So… what is 'shared hosting” in Rust?

Rust
Woke up to my base still standing, first time hosting my own Rust server, feels good

Think of a big, beefy machine sliced up for lots of customers. Your Rust server gets a neat little container (usually Docker/LXC), a fair share of CPU time, a RAM cap, fast SSD storage, and a web panel (commonly Pterodactyl or TCAdmin) to push the buttons, start/stop, wipes, plugins, backups, the works.

What you get

  • A clean web panel + SFTP

  • One-click installs for uMod/Oxide and common plugins

  • Scheduled tasks (restarts, backups, wipes)

  • Auto updates (optional)

  • WebRCON/console and logs

What you don’t

  • Root-level tinkering, kernel tweaks, or guaranteed dedicated cores.

  • Unlimited neighbors. (Good hosts manage density; bad ones… you’ll feel it at peak.)

Under the hood

  • CPU: fair-share bursts; single-thread speed matters a lot for Rust

  • RAM: hard limit, hit it, and a watchdog may restart you

  • Storage: NVMe SSD, often with IOPS caps

  • Network: big uplinks + L3/L4 DDoS filters

Quick glossary (no fluff)

Rust
Set up a Rust server just for me and the boys, now it’s betrayals and backstabs daily

  • Slots: max concurrent players.

  • World Size: side length of the procedural map; bigger = more entities = more CPU/RAM.

  • Seed: random seed; same seed + size ⇒ same map layout.

  • Identity: folder name for saves/configs; use it to separate prod vs. staging.

  • uMod/Oxide: plugin framework for 'modded” servers.

  • RCON/WebRCON: remote console; what your panel uses under the hood.

  • Forced Wipe: the monthly Facepunch patch (usually first Thursday) that forces a map wipe.

Choosing a shared host: the 10 real checks

Rust
Finally escaped the chaos of public servers, my own Rust world, my own rules

Don’t get hypnotized by '$X for Y slots.” Instead, ask:

  1. Panel: Pterodactyl/TCAdmin with Rust presets, file manager + SFTP, WebRCON, and sane defaults.

  2. Hardware density: modern high-clock CPUs, NVMe, and transparent plan limits (RAM/CPU).

  3. DDoS: always-on mitigation that understands games; minimal false positives.

  4. Backups: automatic daily + manual snapshots; off-node is a bonus; easy one-click restore.

  5. Wipe scheduler: cron-style, pre-wipe backups, BP vs. map toggles.

  6. Mods workflow: one-click uMod, plugin manager, version pinning, rollbacks.

  7. Update control: auto-update you can schedule, not a roulette wheel.

  8. Ports/RCON: unique ports, editable rcon.password, rcon.web 1 option.

  9. Support: real response windows, incident posts, migration help if needed.

  10. Region & data: servers near your players; GDPR-friendly policies if you’re EU-facing.

Small smell test: if the provider can’t tell you the CPU model they run, keep shopping.

How big a plan do you actually need?

Rust
Built a chill RP zone and a kill-on-sight zone on the same map, guess which one gets used more

Rust performance is driven by players, plugins, entities, and map size. 'Slots” pricing is marketing; what you really need is CPU burst and RAM headroom. Rough, practical ranges (shared hosting):

  • Light vanilla (≤50 players, 3k–3.5k map, few plugins)
    RAM: ~5–6 GB usable
    CPU: frequent micro-bursts; fine on a fast core

  • Mid modded (50–100 players, ~10–25 plugins, 3.5k–4k)
    RAM: ~7–10 GB
    CPU: longer bursts; single-thread speed matters

  • Heavy modded (100+ players, economy/TP/kits/clans/logging)
    RAM: 10–14 GB+
    CPU: you’re pushing shared limits, watch contention closely

Red flag: OOM kills, watchdog restarts, or constant 'saving took X seconds” spikes at peak. Time to bump the plan, or trim the map/plugins.

Panel setup that won’t bite you later

Core config (safe defaults)

Add in startup variables or server.cfg:

cfg
CopyEdit
server.hostname "My Rust Community [EU] [Modded]"
server.description "Friendly admins • Biweekly wipes • Discord: https://discord.gg/yourlink"
server.url "https://yourcommunity.example"
server.headerimage "https://yourcdn.example/banner512x256.jpg"server.maxplayers 75
server.worldsize 3500
server.seed 123456
server.identity “prod_main”

server.saveinterval 300
server.secure 1

rcon.port 28016
rcon.password “Use_A_Strong_Unique_Password”
rcon.web 1

Notes that save headaches

  • Identity names your save folder, use separate identities for staging or events.

  • Header image (512×256) helps you stand out in the browser.

