Dedicated servers in Canada: what to know before ordering
There are many Canadian physical server plans in the catalogue, but few sellers, just a handful of companies. Almost all of them are international: they have data centres in several countries, and the same configuration is often available both in Toronto and in Europe. So the Canada table resembles the European one in hardware and terms, while jurisdiction, latency and network differ.
Toronto and the link to the US
The Canadian plans in the table are located in Toronto. The city is next to the north-eastern US: latency to New York and Chicago is usually 10–20 ms, and the local internet exchange connects it directly with American and Canadian networks. For a project with users in Canada and the eastern US, Toronto gives almost the same latency as an American site. From Moscow to Toronto it is usually 110–150 ms, about the same as to New York, so for a Russian audience a Canadian server suits only background tasks: backups, computation, availability testing from North America.
If the project also needs a node in Europe, it is convenient to take servers from one host in two regions: the panel, contract and payment method are shared, and a private network between the sites can sometimes be connected without going over the public internet.
PIPEDA and Canadian data rules
Private companies in Canada process personal data under PIPEDA. It requires consent to data collection, reasonable safeguards and notification of breaches that pose a real risk to people. For a project owner with customers in Canada, a Canadian server simplifies conversations with lawyers and clients: the data physically stays in the country, and the host operates under local law. For projects with users from Russia this does not replace the requirements of Russia's 152-FZ: the database with personal data of Russian citizens must still be stored in Russia.
Hardware, disks and network
Configurations in Toronto are more modern than American ones. Most servers come with NVMe, more than a third run on AMD EPYC, and there are latest-generation Xeon Gold and Ryzen for tasks that need high core clocks. Compact Xeon D servers cover the inexpensive segment. ECC memory is present on all server platforms, the exception being some Ryzen builds. More on multithreaded platforms on the dedicated servers on EPYC page.
The network is a strong point of Canadian plans. About half have a port faster than gigabit, 3, 5 or 10 Gbit/s, and about four in five plans come with unmetered traffic. DDoS protection is included in almost every plan; for game servers and public APIs, check whether UDP attacks are filtered. A selection with a breakdown of protection: servers with DDoS protection.
Setup, Windows and timelines
The flip side is the one-off setup fee. About three quarters of Canadian plans charge it with monthly payment, and for expensive configurations the amount can approach a month's rent. The fee is often waived for annual payment or a contract of several months, so compare the cost over the whole term rather than the monthly payment.
There are almost no ready servers for instant delivery in the Canadian list: the machine is assembled and tested after ordering, usually within a few hours to a couple of days. Windows Server can be installed on any plan in the table, with the licence paid separately. A remote IPMI or KVM console is part of the standard package.
Payment is by international card, PayPal or bank transfer by invoice; Canadian plans do not accept Russian MIR cards or SBP. If a wider choice of cities and hardware matters more, compare with dedicated servers in the USA.