Linode, a well-established hosting provider, was founded in 2003. In the early days, Linode required credit card verification, which made it less accessible. However, with the competition from newcomers like Vultr and DigitalOcean, Linode also launched a $5/month package in February this year. Additionally, Linode's powerful control panel is superior to many other providers.

Linode currently has two data centers in Japan, JP1 and JP2. However, new users are no longer able to purchase JP1, and JP2 has seen a large influx of Chinese users, resulting in suboptimal network conditions. The following image shows the network situation of JP2 observed by Sichuan Telecom, with red indicating packet loss.

Linode offers a total of 8 data centers to choose from. For users in China, the Fremont data center on the US West Coast has relatively better network performance. The following image shows a review of Linode's Fremont data center.

Ping Test

The following images show Ping test results from Sichuan Telecom.

The packet loss situation of Linode Fremont data center for Sichuan Telecom is much better compared to Linode JP2, with latency maintained at around 200ms. However, there is still significant network fluctuation based on one week of monitoring.

Route Tracing

The following images show route tracing results from different ISPs in China.

All three major ISPs in China show direct connections without detours.

I/O and Bandwidth

Average I/O reaches 551.3 MB/s, indicating considerable read and write performance. The highest download speed reaches 194MB/s, suggesting a possible 1000M bandwidth.

Other Information

• Linode now supports PayPal payments.
• Automatic backups are available for an additional fee and are recommended for users with high data requirements.
• Affiliate earnings cannot be withdrawn and can only be used for consumption.

Conclusion

Overall, Linode Fremont performs well, although there is some network fluctuation (for Sichuan Telecom). However, each user's network experience may vary, so it is recommended to test different data centers personally. Like Vultr and DigitalOcean, Linode supports hourly billing and allows users to easily cancel their services when no longer needed.

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