Hey hey,
We're looking to set up a single server for web (PHP and mySQL) and possibly groupware (Kerio). We won't be changing much once it's up, but I like the idea of managed hosting to monitor for problems and have a fast response for issues we may not have the expertise to fix (we're a tech company, but no need for full time IT person). Uptime and fast response to support phone calls are important, but not $450-a-month-for-RackSpace-important.
Frontrunners right now are InetServices and Liquidweb, both at about $230/mo for a basic server. InetServices has a 1 hour hardware replacement guarantee vs. LiquidWeb's 2 hours, and both are vague about what support levels are guaranteed.
Any insights?
Thanks,
GabeI would contact Dan @ RazorBlue <!-- e --><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><!-- e -->. We've been with them [and have entrusted some critical applications with them] for quite some time now and have not had any problems. Contact them and ask them for a custom quote on your setup - I'm sure you will be happy with the price point and the level of service provided.
Additionally, they are actually a Kerio partner so I'm sure this will work out well for you if you wish to run any of Kerio's products. :agree:HTHWe've used liquidweb for quite some time and have good experieces. We were with another company and I can say that the level of support liquidweb gives you is truly amazing. And usually hold times are minimal. My only suggestion is to also use your own monitoring software to check your website.I would second RazorBlue as well.Gabe, What would you like elborated on as far as support levels? I'll try to provide some clarity on our support guarentees.Hi Gabe,
There are nearly countless companies offering "managed" servers these days - many of which would claim to be able to meet your requirements. One thing to take into account is that often the "managed" providers only offer a reactive level of service (rather than a proactive support plan). Reactive plans with generally have the "managed" provider patch your server, or look into a potential issue, etc. upon your *request* - and even though they might "monitor" your server for you, they don't take "preventative" measures to ensure your server remains online and functioning to its fullest capacity in the first place.
One of the reasons RackSpace is so expensive is because they are (at least marketing) more "proactive" management services where their staff remain completely responsible for maintaining the security, serviceability, uptime, etc. of your server and (depending on your individual contract) application(s). Depending on the level of responsiveness and management that you really need, sometimes the cheaper managed hosting companies aren't really your best bet.
With that being said, you would more than likely be able to find companies able to provide "fast responses/fixes" for any issues that you encounter within your price range. Shop around, contact the sales department of any potential providers, and just try to get a feel for the level of attention and support that they will be able to offer you at any given price-point.
Good luck!Hi Gabe,
There are nearly countless companies offering "managed" servers these days - many of which would claim to be able to meet your requirements. One thing to take into account is that often the "managed" providers only offer a reactive level of service (rather than a proactive support plan). Reactive plans with generally have the "managed" provider patch your server, or look into a potential issue, etc. upon your *request* - and even though they might "monitor" your server for you, they don't take "preventative" measures to ensure your server remains online and functioning to its fullest capacity in the first place.
Great point. One needs to do their homework as to how far "managed" stretches. Contact the hosts who offer managed hosting and ask lots of questionsDon't know InetServices, so can't compare.Used LiquidWeb for awhile. Would rate their support above average and a good choice for hobby sites. Personally, wouldn't use them again for a business site. Response to emergencies is a weak link, and you can't buy extra support from LW to solve that problem. It might work if you have an outside management company in addition to LW support.Thanks for the great replies.Patrick - Our company does webcasts that are distributed via Akamai, so there's no streaming load on the server in question. However, our web site embeds the streams and needs to be up for those 2-hour periods, 4-5 times a month, for 100-200 viewers. Not a high load for a dedicated server.We're using a Lunarpages shared hosting account which works 90% of the time, but we've dodged a few bullets - outages in afternoon/evening times, which is luckily when we're not webcasting. There was one 8am "scheduled maintainence" last year that we weren't notified of, and it bit us pretty hard. If our web site is down during an event, we lose a fair amount of money and cred.So we're looking for something that will be up when we need it to be up, and if there is a problem, there will be a quick resolution. We use PHP and mySQL, a very simple setup that hasn't caused problems. We're just looking for the peace of mind that if something does go wrong, we can call and have it resolved in 30-60mins or less. Proactive monitoring is useful there, I suppose, since preventive measures will keep the server running and monitoring will let us know the minute it goes down.As for Razorblue, I've seen a lot of good mentions on this forum, but as our company and 95% of our customers are US-based, it would be hard to sell a UK hosting company to my supervisors.Right now I'm looking at ThePlanet's Total Control service. It's a little pricey, but they've done the best job of spelling out what their managed hosting actually involves. We were hoping for a basic spec no-frills server, plus 2 hard drives in a raid 1 configuration, for under $300.Thanks!GabeGabe,
I would talk with Tina from AxisHost (AH-Tina on here). I've never heard anything but good things about their services and we have worked together on a number of things in the past.Thanks for the great replies.
