im looking to spend $1000USD per month on a dedicated windows server (mission critical). But not sure which one to go with, which one is reliable rackspace, peer1, liquidweb or webair?
p.s I dont really need managed webhosting, mainly require a good network with 100% up time, hardware support and server monitoring alert.
The Planet, Rackspace or Liquidweb
I have a couple of customers recently, and find that I would like to put their sites into a dedicated server environment. Which is a better provider in terms of support and reliability? These companies do seem to be the more reputable ones. What are the important things to look out for in the servers?
I know there are a few threads that are somewhat similar, so I apologize from that aspect, but since I am still not sure of the best option, I thought I would post my exact requirements and hopefully get some good advice.
We need a Windowss dedicated server, probably in the 8 core/8gig RAM variety for a rather intensive Asp.net/MS SQL site. It is a corporate site that is expected to see heavy usage with fairly heavy DB/reportng related web pages.
The majority of people accessing the site will be connecting from Europe.
We will have little, if any, need for management support of Windows or IIS, we are primarily looking for reliable hardware, with quick hardware repair when failures come, and in a redundant DC to avoid downtime (hardware or internet pipe).
The price difference between rackspace and the others does not concern us, so price while a consideration, is towards the bottom of our list of priorities.
As our users are in Europe, a European DC would probably be ideal, but that is one question I have. How much difference will performance/latency be with an American DC vs. European DC for our European users.
English speaking (native language, preferably) support is a must.
A High powered machine (minimum would be 8 cores x 2ghz + 8 gig ram) is a must (possibly two servers -- possibly a router based load balancing of the two servers).
Fast, reliable/redundant internet pipe. We need a DC that will not be unreliable, wether it is from internet outages due to lack of redundancy, or speed fluctuations due to overselling the bandwidth.
So, basically, I have two main questions, I suppose.
First, since the majority of my users will be in Europe, should I only consider a European DC? How much difference will my European users see/feel if we are in a US DC? What difference does it make if the DC is on the East cost, then say Texas?
Second, with price not being a primary consideration, and needing little or no managed support (besides hardware support), just high power machines in a HIGHLY reliable DC, which are the best companies to go with?
I have a dedicated server at rackspace.com for over a year now, and my contract with them has expired.
I'm wondering if I am paying too much, so I was hoping others who have a dedicated server at rackspace could say how much they are paying.
I have a dedicated server, intel xeon, 4 gb of ram, and 2,000MB bandwidth and pay $1,400 per month. I feel that is over-priced, how much are you paying?
I'm currently running two classified ad sites with a php script and a mysql database. Both just launched, but I expect them to have decent traffic within 1 year.
Here are the two options I'm currently considering:
1. a fully managed dedicated server such as Wiredtree provides. This will roughly cost me between $250 and $350/month.
2. go with Rackspace Cloud. Take advantage of their $100/month and then just pay as you go as traffic increases.
It's a hard decision.
I checked their site , Really professional , Great design .
I searched for reviews but 0 results , does any1 Knows This hosting? is it Good or bad?
I help a not-so-much-tech-savy friend running a busy wordpress website (50-70.000visitors each day) and a bit busy vbulletin forum (100 to 350 users online, 957 record), which is hosted at LiquidWeb since a month.
I got the server with a WHT special, is a AMD X2 5000+ , 4gb ram, dual sata raid1 hardware + third backup disk, cpanel fully managed.
I am not usually in the market for fully managed dedicated servers, because I am quite expert in running unix boxes, but as my free time begins to decrease I had no longer the time to help my friend every day, even for a simple httpd.conf vhost configuration change, so I thought to switch to a control panel fully managed server, so when I am not available he could write to support to have issues solved, without him waiting for me.
I decided to choose LiquidWeb for this project for several reason:
1) Sales person (M.Leven) replied to my pre-sales question very fast, and in a convincing way.
2) Network speed test was good
3) Price was very affordable. I used to pay 260$/mo for a dual core, 2gb ram, 2x160gb sata disks (raid software), unmanaged, no control panel, hosted in the UK.
For 1$ less than the previous price at LiquidWeb I got:
- Slightly slower cpu
+ Double Ram
+ Control Panel license
+ Hardware Raid and an addictional backup disk (3disk total)
+ Fully management.
And the network differences with europe DC are not so big like I thought before.
4) It's a big solid company, they own all their equipment. While this is not a factor by itself (look at some horrible big companies like godad and 1und1), it's a plus if you're already sure of the quality, compared to a smaller/personal company.
