Hi everyone,I recently outperformed my shared hosting plan because my blogs gets regularly slashdotted and dugged. The shared hosting company simply cut off my sites on the ground that the traffic volume was too much to be handled at once, even if it still was within the monthly limits of their specs in terms of monthly band and disk space.I've 6 sites, 3 running Wordpress, 2 running Typo (Ruby on Rails blog application) and 1 is a Django (Python) application. I don't get huge traffic right now (all of them within 100GB) but I do get good spikes of visitors from reddit, digg, delicious, etc... at times, and I intend to promote much more my sites now, so I forsee a possible increase in traffic that I should account for.I've recently bought an unmanaged dedicated server plan but it is not working well for me. In fact, the "unmanaged" aspect of it, implies that I've to dedicate too much time to it and I need to learn way too many things about security to make it worthwhile. I'm a programmer and I'm well versed with Linux. But I'm not a security expert nor a sysadmin, and I don't like wasting my time administering a server. I wasted $150 for the first month, I thought I could do it but I've spent the last 4 nights working on securing my server and I've not nearly finished with it. I've learned the lesson, and now I know that I really need a fully managed solution to switch to.I'd like to hear some suggestions for a good managed VPS or managed dedicated server. What I'm looking for: Fully managed. Meaning that I won't have to configure apache, sendmail or the security and updates of the software. The stuff should keep my server safe and secure, and have enough flexibility to go the extra mile if I need some help when I'm installing something on my own (e.g. Django). I just want to take care of my sites, not of the servers; Root access. While the server is fully managed, I still would like to have root access to the machine in case I need to do some changes myself or install something crucial for my business; Responsive and competent customer support. I can't emphatize this point enough, I'm sick of silly answers after 3 hours that I logged a ticket; Great uptime. 99,9% uptime is what I'm looking for; Able to cope with Digg effect, without chicken in and pulling the server out on purpose. In general I'd love a solution that is fast; I don't plan to right now, but it would be a bonus if they allow adult or controversial polical material. Of course we are talking about stuff that it's 100% legal. (well, for the political stuff, I'm pretty sure it will become illegal soon thanks to our president);I know Rackspace is king, but $400 is too much for me at the moment.All I'm looking for is actually a very good service, trouble free for $100-140 a month. Do you have any advice?I've considered mediatemple (dv) plans but I've also read many bad things about them. I'm utterly confused and tired (after 4 nights of server configuration), not to mention that I've spent already $150 on the wrong service, so I would really appreciate your suggestions and help.What you may want to consider is keeping the server you have now and hiring an admin to take care of the server for you. There are many service provders here on WHT that could fit the bill.A few that come to mind.Platinum Server ManagementAdminGeekzServerSupportGuysBe sure to look them up on WHT and see any recent reviews before signing up.What you may want to consider is keeping the server you have now and hiring an admin to take care of the server for you. I truly thank you for your reply CaroTech. I will consider this option if everything else fails. In fact, my current hoster is not exactly as nice as I thought it would be (for example you have to pay to open a support ticket of any type). But I'm mostly interested in switching right now.Anyone? 
I think a dedicated server is better than a VPS anyday.Even if a dedicated server is a bit slow, I would prefer it to a VPS.I think a dedicated server is better than a VPS anyday.Even if a dedicated server is a bit slow, I would prefer it to a VPS.your post is entirely useless as is. could you please clarify your reasons why. are you going to help someone make a good choice by offering the reasons for your preference or was the post just meant to inform us about your taste in servers?What kind of processor your looking for, memory, and disk space...~MikeI am in the same boat and just replying in this thread to get myself subscribed so that I can track this thread. I tried to send pm to the author but I thikn I cannot becuase he / she has noly 4 posts. please anyone recommend any good services.I think that your budget is a little low for a good quality service/support. I think that if you're willing to pay between $250-$300 you could get a much better service, with management, and generally a better experience.EDIT: I would also recommend looking into smaller companies, as they generally have more competent support staff, and often are able to bend their rules a little bit if you're in a bind.I think a dedicated server is better than a VPS anyday.Even if a dedicated server is a bit slow, I would prefer it to a VPS.i would have to agree ... i have quite a few VDS machines and thier a great place to start out but if you need the resources a shared environment really isnt suitable for alot of clients
I think a dedicated server is better than a VPS anyday.Even if a dedicated server is a bit slow, I would prefer it to a VPS.I think a dedicated server is better than a VPS anyday.Even if a dedicated server is a bit slow, I would prefer it to a VPS.your post is entirely useless as is. could you please clarify your reasons why. are you going to help someone make a good choice by offering the reasons for your preference or was the post just meant to inform us about your taste in servers?What kind of processor your looking for, memory, and disk space...~MikeI am in the same boat and just replying in this thread to get myself subscribed so that I can track this thread. I tried to send pm to the author but I thikn I cannot becuase he / she has noly 4 posts. please anyone recommend any good services.I think that your budget is a little low for a good quality service/support. I think that if you're willing to pay between $250-$300 you could get a much better service, with management, and generally a better experience.EDIT: I would also recommend looking into smaller companies, as they generally have more competent support staff, and often are able to bend their rules a little bit if you're in a bind.I think a dedicated server is better than a VPS anyday.Even if a dedicated server is a bit slow, I would prefer it to a VPS.i would have to agree ... i have quite a few VDS machines and thier a great place to start out but if you need the resources a shared environment really isnt suitable for alot of clients