Dedicated Server Hosting

keylight

keylight

Veteran
Just wondering, for those on these boards who use dedicated server hosting for their site, what company you might recommend? What level of server are you hosting on?

I'm on a shared server at the moment and the company I host with thinks I'm using too much of the server's resources, so I may need to go to a dedicated server soon. Any input you can give would be helpful.

Thanks!
 
well, you can go VPS(virtual private server), that's about 10 or so users on one server(any linux OS flavor you would like, you can install any programs, languages and plug-ins), much faster response than shared solutions (depending on the company, 3 to 7 seconds to establish connection and 3-15 seconds for reply is acceptable. 1000-1500 nodes per month(or too much traffic at the same time) and they start 'recommending' an update, if you don't comply quickly they can stop the service) in general.

you can do collation, you provide the server to a data center, they provide internet and maintenance when needed, less user friendly(if you use a GUI based OS, it's a bit easier on users/takes a lot more RAM in small servers and shared solutions), you need an admin or web developer nearby. costs a touch more than entry level VPS but you get to use 100% of the computer resources and any software you want.(there was a data center that accepted mac mini servers as well as rack mount servers, if you have a mac mini in the office you can test/sync both).

with dedicated servers, your also renting the server, which costs more than buying the server and only paying for the service(internet dedicated line/power/maintenance). but various companies would provide additional services from better support to backup and other services that you may be able to do on your own, but are generally nice to have included as a bundle/less hassle than DIY everything, and you don't need to optimize or reformat any code, and your support ticket gets higher priority when you need support.

if it's for the site in the sig, it's a simple WordPress site, a VPS can do the job. make a backup of the server before you make the switch, and archive the site on regular basses if it's not too inconvenient( a simple folder with the date format as prefix [<year>-<month>-<day>] ).
 
Amr Rahmy said:
well, you can go VPS(virtual private server), that's about 10 or so users on one server(any linux OS flavor you would like, you can install any programs, languages and plug-ins), much faster response than shared solutions (depending on the company, 3 to 7 seconds to establish connection and 3-15 seconds for reply is acceptable. 1000-1500 nodes per month(or too much traffic at the same time) and they start 'recommending' an update, if you don't comply quickly they can stop the service) in general.

you can do collation, you provide the server to a data center, they provide internet and maintenance when needed, less user friendly(if you use a GUI based OS, it's a bit easier on users/takes a lot more RAM in small servers and shared solutions), you need an admin or web developer nearby. costs a touch more than entry level VPS but you get to use 100% of the computer resources and any software you want.(there was a data center that accepted mac mini servers as well as rack mount servers, if you have a mac mini in the office you can test/sync both).

with dedicated servers, your also renting the server, which costs more than buying the server and only paying for the service(internet dedicated line/power/maintenance). but various companies would provide additional services from better support to backup and other services that you may be able to do on your own, but are generally nice to have included as a bundle/less hassle than DIY everything, and you don't need to optimize or reformat any code, and your support ticket gets higher priority when you need support.

if it's for the site in the sig, it's a simple WordPress site, a VPS can do the job. make a backup of the server before you make the switch, and archive the site on regular basses if it's not too inconvenient( a simple folder with the date format as prefix [<year>-<month>-<day>] ).
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Thanks Amr. I'm probably looking at a managed solution, so that would mean dedicated or VPS. I know co-located servers are sometimes managed, but it would still fall on me for most of the server admin stuff, and that's not something I've ever enjoyed. Haven't done it in years and there would be so much to re-learn/learn that it wouldn't be worth my time. Managing sites, not a problem. But the server stuff? Not for me. It would be like me trying to create some animation. Better left to animators than an aging video producer!

The VPS sounds like it might be a good option, I'll have to look more into that. I've never heard the term "node" before so I'm not sure what you mean by that.

