Tag Archives: NexusBytes

LEBRE-X: Nexus Bytes Ryzen NVMe VPS

The very first LEBRE-X review goes to our Nexus Bytes Ryzen NVMe reference box REBOX1. Readers will already be familiar with REBOX1 because it is the reference box for value comparison using the LEBRE methodology. However, although the LEBRE methodology provides a clear measure of value based on paper specifications, it cannot adequately reflect actual performance. Therefore, we’ve subjected REBOX1 to an extended period of benchmarking as outlined in the LEBRE-X methodology.

The detailed specifications of the VPS is as follows:

Processor: Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core Processor
2 vCPUs @ 3593.248 MHz
2GB RAM
30GB NVMe Disk
1Gpbs Port
AES-NI: Enabled
VM-x/AMD-V: Enabled
Location: Germany

With AES-NI enabled, there is no performance penalty on LUKS encryption using AES on the VPS. Also, with VM-x/AMD-V enabled, nested virtualization is possible, allowing deploying of solutions such as Proxmox. Certainly a nice CPU feature set.

We now turn to the results of our extended benchmarking, which we ran daily for 33 days from 14 December 2019 to 15 January 2020. All charts are interactive (i.e. you can mouse over the lines to examine each data point).

Geekbench 5 Test

Geekbench 5 offers a quick overview of CPU and RAM performance in a single score. The following chart shows the single and multi-core scores of the Nexus Bytes Ryzen NVMe VPS across our test period.

Despite the fair-share policy of Nexus Bytes, it can be seen that the VPS is both very high performing and the performance is very consistent for both single (mean score 1143, SD 16.1) and multi-core (mean score 2122, SD 61.2) over the period of testing. This indicates that the host node is very likely not oversold and well-monitored, ensuring consistently high performance for your applications whenever you require.

fio Random Read-Write

We use fio to benchmark disk performance because random read-write is more indicative of real-world use compared to sequential read-write, which normally generates impressive metrics but is a poor indicator of real-world performance. The following charts show the random read and write IOPS performance at 4k, 64k and 256k block sizes.

The NVMe disk clearly show its superior performance in terms of IOPS. The Nexus Bytes VPS is extremely fast and stable in performance when it comes to random reading (mean IOPS 80811, SD 4951) and writing (mean IOPS 80899, SD 4956) at 4k block sizes.

Speed is still excellent for random reading (mean IOPS 30185, SD 7897) and writing (mean IOPS 30319, SD 7926) at 64k block sizes, although the variability of performance increases as evident from the higher standard deviation.

For our most gruelling 256k block size random read-write test, the speed in terms of reading (mean IOPS 9386, SD 2402) and writing (mean IOPS 9241, SD 2366) was still stellar, with some variability similar to the 64k block size test.

The overall conclusion from the fio results is crystal-clear: there is very likely no problem running applications that require strong IOPS performance. Assuming that the database is well-tuned, this Nexus Bytes VPS is likely to be able to deliver a consistently buttery-smooth experience, even for busy database driven CMS websites.

ioping Latency

We use ioping to measure how responsive the disk is to requests. The chart below shows the results of average response times to 30 requests.

The spikes in the chart may worry some of you, but there is actually no cause for alarm. The disk response times are measured in microseconds (mean 373.5, SD 126.6). A microsecond (μs) is one millionth of a second, so despite the spikes, you will not notice any real-world difference. Also, if the ioping results are too flat, it is indicative of very low disk activity (meaning the host node is very empty) or there is some caching mechanism going on.

iperf3 Speeds

We use iperf3 to measure outbound internet speeds (i.e. how fast the VPS sends data out to users) to our own collection of iperf3 servers. Keep in mind that there are many factors involved in transmitting data across networks, especially across vast geographical distances. Spikes are not unusual. Note that we present our data in megabytes per second.

We first present the chart for European locations.

We see generally consistent performance to our Polish server (mean 107.9, SD 6.7). The spikes to our Romanian server (mean 67.1, SD 14.3) is more of an issue with the network of our Romanian server. Generally, we see speedy network speeds in Europe.

We now present the chart for our North America servers.

You must be wondering about that huge dip in network speed to Utah (mean 95.0, SD 32.6) during the Christmas holiday period. We are not sure what happened during that period, but there were issues. We ran some MTR tests but they were inconclusive; packet losses were random along the entire path. We conclude that the results for that period is a freak anomaly. If we look at the speed to Chicago (mean 110, SD 2.87), the network speed is generally consistent. If we disregard that freak anomaly period, we can see that network speeds to North America can mostly saturate the promised 1Gbps port speed.

Finally, we present the charts for our APAC servers.

The see-sawing is not unexpected, given the vast distance between Germany and the APAC locations. The speeds to Singapore (mean 82.3, SD 29.0) is decent on average, although depending on the day and time, some bottle-necking may be experienced. If you are from Australia, tough luck. Both Perth (mean 15.1, SD 10.5) and Sydney (mean 17.3, SD 11.6) do not perform well.

Final words

It appears that the actual performance of our Nexus Bytes Ryzen NVMe REBOX1 lived up to expectation. There is ample evidence suggesting that Nexus Bytes has a very solid VPS management model. The CPU/RAM and disk performance are excellent AND consistent. It is no understatement to say that their VPS is likely to perform on par with or even better than low-end dedicated servers for most use cases, especially their beefier VPSes. We are impressed, and you should be too.

tl;dr: Shut up and take my money now!

Note: we have reached out to Nexus Bytes for their response to our LEBRE-X review because we believe that our reviewed providers should also have the opportunity to respond to our observations. We will publish their response in full if we receive any.

