FiveM CDN & cache server: faster resource downloads from Cloudflare in 330+ cities

What is a FiveM cache server, and why do you want one?

When a player joins your FiveM server, FiveM first downloads all of your server's resources: cars, clothing, maps (MLOs), scripts and sounds. On a feature-rich roleplay server, that quickly adds up to hundreds of megabytes per player. Without a cache server, all of that download traffic comes straight from your own server.

A FiveM cache server, also called a FiveM CDN, keeps those files ready close to your players. At MC-Node it's called MC CDN: your resources sit on Cloudflare's network in more than 330 cities worldwide, and every player downloads them from the location nearest to them, whether that's in the Netherlands, elsewhere in Europe or further away.

• Faster joins. Players fetch resources from a data center near them instead of from a single server, so they get through the loading screen faster.
• Less bandwidth and CPU on your server. Your server no longer has to handle every download itself, so that capacity stays available for the game.
• No download spikes on your server. After a big update or during an event with lots of new players, Cloudflare absorbs the wave of downloads, not your server.
• No hassle. You don't need your own domain, a Cloudflare account or a web server. Turn on MC CDN in the client panel and paste three lines into server.cfg.

How MC CDN works: Cloudflare in 330+ cities

MC CDN runs on Cloudflare Workers and Cloudflare R2 storage. With the fileserver_add line in your server.cfg, your server tells the FiveM client to fetch resources via cdn.mc-node.net instead of directly from your server. Here's what happens next:

Purging the cache. Updated a resource? Click Clear cache in the MC CDN card. Your players then download your resources once more, and you don't need to change anything in server.cfg.

Everything at a glance. The card shows how much traffic went through the CDN over the past 7 and 30 days, how much of it came from the cache, how much download traffic your server saved, which countries your players download from and which resources are the largest.

Turn on MC CDN in 3 steps

It's a one-time job that takes a few minutes:

1. Turn on MC CDN in the client panel.Log in to the client panel, open your FiveM server and click Enable CDN in the MC CDN card.
2. Add the lines to your server.cfg.The card then shows three lines with your own keys already filled in; the copy button grabs them all at once. Paste them into server.cfg, for example via the file manager in the game panel or txAdmin's CFG Editor:
   server.cfg

   fileserver_add ".*" "https://cdn.mc-node.net/k/<your-key>/files"
   set adhesive_cdnKey "<your-cdn-key>"
   set sv_httpHandlerConnectionTimeoutSeconds 900

3. Restart your server.After the restart, your players download their resources via MC CDN. From then on, the card shows the traffic going through the CDN.

What the lines do: line 1 sends downloads through the CDN, line 2 makes sure all players get the same file addresses (otherwise there's nothing to cache) and line 3 gives large files enough time. Clear cache doesn't change these lines. You only replace them if you create a New key in the card.

Works together with DDoS protection

MC CDN takes download traffic off your server, and DDoS protection stops attacks. Every FiveM server at MC-Node runs behind PletX: inline and always on, with multi-Tbps capacity. Nothing gets rerouted or switched over during an attack: the filter is always active already.

• Dedicated FiveM filter profile. The filter is tuned to FiveM traffic. There are also profiles for Minecraft, Source Engine games, TeamSpeak, WireGuard and Custom TCP/UDP, among others, and ports that receive traffic learn a profile automatically.
• Our own network. AS211750, with an Arista core in the Previder PDC2 data center in Hengelo, the Netherlands, and a 2× 100 Gbit/s link to Nikhef in Amsterdam. Our switch connects to PletX with 4× 40 Gbit/s, and Premium nodes have 2× 10 Gbit/s, up to 20 Gbit/s per node.
• Included as standard with every game server, VPS and dedicated server.

Read more about the filters on our DDoS protection page. You can see the live status of all our servers at status.mc-node.net, and our commitments on uptime and support are set out in our SLA.

Who is MC CDN for?

MC CDN is available for every FiveM server at MC-Node. You'll notice the biggest difference if your server has a lot of streamed content, such as custom cars, clothing (EUP), MLO maps and large script packs, or if your players come from different countries.

• FiveM servers at MC-Node. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, DDR5 at 6500 MHz, NVMe at 14,000 MB/s, txAdmin and DDoS protection with a FiveM filter profile. MC CDN is included. View the FiveM plans.
• VPS and dedicated servers. Running FiveM yourself on an MC-Node VPS or dedicated server? You can turn on MC CDN in the client panel there too. Choose the IP address and port of your FiveM server (30120 by default) and add the lines from the card to server.cfg. Nothing needs to be installed on the server, on Linux or Windows. There, the card gives you a fourth line as well, so the very first join is fast too.

You're never on your own. Together with our sister brand Koopjeserver, MC-Node has more than 52,000 customers, support is available 24/7, and in the game panel our AI assistant Noddy helps you day and night, with FiveM too.

Frequently asked questions