Choosing a Team Fortress 2 Hosting Provider

Team Fortress 2 Hosting

Getting a server set up with shared hosting is a swift way to get straight into you own Team Fortress 2 private server.

Being new to servers or having minimal experience dealing with hosting can be difficult but shared hosting makes it so much easier and takes the stress away of setting up your own dedicated server.

When you rent from a TF2 server provider they will deal with all of the technical elements for you which in turn allows you to get your server up quickly.

So you and your friends can enjoy the games instantly after purchase without the long winded process of doing it all yourself.

Some positives that shared hosting provides:

Positives

• Value For Money
• User Friendly Control Panel
• No Server Set Up Requirement
• Instantaneous Set Up Once Purchased
• 1st Class Support from Experienced staff

Negatives

• Limited server access.
• Hosting companies can restrict resources
• Overselling of server space

Some considerations to be made with purchasing a shared server

Support

Is there 24/7 support being offered by the hosting company? A lot of companies will offer support throughout the day and night helping you to fix any issues with setting up or to change any of your server settings. It is essential that support is included in the price when first purchasing a server package.

Location

The popular locations that will be offered from hosting companies for example are North America, United Kingdom and Europe.

Some server providers will offer you locations like Australia and South America these however would be charged at a premium price compared to the previous server locations.

Mod Support

Is the company offering mod support? Usually a server provider would include this service in the initial start up cost.

Extra fees can sometimes be charged however for Mod support and setting up with some hosting companies.

Control Panel

The most commonly used control panel is TCAdmin. It’s a brilliant tool whether you are a very experienced user or completely new to the server platform. Custom built control panels are offered by a few companies which you can be shown how to use with their help.

Additional Attributes

Companies can try and up-sell additional attributes or features like premium support at a cost of a few extra pounds or dollars depending on your currency.

I would recommend if it is your first time owning a server not to be sucked into these extra costs as it will not make a huge increase in performance of your server.

Avoidance of Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated server hosting is very contrasting to shared hosting. If you have limited server knowledge and are new to the platform it will be difficult to use a dedicated server.

Unlike shared hosting, you will be given a blank server that you have full control over meaning you will have to completely set up and maintain your server and will not receive any technical support whatsoever.

Which I feel isn’t value for money when deciding which host to go with.

Choosing A Company

For more information on which company to choose for your TF2 server I have reviewed several companies and compared them on price usability, you can review feedback and my own personal experience with each provider over on my: The Best Team Fortress 2 Server Hosting guide.