Layer7 Server Performance: Real-World Testing Results from Frankfurt

Ever wondered what you're actually getting when you spin up a VPS? We grabbed a Layer7 2-core, 8GB Frankfurt server and threw every benchmark we could find at it. Here's what actually happened—no marketing fluff, just raw numbers and what they mean for your projects.

The Setup: What We're Testing

Grabbed a 2-core, 8GB RAM server with 80GB storage plus an extra 1TB disk and dedicated IPv4. Server's sitting in Frankfurt, connected through Aixit's network. Cost? About €10 extra for the storage bump using their Black Friday code.

The machine itself runs Intel Xeon E5-2650L v4 processors—nothing fancy, but stable workhorses that have been around the block. AES-NI and VM-x both enabled, which matters if you're running encrypted workloads or nested virtualization.

Network Speed: The Good News

Speedtest results were honestly better than expected. Nearly gigabit speeds to most European endpoints—974 Mbps to Amsterdam, 780 Mbps to Paris. Even transatlantic connections held up decently: 979 Mbps download from LA, though upload dropped to 164 Mbps.

Asia's where things get interesting. Tokyo pulled 985 Mbps download but only 135 Mbps upload. Hong Kong was painful—3 Mbps upload with 290ms latency. If you're routing traffic to Asia, you'll want to think twice or plan for that bottleneck.

The routing goes through Telia (AS1299) for most paths, which explains the solid European performance. China routes vary—Telecom uses their backbone directly, Unicom goes through CU4837, and Mobile takes a scenic route through LA before hitting Shanghai.

Disk Performance: Nothing to Write Home About

Here's where reality checks in. The fio tests show what you'd expect from shared storage:

• 4K blocks: 221 KB/s read, 236 KB/s write

• 1M blocks: 26 MB/s read, 28 MB/s write

These aren't SSD speeds. They're not even particularly fast HDD speeds. For a database under heavy random I/O load, you'd probably have a bad time. But for sequential reads—serving files, streaming content, running typical web apps—it's fine. Just set your expectations accordingly.

Compute Power: Adequate for Most Workloads

Geekbench 5 scores came in at 505 single-core and 1000 multi-core. That's... well, it's not going to win any races. But context matters. For running web servers, API endpoints, small databases, or development environments, it's plenty. You're not compiling Linux kernels for fun here.

The CPU consistently ran at 1698 MHz, which is the base clock. No turbo boost happening, but also no thermal throttling or weird performance drops during testing.

Streaming and Regional Access

Tested a bunch of streaming services to see what works. IPv4 got you Dazn in Germany, Amazon Prime (also DE region), and Netflix originals. Disney+ was a no-go on IPv4 but worked on IPv6. YouTube Premium failed completely, which is odd.

OpenAI access checked out fine on both IPv4 and IPv6, showing as Germany region. So if you're running ChatGPT integrations or similar services, you're good.

👉 Looking for a VPS that balances price and performance for European projects? Layer7's Frankfurt location delivers solid connectivity without breaking your budget

China Routes: Mixed Results

Tested routes to major Chinese cities. Beijing Telecom took 246ms through their backbone. Shanghai Telecom was similar at 241ms. Unicom routes were faster—237ms to Beijing, 234ms to Shanghai—using their 4837 network.

Mobile routing was the wildest ride. Traffic went Frankfurt → Paris → Reston, VA → LA → Shanghai → Beijing, taking 234ms total. Not terrible given the journey, but shows how circuitous some paths can be.

Interestingly, Netflix CDN associated with Russian VDS in both Warsaw and Budapest. YouTube CDN linked to a Ukrainian network (RETNUKR). These routing quirks might matter depending on what content you're serving.

What This Means for Your Projects

This server occupies an interesting niche. It's not a powerhouse—that Geekbench score and disk I/O make that clear. But for the price point (especially with Black Friday deals), you're getting:

• Solid European connectivity

• Workable Asian routes (except that Hong Kong upload issue)

• Enough compute for standard web workloads

• Decent network performance within Europe

It's the kind of server you'd use for a personal VPN, a staging environment, a small-traffic web app, or a regional CDN node. You wouldn't host a high-traffic production database here, but you probably weren't planning to anyway at this price tier.

The IPv6 support is actually pretty good, which matters if you're thinking ahead. OpenAI compatibility is a nice bonus for anyone building AI-integrated services.

The Practical Bottom Line

Testing took about 20 minutes of actual server time (plus a bunch of waiting for benchmark results). System stayed stable throughout—no crashes, no weird network hiccups, nothing broke.

If you need European hosting with reasonable performance and you're not pushing extreme I/O or compute loads, this configuration works. The Frankfurt location gives you solid connectivity to Western Europe and acceptable paths to most other regions.

Just know what you're getting into with that disk performance. For anything I/O intensive, you'd want to look at their SSD options or optimize heavily. But for the majority of web hosting, development, and networking projects? It does the job without drama.

Final Thoughts

We ran every test we could think of, and Layer7's Frankfurt server landed right where you'd expect for its price point. Not blazing fast, not disappointing—just solid, reliable infrastructure that handles everyday workloads without complaint. The network routing is thoughtful, the uptime was perfect during testing, and the specs match what they promise. Sometimes that's exactly what you need. 👉 Check out Layer7's current offerings if you're shopping for straightforward European VPS hosting