Patrick - Our company does webcasts that are distributed via Akamai, so there's no streaming load on the server in question. However, our web site embeds the streams and needs to be up for those 2-hour periods, 4-5 times a month, for 100-200 viewers. Not a high load for a dedicated server.
We're using a Lunarpages shared hosting account which works 90% of the time, but we've dodged a few bullets - outages in afternoon/evening times, which is luckily when we're not webcasting. There was one 8am "scheduled maintainence" last year that we weren't notified of, and it bit us pretty hard. If our web site is down during an event, we lose a fair amount of money and cred.
So we're looking for something that will be up when we need it to be up, and if there is a problem, there will be a quick resolution. We use PHP and mySQL, a very simple setup that hasn't caused problems. We're just looking for the peace of mind that if something does go wrong, we can call and have it resolved in 30-60mins or less. Proactive monitoring is useful there, I suppose, since preventive measures will keep the server running and monitoring will let us know the minute it goes down.
As for Razorblue, I've seen a lot of good mentions on this forum, but as our company and 95% of our customers are US-based, it would be hard to sell a UK hosting company to my supervisors.
Right now I'm looking at ThePlanet's Total Control service. It's a little pricey, but they've done the best job of spelling out what their managed hosting actually involves. We were hoping for a basic spec no-frills server, plus 2 hard drives in a raid 1 configuration, for under $300.
Thanks!
Gabe
"As for Razorblue, I've seen a lot of good mentions on this forum, but as our company and 95% of our customers are US-based, it would be hard to sell a UK hosting company to my supervisors."
They operate space in both New York and London. Their NY location has a very good network.Can you elaborate a bit more on your hardware requirements? As people have stated before, be sure to contact prospective hosts - and ask lots of questions. Happy (host) hunting!I'm not with LiquidWeb(which that may change in the future), but when I had some sales questions for them and my mail server was blocking some emails, I had Travis on here messaging me helping me, and like 3 other LiquidWeb employees contacting me trying to make sure that I got all my questions answered.
If I had to choose between those, I would go LiquidWeb without thinking twice.Have all of your questions been answered by LW? I just want to make sure you are getting what you need in a timely manner.Hello Gabe,Thank you for your input. I am constructing a response to you questions as I type. Thank you for elaborating on this for me.Patrick - I'm just going from comparing plans on web pages to making phone calls, so I haven't been in touch with anyone at LW yet.Mripguru - Hardware needs are very basic... 2ghz or higher proc, 1GB RAM, and dual 80GB or higher disks in a RAID 1 configuration. That's about it for hardware. Like I said, we're a relatively low traffic site, but need the network and technical support to make sure it's available.rob5 - Do they have an NYC office or staff there?WireSix - I've been in contact, they're on the list.Thanks!GabeGabe,We're available by e-mail/phone. I am sure you know how to find us. Thank you for your interest. I look forward to hearing from you.rob5 - Do they have an NYC office or staff there?We do have feet on the ground in the US yes. Our offices are UK based but we do have a USA direct dial for customers for tech support, etc.DanI would second RazorBlue as well.Can you please post or report some verification (domain, IP, etc.) that you use RazorBlue?try spirithosting.net and you wont be dis pointed
We're looking to set up a single server for web (PHP and mySQL) and possibly groupware (Kerio). We won't be changing much once it's up, but I like the idea of managed hosting to monitor for problems and have a fast response for issues we may not have the expertise to fix (we're a tech company, but no need for full time IT person). Uptime and fast response to support phone calls are important, but not $450-a-month-for-RackSpace-important.
