I've been recommend to RackSpace and I'm keen to hear about experiences people have had with them.Do a search, there are hundreds of threads covering the subject here.Overpriced and inflexible; want to up-sell you at every opportunity. They do have a good network however.
If you have anything outside of their standard installs you will be on your own at a minimum, or worse, if something weird shows up on their monitoring they will turn off your custom stuff and turn on the standard software. Example: a client of mine had a system which was using a different webserver than Apache. Until it was straightened out, every so often someone would notice Apache wasn't running, and turn off the other program and start Apache.
They were not immune to hardware problems, in that the Opteron system client had needed to be replaced as it would reboot once CPU usage went over 50% for more than 5 seconds. IMHO this should have been tested before they gave the system to us. Worse, they did not have parts in stock and the system was not replaced for about 5 days.If you are looking for a real & true managed provider, I suggest contacting Razorblue.I used Rackspace up until a few months ago. Awesome network (but low bandwidth alotted for the price)Fanatical support (it is true ... i had a hard drive fail and didn't have to lift a finger)Price is high compared to others (but what is 'high' when it comes to your servers)I signed a year contract - got a cheaper price (not sure if I would do this again)Used Plesk because they didn't offer cpanel (but all my customers want cpanel)Overall experience: quite good - payed an extra hundred or two per month but fanatical support and good network probably made it worth the money.If you have one server, a couple of huns a month is nothing ... if you have a bunch of servers or are chewing through tons of bandwidth, then you might want to look around.I do the day-to-day management (DNS, CP config, web server, MySQL servers, etc.) for 3 servers (2 windows, 1 linux) at Rackspace for the past year and a half. My impressions:
- Excellent network, haven't had any problems with network downtime or slow speeds that I can recall.
- The support really is great, they'll login to the computer usually within about 10 minutes or so if they detect a service is down (if you have their monitoring).
- They won't really do much with any unsupported software you're running, though they'll usually try to at least point you in the right direction.
- They are a little ridiculous as far as how they try to upsell you & overcharge for stuff (firewall and private network comes to mind), but it is well supported.
- I haven't found them to be very flexible at all on pricing, but maybe that was only with the people I dealt with there, since I've read posts here that some people were able to negotiate the price pretty well.
Overall, I think they're worth the extra $150-$200 if you're running a server that you can't afford downtime on or you don't think you have the experience yet to manage/secure/fix a server on your own.We have stayed with Rackspace for 6 months.Though the charge is not cheap, Rackspace does provide us a stable server and network most of the time. Most of our members are the Chinese from Taiwan and China. I have not gotten any serious complaint for website speed yet. Most of their staff are really good at server stuff.There are SO other professional and reliable companies out there that offer services equal to rackspace for virtually half the price. Liquidweb is a good one.Their server and network are ok but their so-called "fanatical" support failed me couple of times and had to move away.I have been with Rackspace for 6 years and have had good experiences with them but since they are unwilling to negotiate or charge market prices I have to leave.If you have tons of money and don't mind their inflexibility, they are a good provider.BZI myself was with Rackspace UK for 2 years before I moved due to same reason - inflexibility and several network issues (which they deny). I ended up going with <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.coreix.net">http://www.coreix.net</a><!-- m --> in the UK as they were flexibile and their network in my opinion is more superior to that of Rackspace UK.Don't use RackSpace, I have used them and it was horrible support, and they didn't know what to do.There servers are both slow and unreliable!I left them..I know that they do not have any Demos. But goot live chat support!I'd say they are not the best of choice from the looks of it.This forum is hosted by Rackspace So they must be good!Last time I checked this forum was hosted by 5 servers in rackspace, so you cannot consider that manage hosting. Wonder if they get their servers free since WHT puts their image on their forum.Last time I checked this forum was hosted by 5 servers in rackspace, so you cannot consider that manage hosting. Wonder if they get their servers free since WHT puts their image on their forum.It's a lot more than five servers
But subsequently we host more than just WHT on those servers.BTW: We have five web servers, that doesn't include the database servers, ad servers, mail servers, file servers, etc Last time I checked this forum was hosted by 5 servers in rackspace, so you cannot consider that manage hosting. Wonder if they get their servers free since WHT puts their image on their forum.