The server won't be for the site in my sig. It'll be for something completely different, nothing to do with production. If things go well, I'd expect traffic to be maybe 1/10th ... no, make that 1/100th the traffic of dvxuser.
 
the nodes are for shared services, not VPS. it's a way to simplify activity calculation on the server, used as a point system or unit system for activity. for example, if someone requests an html page on there browser, that might be calculated by the company as one or two units of activity, but if the request uses application and a database server search, they would count it as maybe 2-5 unites, if you actually search a server and not a cache, it might count as more unites per activity, and so on. they might count memory used or virtual CPU processes or bandwidth and unify the activity with one unit of measure. when you exceed X unites they suggest that it's time for you to upgrade to a VPS for example. traffic and large file sizes is usually what makes the users exceed the limit.
 
on VPS, i think it's mostly virtual system monitoring, as long as your not using most of the traffic or cpu cycles, the hosting company is ok with you.
 
I've found www.hostrocket.com to be good, great service for sure. They also have semi-dedicated servers that work out much cheaper than a full dedicated server (you share with a small number of users as opposed to the many on a normal shared server).
 
Amr Rahmy said:
the nodes are for shared services, not VPS. it's a way to simplify activity calculation on the server, used as a point system or unit system for activity. for example, if someone requests an html page on there browser, that might be calculated by the company as one or two units of activity, but if the request uses application and a database server search, they would count it as maybe 2-5 unites, if you actually search a server and not a cache, it might count as more unites per activity, and so on. they might count memory used or virtual CPU processes or bandwidth and unify the activity with one unit of measure. when you exceed X unites they suggest that it's time for you to upgrade to a VPS for example. traffic and large file sizes is usually what makes the users exceed the limit.
Click to expand...

Aha! Yes. I get it now. Very helpful explanation, thank you! My host provider is showing that I'm going over what they are calling "resource points". Must be the same thing. I've been doing a lot of testing lately and knocking the site around. Too much for them apparently.

Looking at prices on VPS... seems my wallet will take a bit more of a hit. :undecided
 
We used shared hosting for many years (Bluehost and others) and eventually ran into their "Exceeded CPU Quota" issues that you mentioned. The cheap price wasn't worth the headaches of limited server resources so we got a VPS at http://www.servint.net . Packages start at $50 but no more resource limitation issues. The only problem is that it's not as plug 'n play as shared hosting so make sure you know an "IT guy" to help you get everything running right (install cPanel, PHP, etc.).
 
Rackspace, Linode, Amazon AWS, places like that will do just about any configuration from a private server to different levels of VPS depending on your needs. Best to know what resources you are using right now when pricing things out.

I did find that when needing something like VPN tunnels, Amazon jumps a price tier to add that feature. It isn't much per month though.
 
I'm probably looking at a managed solution [...] I know co-located servers are sometimes managed, but it would still fall on me for most of the server admin stuff, and that's not something I've ever enjoyed. [...] Managing sites, not a problem. But the server stuff? Not for me.[...]The VPS sounds like it might be a good option
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I use a VPS at Digital Ocean, which along with Linode is highly regarded among techies. I pay $5 a month for Digital Ocean's cheapest "droplet".

But what I get is a server (or rather a virtual machine inside a real, physical server), a flavor of the Linux operating system installed, and a command line. I then use the command line to install the software (Apache, PHP, PostgreSQL, etc.) and edit text files to set them up. It is not for the faint of heart, the inexperienced, or those averse to "server admin stuff".

Now Digital Ocean has been getting more and more "managed solutions" where they say you just click something and install Wordpress, etc. But I haven't tried all that myself. But it's certainly worth a try. I have used some shared hosting plans in the past, and I do web development for a living, and I have used Digital Ocean for a few years now.
 
No godaddy, those jerks will give you an incredibly hard time if you want to move your name registration to another registrar! They also sit of expired names for ages which really goes against the anti-squatting policy from icann.

Another thing to consider is how hard you need to work to get the free let's encrypt SSL working, places like Network Solutions rake you over the coals for the cost of SSL, and make it very difficult to force them to allow you to install it on their shared hosting.

We have a site with network solutions at work, some poor guy called me to pitch their SSL plan and I pretty much unloaded with how unhappy I am with the pricing and nearly impossible effort to get the free certificates... They haven't called back since. It's also hard because we have less than any money in our budget, with big layoffs going to happen next month when we find out how few students we really have for Spring. Many people are taking time off because they don't want to deal with the risk of the plague, or dealing with no socializing at school and masks the entire day. And our track record was like 12 total cases for this semester, we were very lucky or very good at prevention. But that gets way off topic.
 
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