First, I've gotta say I love this place!

Second, I have a reseller account with OLM and was wondering if you guys (the pros!) thought it would be feasible for me to move to either a dedicate or co-located server.

If so, any suggestions for host (from the posts I've read it appears weinbar, site5, and rackspace ahve some very pleased customers here).

Also, what should I look for in a control panel?

Here is what I have:

5 accounts with -
500 MB disk space (one site uses ~300 MB, the rest are 150 MB or less)
10 GB Transfer/Month
Site Made Easy WebControl
50 POP only accounts
2 SSH/FTP/POP Accounts
Server Side Includes (*VERY IMPORTANT*)
PERL, MySQL, PHP

1 of these accounts (the one that uses ~300 MB) has been deemed a "high cpu usage" account from OLM and moved to a server with less than 20 domains (and pays a hefty fee for such)

I also have:

10 accounts with -
50 MB space
2 GB Traffic
5 POP emails
Site Made Easy WebControl
PERL, MySQL, PHP

Additionally I have about 10 redirected domains to the domains listed above.

I currently spend ~ $250/month.

With dedicated server you going to have to choose on which preconfigured server that will suit your need. If you want more freedom on choosing your own hardwares and configuration .. I would go with colocation.

Most cases, you'd pay more a month with dedicated server.

I'd just shop around and start compare prices. Also calculate how much you would spend if you build your own server.

Co-location can be a good option if you can pay for the initial cost of purchasing a server. Or if you are good working with hardware, building your own can get the cost down considerably. Or maybe you have some hardware laying around...

If the upfront cost of purchasing/building a server doesn't appeal to you, then dedicated might be the way to go. The benefits of dedicated is the ISP is responsible if hardware failes--instead of you. They should repalce anything that fails free of charge. Although the montly charge will be higher, you are paying to "rent" the hardware, and gets rid of the high startup cost of building/purchasing your own server.

A big thing to consider is how much do you know about setting up a server. If you're good at it, colocation is a good option since you can configure the server to meet your specific needs. It's often harder to totally configure a presetup dedicated server.

However, if you're really not comfortable with setting up UNIX, your best bet is dedicated. You don't have to worry about all the potential problems that are involved of setting up your own OS. AFAIK, most places won't let you send them a box and then have the host install the software on it. I know we've done this before, but it can be a major pain for the host if somethings not working or compatible.

As mentioned before, the monthly fees for colocations are considerably cheaper. If you plan on going for the long term, colocation may save you money. But you do have a relatively large initial expense.

Hope that helps.

Josh