Choosing the right Ventrilo provider for your clan or guild is the difference between having a stable carefree experience and one of constant problems and downtime.
There are literally 100’s of Ventrilo server providers to rent from but which one to choose for your needs is a more difficult decision to make. I will try to answer some of the more common questions and also offer a few tidbits of inside information on what your provider doesn’t want you to know.
Cutting through the fluff.
Doing a google or yahoo search for your next ventrilo host can be very confusing with seemingly every company shouting the same sales lines..
FREE SETUP, FREE CODECS, FREE SUPPORT !
The important thing to note is pretty much every ventrilo provider will offer the same thing so you can disregard the tag-lines that try to present a better offer then company x.
The most important thing to look for when shopping for your ventrilo server is the following:
How long has the host been in business?
You can check using any number of tools on the internet such as http://whois.domaintools.com - Just enter the website address in the field and check the output.
Is the provider licensed to sell Ventrilo Servers?
Being a licensed provider for ventrilo means they are a trusted and secure company. You can check the status of any company at this link: http://www.ventrilo.com/hosting.php
What’s the companies reputation?
Doing a simple google or yahoo search can yield much information on a company. You should always look at any positive or negative feedback before purchasing.
What about using a Ventrilo reseller?
Using a reseller for the most part doesn’t make sense for many reasons. Resellers are generally inexperienced at supporting customers, Have been in the business only a short time and have nothing to lose by walking away with your hard earned money and historically do just that.
To be a licensed hoster you have to be selected by Ventrilo personally. There is no application process or any other way to become a partner. Licensed Providers must be a registered corporation and guarantee revenue will increase every month among several other standards. This for the most part guarantees each licensed hoster is held at a very strict level and as such provides very high quality voice servers with the added protection of knowing they will be in business for many years.
The location Game.
We’ve all seen it before. Company “A” offers 15 locations worldwide! Company “B” offers 22 locations worldwide!
So what does this all mean? NOTHING AT ALL.
If your a gamer you will have a healthy respect for the dreaded ping latency problem which in a nutshell means the further away from the server the higher your ping and reaction time suffers. If your gaming that is a problem however unlike game servers Voice servers do not have the same latency type problems.
The only minor difference would be if your 1000’s of miles away from your server location. Say, Your located in UK and your server is in the US. Other then that you won’t have any problem at all. The location game is pure hype.
Bait and Switch
Browsing the web today I noticed 8 different ventrilo rental websites advertising unusually low prices compared to most other companies. I thought, Wow! what a great offer until reading the fine print uncovered the “deal” wasn’t as great as first thought..
The bait and switch is very common in all areas of hosting because the company relies on the buyer to not read the fine print and blindly order service only to find out the great “deal” only lasted long enough to get you to sign up.
One of the scams seen today was the “50% off deal”. Which is only for the first month of service then back to the “Higher then normal” rates. In most cases the company fails to let you know this or buries this information somewhere you wouldn’t notice as easily.
Unless the website clearly states “For the life of the account” or something as prominant you should assume the deal isn’t a deal.
The Hard Facts
Most ventrilo providers are past game server hosters who for various reasons couldn’t make it in that field. Of these providers a vast majority are not licensed hosters.
That’s generally not a terrible thing but I would feel much more comfortable knowing my host has the ability to run a successful business..
The other odd fact is many ventrilo providers get into the voice hosting market for mostly the same reasons. 9 out of 10 ventrilo providers state they moved into this business to make money without doing much work.
In most cases these providers are past game server hosters which is a very technical field to be in. Again, I’m not sure I would want to rent from a ventrilo host who’s main motivation is “getting paid”.
How do I know all this?
My name is Scott Tope. I am the president of Defcon Networks LLC
DefconNetworks is the entity that controls our hosting companies.
Game Server & Ventrilo Provider: DefconServers.com
DefconServers was started in 2002 under the name X-TremeGaming and over the course of 7yrs take pride in operating one of the most successful Game Server companies in the world.
