their policies. Some companies also have extra policies or have these same policies but under different names, so read them all. If a company doesn't have any policies, it is best to avoid them.
2.0 Server Quality
The aim of this section is for you to find out the quality of the services the host provides, and if their prices are worth it.
2.1 Cheaper Isn't Always Better
This is actually one of the main reasons I decided to write this guide, I can't stress this enough! Every host offers different quality servers, and cheaper is NOT always better! Contrary to popular belief, RAM is not the deciding factor of the quality of a server. Every aspect of the server counts, the CPU, the data storage device (HDD, SSD etc), the network speed and even the location matters! (Who wants a server hosted in the middle of Antarctica?)
Now, I'm not saying that cheaper means the quality is worse, in some cases it can be better, but you have to be sure. In the following topics of this section, I plan to educate you on how to find the quality of the server.
2.2 Random Access Memory (RAM)
What is RAM? is a common question that isn't always answered correctly, especially in the minecraft (hosting) community. This is often confused as the power of a server, but infact, it isn't. RAM stands for Random Access Memory, it is the "working memory" of a server, it is pretty much where everything that is happening 'now' is stored. RAM is temporary memory, whereas memory in a storage device, such as a hard drive is permanent.
How does RAM work? I'll try to explain how it works in an easy to understand manner.
Your brain has a conscious and a sub-conscious memory, the conscious memory is like RAM in a computer, the sub-conscious memory is like the storage device (hard drive, solid state drive etc) of a computer. What is happening right now is in your conscious memory, or in the computer's RAM. When you need to remember something from the past, this is from your sub-conscious memory (storage device) and then moved into your conscious memory (RAM). So for example, when you open a program, the information comes from the storage device and is moved to the RAM, then once you close the program it is wiped from the RAM since it is no longer needed, this makes room for other programs.
Then why doesn't it improve server quality? Well it does, but generally not the way you need it improved. The RAM stores things like the current players online, plugin information/data, etc. The more RAM you have, the more of these you can hold, but the thing is, the CPU has to be able to handle it. What I could compare it to is a blender, the size of the blender being RAM and the blade being the CPU. So lets say you've got a massive blender, with a small blade, it can't blend everything at once, and even if it is able to blend it, it's going to take a lot longer than a bigger blade. The smaller blade has to work extra hard to process everything inside the blender, and could even break or stop due to the work (crash). Now, if you had a smaller blender with the same small blade, it's going to get through everything in the blender much quicker and be ready for the next lot of things to be blended, or in a server, ready for more data.
If anyone can think of a better example rather than a blender, please tell me.
To be continued...
Credits
Mitch (Switchbladed) for writing the entire guide.
Thank you Switchblade for posting this, especially "2.1 Cheaper Isn't Always Better"
its hard to tell people that cheaper is not the best you do get what you pay for and there are phew company's out there that actually offer a low price and offer a good service, they are out there but too few and far.
Good guide. Might also want to mention to be wary hosts which advertise the E3-1245v2 or the E5-1620 as the CPUs which power their main nodes. Some things to add:
On CPUs, clock speed is not the only (or even a good) comparative factor in CPUs. A CPU I like to pick on for this is the AMD Bulldozer CPU which, while being a desktop processor, is perfect for illustrative purposes. The FX-8150 was a eight-core processor clocked at 3.6Hz. Sounds great, right? Not always. In the real world, the puny 3,1GH Intel i5 2400 was able to pull ahead of it in some tasks. [source] If you're serious about getting the best performance, research the different CPUs in more detail - don't be "wowed" by the advertised clock speeds.
Secondly, core count does matter (a bit). While Bukkit is still largely single-threaded, it is moving towards a more multithreaded approach, and many plugins already thread some of their tasks. Largely though, your server is not the only one on the node (aside from straight dedicated servers). While your server might mainly be running on a single thread, others servers may be running on different threads, thereby allowing greater performance overall. Now, like clock speed, core count is not a 100% deciding factor (nothing can be that simple!), but it is not something to rule out entirely while looking for a host.
