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Advice on a server provider to use?

Shadow{}Wolf

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Shadow{}Wolf Newbie

Shadow{}Wolf

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My server provider still doesn't have 1.0.4 available for me to upgrade my server to, and they only allow access to the Mission and Server PBOs, so I can't upgrade it myself. They also limited my database access, which i'm not a big fan of. These factors have me considering a change.

 

I've set up a test server on my computer and gotten 1.0.4 working great with a backup of my server's database and with my mods, so i'm confident in my ability to apply these kind of patches myself, or at least figure out how to fix problems I may cause myself.

 

I don't want to drop the $150 - $200 for a dedicated box if I can help it.

 

That said, are there any good providers that give all of the database and file control I would need to have total control over my server, and who has a good reputation for stable and fast boxes and connections?

 

I don't need shiny little user friendly tools and I don't need a lot of tech support. So long as I can get into FTP and into my database with Navicat and stuff i'm happy.

 

Thoughts?

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RipSaw Newbie

RipSaw

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In my experience, not a single server provider is "good". I realize its probably just my luck, but all server providers I've had don't meet my expectations. The only decent one I've had is HFB, but because even that one doesn't let me edit my files the way I want to, I'm currently renting one of their dedicate servers.

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Richie Newbie

Richie

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I've used Dayz.st and HFB in the past, never again.

You get what you pay for, shared hosts are out to make a profit and cram as many customers on 1 machine that they can ... and then some :lol:

 

Go dedicated if you're serious about hosting an Epoch server, best thing i ever done :)

Yes it's more work and you have to do everything yourself but you gain full control, do things your way and above all have happy players when there's no lag and desync.

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Richie Newbie

Richie

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Vilayer is a good host for Dayz. You get access to everything on your server and complete database access and control. They can be a little slow answering support tickets, however.

I use online.net for my server, perfectly happy with it, had no issues at all so no idea what support is like, suppose that's a good thing :)

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WGC GeekGarage Newbie

WGC GeekGarage

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i'm using soyoustart.co.uk (or .com if you are from outside UK, just use google translate to translate their site.) It's OVH's daughter company and their servers kick ass :D yes there is a setup fee, but in the long run they are the cheapest. i run two epoch server off http://www.soyoustart.com/offres/sys-e32-3.xml and going to add an Altis life server too to see if it can handle it.

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SurvivalServers.com Newbie

SurvivalServers.com

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That said, are there any good providers that give all of the database and file control I would need to have total control over my server, and who has a good reputation for stable and fast boxes and connections?

 

I don't need shiny little user friendly tools and I don't need a lot of tech support. So long as I can get into FTP and into my database with Navicat and stuff i'm happy.

I would recommend getting a dedicated box if you are concerned with getting updates instantly as they are available. Typically, we have the updates released within 24 hours but some of the updates can be a little trickier.

 

If you can wait until the map is updated, I think you would be fine going with one of the server providers as it's cheaper (we offer $25/mo servers) and specifically geared towards Epoch.

 

That said, Incero is an excellent US based provider. You could save a bit of money going with their cheapest dedicated box and pay someone to manage your server on a monthly basis for Epoch updates.

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Shadow{}Wolf Newbie

Shadow{}Wolf

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I ended up going with a company in Florida, Cloud South. So far I am very happy with the dedicated box that I got and i've got my first server up and running on it.

 

I don't envy the server providers and the work that they have to do to implement these patches each time, especially ones like Survival Servers that offer mod installation services. PITA. 

 

Thanks for everyone's input.

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Carp! Newbie

Carp!

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Survival Servers is excellent, $25 a month and a custom control panel with Epoch admin settings and custom modding is really easy

Stay away from these guys as much as you can. I'm looking to change asap. They restrict most files you need to do some of the more advanced mods, they answer support tickets in about 3 days and they want to charge you for every little thing.

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Gregarious Newbie

Gregarious

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Read this and thought it was freakin' awesome that someone from the company actually visits the forum of the game server they host:

 

I would recommend getting a dedicated box if you are concerned with getting updates instantly as they are available. Typically, we have the updates released within 24 hours but some of the updates can be a little trickier.

