Cheaper dedicated hosting

Berserker · 5 Mar 2011 at 16:19

I've had the benefit of dedicated hosting for several years now, and I like it. Some of my stuff would be fine on shared hosting (and I know who I'd go to if I wanted that

) but I'd be lost without root access.

I'd be happy with a VDS for most of my stuff, but unfortunately I host a site that chews through 8GB data every day and is underpinned by 9 MySQL databases totalling 35GB. That's a sure way to get kicked off most VDS hosting I know of.

So, dedicated it is, but while I get a good deal and good service now, I'd like to cut the bill. I understand the costs involved (heat, power, onsite staff, and so on), but it's too much for what I host. I don't need fancy SLA or instant response - the only thing that would be bad is losing email access and I could live without the rest for a few hours or even a few days.

If I can't cut costs, the next option would be to close that big site down and VDS the rest.

I currently pay about £130pcm for a dual core machine with 4GB RAM and 2x250GB disks. I know I can beat that. I've been looking at 1and1 who are half the price for better spec, but while they seem acceptable for my needs, I do remember some past experience with them - admittedly a very long time ago. For example, their cancellation process used to be bizarre beyond belief.

So, anyone got any suggestions for reasonably-priced similar hardware, or any more recent experience with 1and1?

Thank you.

PS - I'm after Linux hosting. I run Windows servers for my day job, but I need PHP and that's clunky at best on Windows.

Berserker · 5 Mar 2011 at 19:09

Just 'acquired' an R200 at work, so I'm familiar with those. Could use more disk space (managed to fill one of the disks on the current server), but it's not critical as I've just backed up the data anyway.

DS2 would do nicely. DS3 would do too if I can justify it (during high load both cores get well used, but the times when that happens are fairly brief). Another option then, for sure.

1and1 have other benefits (some free backup space and RAIDed disks as standard). Worth the extra £14 over DS2? Dunno yet.

The problem with cloud is complying with the complex infrastructure and costing it. It's not as simple as dumping an app and some data on a server as you generally don't get that level of access. We've got a fair deal of in-house experience at work, but I have none of that.

Berserker · 5 Mar 2011 at 19:48

Whoever it is, they won't be going near any domains. I've had trouble reclaiming domains before, so I now keep registration and hosting separate (it's more expensive, but less prone to going pear-shaped).

But, like I said, I'm not surprised by cancellation troubles. It's just a case of whether the temptation of their server offering outweighs the risk of having to deal with their customer service issues.

Berserker · 5 Mar 2011 at 20:58

All very good points and something I hadn't researched enough. I don't have KVM/IP on the current server but fortunately it's been rock solid save an early disk issue.

Control panel is going to add some extra cost too. I've managed without on the current server but it doesn't have email configured - something I'll need to set up in future and I don't know enough to secure it properly by hand.

Berserker · 6 Mar 2011 at 13:13

killsta said:
Also worth considering the usual:

http://www.serverstream.com/cloud
http://www.register1.net/cloud

No, it really isn't in this case. I'd seriously consider them for business hosting as I know how responsive they can be, but I've not found them particularly competitive for personal stuff. The absolute minimum would be £99pcm and I'd probably have to look at the next model up - 90 days worth of disk space is pushing it. If I did that, I'd pay less staying where I am.

Nonetheless, thanks for the suggestion. All ideas welcome. I hadn't considered that sort of cloud as I'm used to the Microsoft/Amazon type.

Berserker · 6 Mar 2011 at 15:57

Angelos_n, I see you've already been asked not to advertise on this forum. Friendly advice - you would do well to heed that request before your account breaks permanently.

With all due respect, I think you need to work on your website some more before I'd consider you a viable option - and yes, I do mean the new site. Good luck, but not for me.

Berserker · 6 Mar 2011 at 16:14

OK, I'll bite - lorem ipsum aside (I bet that came from the same site I use), here's a few for starters.

It's all a bit random - drop shadows on some boxes, no shadows on others. Inconsistent layout. Silly pop up menus (I think that's what they're supposed to be) that pop up in random positions. Poor use of real estate (what's that huge black box at the top all about? It's mostly empty (or at least so poor contrast that it looks mostly empty).

I'm a code monkey, not a designer, but the site makes for easy pickings.

Anyway, back on topic please. I'll poke around the suggestions over the next few weeks and see what's what. Might pick brains of my contacts too (if they happen to be online).

Berserker · 6 Mar 2011 at 16:31

Two words: First impressions.

I'll accept a less-than-stellar site if I know the company already, or have other means of checking them out. If I don't, then all I have to go on is their image - and the web site is that image.

The black box has 'Poweredge R410' in the middle. I assume there's meant to be some servers there but it's really not obvious.

Anyway, back on topic please. If you want to take this further, contact me off-forum.

Berserker · 6 Mar 2011 at 18:47

It's not my R200 so much as I'd love to 'pinch' it, now is really not a good time to be getting disciplinary! :eek:

I can do web configuration no bother (I've got access to web servers running lighttpd, apache, tomcat, and even IIS), but email is the one that scares me - don't want to end up with a spam relay! :eek:

Berserker · 6 Mar 2011 at 21:55

OVH looks almost too good to be true. There must be a catch!

Berserker · 7 Mar 2011 at 07:28

Like I said, there must be a catch. There is.

It's for pleasure, not business, but I don't want no dying thank you please. They seem rather Marmite, if the French can cope with such a thing!

Agreed about SAN-based VDS. I've tried to run virtual machines that way (which is essentially what a VDS is), and I/O performance was a disaster. Admittedly a proper SAN would do better than PC-to-PC, but still. I'd only do it if there wasn't that huge database.

I'm willing to pay more for service (as I do now), but just not quite as much more as I have been. Got to watch the pennies I'm afraid so it's just a matter of finding the right compromise.

Berserker · 8 Mar 2011 at 19:42

Looked at wiredtree. If they can accomplish all that then it looks like good value. Not sure I want to go back to US hosting though (nothing wrong with it - except unpredictable bills).