As far as network goes. You might ask the salespeople the average and peak network usage. (if the salesperson doesn't know, look elsewhere - you want more competent people) These hosts that advertise "1 Gbps" connections - that's great - but, for ourselves, we rarely see over 20 Mbps usage per node even in peak hours. Therefore, we us 100 Mbps ports, because there would be little purpose or change (aside from higher prices) in offering a 1 Gbps ports. Also, there is a difference between port speed and actual connection speed. If you have a mid to high end computer which you bought in the last few years, you very well may have a 1 Gbps port too! However, your home connection is likely much lower than that - know the difference, and watch for people who try to squirm through with that.
Finally, one last note on "hard drives". For most servers, you would not want a host who uses a hard drive - there are plenty out there with the faster Solid State Drives (and, again, if a salesperson calls an SSD a hard drive, look elsewhere for more competent people). Looking at our nodes, it doesn't *really* matter the brand, as the peak usage does not generally reach the maximum that the drive is capable of, but it is something to consider. OCZ and Samsung are the two fastest namebrands (we want read speed, because that's what matters in chunk loading) [source], though most SandForce-based drives would do fine.
That's about it, have a good day!
Connor @ Host-Seed
Why? Even that doesnt mean they are bad? I'd rather go with a medium expensive new host, than a cheap old host.
Whatever you do, make sure they have an refund option. (In Norway for example, they are bound by law to 14 day full refund)
To me, cheap means theres a catch. Expensive just means they are ¤%#..
Theres a gap inbetween thats golden. Servers cost money, hosting costs money, hiring people cost money, bandwidth costs money.
I'd say, remove the cheapest hosts from your list, and remove the most expensive.
If they are really cheap, chances are they are overselling their cpu. As has been stated earlier, CPU is important. Doesnt matter if its 1000GHz if they have a gazillion servers on it.
Most professional and serious server providers will let you test a server before buying.
It doesn't mean they are bad, I didn't mean to imply that at all. What I meant by that was most companies don't last long in the business, no matter how good they are.
The majority of new hosting companies shut down within the first few months, and you don't want to have your server disappear!
And whats wrong with these two CPU's? 1245 should be the same as 1240 only with a higher power usage...?
Because, The Datacenter Which Must Not Be Named uses those two CPUs in their main nodes. I think I can safely estimate that >=90% of hosts, mainly comprised of the "kiddie" hosts in the Other Hosts section, resell from this datacenter. The reason to be wary of this is twfold: the datacenter is known for cheap wholesale prices (yes, there is a catch!), while having mediocre to poor service and being terribly susceptible to even weak DoS attacks; and the kids who resell from the datacenter usually are not very competent and/or are in hosting for the short run.
Also, the difference between the two processors is actually fairly large. The E3-1240 was a Sandy Bridge processor, while the E3-1245v2 was an Ivy Bridge processor with Intel's groundbreaking trigate transistors. The E3-1245v2, uses slightly less power (even with a higher clock speed), having a 3 W lower TDP, and also has notably higher performance.
Very well written guide, anybody looking for a host should definitely read over this! You should add what host seed has posted, it contains very good information on CPU's. The only thing I would maybe clarify more is the part about ram not determining quality. It is true more ram does not make it better but the type of ram does, such as DDR2 vs. DDR3.
I would maybe clarify more is the part about ram not determining quality. It is true more ram does not make it better but the type of ram does, such as DDR2 vs. DDR3.
I will be writing about ram and server quality in chapter 2.
You are correct, the type of ram does indeed make a difference, but even if you have DDR3 over DDR2 it's not going to make the difference I'm talking about. No matter how much ram you have or how good it is, it's not going to make a difference to the CPU and it definitely won't change the connection anyone has to the server etc. That is why it doesn't determine the quality of the server, and why I will be writing about it in chapter 2.
Besides, the vast majority of minecraft hosts use DDR3.
Like you said, Mitch. Cheaper isnt always better. And again you still see people buying from $3/GB Hosts... Its sad. I can't bare how many five dollar / three dollar hosts there are these days. Its most likely a 13 year old that has a lot of money(spoiled) that just rents a box from a data center like you said trying to make a quick buck. Sadly this has messed up the hosting business. But great post. Should have one on something on hardware types and specs, hard drive types and network speeds. Also a small bit about SRV records. Because that's quite a big thing these days with hosts that own there hardware, you should also have a bit on the differents of VPS, Dedicated, and shared with a mix of the owned hardware companies to the rental companies. Doesn't make a biggest diffance but a lot that own hardware are there to stay and may have lower prices / better hardware. Should also have a bit on control panels.