So, order process went smoothly, I have got my server in maybe 8 hours after a phone call which welcomed my friend to liquidweb (and verified the identity).
We have been happy to not need to provide a ID scan (as most previous hosters who lost my business did), because we are afraid of identity thefts and I won't ever send my IDs overseas. A phone call is enough (landline phone number is on the white pages anyway so it would easy to match with a name and more secure than requesting a easily-fakeable ID digital copy).
After I got the server I have begun setting everything up, and moving the data using rsync. I enjoyed the PIMS user area where you have a complete breakdown of your server load, bandwidth graphs, reverse ip control and else, with stats updated every minute.
The day after (once the rsync was done) I tried to setup the websites, and this is where I encountered my first (and unique at the moment) problem with LiquidWeb.
Their server "custom engineering" was not so good as I expekted.
Mysql was very slow to run, even at importing files, because was using default settings (very conservative on a 4gb ram server!) so I created a custom my.cnf file and everything went smoothly (I hope they're able to do this on request for customers, since they're a full managed provider).
After I switched DNS, I realized SuPHP/PHP-cgi was causing extremely high loads, from 7.00 to 15.00 ... So I compiled Apache 2.2.8 (now updated to 2.2.9) and PHP5.2.6 dso (mod_php) with my custom options, and cpanel built-in eaccelerator support, now my average load is 0.60-0.70
I understand that if you want a more secure php environment you need to bear a performance tradeoff, but this was too much (10-20x)!
I think that the only liquidweb fault is not stating clearly that if you choose their sever-secure package with su-php / php-cgi, and you run an intensive PHP application, then your performance would be severely degraded.
I hope this is not a way to upsell better hardware to customers, but I am confident it's not the case as most people won't buy a load balancer and a couple of addictional servers for sure, they will simply go away, so it's not in their best interest to provide slow servers.
I think they should provide a choice or at least a complete information if you want an hardened server:
1) Slightly hardened (apf+rkhunter+someotherstuff), but with mod_php and without those very restrictive mod_security rules: best for performances and compatibility.
2) Highly hardened, with php-cgi, strict mod_security, with a warning for the user of the possible performance problem if they run really busy php websites.
Anyway, once I optimized my apache and my websites, I had not any further problem, and my website is running smoothly. So that's the only negative thing i can warn any users about Liquidweb.
Support: Always very responsive, fast and competent answers. Unlike most provider claiming "fully managed" this is really proactive. Once I was upgrading apache and forgot to turn 80port monitoring off. They proactively contacted me in less than 5 minutes to ask what was going on, and to request my (changed) root password if I wanted them to check.
When I reboot my server or shutdown apache for a while I often see their ssh login from a .liquidweb.com box.
Network : Well, the surprising thing is I am really happy with the network. It's surprising because I live in southern europe and I am never happy with most USA locations (why not host in Europe? Because is too expensive indeed, dollar is so cheap nowadays). Liquidweb facility is amongst the fewer ones I have been happy with in several years (the other ones being Ashburn, VA; NAC, NJ and Fortress ITX, NJ), so I hope they keep a premium network this way. I push 3.5mbit/s on average, with 12-20mbit spikes.
So in the end I would raccomend LiquidWeb for the overall price/quality ratio, if you are in the market for a fully managed dedicated server with a control panel.
I hope our experience will keep being good as it is. If this will not happen you will be the first to know ;-) I have almost never been sweet with hosting providers in the past on this forum, but at the moment really I have nothing to complain about LW service, so let's hope it all keeps that way.
LiquidWeb VPS vs. corenetworks Dedicated Server -- Opinions?
View 7 Replies View RelatedHow is Peer1? Their site looks nice, but I don't know much more than that. I took some pings and the pings are bigger than some other providers like HE/Internap in the same region ( San Jose, California ).
Please provide your feedback on their stability/pricing and any comparisons you can make with it and HE/Internap.
does anyone here host with Peer1 or ServerBeach (same company)? I see their advertisements here at WHT non-stop, but I have yet to see any reviews, positive nor negative.
View 3 Replies View RelatedDoes anyone have any reviews for Peer1?
They have a datacenter in Vancouver and I am think of colocating with them.
Anyone had any experiences good or bad with Peer1 in Miami? The first concern that comes to mind is hurricanes but it's hard to find a datacenter that's not in the path of some sort of natural disaster potential.
