It seems like all the server host providers are outrageously priced. Help?

[Baaleos]

Ram is particularly nice if you have a huge amount of concurrently loaded chunks / players on a server.
CPU is required for consistent tps and smooth chunk loading.
However- the thing that is really important for huge multi-dimensional worlds, is disk space.
You can have 100 players online all at the same time, in the same chunk, and it wouldn't consume much disk space, but how often do you find players wanting to build in the same place - they usually want to spread out, and thats where the disk space consumption comes in.
Creeper host seems to limit you to a specific amount of Disk Space - which might impede your ability to expand a world, and take backups.

Blaze

• Access to 5 processor cores
• 6144MB of dedicated RAM
• 44GB of RAID 10 SSD-only storage
• cloud virtual dedicated server
• data redundancy via RAID
• DDoS Protection

@
$46.58 USD
every Month


I use a different company - called BisectHosting

They do put a limit on the player slots, but for premium rate (which this is), you can adjust the limit as you wish, they also give unlimited SSD space, so you have the capacity to expand your world infinitely.
6144MB RAM 120 Players
Unlimited Slots
Unlimited*SSD
MulticraftControl Panel
$59.94 Per Month

I would just recommend that you use a different automated backup system, other than their inbuilt one - as their inbuilt one is a little laggy for worlds that are very large.
I use Forge Essentials backup instead, which seems to be smoother during the backup process.
Bisect seems good for smaller communities, that just want unlimited building space.
They do seem to use Dual Core however, over the 5 Core that you get for slightly cheaper on Blaze - but I would query the server systems they host on too.
Eg: Are they shared systems, how many clients to one physical rack etc

http://comparegamehosting.com/host/creeperhost/ : 8.1 / 10
http://comparegamehosting.com/host/bisect-hosting/ : 9.8 / 10



I guess the thing you need to ask yourself is how much you are willing to pay for game server hosting.
What you pay, affects the quality of what you get.

 

[Quetzi]

The thing to consider when choosing hosting is what it is you're really looking for. If you go for a Minecraft centric host like CreeperHost you aren't going to get rock bottom pricing, what you will get though is a support team that know what they are doing when it comes to modded Minecraft servers. Servers themselves tend to be quite CPU and RAM hungry if you compare them to your typical shared web hosting plan you are comparing apples and oranges. If you don't need the support aspect (it's often well worth it) then it might be possible to find a regular VPS for less money.

 

[MagicMage1238]

As with VDS/VPS/phyiscal machines you can't give it the whole thing. For instance my server is said to take up to 512MB in background processes so I leave that amount alone to be "safe".

Most do require minimum of 512MB - The exception to this rule would be your own personal PC and your hosting MC or other Games for that matter then you should reserve at least 1 GIg or 1024MB minimum.

 

[MagicMage1238]

Ram is particularly nice if you have a huge amount of concurrently loaded chunks / players on a server.
CPU is required for consistent tps and smooth chunk loading.
However- the thing that is really important for huge multi-dimensional worlds, is disk space.

But if you re read the original post - they were looking for a server for family (2 to 6 people). So that being said unlimited Disk Space wouldn't be a primary concern.

 

[Inaeo]

First off, let me state that we play on a privately owned server out of my friend's house, so I have zero experience with actually paying for hosting. Take this with a grain of salt.

Consider the time you, as a group, will log on your server, then do the math out from there. For instance, if you have five people playing an average of 10 hours a month (which is low, even by my free time lacking standard), and you pay $50/month for a server, you are essentially paying $1/hour each to play. That is incredibly cheap when you think about it. Hell, the five of you couldn't all go see a movie in a theater cheaper than that.

If you still feel like hosting sites are gouging you, feel free to drop $5/month into a jar until you can build your own personal server. Then, once you have it up and running, continue to pay electric bills to keep it up 24/7. It doesn't take too long to see that, unless you have a decently powerful spare PC you can repurpose, a hosting site is sometimes a better option than having it running in your own home.