Frontrunners right now are InetServices and Liquidweb, both at about $230/mo for a basic server. InetServices has a 1 hour hardware replacement guarantee vs. LiquidWeb's 2 hours, and both are vague about what support levels are guaranteed.
Any insights?
Thanks,
GabeI would contact Dan @ RazorBlue <!-- e --><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><!-- e -->. We've been with them [and have entrusted some critical applications with them] for quite some time now and have not had any problems. Contact them and ask them for a custom quote on your setup - I'm sure you will be happy with the price point and the level of service provided.
Additionally, they are actually a Kerio partner so I'm sure this will work out well for you if you wish to run any of Kerio's products. :agree:HTHWe've used liquidweb for quite some time and have good experieces. We were with another company and I can say that the level of support liquidweb gives you is truly amazing. And usually hold times are minimal. My only suggestion is to also use your own monitoring software to check your website.I would second RazorBlue as well.Gabe, What would you like elborated on as far as support levels? I'll try to provide some clarity on our support guarentees.Hi Gabe, There are nearly countless companies offering "managed" servers these days - many of which would claim to be able to meet your requirements. One thing to take into account is that often the "managed" providers only offer a reactive level of service (rather than a proactive support plan). Reactive plans with generally have the "managed" provider patch your server, or look into a potential issue, etc. upon your *request* - and even though they might "monitor" your server for you, they don't take "preventative" measures to ensure your server remains online and functioning to its fullest capacity in the first place.
One of the reasons RackSpace is so expensive is because they are (at least marketing) more "proactive" management services where their staff remain completely responsible for maintaining the security, serviceability, uptime, etc. of your server and (depending on your individual contract) application(s). Depending on the level of responsiveness and management that you really need, sometimes the cheaper managed hosting companies aren't really your best bet.
With that being said, you would more than likely be able to find companies able to provide "fast responses/fixes" for any issues that you encounter within your price range. Shop around, contact the sales department of any potential providers, and just try to get a feel for the level of attention and support that they will be able to offer you at any given price-point.
Good luck!
Hi Gabe, There are nearly countless companies offering "managed" servers these days - many of which would claim to be able to meet your requirements. One thing to take into account is that often the "managed" providers only offer a reactive level of service (rather than a proactive support plan). Reactive plans with generally have the "managed" provider patch your server, or look into a potential issue, etc. upon your *request* - and even though they might "monitor" your server for you, they don't take "preventative" measures to ensure your server remains online and functioning to its fullest capacity in the first place.
Great point. One needs to do their homework as to how far "managed" stretches. Contact the hosts who offer managed hosting and ask lots of questions
Don't know InetServices, so can't compare.Used LiquidWeb for awhile. Would rate their support above average and a good choice for hobby sites. Personally, wouldn't use them again for a business site. Response to emergencies is a weak link, and you can't buy extra support from LW to solve that problem. It might work if you have an outside management company in addition to LW support.Thanks for the great replies.Patrick - Our company does webcasts that are distributed via Akamai, so there's no streaming load on the server in question. However, our web site embeds the streams and needs to be up for those 2-hour periods, 4-5 times a month, for 100-200 viewers. Not a high load for a dedicated server.We're using a Lunarpages shared hosting account which works 90% of the time, but we've dodged a few bullets - outages in afternoon/evening times, which is luckily when we're not webcasting. There was one 8am "scheduled maintainence" last year that we weren't notified of, and it bit us pretty hard. If our web site is down during an event, we lose a fair amount of money and cred.So we're looking for something that will be up when we need it to be up, and if there is a problem, there will be a quick resolution. We use PHP and mySQL, a very simple setup that hasn't caused problems. We're just looking for the peace of mind that if something does go wrong, we can call and have it resolved in 30-60mins or less. Proactive monitoring is useful there, I suppose, since preventive measures will keep the server running and monitoring will let us know the minute it goes down.As for Razorblue, I've seen a lot of good mentions on this forum, but as our company and 95% of our customers are US-based, it would be hard to sell a UK hosting company to my supervisors.Right now I'm looking at ThePlanet's Total Control service. It's a little pricey, but they've done the best job of spelling out what their managed hosting actually involves. We were hoping for a basic spec no-frills server, plus 2 hard drives in a raid 1 configuration, for under $300.Thanks!GabeGabe,I would talk with Tina from AxisHost (AH-Tina on here). I've never heard anything but good things about their services and we have worked together on a number of things in the past.Thanks for the great replies.