What has the fact that they have X number of servers got to do with whether it's managed hosting or not?I've been with rackspace 203 days. Is it worth the cost? Well my livlihood depends on a stable system and so far my server has been up for 203 days, I have had 100% uptime for 203 days. I find this incredible and of the 15+ hosts I have been with in the past none have come near this close. Their support *is* fanatical and it's gotten to the point I only check my server every 3-4 days just to make sure the tape backup reports are good, I also have an off site rsync of all my data for extra piece of mind. I learned the hard way that when it comes to hosting you get what you pay for.Used them for 1 year, doesnt worh tht $$$Thanks guys. I've ened up choosing RackSpace and have been throughly impressed with them. We wanted to test out the PLesk, so they reinstalled the server. I didnt like it, so they reinstalled the server again. All in a matter of hours of each request.. Other requests such as compiling a custom PHP and assoicated modules we're done great professionalism. Monitoring is great. I stop the MySQL service, there's a job logged almost instantly. (they didnt fix it instantly because they saw I was ssh'd into the server) I eneded up going choosing HP equipment for greater reliabilty (in my head at least), it might be a little more expensive, but how much does it cost when your sites are down???? Thanks for all your replies.We've had a client on a Rackspace server for about a year now. Pretty expensive, but they gave the client as discount, as a nonprofit.Support's been excellent. Just being able to get someone on the phone within 60 seconds, or get a ticket answered within 5 minutes has spoiled me for most other hosting. Their admins, even front line tech support, are actually knowledgeable and skilled, rather than monkeys following a script. They're willing to help us install, upgrade, or configure any software that they can get a Red Hat package for -- which has covered everything we've needed.They basically support us to the degree where we don't have to worry about the server much more than we would on a shared account -- even to the point of setting up and configuring new virtual hosts in Apache. It's great for our peace of mind, since we're web developers, not UNIX admins, by trade.Oh, and our site has never been down -- or even slow -- except for occasional planned maintenance windows. They're not for everyone, but if you can afford them and you need the service they provide, I would give them a hearty recommendation.They are expensive but very good at support. Sometimes, they take time to respond but surely get the solution right. You will never have any issue unresolved. Their support staff is by far the best that I have come across so far.
Unbeatable and completely reliable. I have had 100% uptime with them (so far).
Regards,
D
If you have anything outside of their standard installs you will be on your own at a minimum, or worse, if something weird shows up on their monitoring they will turn off your custom stuff and turn on the standard software. Example: a client of mine had a system which was using a different webserver than Apache. Until it was straightened out, every so often someone would notice Apache wasn't running, and turn off the other program and start Apache.
They were not immune to hardware problems, in that the Opteron system client had needed to be replaced as it would reboot once CPU usage went over 50% for more than 5 seconds. IMHO this should have been tested before they gave the system to us. Worse, they did not have parts in stock and the system was not replaced for about 5 days.If you are looking for a real & true managed provider, I suggest contacting Razorblue.I used Rackspace up until a few months ago. Awesome network (but low bandwidth alotted for the price)Fanatical support (it is true ... i had a hard drive fail and didn't have to lift a finger)Price is high compared to others (but what is 'high' when it comes to your servers)I signed a year contract - got a cheaper price (not sure if I would do this again)Used Plesk because they didn't offer cpanel (but all my customers want cpanel)Overall experience: quite good - payed an extra hundred or two per month but fanatical support and good network probably made it worth the money.If you have one server, a couple of huns a month is nothing ... if you have a bunch of servers or are chewing through tons of bandwidth, then you might want to look around.I do the day-to-day management (DNS, CP config, web server, MySQL servers, etc.) for 3 servers (2 windows, 1 linux) at Rackspace for the past year and a half. My impressions:
- Excellent network, haven't had any problems with network downtime or slow speeds that I can recall.
- The support really is great, they'll login to the computer usually within about 10 minutes or so if they detect a service is down (if you have their monitoring).
- They won't really do much with any unsupported software you're running, though they'll usually try to at least point you in the right direction.
- They are a little ridiculous as far as how they try to upsell you & overcharge for stuff (firewall and private network comes to mind), but it is well supported.
- I haven't found them to be very flexible at all on pricing, but maybe that was only with the people I dealt with there, since I've read posts here that some people were able to negotiate the price pretty well.