 

If you can wait until the map is updated, I think you would be fine going with one of the server providers as it's cheaper (we offer $25/mo servers) and specifically geared towards Epoch.

 

That said, Incero is an excellent US based provider. You could save a bit of money going with their cheapest dedicated box and pay someone to manage your server on a monthly basis for Epoch updates.

 

Then saw this:

Stay away from these guys as much as you can. I'm looking to change asap. They restrict most files you need to do some of the more advanced mods, they answer support tickets in about 3 days and they want to charge you for every little thing.

 

Thought I'd decide for myself. Went to http://survivalservers.com/, 'Oh nice, a community wiki', clicked "Wiki":

 

403 Forbidden

 

 

...guess that's settled.

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Shadow{}Wolf Newbie

Shadow{}Wolf

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I was using Survival Servers, they are the company that I was referring to above. It did take them a while to launch 1.0.4.1, which is what inspired me to get a dedicated box.

 

That said, here are my completely unbiased opinions of the company.

 

The good:

-Cost. My server cost me $25 a month.

-Setup Time. My server was ready to play instantly.

-Good for beginner admins. They offer to install mods for you for a fee. They have most of the popular ones. I ordered mine with the Epoch Mission System on it. Also, their user panel is intuitive and easy to use. Server automatic restarts are already in-place and working propery. Database automatically backs up frequently.

-Ticket response. Some people have complained about slow ticket response, but I experienced mostly adequate response times. Once they had responded, I could typically carry on an e-mail conversation about my issue until it was resolved as well.

 

 

The bad:

-Forums. Yes, their forums are almost completely abandoned.

-Service Updates. The fact that it took a week to get 1.0.4.1 deployed didn't bother me nearly as much as the fact that no one knew why.

 

 

Other:

-I can't really list their performance as good or bad. It was fine for the few players I've had populate my server so far. I don't know for sure how it would have functioned under the load of a full or nearly full server

 

-Someone above mentioned that Survival Servers didn't give enough file access to install advanced mods. I'm not sure about this. My server came with compiles.sqf, fn_selfActions.sqf, publicEH.sqf, and variables.sqf already moved to my mission file and with the necessary paths changed to reflect that, so I was able to handle anything that needed edits to those files. They also gave FTP access to the battleye folder, hive.ini, and config.cfg. If you need to do anything beyond that, however, you're pretty much stuck. My understanding though is that this is pretty typical among providers.

 

I'm very much enjoying having switched to my own dedicated box, but i'm paying over $100 a month for it. You do get what you pay for. 

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SurvivalServers.com Newbie

SurvivalServers.com

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Stay away from these guys as much as you can. I'm looking to change asap. They restrict most files you need to do some of the more advanced mods, they answer support tickets in about 3 days and they want to charge you for every little thing.

 

Which mods are you referring to? You can do any customization through your server & mission file. Advanced customization, like command line changes, a dedicated provider is what you are looking for. Most hosts do not allow changing the command line for good reasons (less secure, unsupported mods). As for the support ticket response time, that is unacceptable - I will check into that if you send me a PM and get you taken care of.

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Richie Newbie

Richie

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I used Survival Servers once, soon regretted it and moved host soon after.

Unless in the last 12 months you guys have seriously improved i'd avoid them altogether.

 

They also use an outdated unauthorized version of Infistars Anti-hacks, that is why in every update Chris (Infistar) releases it includes this :


do not trust or pay:
GamerzFactory.de, OCIR** GmbH, surviva***rvers.com, nullbyte, x00, finest
Those are companies/people that I have blacklisted due to reselling my work without permission.

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Gregarious Newbie

Gregarious

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Which mods are you referring to? You can do any customization through your server & mission file. Advanced customization, like command line changes, a dedicated provider is what you are looking for. Most hosts do not allow changing the command line for good reasons (less secure, unsupported mods). As for the support ticket response time, that is unacceptable - I will check into that if you send me a PM and get you taken care of.

