Moving your server to a different region can cut your ping if you or most of your players are far from where the server currently sits. Here is what actually happens during a region change and how to ask for one.
Ping grows with physical distance, so the closer the region is to your players, the lower the latency. GuavaHost offers regions in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America (Miami) and New Zealand.
What a region change involves
At a high level, a region change means your server files are moved onto a machine in the new region. Because it's a different machine in a different location, your server gets a new IP address and a new port.
What comes with you:
- Your world, plugins, mods, configs and other files move across to the new region.
- Your server settings and startup variables come along too.
What changes:
- You get a new IP and port. Anyone connecting will need the new address, so update it anywhere you've shared it (Discord, server lists, bookmarks).
- If you use a custom domain or a subdomain pointing at your server, you'll need to repoint it at the new IP and port.
Be honest with yourself about the tradeoff. A region closer to you helps your ping, but if your players are spread out, moving closer to some means moving further from others. Pick the region closest to most of the people playing.
Expect some downtime
A region change is not always instant. Your files have to be copied to the new machine, and how long that takes depends on how large your server is and how busy things are. Your server will be offline while the move happens, so it's worth planning it for a quiet time.
How to request a change
To move an existing server to another region, open a support ticket or ask in our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost. A region change means placing your server on hardware in the new location, so the team handles the move for you.
The reliable way to get it done is to ask the team directly:
- Head to our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost, or open a support ticket in the client area.
- Tell us which server you want moved and which region you want it in.
- Mention a good time if you'd like to avoid downtime during peak play, and we'll sort out the details with you.
Once the move is done, grab the new IP and port from the top of your server view in the panel and share them with your players.
Troubleshooting
- Players can't connect after the move: make sure everyone is using the new IP and port, not the old one. Old addresses stop working.
- Your custom domain still points at the old server: update the DNS record to the new IP and port. DNS changes can take a while to spread.
- Ping didn't improve as much as you hoped: double-check the new region is actually the closest one to most of your players, not just closest to you.
- Not sure a region change is even the fix: if everyone lags at once regardless of location, that may be server tick lag rather than ping. See our guide on telling server lag from latency.
Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.