Have a bit on companies that offer other services then minecraft. EG: webhositing, VoIP, Game servers etc.
I know quite a few suggestions. Just to help improve a great looking post
Also, the difference between the two processors is actually fairly large. The E3-1240 was a Sandy Bridge processor, while the E3-1245v2 was an Ivy Bridge processor with Intel's groundbreaking trigate transistors. The E3-1245v2, uses slightly less power (even with a higher clock speed), having a 3 W lower TDP, and also has notably higher performance.
Connor @ Host-Seed
E3-1240v2 is an 3.4GHz CPU 69W, while the 1245v2 is an 3.4GHz 77W.. ? Both LGA1155. Atleast according to my HW provider.
Actually the 1245v2 costs more than the 1240.
Is this information wrong?
Are you referring to a german hosting company btw?
E3-1240v2 is an 3.4GHz CPU 69W, while the 1245v2 is an 3.4GHz 77W.. ? Both LGA1155. Atleast according to my HW provider.
Actually the 1245v2 costs more than the 1240.
Is this information wrong?
Are you referring to a german hosting company btw?
I was looking at the plain 1240 not the v2 (not specified in the original post). The company I was referring to is French, with their main NA datacenter in Quebec.
Also, about the RAM discussion above... DDR3 has been in use since 2007 with processors since Bloomfield (the W35 series, actually had to look that up it's so old!), I haven't seen any hosts using processor anywhere near that old. In general, RAM throughput will not be a bottleneck of the server, I do not think the type of RAM is truly something to take issue on.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Web designer and developer, @ConnorPeet. Opinions and views are solely my own.
I've added a small new section under Reputation to the guide, this is about Social Media.
I'll continue writing the guide on the weekend, if not, earlier. I've become quite busy this week.
Thank you all for your feedback
This guide is not intended to actually tell you which host you should buy from, or advertise any hosting company. The purpose of this guide is to help you make an informed decision when deciding on which hosting company to buy from. My goal is to keep you engaged while reading this thread, while still educating you. Although some points in this guide may be based on opinion, I try not to just base it on my own opinion.
Table of Contents:
1.0 Getting Started
- 1.1 Know What You Need
- 1.2 Finding A Host
- 1.3 Reputation
- 1.4 Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Service Level Agreement & Other Policies
2.0 Server Quality
- 2.1 Cheaper Isn't Always Better
- 2.2 Random Access Memory (RAM)
This section is based around the company, and not what service is provided. The aim of this section is to help you find a reputable and well structured company.
1.1 Know What You Need
It is important to know what you need, and know how much a server should cost. Ofcourse, every host has different quality, and I hope to help you understand how much a host should be charging you later in this guide. There isn't really a limit on what pricing should be, but it gets to a point where it isn't worth it. Most hosts sell their servers by the amount of RAM allocated to the server, this is the basic measure for the size of a Minecraft server. The average price hosts charge is around $10/GB of RAM. Even though RAM is the basic measure for the size of a server, don't be fooled by hosts charging less, or even the same or more for that matter. RAM plays very little part in quality of a server.
It's impossible for me to tell you exactly how much RAM you need, but I will do my best give you a good idea by making a generalization, although don't use this post as your primary source of determining how much RAM you need!
A great way to figure out how much RAM you need for your server is by knowing what you plan to use it for, and how many players you think will be online at once on the server.
If you plan to use the server for just a few friends and yourself, it's likely you'll only need around 512MB - 1024MB RAM. But if you're planning to deck it out with 100 plugins and have 10 worlds, you're going to need a lot more ram.
On an average server, 1GB of RAM can usually hold about 24 players, as-well as some plugins. This is ofcourse not true for all hosts/servers, but it in generally in the right area. The first step to determining how much RAM you need is deciding on the amount of players you expect to have online at a time. For every 12 players, add 512MB RAM to the count of your RAM, and if the amount you need is not a multiple of 12, it's best to round the amount up (or down if it is very close).
For example, if you expect to have a maximum of 50 players on your server, you should be looking at about 2048MB RAM (512MB x 4). However, then you may want to have 30 plugins and an extra world, that is when you may want to increase the RAM by a further 512MB.
