Cloud Hosting Comparison: BandwagonHost, Vultr, Aliyun & More for CDN Setup

If you're researching VPS providers for CDN deployment or looking to optimize cross-border network performance, you've probably heard names like BandwagonHost, Vultr, Aliyun, and DMIT thrown around. This guide breaks down what actually matters: latency, packet loss, pricing, and which providers deliver stable connections to mainland China. By the end, you'll know exactly which solution fits your budget and technical requirements—whether you need CN2 GIA routes, Hong Kong servers, or cost-effective self-hosted CDN infrastructure.

Understanding Network Tier Priorities

When it comes to China-optimized routes, there's a clear hierarchy. Hong Kong and Japan CN2 GIA sit at the top, followed by Asia CN2 GIA, then US CN2 GIA. For telecom users, CN2 GIA (including the 59.43.. range) generally outperforms China Mobile's CMIN2, though it costs more.

Special inventory plans from major providers don't show up in regular product listings. You'll need direct URLs like https://bwh81.net/cart.php?a=add&pid=156 to purchase them. These deals typically sell out within two hours of restocking. The MINICHICKEN limited edition (pid=158) shows ping latency around 185ms.

For mainland-optimized hosting, consider UCloud and BandwagonHost. Both offer CN2 GIA and Hong Kong options, with BandwagonHost's MEGABOX-PRO delivering excellent value through its telecom CN2 GIA and China Unicom/Mobile CMIN2 routing.

BandwagonHost: Budget-Friendly Performance

BandwagonHost specializes in affordable VPS hosting with notably low latency to Hong Kong for Chinese users. IP changes require payment, and entry-level plans start around $4.17/month. Use promo code BWHCGLUKKB for 6.77% off.

The Hong Kong MEGA2 (HKHK_8) datacenter features CN2 GIA connectivity. Default installations use Rocky 9 x86_64, and you must stop the VM before reinstalling the OS.

For IPv6 activation (300ms latency via tunneled, non-native connection): Navigate to IPv6 network → Activate /64 IPv6 subnet → Stop & Start the VM (not shell reboot) to enable. This adds an ipv6net@NONE network interface.

Real-world testing with China Unicom broadband shows uploading 100MiB to standard Los Angeles datacenters takes 6.5 minutes when streaming to GCS. Fremont reduces this to 5.5 minutes. For comparison, Google Cloud Run (H2C) completes the same transfer in 1 minute, while Aliyun ECS takes 2.5 minutes.

Plan

Description

Network Performance (100MiB sample)

MINICHICKEN-20-1024

Fremont datacenter (no migration)

170ms ping, 5.5min upload via Unicom

10G KVM - PROMO

Migration allowed

Fremont USCA_FMT 180ms ping; LA USCA_8 220ms, USCA_2 200ms; 6.5min upload

When running Quarkus native builds on older processors, add quarkus.native.march=compatibility to handle CPU feature requirements.

If you're weighing options for Asia-Pacific deployment with predictable routing, 👉 explore BandwagonHost's Hong Kong CN2 GIA plans for stable cross-border performance. The combination of competitive pricing and optimized network paths makes it particularly suitable for developers managing traffic between North America and Asia.

DMIT: Premium Hong Kong Connectivity

DMIT operates as an upstream provider for BandwagonHost's Hong Kong infrastructure and offers CN2 GIA datacenters. Their HKG.Pro series includes standard versions (starting at $40/month) and limited editions (starting at 90 yuan/month, available only during promotional restocks).

Network testing is available at https://lg.dmit.sh/. IP changes are free if blocked, once every 15 days. Other situations cost $5 per change.

Vultr: Global Coverage with Caveats

Vultr provides affordable VPS hosting with free IP changes and entry-level plans around $5/month (billed monthly on the 1st). However, network performance to mainland China varies significantly by location.

Ping latency (China Unicom measurements):

• Tokyo: 60ms

• Mumbai, India: 127ms

• Singapore: 160ms

• Delhi NCR, India: 145ms

• Seoul, Korea: 255ms

Critical issue: Singapore experiences 40% packet loss during peak hours (8 PM to 3 AM). Japan and Korea also show packet loss. Standard routing uses NTT lines (Japan, Singapore) with 50% peak-hour packet loss. For under 15% packet loss, consider CN2 GIA or CMI routes at approximately $40/month.

Taiwan servers show only 38% direct connectivity to mainland China, with 61% of traffic routed through Japan NTT or US Cogent, increasing latency from 60ms to 217ms.

