Hosting Providers

Community-recommended hosting providers for Hytale servers, based on Discord discussions.

Managed Hytale Hosting

Nitrado

• Official Hytale Partner: Mentioned in community discussions
• Features:
  • Hytale-specific hosting packages
  • Recommended JDK: Eclipse Temurin 25
  • Performance optimization tools (PerformanceSaver plugin)
  • Achieved 1.8GB idle RAM with aggressive GC
• Region: Multiple locations
• Website: nitrado.net

VPS & Dedicated Servers

Europe

Hetzner

• Popular choice in the community
• Pricing: Competitive rates
• Performance: High-quality hardware
• Locations: Germany, Finland
• Community Rating: Highly recommended

Netcup

• Pricing: Budget-friendly
• Locations: Germany, Austria
• Community Mention: Good value for EU hosting

Webdock

• Features: SSD storage, good performance
• Locations: Europe
• Community Mention: Recommended for EU servers

United States

OVH

• Pricing: $4.20/month VPS with 8GB RAM (mentioned in Discord)
• Performance: Solid mid-range option
• Locations: US, Canada
• Community Rating: Good budget choice

AdvinServers

• Hardware: Ryzen 9950X mentioned
• Performance: High-end hardware
• Community Mention: Performance-focused hosting

Vultr

• Features: Hourly billing, multiple locations
• Pricing: Flexible plans
• Locations: Global
• Community Rating: Reliable VPS provider

DIY VPS Setup

Recommended Specifications

Based on community testing:

Small Server (1-10 players)

• 4GB RAM
• 2 CPU cores
• 20GB SSD

Medium Server (10-30 players)

• 8GB RAM
• 4 CPU cores
• 40GB SSD

Large Server (30-70 players)

• 12GB+ RAM
• 6+ CPU cores
• 80GB+ SSD

Important Note: Performance varies greatly based on:

• World generation/exploration
• Player spread (exploring vs staying together)
• Number of active plugins
• Chunk loading/caching

VPS Setup Steps

1. Choose a Provider

Select from the list above based on your location and budget.

2. Select Server Specs

Refer to the specifications above. Start small and scale up as needed.

3. Operating System

Recommended: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or 24.04 LTS

4. Initial Server Setup

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
 
# Install Java
sudo apt install openjdk-21-jdk -y
 
# Create Hytale user
sudo useradd -m -d /opt/hytale -s /bin/bash hytale
 
# Configure firewall
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp  # SSH
sudo ufw allow 5520/tcp  # Hytale
sudo ufw enable

5. Install Server

# Switch to hytale user
sudo su - hytale
 
# Download server JAR
wget <server-jar-url>
 
# Create start script
nano start.sh

Example start script:

#!/bin/bash
java -Xms2G -Xmx8G -jar hytale-server.jar

6. Setup Systemd Service (Optional)

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/hytale.service

[Unit]
Description=Hytale Server
After=network.target
 
[Service]
Type=simple
User=hytale
WorkingDirectory=/opt/hytale
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -Xms2G -Xmx8G -jar hytale-server.jar
Restart=on-failure
 
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl enable hytale
sudo systemctl start hytale

Docker Setup

The community expects Docker support immediately:

# Example Dockerfile (community expected)
FROM openjdk:21-jdk-slim
 
WORKDIR /app
 
COPY hytale-server.jar .
 
EXPOSE 5520
 
CMD ["java", "-Xms2G", "-Xmx8G", "-jar", "hytale-server.jar"]

Pterodactyl Panel

From Discord:

“Pterodactyl egg expected within hours of release” - Community consensus

Pterodactyl is a popular game server management panel. The community will likely create eggs (configurations) for Hytale very quickly.

Performance Considerations

Storage Type

• SSD: Minimum requirement
• NVMe: Recommended for large servers
• HDD: NOT recommended

Network

• Bandwidth: 100Mbps+ recommended
• Latency: Choose location close to your player base
• DDoS Protection: Essential for public servers

CPU

• Single-core performance: Important for main server thread
• Multi-core: Beneficial for multi-world servers
• Recommended: Modern Ryzen or Intel Core processors

Cost Estimates

Based on community discussions:

Budget Setup: $5-15/month

• Small VPS
• 1-10 players
• Basic performance

Mid-Range Setup: $20-50/month

• Good VPS or managed hosting
• 10-30 players
• Solid performance

High-End Setup: $50-150+/month

• Dedicated server or powerful VPS
• 30-100+ players
• Maximum performance

Hosting Comparison

Community Tips

“Pre-generate your worlds before opening to players - exploration is the biggest RAM consumer.” - Performance testing

“If you’re behind CGNAT, you’ll need a VPS - home hosting won’t work.” - Networking discussion

“Start small and scale up. It’s easier to upgrade than to downgrade.” - Hosting advice

“Don’t cheap out on CPU - single-core performance matters for the main thread.” - Performance discussion

Backup Solutions

Important for Any Hosting:

Automated Backups:

# Example backup script
#!/bin/bash
tar -czf /backups/hytale-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).tar.gz /opt/hytale/

Off-site Backups:

• Use rsync to remote server
• Cloud storage (S3, Backblaze B2)
• Regular backup schedule (daily minimum)

Next Steps

• Performance Tuning - Optimize your server
• Port Forwarding - Network configuration
• Configuration - Server settings