Another great way to figure out how much you need, is by opening a topic in the Hosting requests forum, explaining the type of server you're after, then usually multiple hosting companies will recommend what you need. Do not include a budget. Many hosts base their reply on your budget, but just because you may have more than enough money for a server, doesn't mean you should get more than what you need.
Feel free to use the following template when opening a topic in the hosting requests forum:
What is your intended use for the server?:
How many players do you expect to have online simultaneously?:
How many plugins do you expect to have on your server? (If possible, list them):
How many worlds do you plan to have? (and their intended use):
Most hosts allow you to upgrade at any point, so don't be afraid to start with a low amount of RAM, and upgrade when needed.
Again, It's impossible to tell you what you need specifically for your server, so if you need help, you're welcome to shoot me a PM or reply to this thread and I'll get back to you.
1.2 Finding A Host
Finding a host is the first step to finding the right host, but just because you have found one doesn't mean it is the right one for you, nor does it mean that the host you have found is even legitimate. While it is rare that you're going to pay for a server and not receive one, it happens, you need to be wary and research a company before you buy from them.
In my opinion, the best place to find a host is right here on Minecraft Forums. The Minecraft Server Hosting forum and the Other hosts are great places to find a hosting company since many hosts post threads filled with information about themselves. This means you can find out about their company, and see all the features they have to offer. There are other places to find hosts, such as BestMinecraftHosts, although it seems this website has become inactive and outdated.
While looking for a host here, you should look for companies that appear professional, they should use proper grammar and spelling. This shows that the company is willing to put effort in, and is likely run by mature staff. At the end of the day, you don't want to buy hosting off a clueless 13 year old trying to make a quick buck, trust me.
Another place on Minecraft Forums to find a hosting company is the Hosting requests forum, here you can make a thread where you can tell hosts what you need, and instead of you finding the host, the host finds you. After all, In Soviet Russia, host finds you!
I recommend you compile a list of all the hosts that stand out to you and as you follow the guide, eliminate those who may not meet your personal requirements.
1.3 Reputation
Reputation is mainly based on what people think of a company, it can also include the size and age of the company. The best way to work out what kind of reputation a company has is find reviews/testimonials on external sites, such as the Minecraft Forums topic you found earlier of the company, or on websites such as BestMinecraftHosts (as far as I know, this site has become inactive).
If the company has a Minecraft Forums topic, read the replies, find out what customers have to say, but be careful, as the replies may not all be from real people. I'd highly recommend you disregard any posts of users that have less than 10 posts, or still have the default Minecraft Forums avatar, and if you see a lot of these, disregard the entire company. I know that may be a little harsh, but you'll never know if these reviews are real or fake, and if a company has to write fake reviews, you wouldn't want to buy from them.
Most hosting companies have an 'About Us' page/section on their website or Minecraft Forums topic. Usually it is here that you'll find out when the company was launched, meaning you now know the age of the company. Just because a company is older doesn't always mean it can provide a better service, but it may mean the company may be around far longer than newer companies. The majority of new hosting companies shut down within the first few months, and you don't want to have your server disappear!
I can't tell you myself which hosting companies have a good reputation, so you'll have to judge that yourself.
Social Media is a great way to check if a host is active it is good to note how many people are 'following' them. If the host you're looking at has a Facebook page, Twitter account, or use any other Social Media sites, find them. Once you've found them, check how long ago their most recent post was, and check how many followers they've got. This usually gives a good indication on whether or not a host is actually active, and gives a somewhat indication if a host is reputable.
It is best to avoid companies who are not at least 3 months old yet. Buying from an older host will mean there is a higher chance they will stand the test of time, you don't want your host closing down halfway through a month when you have a server with them.
1.4 Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Service Level Agreement & Other Policies
EVERY company should have a Terms of Service and a Privacy Policy. These are usually found on the host's website. You should locate these, and read them (they're there for a reason). While reading them, make sure they are related to the company, and don't include another company's name. You'd be surprised how many of these are copied and pasted and aren't related to the company whatsoever. You shouldn't be looking for a company that is too lazy to copy someone else's. You should also make sure that you agree with everything stated in these policies, because if you decide to go with the company, you must agree to their policies. Some companies also have extra policies or have these same policies but under different names, so read them all. If a company doesn't have any policies, it is best to avoid them.
