How Instant Server Provisioning Works
When you create a Garry's Mod or Minecraft server on Zeros Host, it is ready in seconds. Here is how we do it and why it matters.
Most hosting providers make you wait several minutes after creating a server. The server has to download game files, extract them, run install scripts, and configure itself. On a busy node, this can take five minutes or more.
On Zeros Host, a Garry's Mod or Minecraft server is ready in seconds.
How it works
We pre-build server templates for Garry's Mod and Minecraft. When you create a server for one of these games, the panel copies the template into your server volume using filesystem-level hard links. This means the files appear instantly without actually copying gigabytes of data. Your server starts from a known-good state with all game files already in place. Other games we support (Rust, Project Zomboid, Terraria) don't use a pre-built template yet and install from a live download on first start instead.
Why it matters
First impressions matter. If someone signs up for a free trial and has to wait five minutes staring at a loading bar, they might not come back. We want the experience to be: sign up, pick a game, and your server is running. The faster you get into the panel, the faster you can start building.
What about updates?
When a new game version is released, we rebuild the templates. Existing servers can update through the panel using the Version Manager (Minecraft) or the Startup configuration (GMod). New servers always get the latest template.
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