// location
Server location and ping: what to expect
DSN Servers is run from Bastrop, Texas. We’re relaunching on new hardware, and the data center for the relaunch isn’t confirmed yet: we’ll publish it, with an address you can ping, before ordering opens. Until then, here’s how location affects a Minecraft server, how much ping distance alone adds, and how to test any host yourself before you pay.
Why location matters
Minecraft lag comes in two kinds. Server lag (low TPS) is the server failing to keep up; that’s about CPU and how heavy your modpack is, and location doesn’t change it. A 500-mod pack like All the Mods 10 or a big tech pack like GregTech: New Horizons asks far more of the server’s CPU than the 30-odd mods of the official Cobblemon pack. If your console shows “Can’t keep up! Is the server overloaded?”, that’s this kind. Network lag (high ping) is the delay between your game and the server: blocks that pop back, hits that don’t register. That one is mostly about distance.
For survival, building and most modpacks, anything under about 80 ms feels fine. PvP and parkour benefit from lower numbers. When your group is spread out, pick the location that suits most of the players, not just the owner.
How much ping distance adds
Light in an optical fiber covers about 200 km per millisecond, about two-thirds of its speed in a vacuum. Ping is a round trip, so every 1,000 km between you and the server adds at least 10 ms. Real pings are higher: cables don’t follow straight lines, and every router on the way adds a little. Use this as the floor, not the estimate.
| Between | Straight-line distance | Lowest possible ping |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas and Houston | about 360 km | about 4 ms |
| New York and Chicago | about 1,150 km | about 11 ms |
| Dallas and Chicago | about 1,290 km | about 13 ms |
| Dallas and Los Angeles | about 1,990 km | about 20 ms |
| New York and Los Angeles | about 3,940 km | about 39 ms |
| New York and London | about 5,570 km | about 56 ms |
Worked out as distance ÷ 200 km per millisecond, there and back. Your own connection adds to it: Wi-Fi typically adds a few milliseconds, and some home internet routes go a long way round.
How to check your ping before you pick a host
Most hosts publish a test address for each location, or a page that measures ping from your browser. Ask for one if you can’t find it. Then, on the connection you’ll play on:
- Windows: open Command Prompt and run the line below. Read the
Averageat the end. - macOS or Linux: open Terminal and run the same with
-c 10instead of-n 10. The average is the second number in theround-triporrttline. - Ask a couple of your players to do the same. The server has to suit them too.
ping -n 10 test.example.comSome hosts block ping, so a test that gets no reply doesn’t mean the server is down. The real test is in the game: in Minecraft Java Edition’s multiplayer list, hover over the signal bars next to a server to see its ping in milliseconds.
Until we relaunch there’s nothing of ours to test. For a feel for US East, where we plan to relaunch, most speed test sites let you pick a test server in Ashburn, Virginia; the ping they show is close to what you’d get in game there. Before ordering opens, we’ll post an address here that you can ping yourself. If the number is too high for your group, email us and we’ll tell you honestly whether we’re a good fit.
That’s usually not distance. “Connection timed out”, “Mismatched mod channel list” and mod rejections each have a different cause: see why friends can’t join a modded server.
Where DSN Servers will host
Before the relaunch our game servers were in a data center in northern Virginia (US East). The relaunch is on new hardware, and we plan to stay in US East, but we haven’t confirmed the data center yet. Before ordering opens we’ll publish the data center, the CPU and an address you can ping, so you can check all three before you pay.
If most of your group is in one region, say so when you join the launch list. It helps us decide.
Before you pick any host
- How much RAM your modded server needs, with a calculator.
- Which Java version your server needs, by Minecraft version and pack.
- How to make a modded Minecraft server yourself, including port forwarding if you host at home.
- Apex vs BisectHosting vs Shockbyte: prices, CPUs and locations, with sources.
- More in our guides and modpack server guides.
Modded Minecraft hosting, relaunching soon.
Ordering is closed while we move to new hardware. Join the launch list and we’ll email you when servers open, with the location, hardware and prices. Free migration from your current host once we do.