 

Hmm. My negative opinion may be reversing. 

 

What's up with the wiki? The link does nothing in the main menu, and sends the user to a 403 Forbidden page using the "Wiki" slideshow button. Your web dev might want to look at Google Webmaster Tools.

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Scaramanga Newbie

Scaramanga

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Anyone have experience with NFO Servers?

 

Yeah, I lease(d) a VDS from them.

Pros:

-Instant access.

-Easy and fast setup.

-Reinstall OS/reboot/shutdown at the click of a button from a control panel.

-Reconfigure "hardware" at any time.

-EXCELLENT support (typically 2-3 minutes response time).

-Okay performance.

-Low latency.

-No extra charge for Windows OS licence.

 

Cons:

-Recent packet loss (not exactly their fault and a probably only temporarily).

-Although I hear about people running 40-50 people I did never get to these numbers without getting 1-2 server FPS no matter how much tweaking I did.

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Winged Newbie

Winged

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My thoughts on dedicated versus shared:
 
Dedicated - A dedicated server is a beautiful thing, however there are two major negative points to a dedicated server: Price, and Management. The cost of a dedicated server can vary greatly depending on provider, location, and hardware. One of the first things you need to keep in mind is what you need. Overfill a server and you have no benefits over bad shared hosts. Underfill a server and you are overpaying. You can easily be shelling out around $150.00 on the server itself. You need a windows license for DayZ (20.00 additional usually), do you want a control panel for the server? (TCAdmin is ~15 monthly), etc. And the major part for most people is administration. Setting up everything you need to run a DayZ server effectively on a blank box can be overwhelming (you need dependencies, game installs, control panels, web servers ((for the SQL)), mysql, php, phpMyAdmin, etc.) There are tutorials and if you are generally good with setting stuff up, it's possible to do. However it could be hours and hours of frustration and end up not working. You could pay someone to manage it for you, but then you're pretty much at their mercy and not much better than with a shared host. The pros are you can do everything yourself, but only if you know how to do it. You have only your self to answer to, and that could be the separation from a better than shared experience, or a waste of money.
 
Shared - A shared hosting experience depends entirely on the company. I will split this up based on the major points of DayZ hosting.
 
Access- Some hosts provide little to no access and customization, while some (like me) provide full access to all files, and database management through phphMyAdmin.
 
Cost- Varies by company, but one of the major points over dedicated. If you have 1 server with a host it can be 20 or 30 dollars a month, whereas a dedicated can easily be over 100. Obviously the more servers and things you use your dedicated server for, the price gap lowers.
 
Updates- I put them out within 24 hours, usually 12. I've heard horror stories of weeks with some other hosts, and some hosts actually applying updates to clients who didn't ask for it.
 
Support- This is the backbone of pretty much every company, and response time and quality really are the main factors. We offer live chat, and our support ticket response time is on average a little over an hour (this is from a year's course). Some hosts can offer exceptional support, going above and beyond, while others take a week to let you know "your support ticket has been escalated to a higher level tech." who eventually tells you, you're on your own due to custom scripts.You should make sure the company you go with has good support, as the support is a big reason not to go dedicated.
 
Hardware/Shared Environment- One of the major arguments against shared is "they cram as many servers as they can onto a machine to make the most money". Do those companies exist? Sure. Is that every company? No. In reality a server running SSD, 3.7 Ghz quad core cpu's, 30+ GB of RAM, on a gigabit port will hardly see a performance difference in a shared vs. dedicated environment as long as the drive I/o isn't overloaded in addition to the CPU. If you're with a reliable host, they will be monitoring all the data of their servers and balancing their servers to keep performance well. So I will adjust that starting statement "They cram as many servers as they can onto one server without harming performance to make the most money". Performance=happy customers. Happy customers = money. To many companies it is not only making money, it's taking pride in providing a quality service they can have a reputation on and pride. 
 
With that in mind, that concludes this post. If I forgot anything let me know.
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