View 6 Replies View Relatedcolocation in Los Angeles [1/2 cab to full cab] and have been strongly leaning toward Peer1. I've done a ton of research on Peer1 through this site, and the general consensus seems to be that they're very solid.
I came across a handful of posts from 2005 and 2006 about problems in NYC, and there are two or three people on WHT who seem to have long-standing issues with Peer1, but I haven't found a single thread labeled "Peer1 outage" or "Peer1 downtime", which -- considering the size of the company -- makes them seem very stable.
What I'd like to hear is some specific reports from people who colo with Peer1 (especially those in Los Angeles) about how much annual downtime and packetloss is typical with Peer1. How many power outages, and for how long? How many router issues, and for how long? That kind of thing...
The longer you've been with Peer1, the better, but issues covering the last 2-3 years would probably be most relevant (things can change a lot from 4+ years ago). I'd just like to go into this feeling confident that I'm making the right choice. [It's a big step because I'm thousands of miles from L.A. and need things to work -- I don't want to have to move once I'm there.]
Finally, while I am obviously leaning toward Peer1, I'm also open to suggestions for other colo providers in Los Angeles. However, they have to be stable companies with a proven track record and fast 24/7 support -- If I call at 4 in the morning, I need an engineer on the phone standing by my server in a matter of minutes. I also need the security of a company that is big enough (and charges enough) that it won't be going out of business two years from now.
Has anyone had any experience with Peer1's Toronto datacenter?
View 0 Replies View RelatedAll I want to do is buy the parts and ship them to some company that lives on the Peer1 network and build a single unit. I know this can be done, but does anybody know of a company that offers 1U colo on Peer1's network? (in NY)
View 14 Replies View RelatedWe need people with Peer1 as a backbone and where we can (with a planned schedule that we can arrange with you) go in frequently to do maintenance on the server.
We need this in both Vancouver and New York.
We'd just get collocation directly from Peer1 in those parts but it's too costly.
Anyone know of where to go?
If not, anyone know of any companies there that peer with Peer1 in that area whose colo is cheaper?
Who are the people/companies with a good reputation with the WHT community who provide Internap or Peer1 colo? And it seems it's mostly in LA or NY, I know both Peer1 and Internap have a presence in other places, is there anyone reselling out of anywhere else?
Pure Internap or Pure Peer1 hosts only please. The only one I know of right now is H4Y.us
I just moved 3 servers to colo with Peer1 in Miami. I just had 3 great years of colo with Fluidhosting so my standards are high. I wanted to buy directly from a Tier2, however, and Miami is close enough that I can access the datacenter if I need to which will be a plus.
My sales rep, Delynn, was great. Many of you are hosts and know that buying directly from Tier1's and Tier2's can be a pain in the butt because of the typical big company sales approach. You know when they refuse to give you a price and instead insist on knowing what your "budget" is... Delynn didn't do that, Peer1 has some great deals for smaller setups like 1/8th cabinets w/ 5mbps. They also gave me a month to month contract for a modest increase over the full year contract amount.
As for setup: The servers were installed within 2 hours of arriving on a Saturday. The tech gave me a call and confirmed everything was ok and that my 3 servers + unmanaged switch were doing ok on the 5 amp circuit since my servers are pretty low power usage. Their NOC is very smart and fast and available 24/7 afaik.
Important things to note: Luckily the day before my servers arrived I had an "oh @#%@" moment when I realized that I'd probably need to send them my own switch/power strip/ethernet cables. Sure enough this was the case and I overnighted a box to arrive at the same time as my servers. IMO this is a rather small caveat. It's not a big deal to send them a 50-100 dollar 100mbps unmanaged switch that's only using 0.2 amps.
So it's been "so far so good" I've been a fan of the Peer1 network since years ago when Fluidhosting used to carry them. As one would expect the Peer1 Miami pings to Europe/Asia aren't as good as the Internap routes from the northeast but I'm expecting the nearly flawless Peer1 network connectivity that I remember. I will give a network update in a few months.
I have a very specific need to fill for a client. But I need someone who has colocation or dedicated server space in Vancouver, or New York.
You'd take a cut of profits made for helping, plus the idea is just damn cool.
You need to have:
-Peer1 upstream.
-Physical access to your servers.
Please let me know you comments on wpwebhost
View 5 Replies View RelatedAre there any hosts that use the top 3 CPU's according to that list?
