Minecart Protection Protocol: Enterprise-Grade Security and Latency Optimization

Gaming is all about immersion - whether you’re building with friends, exploring new worlds, or defending your base. Nothing breaks that immersion faster than lag spikes, disconnections, or worst of all, not being able to join a server because it’s under attack. That’s why we’re excited to announce our implementation of the Minecart Protection Protocol (MPP), powered by Cloudflare’s industry-leading Spectrum and Argo technologies.

This major infrastructure upgrade brings enterprise-grade DDoS protection and significant latency improvements to every single AleForge server at no additional cost. Let’s dive into what this means for your gaming experience.

The Growing Threat of DDoS Attacks

If you’ve ever been unable to join a server despite it supposedly being online, or experienced sudden connection issues while everyone on Discord can still hear each other just fine, you’ve likely encountered a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.

These attacks have become increasingly common in the gaming world, with bad actors using networks of compromised computers to flood servers with junk traffic. The result? Legitimate players can’t connect, those already connected experience serious lag, and in worst cases, the server becomes completely inaccessible.

For small to medium-sized gaming communities, traditional DDoS protection solutions are often prohibitively expensive or technically complex to implement - leaving many servers vulnerable.

Advanced Protection with Cloudflare Spectrum

We’ve partnered with Cloudflare, widely recognized as offering some of the best automated security and network protection available, to implement their Spectrum technology across our entire infrastructure.

Here’s what this means for your server:

• Massive Attack Mitigation: Protection against attacks up to 348 Tbps (that’s 348,000 Gbps) - enough to handle even the largest known DDoS attacks
• Global Shield Network: Traffic is filtered through over 330 checkpoints (Points of Presence) across 120+ countries
• Ultra-Fast Mitigation: Attacks are identified and blocked within 10-30ms, preventing disruption to your gameplay
• Zero Configuration Required: Protection is automatically applied to all AleForge servers

This level of protection typically costs hundreds or thousands of dollars per month when purchased separately, but we’ve integrated it directly into our infrastructure as a standard feature for all customers.

Beyond Security: Latency Optimization with Argo

While security was our primary concern, we didn’t stop there. Internet routing is notoriously inefficient, with traffic often taking convoluted paths that increase latency and packet loss. To address this, we’ve implemented Cloudflare’s Argo Smart Routing technology.

Argo continuously analyzes global network conditions, identifying congestion and outages in real-time. It then dynamically reroutes your traffic around these problem areas, resulting in:

• Improved Stability: More stable connections mean less rubberbanding and fewer sudden dropouts
• 10-30% Reduced Latency: Players connect to your server more quickly and experience smoother gameplay
• Stronger Global Accessibility: Players from regions with poor infrastructure (like Asia-Pacific) can connect more reliably
• Better Overall Performance: Less packet loss means fewer rubber-banding and desync issues

In one real-world example, we saw connection latency drop from 98ms to 69ms - a significant improvement that players could immediately feel.

Why This Matters to Players

These technical improvements translate to tangible benefits for everyone on your server:

• Uninterrupted Gaming Sessions: No more mysterious server outages or connection issues
• Consistent Performance: Smoother and more stable gameplay with fewer lag spikes
• Global Accessibility: Friends from around the world can join with better connection quality
• Peace of Mind: Your community is protected from malicious attacks

How MPP Compares to Other Solutions

We believe in transparency, so here’s how our implementation compares to other DDoS protection services available to game server hosts:

Feature	MPP (AleForge)	TCP Shield	NeoProtect	Cosmic Guard
Points of Presence	330+	14	13	5
Countries	120+	10	9	3
Filtering Capacity	348 Tbps	16 Tbps	50 Tbps	1 Tbps
Supported Games	All Games	Minecraft	Minecraft	All Games
Mitigation Time	10-30ms	Unlisted	Configurable	1 Second
Smart Routing	Yes	No	No	No
Cost	Included in All Plans	$25/mo	15 €/mo	Per-Player Billing

All information in the table was collected from each company’s sales page in February 2025.

Implementation Details

The best part? MPP will come standard with all of AleForge’s servers at no additional cost. Starting March 28th, new customers will have MPP applied automatically, and we will be migrating existing customers in the coming weeks. If you’d like to be fast-tracked, you can open a ticket here or in our Discord.

If you’re considering an AleForge server, know that enterprise-grade security and performance optimization come standard with every service. We believe this level of protection shouldn’t be a premium add-on but a fundamental part of quality game server hosting.

Conclusion

The Minecart Protection Protocol represents a significant step forward in our mission to provide the most reliable, secure, and high-performance game servers possible. By leveraging Cloudflare’s world-class network and security infrastructure, we’re ensuring your server stays online and responsive, regardless of external threats.

We’re committed to continuing these types of infrastructure improvements, focusing on what matters most: providing a seamless, enjoyable experience for you and your community.

Have questions about MPP or want to learn more about our security measures? Our support team is always available to help.