Patrick - Our company does webcasts that are distributed via Akamai, so there's no streaming load on the server in question. However, our web site embeds the streams and needs to be up for those 2-hour periods, 4-5 times a month, for 100-200 viewers. Not a high load for a dedicated server.
We're using a Lunarpages shared hosting account which works 90% of the time, but we've dodged a few bullets - outages in afternoon/evening times, which is luckily when we're not webcasting. There was one 8am "scheduled maintainence" last year that we weren't notified of, and it bit us pretty hard. If our web site is down during an event, we lose a fair amount of money and cred.
So we're looking for something that will be up when we need it to be up, and if there is a problem, there will be a quick resolution. We use PHP and mySQL, a very simple setup that hasn't caused problems. We're just looking for the peace of mind that if something does go wrong, we can call and have it resolved in 30-60mins or less. Proactive monitoring is useful there, I suppose, since preventive measures will keep the server running and monitoring will let us know the minute it goes down.
As for Razorblue, I've seen a lot of good mentions on this forum, but as our company and 95% of our customers are US-based, it would be hard to sell a UK hosting company to my supervisors.
Right now I'm looking at ThePlanet's Total Control service. It's a little pricey, but they've done the best job of spelling out what their managed hosting actually involves. We were hoping for a basic spec no-frills server, plus 2 hard drives in a raid 1 configuration, for under $300.
Thanks!
Gabe
"As for Razorblue, I've seen a lot of good mentions on this forum, but as our company and 95% of our customers are US-based, it would be hard to sell a UK hosting company to my supervisors."
They operate space in both New York and London. Their NY location has a very good network.
Can you elaborate a bit more on your hardware requirements? As people have stated before, be sure to contact prospective hosts - and ask lots of questions. Happy (host) hunting!I'm not with LiquidWeb(which that may change in the future), but when I had some sales questions for them and my mail server was blocking some emails, I had Travis on here messaging me helping me, and like 3 other LiquidWeb employees contacting me trying to make sure that I got all my questions answered.If I had to choose between those, I would go LiquidWeb without thinking twice.Have all of your questions been answered by LW? I just want to make sure you are getting what you need in a timely manner.Hello Gabe,Thank you for your input. I am constructing a response to you questions as I type. Thank you for elaborating on this for me.Patrick - I'm just going from comparing plans on web pages to making phone calls, so I haven't been in touch with anyone at LW yet.Mripguru - Hardware needs are very basic... 2ghz or higher proc, 1GB RAM, and dual 80GB or higher disks in a RAID 1 configuration. That's about it for hardware. Like I said, we're a relatively low traffic site, but need the network and technical support to make sure it's available.rob5 - Do they have an NYC office or staff there?WireSix - I've been in contact, they're on the list.Thanks!GabeGabe,We're available by e-mail/phone. I am sure you know how to find us. Thank you for your interest. I look forward to hearing from you.rob5 - Do they have an NYC office or staff there?We do have feet on the ground in the US yes
. Our offices are UK based but we do have a USA direct dial for customers for tech support, etc.DanI would second RazorBlue as well.Can you please post or report some verification (domain, IP, etc.) that you use RazorBlue?try spirithosting.net and you wont be dis pointed