G-Core Hosting Review

Taking your business online can boost growth by up to 50%. You also stand to increase its credibility and brand loyalty. That, however, can only happen if you have a reliable partner like G-Core Labs.

The company provides top-rated hosting services for powering scaling projects. They include a mix of feature-rich products alongside competitive pricing. Moreover, G-Core offers enterprise-grade security to keep your applications safe at all times. 

Despite the highlights, the vendor doesn’t have managed plans for the average Joe. That’s a bummer considering the tons of documentation you need to get things running. 

But first things first. 

What Is G-Core Labs?

Founded in 2011, Gaming-Core (G-Core) Labs is a global cloud and edge solutions provider offering CDN and hosting services. It began by building infrastructure for online gaming platforms. In 2016, the company embarked on deploying a top-of-the-range content delivery network (CDN).

This undertaking enabled it to win two Guinness World Records. The first was in 2013 when its MOG server handled 190,541 concurrent gamers. A year later, it raised the bar to 1,114,000, which is a record that remains unbroken.   

The company spread its wings to establish G-Core hosting in 2016. Around the same time, it expanded the CDN network to almost every region on the planet. Since then, the vendor has continued to create innovative products for accelerating businesses online.

At present, G-Core’s headquarters are in Luxembourg. The host provides customers with VDS, GPU, dedicated, and cloud servers. Some of the big names it hosts include Wargaming, TEDx, Avast Software, etc. 

So, what does the G-Core hosting network look like? 

Network and Infrastructure

The G-Core Labs hosting infrastructure comprises 33 data centers and 15+ Cloud locations. That’s in addition to over 140 points of presence (POP) that power its CDN service. These are strategically distributed around the globe to provide a cutting-edge experience to end-users. 

This vendor sources premium bandwidth from 11,000+ peering partners. Their sum gives the company a total traffic capacity of 110Tbps. To top it off, it boasts of a global network response time of 30ms. Moreover, in  April 2021, G-Core Labs was one of the first in the world to integrate powerful Intel's 3rd generation Xeon Scalable (Ice Lake) into its cloud infrastructure.

But there’s more. 

The G-Core hosting services offer DDoS protection at the network (L3), transport (L4), and application (L7) layers. This provides adequate defense from falling victim to complex cyberattacks. Similarly, Intel’s software guard protection (SGX) further hardens your applications against hackers.

This vendor stores data in tier-III and tier-IV hubs, with backups for power and cooling. Apart from that, it gives users IPv4 and IPv6 addresses for reliable connectivity. Customers can also bring their custom IPs for use on G-Core’s infrastructure.   

G-Core Hosting Features

Now let’s dig a little deeper and check out G-Core’s hosting features:

Ease of Use

G-Core Labs provides a virtual machine (VM) manager to all customers by default. You can use it to perform the following tasks: 

• Start, stop and reboot the server
• Format the machine
• Install the operating system (OS)

The manager has essential monitoring tools for checking CPU, RAM, and disk usage. Aside from that, you get full root access to manage admin functions remotely. Examples include installing apps, running custom scripts, optimizing performance, etc. 

ISPManager

Customers can purchase an ISPManager control panel starting from €5.00/month. Unlike the default G-Core hosting dashboard, it transforms your server into a full-blown host. Besides, it’s more user-friendly and appealing to non-tech-savvy users. 

For starters, it lets you employ Apache or Nginx to run your projects. PHP is readily available to run dynamic apps and websites if you have any. And there’s also the option of using your system as a reverse proxy.

Other tools you get include automatic backups thanks to the ISPtar module. It allows you to save copies of your website on select cloud storage services. These comprise Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, and S3-compatible vendors.  

The remaining features include: 

• Softaculous applications installer
• File manager
• Database management
• Server cluster management
• Custom panel rebranding

On the downside, ISPManager is a documentation-heavy control panel. You’ll need to go through large chunks of text to install it. For this reason, it scores low on user-written G-Core hosting reviews. On the bright side, once you are done with the installation, the ISPManager makes it extremely easy to handle domains. 

Depending on your license, you can configure anywhere from ten to an unlimited number of sites. Additionally, the software supports webmail services out of the box.

Dedicated Resources

The G-Core hosting servers come with dedicated resources regardless of your plan. Apart from the usual CPU, RAM, and storage, you get a base 200Mbit/s connection. Best of all, there are no limits on the amount of bandwidth you can use.

DNS Hosting

The G-Core hosting plans come bundled with a basic DNS service for free. This tier offers 40 locations to speed up access to your domain on the web. Furthermore, you get unlimited requests to accelerate your projects. 

You can switch things up by subscribing to the Pro and Enterprise plans. They start from €2.49/month and are suitable for managing large-scale tasks. They also include 100+ more regions for lightning-fast connections to your site. 

Unlike the free tier, G-Core caps requests on the paid versions, with overuse costing extra. The good news is you get DDoS protection and GeoDNS for free. However, a dedicated network IP is only included in the priciest package. 

CDN Network

The free CDN service shines, as seen in most G-Core hosting customer reviews. You’ll get access to all 140 POPs and 1,000GB of traffic every month. Real-time stats widgets are also within reach to help you track your usage.