The aim of this section is for you to find out the quality of the services the host provides, and if their prices are worth it.
2.1 Cheaper Isn't Always Better
This is actually one of the main reasons I decided to write this guide, I can't stress this enough! Every host offers different quality servers, and cheaper is NOT always better! Contrary to popular belief, RAM is not the deciding factor of the quality of a server. Every aspect of the server counts, the CPU, the data storage device (HDD, SSD etc), the network speed and even the location matters! (Who wants a server hosted in the middle of Antarctica?)
Now, I'm not saying that cheaper means the quality is worse, in some cases it can be better, but you have to be sure. In the following topics of this section, I plan to educate you on how to find the quality of the server.
2.2 Random Access Memory (RAM)
What is RAM? is a common question that isn't always answered correctly, especially in the minecraft (hosting) community. This is often confused as the power of a server, but infact, it isn't. RAM stands for Random Access Memory, it is the "working memory" of a server, it is pretty much where everything that is happening 'now' is stored. RAM is temporary memory, whereas memory in a storage device, such as a hard drive is permanent.
How does RAM work? I'll try to explain how it works in an easy to understand manner.
Your brain has a conscious and a sub-conscious memory, the conscious memory is like RAM in a computer, the sub-conscious memory is like the storage device (hard drive, solid state drive etc) of a computer. What is happening right now is in your conscious memory, or in the computer's RAM. When you need to remember something from the past, this is from your sub-conscious memory (storage device) and then moved into your conscious memory (RAM). So for example, when you open a program, the information comes from the storage device and is moved to the RAM, then once you close the program it is wiped from the RAM since it is no longer needed, this makes room for other programs.
Then why doesn't it improve server quality? Well it does, but generally not the way you need it improved. The RAM stores things like the current players online, plugin information/data, etc. The more RAM you have, the more of these you can hold, but the thing is, the CPU has to be able to handle it. What I could compare it to is a blender, the size of the blender being RAM and the blade being the CPU. So lets say you've got a massive blender, with a small blade, it can't blend everything at once, and even if it is able to blend it, it's going to take a lot longer than a bigger blade. The smaller blade has to work extra hard to process everything inside the blender, and could even break or stop due to the work (crash). Now, if you had a smaller blender with the same small blade, it's going to get through everything in the blender much quicker and be ready for the next lot of things to be blended, or in a server, ready for more data.
If anyone can think of a better example rather than a blender, please tell me.
I am a representative of Shockbyte.
its hard to tell people that cheaper is not the best you do get what you pay for and there are phew company's out there that actually offer a low price and offer a good service, they are out there but too few and far.
p.s great! post extremely useful.
On CPUs, clock speed is not the only (or even a good) comparative factor in CPUs. A CPU I like to pick on for this is the AMD Bulldozer CPU which, while being a desktop processor, is perfect for illustrative purposes. The FX-8150 was a eight-core processor clocked at 3.6Hz. Sounds great, right? Not always. In the real world, the puny 3,1GH Intel i5 2400 was able to pull ahead of it in some tasks. [source] If you're serious about getting the best performance, research the different CPUs in more detail - don't be "wowed" by the advertised clock speeds.
Secondly, core count does matter (a bit). While Bukkit is still largely single-threaded, it is moving towards a more multithreaded approach, and many plugins already thread some of their tasks. Largely though, your server is not the only one on the node (aside from straight dedicated servers). While your server might mainly be running on a single thread, others servers may be running on different threads, thereby allowing greater performance overall. Now, like clock speed, core count is not a 100% deciding factor (nothing can be that simple!), but it is not something to rule out entirely while looking for a host.
As far as network goes. You might ask the salespeople the average and peak network usage. (if the salesperson doesn't know, look elsewhere - you want more competent people) These hosts that advertise "1 Gbps" connections - that's great - but, for ourselves, we rarely see over 20 Mbps usage per node even in peak hours. Therefore, we us 100 Mbps ports, because there would be little purpose or change (aside from higher prices) in offering a 1 Gbps ports. Also, there is a difference between port speed and actual connection speed. If you have a mid to high end computer which you bought in the last few years, you very well may have a 1 Gbps port too! However, your home connection is likely much lower than that - know the difference, and watch for people who try to squirm through with that.