 

[Aetherpirate]

I run a small server from my house. Modest specs, an i7 CPU with 16GB ram, small SSD drive. Runs two modpacks with about 70ish mods without issues. Small player base.

 

[Techly88]

I run a small server from my house. Modest specs, an i7 CPU with 16GB ram, small SSD drive. Runs two modpacks with about 70ish mods without issues. Small player base.

Nice to see, but wouldn't the electricity plus upgraded internet uplink plan costs more than to rent Minecraft hosting or even a VDS from say Creeperhost?

 

[Hambeau]

First off, let me state that we play on a privately owned server out of my friend's house, so I have zero experience with actually paying for hosting. Take this with a grain of salt.

Consider the time you, as a group, will log on your server, then do the math out from there. For instance, if you have five people playing an average of 10 hours a month (which is low, even by my free time lacking standard), and you pay $50/month for a server, you are essentially paying $1/hour each to play. That is incredibly cheap when you think about it. Hell, the five of you couldn't all go see a movie in a theater cheaper than that.

If you still feel like hosting sites are gouging you, feel free to drop $5/month into a jar until you can build your own personal server. Then, once you have it up and running, continue to pay electric bills to keep it up 24/7. It doesn't take too long to see that, unless you have a decently powerful spare PC you can repurpose, a hosting site is sometimes a better option than having it running in your own home.

This is the way I would go myself, if I wanted a server. Of course, I've been running and servicing networks since about 1982 using just about every network OS except Banyan Vines (Unix, Novell, OS/2 and Windows) and prefer to own my own equipment.

 

[Aetherpirate]

I'd have the Internet connection anyway. Don't have numbers on the electricity, might be interesting to plug one of those meters that records usage.

I like being in control over the hardware and managing it all myself. Part of the fun.

 

[Techly88]

I'd have the Internet connection anyway. Don't have numbers on the electricity, might be interesting to plug one of those meters that records usage.

I like being in control over the hardware and managing it all myself. Part of the fun.

I see, and yea it would be interesting to see how much you ends up paying for it "technically".

 

[Hambeau]

I'd have the Internet connection anyway. Don't have numbers on the electricity, might be interesting to plug one of those meters that records usage.

I like being in control over the hardware and managing it all myself. Part of the fun.

The Internet connection is trickier than many think... A Consumer connection just won't cut it. Most non-commercial connections have non-synchronous bandwidth. My Comcast account was just improved to 240Mb/down, which is good for me bringing data in, but still only 12Mb/up which is not so good for running a server, if you worry about lag issues.

Commercial service is usually synchronous, with the same speed both up and down. It also usually comes with better service, guaranteed uptime/limited downtime, various levels of business support such as a static IP subnet, domain hosting and e-mail accounts. It also usually costs more.

 

[Aetherpirate]

Its good in my area, 58 up, 65 down. FIOS. I use no-ip.info for a dynamic IP mapping service.

 

[MagicMage1238]

Tried to order Verizon FIOS - Not available in my area yet

 

[Wagon153]

Nice to see, but wouldn't the electricity plus upgraded internet uplink plan costs more than to rent Minecraft hosting or even a VDS from say Creeperhost?

Depends on where you live and how you put together the server. If you pick efficient components, then power costs will only go up maybe one or two dollars a month(assuming you live in an area with cheap electricity, which is most parts of the US). As far as internet goes, if you are only hosting a couple people, then even 10mbps up is fine. Now if one was planning on hosting ten or more people on their server, then they should probably consider using a server host such as CreeperHost.

 

[Wickster83]

When i hosted a server I used Shockbyte. Had the same issue didn't want to pay 30+ month for a server. I had great service and an environment that ran well for about $15 / month. It included 6GB of RAM. Worth a visit to their website in my opinion.

 

[Techly88]

When i hosted a server I used Shockbyte. Had the same issue didn't want to pay 30+ month for a server. I had great service and an environment that ran well for about $15 / month. It included 6GB of RAM. Worth a visit to their website in my opinion.

Any hosts that charges less than $5/GB are not going to give you great "mileages".