FiveM Hosting Decoded: Maximizing Your Server Performance
How many of you embarked on the FiveM adventure with absolutely no fucking idea about Lua or any of the like? Were you so baffled that you felt utterly clueless? But now, with a bit of experience under your belt, it doesn't seem so daunting, does it?
Well, brace yourself because I'm about to spill some secrets that you likely aren't aware of. You might suspect I'm just talking shit, but let me assure you, I'm not here to mess around; I'm all about serious business.
Now a word from our sponsor: Brought to you by 1 of 1 Servers - the premier choice for locally hosting your FiveM servers, featuring not only top-tier performance but also the most advanced and robust DDoS protection anywhere.
Without further delay, let's jump on this bitch!
Game Servers
If you're utilizing a game server for your FiveM city, it should be exclusively for ONE SINGLE PURPOSE: your city is still in development and has not been made public yet. This is the ONLY JUSTIFIABLE REASON to use a game server. If your city is live on a game server, frankly speaking, your city is shit and low tier. Its progress will be hindered and there will be no growth. As a developer, you will also not evolve as game servers provide no useful tools for your advancement.
Relying on a game server for your FiveM city is exceedingly detrimental. Your city will require MINUTES UPON MINUTES just to load and boot up, and the connection is terribly slow. Depending on the game server's specs and the equipment used, your streaming quality could be adversely affected, leading to significant lag for users.
Game servers are the pits for a FiveM city, believe me. Limited to FTP access only? Seriously? Are you stuck in the stone age? Get with the program; it's 2023! You're scrolling through your server files via a game panel like a fucking noob.
Let's not forget that Zap is the only company allowed to host game servers for FiveM. We all know about Zap, don't we? Any other hosting company providing game servers for FiveM is against TOS and FiveM will have your server shut down for using unauthorized services. This only pertains to game servers, not dedicated or VPS servers.
Game servers aren't designed for FiveM servers; they're better suited for Minecraft and Rust servers.
Here's an insider scoop on how hosting companies exploit you with game servers. Let's say they have one IP, like 123.45.678. They can open numerous ports, starting from 0 and upwards, meaning they could potentially run more than 65,000 servers from a single IP if they wished to. Clearly they don't run that many under a single IP, but I have seen where they're doing over 50 servers in a single IP. Meaning all those servers will get blocked by FiveM at once.
Game servers represent the lowest tier of server technology. Do not base your city on these.
Surprise surprise! My hosting company, 1 of 1 Servers, currently offers a 50% discount for first orders. So, if you're saddled with an underperforming game server and considering an upgrade to a VPS, use the coupon code ZAPSUCKS at checkout.
VPS aka Virtual Private Servers
Fantastic, now we're on the same page! This really hits the nail on the head. You've discovered the optimal way to operate a FiveM server.
Don't fret, nothing has changed. Do you operate a Windows PC at home? Excellent, then you're already equipped to handle a VPS. You connect to your VPS using Remote Desktop Connection and once you're in, you'll see a Windows operating system running. It's as simple as that.
Now, let's delve into the technical side of VPS. What exactly is a VPS? It stands for Virtual Private Server, which essentially operates in a virtual space or 'the cloud.' A VPS is a large dedicated server divided into sections for virtualization. Have you ever experienced lag on your VPS or been randomly disconnected from your remote desktop connection?
This is likely because your hosting company has overcrowded the dedicated server where your VPS resides, leading to a scramble for resources.
Within a VPS, you share cores and internet speed. Many companies might have, for instance, 512 GB of RAM, and suppose they sell VPS with 16 GB of RAM. That's 512 GB divided by 16 GB, leading to 32 VPS on a single machine, which sounds okay. The real issue arises when they use slow RAM, like the 2666 Mhz type, outdated and sluggish CPUs like a Xeon from 2014, slow HDD disks, and probably only provide 1 Gbps internet speed for the whole machine.
Imagine 32 VPS sharing just 1,000 Mbps or 1 Gbps of speed. Conduct a speed test on your VPS now. Does the result seem low? Perhaps around 400 Mbps? If so, it's time to switch your VPS. It's not serving you well. While you're doing this speed test, check which company name is displayed above your IP. If it doesn't show your current hosting company's name, they are likely just reselling others' services.
Why go through a middleman when you could buy directly from the main provider? At 1 of 1 Servers, we own our servers and IPs, allowing us to pass the savings directly onto you.
Have you noticed continual server hitch thread warnings bombarding your console? That's certainly not a good sign.