Overall, I think they're worth the extra $150-$200 if you're running a server that you can't afford downtime on or you don't think you have the experience yet to manage/secure/fix a server on your own.We have stayed with Rackspace for 6 months.Though the charge is not cheap, Rackspace does provide us a stable server and network most of the time. Most of our members are the Chinese from Taiwan and China. I have not gotten any serious complaint for website speed yet. Most of their staff are really good at server stuff.There are SO other professional and reliable companies out there that offer services equal to rackspace for virtually half the price. Liquidweb is a good one.Their server and network are ok but their so-called "fanatical" support failed me couple of times and had to move away.I have been with Rackspace for 6 years and have had good experiences with them but since they are unwilling to negotiate or charge market prices I have to leave.If you have tons of money and don't mind their inflexibility, they are a good provider.BZI myself was with Rackspace UK for 2 years before I moved due to same reason - inflexibility and several network issues (which they deny). I ended up going with <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.coreix.net">http://www.coreix.net</a><!-- m --> in the UK as they were flexibile and their network in my opinion is more superior to that of Rackspace UK.Don't use RackSpace, I have used them and it was horrible support, and they didn't know what to do.There servers are both slow and unreliable!I left them..I know that they do not have any Demos. But goot live chat support!I'd say they are not the best of choice from the looks of it.This forum is hosted by Rackspace So they must be good!Last time I checked this forum was hosted by 5 servers in rackspace, so you cannot consider that manage hosting. Wonder if they get their servers free since WHT puts their image on their forum.Last time I checked this forum was hosted by 5 servers in rackspace, so you cannot consider that manage hosting. Wonder if they get their servers free since WHT puts their image on their forum.It's a lot more than five servers
But subsequently we host more than just WHT on those servers.BTW: We have five web servers, that doesn't include the database servers, ad servers, mail servers, file servers, etc Last time I checked this forum was hosted by 5 servers in rackspace, so you cannot consider that manage hosting. Wonder if they get their servers free since WHT puts their image on their forum.What has the fact that they have X number of servers got to do with whether it's managed hosting or not?I've been with rackspace 203 days. Is it worth the cost? Well my livlihood depends on a stable system and so far my server has been up for 203 days, I have had 100% uptime for 203 days. I find this incredible and of the 15+ hosts I have been with in the past none have come near this close. Their support *is* fanatical and it's gotten to the point I only check my server every 3-4 days just to make sure the tape backup reports are good, I also have an off site rsync of all my data for extra piece of mind. I learned the hard way that when it comes to hosting you get what you pay for.Used them for 1 year, doesnt worh tht $$$Thanks guys. I've ened up choosing RackSpace and have been throughly impressed with them. We wanted to test out the PLesk, so they reinstalled the server. I didnt like it, so they reinstalled the server again. All in a matter of hours of each request.. Other requests such as compiling a custom PHP and assoicated modules we're done great professionalism. Monitoring is great. I stop the MySQL service, there's a job logged almost instantly. (they didnt fix it instantly because they saw I was ssh'd into the server) I eneded up going choosing HP equipment for greater reliabilty (in my head at least), it might be a little more expensive, but how much does it cost when your sites are down???? Thanks for all your replies.We've had a client on a Rackspace server for about a year now. Pretty expensive, but they gave the client as discount, as a nonprofit.Support's been excellent. Just being able to get someone on the phone within 60 seconds, or get a ticket answered within 5 minutes has spoiled me for most other hosting. Their admins, even front line tech support, are actually knowledgeable and skilled, rather than monkeys following a script. They're willing to help us install, upgrade, or configure any software that they can get a Red Hat package for -- which has covered everything we've needed.They basically support us to the degree where we don't have to worry about the server much more than we would on a shared account -- even to the point of setting up and configuring new virtual hosts in Apache. It's great for our peace of mind, since we're web developers, not UNIX admins, by trade.Oh, and our site has never been down -- or even slow -- except for occasional planned maintenance windows. They're not for everyone, but if you can afford them and you need the service they provide, I would give them a hearty recommendation.They are expensive but very good at support. Sometimes, they take time to respond but surely get the solution right. You will never have any issue unresolved. Their support staff is by far the best that I have come across so far.
Unbeatable and completely reliable. I have had 100% uptime with them (so far).
Regards,
D