1. Introduction
Many people who purchase overseas VPS (Virtual Private Servers) may have experienced this issue: despite having high configuration and good bandwidth, video streaming (even 4K) and SSH connections often become sluggish, especially during the evening. Typing a single letter on SSH might result in noticeable delays. Why is this happening? What you're about to read might change the way you experience VPS usage. Today, we’re going to talk about a technique that many experienced users swear by, but it’s often overlooked or not fully understood by newcomers—network relay.
2. What is VPS Relay?
As the term suggests, a relay is like sending a package through an intermediary instead of directly to the recipient.
Without relay (direct connection):
Without a good intermediary server, you can only connect via the normal process. During peak hours, the network gets congested, resulting in slower speeds, packet loss, or even dropped connections—this is why you experience buffering while watching videos, or lag while gaming.
With relay:
The traffic is rerouted through a node with a better network path—using optimized routes like CN2 GIA or AS9929. These routes offer higher bandwidth and less congestion, like driving on a VIP expressway.
In simple terms, relay adds an extra server between your overseas VPS and you, which has a cleaner and better network connection to optimize your route.
3. Why Do People Use Relays?
Improve Network Quality
Evening Peak Traffic Problems? Relays Make a Miracle in Smooth Streaming
You’re probably familiar with this scenario: everything works fine during the day, but by night, the performance goes down drastically, with YouTube barely reaching 1080p, or games having high latency.
The reason is simple: the international exit lines you are using are overburdened. A relay line, on the other hand, has a higher priority, greater bandwidth, and less congestion, which significantly improves your overall experience.
Reduced Latency, Packet Loss, and Stable Connections
If you’re experiencing lag in SSH sessions or delayed keystrokes, using a relay can solve that problem by:
Choosing shorter paths.
Using more reliable exit routes.
Avoiding problematic jump points.
In many cases, the relay can reduce latency by tens to hundreds of milliseconds, and eliminate packet loss, bringing it down from 20% to 0%.
Unlocking Streaming and IP Restrictions
Some users have encountered issues where a VPS IP cannot access services like Netflix, or certain games block entire data center IP ranges. With a relay server, the external world will only see the relay server’s IP, not the overseas VPS's. As long as the relay IP is clean, you will have normal access.
Hiding Your Real IP for Better Security
Using a relay makes your main VPS IP hidden from external networks, adding an extra layer of protection:
Your VPS becomes invisible to direct scans.
DDoS attacks target the relay server, not your VPS.
Your VPS’s real IP remains secure, which is especially useful for services you set up.
4. How to Set Up a Relay?
Overseas VPS (Target): For example, 128.128.128.128
Relay VPS (Good Network Path): For example, 2.2.2.2
Goal:
When you connect to 2.2.2.2:port, it automatically forwards traffic to 128.128.128.128.
Method 1: Using iptables for Relaying (Original, Stable, and Low Resource Usage)
SSH into your relay server (2.2.2.2) and run the following commands:
Enable forwarding
echo 'net.ipv4.ip_forward=1' >> /etc/sysctl.conf sysctl -pForward the traffic
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 10022 -j DNAT --to-destination 1.1.1.1:22 iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -p tcp -d 1.1.1.1 --dport 22 -j MASQUERADESave the rules (depending on the OS):
CentOS:
yum install iptables-services service iptables saveDebian/Ubuntu:
apt-get install iptables-persistent netfilter-persistent saveTest: SSH into 2.2.2.2:10022, and you will actually be logged into 128.128.128.128.
Method 2: Using Gost for Relaying
Extract and run Gost on the relay server:
./gost -L tcp://:20000/1.1.1.1:20001This listens on port 20000 and forwards all traffic to 128.128.128.128:20001.
If your overseas VPS (128.128.128.128) is running a service like Shadowsocks (on port 20001), simply configure your client as follows:
Server: 2.2.2.2
Port: 20000
Keep the password and encryption method unchanged.
All the traffic will automatically go through the relay using the optimized route.
5. Things to Consider
Relay Server Quality
The effectiveness of the relay depends on the quality of the relay server's network connection. It's recommended to choose servers with high-quality lines such as:CN2 GIA
AS9929
CUII
High-quality Hong Kong or Shenzhen lines
Cost
Many users opt for inexpensive domestic or Hong Kong/Taiwan VPS to use as relays, connecting them to higher-priced overseas servers. This provides great value for money.Relays Aren't a Universal Solution
If the connection between your overseas VPS and the relay server already runs over poor-quality lines, the relay won’t solve the issue. However, in most cases, it will result in noticeable improvements.
6.Summarize
If you’ve always felt that your overseas VPS runs slowly at night, you really should give a relay a try. The change could be dramatic—from struggling with 1080p to smoothly streaming 4K, or from a ping of 300ms to a stable 150ms. I’d recommend checking out VMRack for overseas VPS; they offer great value for money, with stable lines and no packet loss. Definitely worth a look!