Do you see the problem now? All 32 VPS are locked in competition for the highest CPU speed, the fastest RAM, and the quickest write speed. This is how many hosting companies operating in the FiveM market function, and there's a good chance you're a customer of one of them.
At 1 of 1 Servers, we employ AMD EPYC CPUs specifically designed for server use, boast RAM speeds of 3,200 MHz, and utilize dedicated SSD NVMe datacenter disks for rapid write speeds. Additionally, we provide 20 Gbps, or 20,000 Mbps, internet speed - ample bandwidth for all users. If you're one of our valued customers, go ahead and run a speed test on our VPS. I'm confident that you'll observe speeds ranging from 3-4 Gbps per test.
Let me clarify that this blog post isn't intended to be a blatant advertisement for 1 of 1 Servers, but of course, I won't shy away from promoting us! This article, however, is primarily designed to aid you in making informed decisions for your FiveM server. You shouldn't be left scratching your head, wondering why your city is lagging. Always start by scrutinizing your host before looking elsewhere.
VDS - BIGGEST SCAM
Virtual Dedicated Servers are the biggest hoax out there. If you're using a VDS, you're GETTING SCAMMED! It's still a SHARED environment. Don't be fooled by the 'dedicated' part; the only thing that might be exclusively assigned are the cores, and even that's a massive IF!
It's just a fancy term used by hosting companies to, yet again, partition a real dedicated server into a VPS but with dedicated cores. However, everything else remains shared, so it's fundamentally deceptive.
Examine your setup - if you're using a VDS, you're being hoodwinked. You need to ditch it.
If you're currently using a VDS, abandon it and upgrade to a true dedicated server, where you can be certain that all resources are exclusively allocated to you.
Dedicated Servers
You've reached the summit, congratulations! This is precisely where your city needs to be - on a dedicated server. Everything is exclusively yours, the full power of the CPU, all the RAM, all the internet speed. Well done, you've made it. Dedicated servers are fantastic for FiveM. You won't experience any lag or have pesky neighbors draining your resources. It's all for you. You connect in the same way as with a VPS, through Remote Desktop Connection, so don't let the impressive name intimidate you. It functions in exactly the same manner.
This is where your server delivers peak performance. This is where your server can reboot in under 15 seconds, and this is where you can enjoy internet speeds up to 10 Gbps all to yourself, provided you're a customer of 1 of 1 Servers where we offer it absolutely free. :)
You've now reached the graduation stage, it's like attending college. At this level, you can start virtualizing your servers and create a free VPS within your dedicated server to use for development. A dedicated server with 64 GB of RAM can comfortably handle over 200 players, and your CPU and RAM won't even break a sweat. This is the environment where you can genuinely put your resources to the test, assuring their optimal performance.
DDoS Protection
Let me put it simply: 1 of 1 Servers provide the best FiveM protection in the entire industry, and no one can outdo us. Our focus lies in FiveM protection and in meticulously filtering all DDoS attacks. If you're grappling with DDoS attacks, get in touch with us. We can shield you effectively. We host several top-ranking servers in our portfolio.
Don't overspend on those proxies requiring tons of edits to your server.cfg to function, it's exorbitant! Rather, consider switching to us and stop paying more for all that unnecessary stuff.
Final Tips
The preferred lineup for VPS from Intel consists of Xeon Silvers, Gold, and Platinum. AMD EPYC, on the other hand, is the equivalent lineup for Ryzen CPUs intended for VPS use.
One aspect that really gets under my skin is when individuals select unsuitable server locations. "Oh, I live in Ohio, so I want a server that's in Ohio." Seriously, no one lives in Ohio! It doesn't matter where YOU live. The server location should be selected based on where the MAJORITY of YOUR PLAYERS are. No one is concerned about where YOU are based. The server's ping should be fair for all of your players to ensure they all benefit from a low ping. We have numerous server owners from Europe who opt for USA locations simply because that's where most of their player base is located.
Written with much love by,
Monkey Whisper
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Written by
Guille G. aka MonkeyWhisper
Guille G. aka MonkeyWhisper
Owner of 1 of 1 Servers, DDoS protected dedicated and VPS servers. https://discord.gg/1of1servers Owner of Guildabot, one in all bot for your FiveM Discord! https://discord.gg/464SfV3dsk Owner of Project Sloth, a team dedicated to providing free open source for the FiveM community. https://discord.gg/projectsloth Reach out to me at info@projectsloth.org