The $2.50/month plan (IPv4+IPv6 enabled) is only available in New York (NJ) and Atlanta under Regular Cloud Compute, though NJ may show packet loss to mainland destinations. Reserved IPs incur hourly charges.

If temporarily out of stock, credit card holders can apply for the Free Tier Program in Miami US, Seattle US, or Frankfurt DE (Shared CPU → vc2-1c-0.5gb-free).

July 2024 China Unicom testing for reverse proxy to domestic servers: Singapore offers the best packet loss performance. For outbound-only traffic, Tokyo wins. Tokyo shows 50ms (110ms from Aliyun, 50% packet loss on 4 PM return route). Singapore shows 80ms (200ms from Aliyun, zero return packet loss). Osaka and Seoul hit 220ms, US locations reach 250ms.

Test IPs available at https://hnd-jp-ping.vultr.com/. Vultr supports the Cloudflare Bandwidth Alliance for free origin fetching. The 2TB bandwidth pool shows account-level allocation (light colored) plus per-server purchased bandwidth (dark colored).

Aliyun (Alibaba Cloud): Enterprise-Grade Infrastructure

After configuring IPv6 on ECS instances, only internal network access works by default. Public IPv6 access requires purchasing "IPv6 Public Bandwidth" traffic packages.

Cloud Shell instances run for maximum 1-hour sessions without sudo access, preventing apt install commands. Built-in Docker v19+ doesn't support docker images, limiting you to docker build to local files.

For ECS deployment:

• Skip "free security hardening" to avoid extra Aliyun security components

• Use "custom password" for fastest deployment

• Maximum supported Debian version: v12 (see https://help.aliyun.com/zh/ecs/debian)

Each VPC switch manages a single availability zone. Cross-zone purchases require new switches with non-overlapping CIDR blocks (e.g., Zone K: 192.168.0.0/24, other zones: 192.168.1.0/24) to avoid "overlapping subnet" errors.

RDS database instances block access by default. Add ECS or external servers to the whitelist, or click "Open All." Test connectivity:

• Linux: telnet rm-id123.mysql.rds.aliyuncs.com 3306 (should show "Connected")

• Windows: tnc rm-id123go.mysql.rds.aliyuncs.com -p 3306 (should show "TcpTestSucceeded: True")

CNAME your custom domain to the instance hostname, then create a "high-privilege account" with password. For emoji support, set character_set_server=utf8mb4 via web console (triggers automatic restart). RDS enables lower_case_table_names=1 by default.

Tencent Cloud: Logging Cost Traps

Cloud Shell's Docker v24+ doesn't support docker images, only docker build to local files.

Major gotcha: COS object storage access logs (including IP addresses) require paid CLS (Cloud Log Service) subscription. Disabling log search stops new logs but continues billing for historical storage until manually deleted. After disabling in COS console, navigate to CLS console and delete the cos-log-store topic to stop charges completely.

Steps to fully disable:

1. COS → Bucket List → Select bucket → Log Management → Log Storage (Edit: Disable), Log Search (Disable)

2. Optionally delete cos-access-log/ directory in bucket

3. Log Service → Log Topics → Delete bucket-associated topics (billing only stops after deletion)

Self-Hosted CDN Setup

For DIY CDN infrastructure, watch for the cache hit header: X-Cache-Status: HIT or CF-Cache-Status: MISS.

Nginx configuration to queue all requests except first origin fetch: proxy_cache_lock on;. For large files, enable slicing with slice 1m; to support player on-demand downloads via HTTP Range headers (Range: bytes=0-4096).

Optional monitoring: NGINX Amplify Agent (https://github.com/nginxinc/nginx-amplify-agent/).

For dedicated CDN servers, consider Apache Traffic Server (https://trafficserver.apache.org/).

DigitalOcean & Others

DigitalOcean remains a budget-friendly VPS provider with straightforward pricing. Linode, now owned by Akamai, has seen some decline post-acquisition.

Choosing the right hosting provider depends on your specific use case. If you're running services with heavy China traffic, prioritize CN2 GIA routes from providers like 👉 BandwagonHost for proven cross-border stability and cost efficiency. For global distribution with less China focus, Vultr's broader datacenter coverage works well despite peak-hour issues in Asian locations. Enterprise deployments benefit from Aliyun or Tencent Cloud's mature ecosystems, though watch for hidden costs in logging and bandwidth. Whatever you choose, test thoroughly with your actual traffic patterns before committing to annual plans.