FAQ
The common questions relating to WinterNode in general.
Do you limit player slots?
We do not limit the maximum number of player slots available for the server. Player slots can be configured to any number you need via the server's configurations, the exact files depends on the game. In the case of Minecraft servers, we do recommend 
optimizing your server for the number of players you expect to have online.
How do you offer competitively priced hosting?
We make use of server-grade nodes backed by Intel Core i9-9900K and AMD Ryzen 7 3700X processors, DDR4 RAM, and NVMe SSDs for the best possible performance.
The reason that we can offer such low pricing is that we use company-owned hardware to support our hosting services. By using company-owned infrastructure, we are able to pass savings on to our valued customers - that's you!
Is WinterNode a registered entity?
Yes, we are! WinterNode is a brand name of HostVenom LLC, registered in the great state of New York. Our parent company has been operating since 2012 and has built brands consumers can depend on.
Why is my Trial Server pending?
To ensure all potential clients receive quality of service, we manually approve Trial Orders. Paid orders are automatically provisioned without Staff Intervention. If your service has not been activated within 12 hours, feel free to open a ticket.
Trials begin once your service has been activated, not when you order your service. Please remember Trial Services cannot be upgraded to a paid service and are not eligible for backup restoration.
How does WinterNode provide Support?
Support is available through our client portal and our Discord.
Is WinterNode Shared or Dedicated CPU?
We offer Shared CPU with proactive monitoring under our Fair Usage Policy outlined below. We do not offer Dedicated CPU.
Is "Fair Usage" better or worse than dedicated CPU?
WinterNode's view
In our opinion, fair usage provides our customers with better performance and better value. That is why we have designed our entire line up around it.
CPU usage is rarely constant in-game servers and with one dedicated core (for example), that's all you get. If for some reason, your server needs more CPU, it will max out on one core, and if that is not enough your server performance WILL be impacted since you cannot use more than one core.
With our fair usage approach, the WinterNode team takes responsibility for monitoring and regulating nodes. This means you can use more CPU when it's needed to run your server. There is no CPU lock and performance can be maximized even in times of burst.
And as always, you can always check the resource usage on our nodes on our Resources Page. Transparency is key, and we are here to answer any questions you might have beyond this explanation. Just reach out!
Some questions you might have for a host offering Dedicated CPU?
- Does a physical core or thread make up 1 CPU?
A server with 8 physical cores, has 16 threads of 1600% CPU usage in the industries commonly used Game Panel. 1 full core would be 200% with hyperthreading enabled. - Is my CPU allocation truly dedicated?
Truly dedicated CPU space means the provider is not selling more CPU space than available on the node and all dedicated CPU customers could technically use their entire CPU allocation simultaneously.
Login with SSO into Game Panel
New Users automatically have the ability to sign-in using your Billing Account.
If you've unlinked your SSO, you will need to manually link your Game Panel Account to your Billing Account by going to My Account and clicking the Link Account button near the bottom titled Quick Login.
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Do you offer ssh access
We do not offer SSH Access. All our Game Servers (Minecraft, Valheim, Rust, etc) do not include this. You may use SFTP to manage your files - Using SFTP.
Do you offer phpMyAdmin?
We do not offer phpMyAdmin at this time. We suggest using HeidiSQL to manage your databases.
What's a Dedicated IP?
A Minecraft dedicated IP means that you will be able to connect to the server on the standard port 25565 which doesn't require you to append the additional port when connecting (IP 123.45.67.891 without a port would be the same as 123.45.67.891:25565). Using a Shared IP will require putting the additional port at end of the IP when connecting. (123.45.67.891:25567)
How do I order a Dedicated IP?
New Orders with Dedicated IPs are automatically assigned after payment is received. If you would like to order a Dedicated IP at a later date, please contact our Support Team. If your service is marked as "Pending" that means automatic deployment has failed due to lack of IPs available, our team will sort your order within 24 hours.
Can I host an offline mode Minecraft Server?
WinterNode doesn't limit normal functions of your Game Servers, and that includes anything that can be obtained by modifying the standard configuration files for your Game Server. As such, we do not place any limits on Clients running their server in Offline Mode, or "cracked".
How does "unmetered NVMe SSD storage "on requests" work?
Our unmetered NVMe SSD storage "on request" offering allows you to easily request additional storage for your Minecraft Server whenever you need it. To get more storage, simply reach out to our support team on Discord.
Once you make a request, our team will promptly review and add the extra storage to your server. There is no additional cost for requesting more storage.
Please be mindful of our Fair Usage Policy and avoid storing excessive local backups on your server. For larger or frequent requests, we may provide a breakdown of your disk usage to help you manage space on your Minecraft Server.
How do WinterNode's automatic backups work?
We take internal 12-hour backups at 2AM and 2PM CST time without Client Intervention, to our company-owned server. This automated system runs outside the "Backups" system displayed in our panel. The "Backups" tab in the Game Control Panel is not active, as our backup system has been built independently of it.
To request a restoration from our 12-hour backups, please open a Support ticket with us on Discord or fill out the below template and open a ticket on the Client Panel. This will then be forwarded to our Backup Manager. We aim to complete the restoration process within less than 48 hours, however, this is not always possible. Customers who desire faster access to and/or more control over their backups are encouraged to take their own external backups, see the relevant articles below.
CoreProtectDriveBackupV2MySQL Backups are not currently retained.
Files over 5GB in size are not included in our automatic backups. This most often affects SQLite databases generated by plugins like CoreProtect and BlueMap.
What is the default storage limit for Minecraft Servers? Do I get a notice when im near the storage limit?
The default storage limit for Minecraft Servers is 10GB per 1GB of memory purchased.
We do not currently have an automated notification system for storage limits, but our support team is always available to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have about your storage usage. If you are unsure about your current storage usage or have concerns about reaching your storage limit, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team on Discord.
What locations do you offer?
We have a number of locations around the world where we offer Game servers, and we own hardware in Chicago, Illinois where we provide VPS and Web Server services. You can find a full list of the locations we provide for each service below, as well as any notes for each location.
Game Servers
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
Company owned hardware
- London, United Kingdom
- Gravelines, France
- Falkenstein, Germany
- Helsinki, Finland
- Sydney, Australia
An additional charge of $2 USD is added when using the Sydney, Australia location.
Web Hosting
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
Company owned hardware
VPS
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
Company owned hardware