Anycast routes requests through the nearest data center to the visitor. Combined with Brotli and Gzip compression, it results in exceptional page loading time. Not to mention, you’ll enjoy bandwidth savings of up to 80%.

The G-Core hosting CDN control panel is among the best on the market. You can easily configure domains, zones, custom CNAME records, and more. Basic DDoS and WAF protection are also bundled in the service.

Security

Security is at the heart of G-Core Labs’ top-rated hosting services. As mentioned earlier, you get a basic DDoS and web application firewall (WAF) for free.

This host also uses Intel-powered servers with built-in SGX encryption. It shields your system’s software and apps from tampering even if you get hacked. As such, it improves the handling of sensitive data like financial transactions.

But that’s not all:

The G-Core cloud hosting network can handle complex and almost undetectable Slowloris attacks. It also has a proactive traffic filtering system to stop bad bots. Moreover, you get a free SSL certificate to encrypt traffic between your server and visitors.      

Marketplace

Thanks to the marketplace, you can run robust services on G-Core’s network. Here, you’ll find a long list of apps that are free to use. Some popular mentions include:

• OpenVPN
• Nexus
• GitLab
• Minecraft
• Grafana

G-Core Labs’ hosting also lets you install an app of choice. However, restrictions apply for cryptocurrency, NSFW content, and anything that breaks the law. Of course, customer support is always present to clarify where your project fits.

G-Core Hosting Uptime

Downtime can cause a small business to lose an average of $423 per minute. That’s why this hosting provider’s uptime guarantee is among the best in the industry. It covers every aspect of its services, as follows: 

• DNS – 99.99%
• Security – 99.95% 
• Hosting – 99.90%
• Network – 99.00%
• CDN – 99.90%
• Storage – 99.90%  

But what happens if it fails to uphold it? 

You stand to get up to 50% credit on your next bill for outages. But with a 99.98% uptime consistency, that won't be happening anytime soon. It would help if you considered using StatusCake to track downtimes once you jump on board.   

G-Core Hosting Speed

I went as far as testing G-Core’s response speeds for this review. To begin with, the DNS ping of 20ms ranks top ten in the industry. The same goes for the CDN’s 30ms average response time. 

Server latency equally deserves your attention. VMs in North America and Europe are the fastest, with average pings of 0.25ms. The results from the remaining regions are a mixed bag.

Let’s check out what’s in store.

Hosting Services

The G-Core hosting services are as follows:

VDS Server 

The G-Core hosting VDS option is the most affordable plan this vendor offers. All servers come pre-built with room to upgrade when needed. And you also get dedicated resources for snappy performance.

While that looks good, the allocation for each system can be better. Most of the setups barely have adequate RAM and storage space. Likewise, the company caps bandwidth speed in some VMs at 50Mbit/s.

The servers’ prices start at €3.25/month for the lower-tier plans. You have the option of choosing a VDS from 33 data center locations. Additionally, you can add up to 10 IPv4 and IPv6 addresses to your system.

Dedicated Server

The G-Core hosting dedicated server plan targets professional users with demanding projects. Unlike the VDS, you get hardware that’s isolated from noisy neighbors. This enhances performance, security, and control over your setup. 

The system configuration starts at 32GB RAM, 1000GB storage, and a 6-core Intel CPU. Bandwidth is plenty, with speeds of up to 1Gbps. Furthermore, you can add up to 15 IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. 

The starting price of €118/month is steep for the average user. Businesses that need the sheer raw power may still find it a bargain. Sadly, G-Core limits monthly traffic at 30TB, and you’ll have to pay extra for usage above your allocation.

GPU Server

G-Core Labs is among the few website hosting providers with GPU server plans. As the name suggests, each system comes with a dedicated graphics card alongside the CPU. This combination results in outstanding processing capacity for handling complex applications. 

The only pricing listed is for the €1.844/month high-end setup. It offers at least 1,000GB storage, 256GB RAM, and a GeForce RTX 2080-Ti. Other lower-tier configurations, however, are available on preorder.

The G-Core Labs hosting servers with GPUs are ideal for machine learning, 3D rendering, data analytics, etc. Still, you can run other traffic-intensive websites like ecommerce platforms with ease. Bandwidth starts at 30TB/month with the option of upgrading to a 1Gbps connection. 

Customer Support

G-Core offers customer service ‘round the clock via live chat, phone, and email. Its representatives are welcoming and always willing to help when issues arise.

We contacted them several times and got mixed results. However, G-Core declared that customer support is something they take very seriously and this won’t be an issue for its customers. 

Pricing

The G-Core Labs pricing plans are as follows:

G-Core Hosting Review – Verdict

G-Core Labs is a one-stop shop for small business and enterprise hosting. It has an excellent network with impeccable speeds and reliability. Moreover, customers get a free CDN with global coverage to make things better.

The company doesn’t compromise on security either. Its proactive DDoS shield and WAF ensure you enjoy peaceful nights. Furthermore, the Intel SGX system assures you of maximum protection and data privacy.

Sure, the service isn’t perfect, but it’s a good option for running high-traffic websites and demanding apps.