Now, I got a lot of questions from both Planet Minecraft and in our server about which server hosting we use. That is why I decided to written this article so that you guys have a easier time choosing a server. This article will be a hybrid of learning how to choose a server hoster and a a review of Beastnode from our personal experiences with it. If you want to check out Beastnode for yourself just go to the link below.


So as you probably guessed from the title we used a Server Hoster named Beastnode (formerly known as GSVerse). Before we went through with actually choosing this hoster we did quite bit of extensive research since the hoster makes or breaks a popular server. We will also stay from using stars since those really don't tell the story that potential buyers want to know.

Support:

I can't stress this enough, but support is the most important aspect of any hoster. Whether it may be a game server or anything else, you always need a dedicated support team. This is since hosting is riddled with all sorts of phenomenon that requires support. So what we did to test the Support was not only read the reviews of it, but also check it out ourselves by sending a support ticket filled with technical questions. We crossed off several hosters this way since they were taking too long to respond (which was more than 24 Hours). If real support takes more than 24 hours when you have a major problem with your server. Good luck,n because you are gonna need it. Anyway so in this process we came to know Beastnode.

How Beastnode Measures Up:

What really impressed with Beastnode is that you get dedicated and personal support from them. I was extremely surprised when I got a response from them in literally 20 minutes when I was first querying for the server. I learned two things from this.

1) Beastnode has International Support: I live in Seoul, South Korea so I am used to waiting around 10 hours for most support tickets. So instantaneous support is always a welcome.

2) Personal Support: Through my hosting with them I have come to become sort of friends with two members Justin and Brian. From what I can tell these guys really know their stuff and actually makes the support process painless. (Now I just wish that Microsoft has the same degree of decency but I digress.)

So as a result of this killer support Beastnode was already a deal-breaker in my eyes and was ready to start hosting from them. But for your benefit, lets go through with some other specs.

Server Specs:

Looking at the features of a server is also extremely important. To prevent frequent lags that is likely to detract from the popularity of your server you need to find the perfect fit for you. Thinks you NEED ton check are as follows.
1. Internet Dedicated Uplink (Should be at least 1 Gigabit Connection)
2. RAM (Determines the size of your server)
3. CPU (Better processing = Less Lags during Chunk Generation, World Editing, Etc.)
4. Storage (If they have a slow hard drive all the RAM won't do justice)
5. Uptime (Accept Nothing Less than 99.99%)

How Beastnode Measures Up:

Beastnode is continuously upping their specs so by the time you read this my post may be outdated. However, they utilize major data centers around their world. So even Europeans looking for a server will low ping can latch on to their Paris servers. Anyway, the server specs depend on the plan you get creatively named from Chicken to Ghast Plans. I have found that Beastnode gives you the most bang for your buck. Some people have mentioned how the RAM they give out seems a bit too small. But make no mistake they are the cheapest, most reliable servers. What is really exciting about Beastnode right now is that they just embraced SSD for their storage. Result? Our server has been experiencing Zero Lag and Zero Downtime for the last two weeks <= That is an amazing feat by the way. My only hope for them is to start providing Asian data centers,n although that seems unlikely since very little play Minecraft in Asia.

Administration and Upscaling:

Great now you got your server! What's next? That's right! Administration! Administrating your server is a literal pain in the a**. Updating your server, updating bukkit, updating bukkit plguins, etc. Then there comes the time when your server is popular enough for you to start upscaling and you find that your hoster doesn't support it and you have to start from scratch. Make no mistake this is yet another important feature to look at when choosing a hoster.

How Beastnode Measures Up:

Beastnode has taken a more personalized approach to this by not using McMyAdmin. Their own branded Control Panel includes FTP client, console,n and other great administration tools. Furthermore, they easily help youn upscale almost instantly when you request them for it. However, I wish they still gave you a choice to choose between their personalized control panel and the McMyAdmin. However, don't despair! All of you who are looking to start your first server will definitely prefer their customized solution than McMyAdmin is which more geared for experienced users who have hosted servers before. On upscaling, we are extremely pleased with it as they are open to new suggestions in server builds. (FYI: We are currently running on a custom plan that we worked on with Beastnode to come up with.)

Conclusion:

So I hoped this tutorial/review helped you be more aware when choosing nyour hosters. As you probably can tell, we are completely in love with nBeastnode at the moment. The dedication they shown in making their nserver run in tip-top shape really is their deal-breaker even if we nignore their excellent servers, administration, etc.

I still suggest however that you research Beastnode for yourself before nyou intend to dedicate to it! But you can try out their hosting for nyourself since they have a 7-Day Money-back guarantee. Although no one in the right mind will move away form them once they get hooked XD