View 14 Replies View RelatedI'd like to ask for some help in choosing a webhost. I want to host a website that will be a sales database. It will use a MySQL database and PHP. I will not need large amounts of disc space (I can't estimate exactly but probably less than 10GB) and relatively low amounts of bandwidth. What's important is a high uptime and security and quality bandwidth. I am very sceptical with all the webhosts offering unlimited services since I know they are overselling. Do you know of any quality webhosts suitable with the above characteristics?
View 14 Replies View RelatedI am in charge of making a website for a charter school. Where I stand right now is I am going to use Joomla, and I assume Fantastico. Now where I am still stuck is with a webhost. Every time I locate one that sounds good (editor's picks, and such), I read the feedback comments and find tons of complaints. Can someone recommend one please. Under $10; user friendly; accepts Paypal would be very helpful. I went to get Bluehost, as an example, from some reviews I read, and then I read the feedback section. I don't think I understand the terms enough to make a choice on my own,
View 14 Replies View RelatedI friend of mine wanted to know if it's possible to use a webhost (for example hostmonster.com and bluehost.com.) as a backup storage. Is it possible to transfer the files to the webhost with ftp at "Admin Backup/Transfer" with admin level?
View 14 Replies View RelatedHow do you ensure scalability of your web site?
Many of us create websites hoping that they get a lot of hits.
How can you ensure that if your web site gets a lot of hits, that it doesn't get knocked over, that it can scale and take many hits? I am not talking about a DoS attack. I am talking about a website that gets very popular and gets a lot of hits.
I wanted to do a little poll to see what WHT users like better. Would you prefer MobileME or a WebHost? Could you also if you have the time provide a reasoning.
View 11 Replies View RelatedI am a free web hosting service on one of my VPS' and I owuld like to transfer it to another one. How can I do it without creating issues as I would like to move all the accounts with it at the same time.
Current VPS and webhost nameservers
ns1.domain1.com
ns2.domain2.com
New VPS nameservers
ns1.domain2.com
ns2.domain2.com
Now how can I move all the accounts but dont change the nameservers? I mean is it possible to have two different domain name servers pointing to each other?
Not sure if it makes sense but hopefully some expert guy will get to the bottom of it
I have an application written in ASP.NET 2.0 with MySQL as back-end that I would like to host. I am looking for a host who support ASP.NET with MySQL. Can anyone help me find a good host?
View 6 Replies View RelatedI'm getting ready to upgrade my site to Joomla and am learning all these things about security issues. For example, the register globals on my webserver is turned on and I can't turn it off unless I go to a dedicated server and pay 3X per month of what I'm paying now. And there's other things too about this particular webhost.
Just wondering if anyone can give any input from experience on who is a good webhost for a Joomla site with regards to security, etc.
When I was trying to figure out who to register with I looked at the following things. I believe all of these are very important to making your website as successful as possible. Support and uptime are the most important to me without these your site will be down alot and take longer to bring back when a problem occurs. The amount of space and plan though is really on a case to case basis.
* Price
* Performance
* Reliability
* Customer Support
* Control Panel
* User Feedback
* Website Design
Now I ask you.
Quote:
What do you look for in a good webhost?
Rackspace provides great uptime, however their ticket service is terrible. It takes them 3-4 hours to respond to normal tickets and 1-2 hours to respond to emergency tickets. If it's a real emergency they ask you to call them but when you call them the person never finishes what they are suppose to do. The person starts and then goes to dinner or their shift ends and nothing gets done.
Well I learned my lesson before and decided to call them instead of submitting a ticket. So I called them tonight at 6PM to tell them my website was hacked. The guy on the phone said it looked like it was a mysql injection. He said would remove some things and ask for a restore and I said okay fine and hung up. An hour passed and didn't receive an update via phone call or ticket. Where did this guy go? Well his shift probably ended. No sense in calling again since it won't leave a trail...
So I submit an emergency ticket on 2008-05-18 19:24:39
No response until 22:05:07 they apologized for the extreme delay and said restore was starting.
Here it is 23:03:25 and my website still isn't restored.
This has happened to me 3 times already and it takes rackspace around 5-6 hours to do a simple restore (I have the support tickets to prove it).
I would understand if it was a crappy hosting company..but I am paying close to $500 a month for a server and expect better service. Does this happen to anyone else or am I an exception to the rule.
It's been 4 hr 22 min since I first submitted a ticket and around 5.5 hours since I first called them and my website still isn't restored properly...