Finally, one last note on "hard drives". For most servers, you would not want a host who uses a hard drive - there are plenty out there with the faster Solid State Drives (and, again, if a salesperson calls an SSD a hard drive, look elsewhere for more competent people). Looking at our nodes, it doesn't *really* matter the brand, as the peak usage does not generally reach the maximum that the drive is capable of, but it is something to consider. OCZ and Samsung are the two fastest namebrands (we want read speed, because that's what matters in chunk loading) [source], though most SandForce-based drives would do fine.
That's about it, have a good day!
Connor @ Host-Seed
Good job, Switchbladed. Very good job indeed c:
Why? Even that doesnt mean they are bad? I'd rather go with a medium expensive new host, than a cheap old host.
Whatever you do, make sure they have an refund option. (In Norway for example, they are bound by law to 14 day full refund)
To me, cheap means theres a catch. Expensive just means they are ¤%#..
Theres a gap inbetween thats golden. Servers cost money, hosting costs money, hiring people cost money, bandwidth costs money.
I'd say, remove the cheapest hosts from your list, and remove the most expensive.
If they are really cheap, chances are they are overselling their cpu. As has been stated earlier, CPU is important. Doesnt matter if its 1000GHz if they have a gazillion servers on it.
Most professional and serious server providers will let you test a server before buying.
And whats wrong with these two CPU's? 1245 should be the same as 1240 only with a higher power usage...?
It doesn't mean they are bad, I didn't mean to imply that at all. What I meant by that was most companies don't last long in the business, no matter how good they are.
I am a representative of Shockbyte.
Because, The Datacenter Which Must Not Be Named uses those two CPUs in their main nodes. I think I can safely estimate that >=90% of hosts, mainly comprised of the "kiddie" hosts in the Other Hosts section, resell from this datacenter. The reason to be wary of this is twfold: the datacenter is known for cheap wholesale prices (yes, there is a catch!), while having mediocre to poor service and being terribly susceptible to even weak DoS attacks; and the kids who resell from the datacenter usually are not very competent and/or are in hosting for the short run.
Also, the difference between the two processors is actually fairly large. The E3-1240 was a Sandy Bridge processor, while the E3-1245v2 was an Ivy Bridge processor with Intel's groundbreaking trigate transistors. The E3-1245v2, uses slightly less power (even with a higher clock speed), having a 3 W lower TDP, and also has notably higher performance.
Connor @ Host-Seed
Great job though Mitch!
I will be writing about ram and server quality in chapter 2.
You are correct, the type of ram does indeed make a difference, but even if you have DDR3 over DDR2 it's not going to make the difference I'm talking about. No matter how much ram you have or how good it is, it's not going to make a difference to the CPU and it definitely won't change the connection anyone has to the server etc. That is why it doesn't determine the quality of the server, and why I will be writing about it in chapter 2.
Besides, the vast majority of minecraft hosts use DDR3.
I am a representative of Shockbyte.
Have a bit on companies that offer other services then minecraft. EG: webhositing, VoIP, Game servers etc.
I know quite a few suggestions. Just to help improve a great looking post
Kind regards,
Rama P.
Mods, sticky it!
E3-1240v2 is an 3.4GHz CPU 69W, while the 1245v2 is an 3.4GHz 77W.. ? Both LGA1155. Atleast according to my HW provider.
Actually the 1245v2 costs more than the 1240.
Is this information wrong?
Are you referring to a german hosting company btw?
I was looking at the plain 1240 not the v2 (not specified in the original post). The company I was referring to is French, with their main NA datacenter in Quebec.
Also, about the RAM discussion above... DDR3 has been in use since 2007 with processors since Bloomfield (the W35 series, actually had to look that up it's so old!), I haven't seen any hosts using processor anywhere near that old. In general, RAM throughput will not be a bottleneck of the server, I do not think the type of RAM is truly something to take issue on.
I'll continue writing the guide on the weekend, if not, earlier. I've become quite busy this week.
Thank you all for your feedback
I am a representative of Shockbyte.
I look forward to seeing this thread evolve.
Should be writing a few more sections tomorrow, so stay tuned!
I am a representative of Shockbyte.