  • saveinterval 300 strikes a nice balance between safety and disk churn.

Discoverability (don’t be spammy)

Pick honest tags: modded,vanilla,biweekly,eu,noob-friendly. Clickbait tags lead to angry players and bad word-of-mouth.

Ports & RCON

Use the ports your host assigns. Rotate the RCON password when staff change. If you hard-whitelist your home IP without understanding how the panel proxies commands, you can lock yourself out. (Ask how that’s known… on second thought, don’t.)

Wipes without riots

Types

  • Forced wipe: monthly patch day; map wipe required.

  • Map wipe: clears the world only.

  • Blueprint wipe: resets BPs, use sparingly and announce early.

Cadence that feels fair

  • Vanilla/low-mod: map every 2 weeks, BP every 1–2 months.

  • Heavier modded: map weekly, BP monthly.

Pre-wipe ritual

  • Backup (snapshot the identity + oxide/).

  • Announce in Discord + in-game.

  • Double-check seed/size for the next cycle.

  • Update plugins after verifying post-patch compatibility.

  • Keep a fallback seed handy in case monuments roll weird.

Backups: boring, essential, non-negotiable

Minimum sane policy:

  • Daily automatic (keep 7).

  • Pre-wipe manual (keep 30–60).

  • Test a restore monthly to a throwaway identity, e.g., restore_test.

Include:

  • /server// (maps/saves)

  • /oxide/ (plugins/config/data/lang)

  • Any custom maps stored elsewhere

If you’ve never practiced a restore, you don’t actually have backups, you have hopes.

Mods on shared hosting (uMod/Oxide)

Enable uMod in the panel; you’ll get:

  • oxide/plugins - drop .cs files here

  • oxide/config - JSON configs

  • oxide/data - plugin data

  • oxide/lang - translations

Starter stack (pick to taste)

  • QoL/Admin: BetterChat, BetterGroups, NTeleportation, Stack Size Controller, Kits, InfoPanel, TimeOfDay

  • Economy/Shop: GUIShop or ServerRewards (don’t overdo it)

  • Moderation/Infra: DiscordAuth/Connect, Clans/Teams, Backpacks, RemoverTool, Furnace Splitter

  • Spice (watch performance): RaidableBases, Magic Loot, Monument Addons

Less is more. Start with 6–10, play a full wipe, then add 2–3 at a time. Watch RAM and logs each time you grow.

Permissions crash course

  • Ownership: ownerid "owner"

  • uMod groups:

    • oxide.group add vip

    • oxide.grant group vip ntp.home

    • oxide.usergroup add vip

Keep a shared permissions matrix doc so one staff change doesn’t nuke half your perks.

Tuning for performance (without root access)

  • Right-size the map: 3000–3500 is the sweet spot for most communities.

  • Control entities: reasonable decay; be careful with monument add-ons and unlimited deployables.

  • Trim chatty plugins: polling and verbose logging chew cycles and disks.

  • Save interval: 300–600 seconds, shorter is noisy, longer risks big rollbacks.

  • Log rotation: stop multi-GB logs from eating storage and IOPS.

  • Daily off-peak restarts: clears fragmentation and plugin cruft.

  • Cap maxplayers realistically: better to cap at 75 smooth than boast 150 laggy.

Spot the trouble

  • Spikes on a timer? You and half the node might be backing up at the same minute, shift your schedule.

  • Crash loops right after a plugin loads? Roll it back or unload.

  • Disk usage leaps daily? Audit logs and oxide/data first.

Updating without chaos

  • Auto-update: fine for minor patches, just schedule it at off-peak.

  • Forced wipe day: disable auto for the window, run your own controlled 'backup → stop → update → start → announce.”

  • Plugins: some need a compatible build post-patch; unload them temporarily if required.

  • Communication: put the next wipe date in server.description and pin it in Discord.

Security basics (shared-host edition)

  • EAC on (server.secure 1).

  • Rotate RCON on staff turnover. Don’t paste credentials in public configs or screenshots.

  • Use moderatorid for helpers; reserve ownerid for a tiny list.

  • Backups are sensitive: player IDs and IPs can leak through data files; handle them like private data.

  • If you’re EU-facing: publish a tiny privacy note if you tie into Discord, web shops, or analytics.

Launch plan (simple, calm, repeatable)

T-7 days

  • Pick host & region; set identity/seed/worldsize.

  • Install uMod and a lean plugin stack.

  • Set saveinterval, header image, description.

  • Daily backup + 06:00 restart scheduled.

T-3 days

  • Verify staff permissions and WebRCON.

  • Add Discord link + rules to MOTD/description.

