SS13 Hosting Advice - Picking a server

Preamble
Obviously every server is different, but you need to figure out how large of a server you plan to host.

SS13 (or BYOND itself if you want to be pedantic) only runs on 1 CPU thread, meaning you want the fastest possible single thread speed. This does not mean you should only put 1 thread to a VPS, as everything else in your OS needs space to run on. I personally recommend a quad core if you are virtualising SS13.

DreamDaemon can run on linux, but I personally dont recommend this due to the issues that come with it (microstutters, issues with profiler timings, etc). By all means you can if you dont have many players, but I only recommend hosting highpop servers on windows.

Also don't even consider a raspberry pi for hosting. BYOND doesnt run on ARM. Period.

I want to host a small server to play with 10 or fewer friends
Get a small VPS. If you can see the hardware you are running on, try find one with a higher clock speed, though this wont be easily doable. Aim for 4 cores, 4GB of RAM if you are just running a server, push for 6GB of RAM if you are also running a database for the server. If its a small server, youll need 50GB of storage at most.

Outbound bandwidth is important Even though one BYOND client only uses 100kb/s, you will need to send the RSC bundle to all players initially, which is a ~120mb bundle that needs to be sent, and if your outbound bandwidth is maxed, everyone is going to have ping lag until the download is done for the other person.

I want to host a medium size server (60 players max)
Get a dedicated server. Avoid Intel Xeon or AMD EPYC, those are designed for heavily threaded applications like traditional server stuff. Providers like OVH and ReliableSite (or hetzner if you want to host in the EU) offer dedicated servers with regular CPUs. Aim for a mid range gaming CPU, something like an intel 7700K or AMD 3600x or 5600x.
These servers will come with plenty of RAM + storage, and usually enough bandwidth, which removes most of the above concerns.

I want to host a large server (90+ players)
You will need a dedicated server, with a top of the line CPU. You will want something on the same order as an Intel 9900K or 10900KF (or 12900K if you can get one), or an AMD 5900X/5950X.

This configuration is basically never required unless you run a server the size of TG or Paradise or CM.

Ending notes

• Hardware isn't everything. If your codebase is incredibly badly made, it will run badly, even with high end hardware
• Do not home host. You may have a PC that can run a BYOND server well, but you don't want to be running a server out your house. Not only do you have to 24/7 your PC with the server running on it, but your upload speed may be bad (see above talks), not to mention you having to give everyone your home IP, which can easily be triangulated to a location accurate to within about 10 miles. Do not home host.