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I purchased a VPS, but I have my suspicions the server is not in the location I requested (Amsterdam). Is there a reliable way to determine the physical location of a VPS (using it's IP address, presumably).

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IP address is not a reliable way of determining the physical location of a computer anyway, so its certainly not going to help you here (while it can work good enough for a few things, it presumes trust, and you clearly don't trust the provider so you can't trust their data)... – RobM Mar 4 '12 at 12:08
Can you elaborate on why you don't think it's in Amsterdam? Why would you stay with a host who lies about something this basic, anyways? – ceejayoz Mar 4 '12 at 18:17

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up vote 5 down vote accepted

Grab a test IP from a datacenter in Amsterdam and ping it from your VPS. The ping is typically 1-3 milliseconds in the same city, though this can vary, assuming there is no quick route between the two locations.

You can use this looking glass: http://www.leasewebnoc.com/lg.html It has three locations in Amsterdam you can ping/trace from.

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+1. Anything 10ms or higher is highly suspicious. 1ms is LOW but it should be below 10ms stable without any problems. – TomTom Mar 4 '12 at 12:34
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Overloaded server may give you surprise... – Lazy Badger Mar 4 '12 at 18:01
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The GeoIP tool provides more accurate location. Use the IP address allocated to you. I am able to get exact locations as my provider specified.

http://www.geoiptool.com/

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up vote 4 down vote

MaxMind GeoCity usually give more or less accurate results. Even hosts in same DC from different nets may have exotic route, thus - ping isn't reliable way at all

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