  • Do a dry wipe and restore test to restore_test.

T-0 (Go live)

  • Announce a window; open 15 minutes early to catch weirdness.

  • Watch panel metrics + console for an hour.

Week 1

  • If stable, add 2–3 plugins you held back.

  • Reduce verbose logs.

  • Confirm backups ran; try a small restore.

Day-to-day operations (the rhythm)

  • Daily: skim console, check RAM after peak, respond to tickets/reports.

  • Each wipe: new seed, pre-wipe backup, plugin updates.

  • Monthly: prune plugins, rotate RCON, audit staff list, test restore.

  • Quarterly: survey players on wipe cadence + plugin taste; adjust map size if population shifted.

Troubleshooting quick hits

  • Rubberbanding at peak
    → Lower maxplayers for now; plan a smaller map next wipe; disable the heaviest plugin; ask host about node contention.

  • Crashes after an update
    → Boot clean (no uMod). If stable, re-enable plugins one by one.

  • RAM climbs forever
    → Add a second off-peak restart, unload memory-hungry plugins, check oxide/data bloat.

  • Saves take ages
    → Longer save intervals (to a point), fewer entities, smaller map.

  • Players can’t join post-wipe
    → Check EAC secure, version parity, and that a fresh map actually generated (seed/size mismatch or a bad custom map).

Moving between shared hosts (with minimal drama)

  1. Announce a maintenance window (and why).

  2. Final backup on the old host.

  3. Spin up the new instance with the same Rust version + identity.

  4. Restore /server// and oxide/.

  5. Match ports/RCON where possible; update staff tools if not.

  6. Private smoke test (password or whitelist).

  7. Go public; post the new IP/hostname everywhere.

  8. Keep the old server passworded for ~24h just in case.

Monetization & community trust (the short version)

  • Be clear about wipes, rules, and mod list.

  • If you do VIP/donations, avoid pay-to-win. It’s not worth the churn.

  • Provide clean report/appeal channels; enforce evenly.

Example server.cfg (shared-host friendly)

// Branding
server.hostname "My Rust Community [EU] [Modded]"
server.description "Biweekly wipes • Active admins • Discord: https://discord.gg/yourlink"
server.url "https://yourcommunity.example"
server.headerimage "https://yourcdn.example/banner512x256.jpg" // Population & world
server.maxplayers 75
server.worldsize 3500
server.seed 123456
server.identity "prod_main" // Stability & security
server.saveinterval 300
server.secure 1
// RCON (rotate regularly)
rcon.port 28016
rcon.password "ChangeMe_#2025!"
rcon.web 1

Panel task schedule (copy/paste)

  • Daily 06:00: Restart

  • Daily 06:05: Snapshot backup (retain 7)

  • Forced wipe day 17:00 local: Backup → Stop → Update → Start → Announce

  • Regular map wipe: Pre-wipe backup → wipe map → restart → announce seed

My Personal Best 4 Rust Server Hosts
HostDDoSRAMCPUStorageSlotsPriceHost Link
godlike.hostYes8GBN/AN/A50$32.00
US Locations:
CaliforniaNew York
Other Countries:
UkraineGermanyPolandUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandFranceFinlandSingapore
  • Personal firewall
  • Server management via Discord
  • Monetization platform
N/A
bisecthosting.comYes8GBN/AUnlimited NVMeUnlimited$24.00
US Locations:
WashingtonOregonCaliforniaTexasIllinoisGeorgiaFloridaNew YorkVirginiaNew Jersey
Other Countries:
CanadaUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandFranceNetherlandsGermanyPolandIndiaSingaporeAustralia
  • Server hosting for 80+ games
  • Pre-install 2,000+ Minecraft modpacks automatically
  • 24/7/365 support troubleshooting your server and mods
  • Full file access
  • 20 Locations across the globe
  • Advanced DDOS protection
N/A
skynode.proYes7GB4.4 GhzN/A50$28.00
US Locations:
CaliforniaTexasNew York
Other Countries:
NetherlandsGermanySingaporeAustralia
N/AN/A
pinehosting.comYes8GBN/AN/A50$15.00
US Locations:
TexasCaliforniaVirginia
Other Countries:
GermanyAustraliaUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandFinlandCanada
  • Instant Setup
  • DDoS Protection
  • Easy & Custom Panel
  • Full File Access
  • Dedicated Support
N/A

When it’s time to outgrow shared hosting

  • You cap out your plan every single peak and it’s still choppy.

  • Your identity is a heavy plugin stack.

  • You need guaranteed cores or kernel/network tuning that shared can’t offer.

Two months of constant peak-time firefighting? Start planning the next tier.