Response from Nexus Bytes’ management (Jan. 15th, 2020):

Thank you admin for sharing your detailed analysis. We are glad that this review validated our company’s philosophy: well-balanced nodes with healthy cpu : memory : storage ratio. Small hiccups may arise here and there; however, we try our level best to nip things in the bud and ensure our family members are receiving steady and consistent service, regardless of how much they paid.
We value our customers and treat them more as a family member and not just a mere customer. We are not flashy in our advertising nor do we offer unsustainable prices. If anything, we prefer to under-sell and over-deliver than the other way round, and we will continue to ensure that our family members who put their trust in us get nothing less than the best that we can offer.
Jay C., NexusBytes LLC

Nexus Bytes LA Ryzen 3900X Pre-order Special

The very first offer to be reviewed for price-performance value in 2020 is the Nexus Bytes LA Ryzen 3900X pre-order special. Nexus Bytes should be familiar with all the readers of LowEndBoxes Review because our reference REBOX1 comes from them. The question is, do they have a better offer than REBOX1 in 2020? Their LA pre-order special looks to be one that exceeds expectations! Let’s look at the specs of the VPS-1G-Pre-Order-Special plan:

AMD Ryzen 3900X @ 3.8Ghz
1 vCPU
1GB RAM
30GB disk storage
NVMe disk type
1TB Monthly Bandwidth
1 Gbps Port
$1.76 per month (annual payment with Switcher and Bencher special, otherwise $3/m)
KVM Virtualization
Location: Los Angeles, California

Nexus Bytes have done something very interesting of late to give greater value for their products. They have introduced the Switcher special, where if you currently own a VPS with other providers, you can “trade in” for up to four months worth of extra service credit. That means with an annual payment, you get 16 months instead of 12 months with the Switcher special.

In addition, if you post a benchmark of your new VPS on the LowEndSpirit Forum, Nexus Bytes will give you an additional month of service credit, making a total of 17 months for your first annual payment. Effectively, the monthly price stacking all these promos together works out to be $1.76. What a deal!

The results of the LEBRE scoring methodology (using the $1.76 per month amount) is as follows:

Well, it is clear that this LA pre-order special is more than a match for our 2019 REBOX1! Aside from the bandwidth (which is still decent), it effectively matches REBOX1 in terms of the value you are getting for the number of vCPUs and RAM, but you are getting almost double value in terms of the CPU Passmark, disk size, disk type and port speed! The overall LEBRE score of 141 clearly indicates that you are getting much more value per dollar than the previous excellent REBOX1 offer!

Of course, you might be thinking that this is a teeny-weeny little sparrow of a VPS and you need a bad-ass bald eagle instead. Nexus Bytes actually allows you to scale this smallest plan all the way up to 12 vCPUs, 12GB RAM, 360GB NVMe and 12TB monthly bandwidth for pre-order, and all the switcher and bencher perks apply. We just didn’t have time to calculate them all. The range of plans can be found here.

As with all Nexus Bytes plans, you get a free backup NAT storage VPS equivalent to your VPS storage size, free Blesta billing software and for annual payment, a free Windows server 2019 license.

TL;DR Basically REBOX1 rebooted with better value when trading in your current VPS plan, with the option of up-sizing or supersizing to suit your requirements.

If you are afraid of missing this excellent Nexus Bytes LA Ryzen 3900X Pre-order Special, buy your box immediately (or check out their up-sized and supersized variants) and support Nexus Bytes, who is on The Whitelist.

Nexus Bytes MT Basic SSD

Nexus Bytes is having its weekly 72-hour Mega Thursday Basic SSD offer with the following specs:

Intel Xeon E3-1230 host node
2 vCPU
1GB RAM
100GB Disk
SSD Disk Type
10TB Monthly Bandwidth
1Gpbs Port
$4 per month
KVM Virtualization
Locations: Germany and New York
Special bonus: Free 100GB Storage VPS with 1IPv4 NAT (384MB RAM, 2TB Monthly Bandwidth)

How this limited time deal fared under our LEBRE scoring methodology is presented below:

Compared to REBOX1 (also previously offered by Nexus Bytes), the value of this offer is somewhat poor in terms of host node single-core Passmark, RAM and disk type. However, it offers a very good value for number of vCPUs, and port speed, and the strongest selling points are the undoubtedly the massive 10TB bandwidth that makes REBOX1’s 3TB bandwidth look measly, and the super generous 100GB snappy SSD storage space.

The overall LEBRE score of 122 indicates that this box has a better price-performance value compared to the reference REBOX1. It is perfectly well-suited for personal use such as hosting a blog. If your blog is very rich in media or if you need to share or transfer lots of data every month, then this box is perfect for you.

One other VERY, VERY IMPORTANT consideration that we cannot capture using our LEBRE scoring methodology is the free 100GB storage NAT VPS that comes with this plan (you need to open a ticket to get it). Some providers offer an additional block storage that you can mount with your basic plan, but Nexus Bytes is offering an additional storage VPS complete with its own RAM, bandwidth and OS!

You literally buy one VPS and get another free.

This is definitely a very interesting value proposition. There are many possibilities with an additional NAT storage VPS. You can mount it as a additional drive using SSHFS and you effectively get 200GB storage! Backups and things that are not needed to be accessed frequently can be sent to the NAT storage VPS so as not to take up space on your faster SSD. If you want, you can even put a lightweight web server on the NAT VPS!

TL;DR A box that gets most things done for bandwidth guzzlers. Free additional storage too? Just take my money.

You have less than 72 hours to buy your box in Germany or in New York to support Nexus Bytes, who is on The Whitelist.

Update: real-world VPS benchmarks

https://www.lowendtalk.com/discussion/comment/3042830/#Comment_3042830 (New York Location)