I previously posted a post asking if anyone knows of powerful but affordable reseller solutions(you can find my post in the forum). But after further research, I realize that a semi-dedicated server is what I really need.

The type of semi-dedicated server I am looking for are dedicated server that allows root access, and act like a dedicated server in everyway, except the underlying server is shared.

If you know of any of such offer, please let me know. Thank you.

If you have an offer from your company, please PM me, thanks.

(I have already looked at hostpro, verio, and olm's semi-dedicated server.)

Peter

Which are the requirements you have that HostPro, Verio and OLM have been unable to meet?

Mark Vockler
Aletia Hosting

Actually, I liked OLM's RSE the most. I actually have a very limited burget at present($50-60 per month). So I was hoping someone would know other semi-dedicated server offers. If nothing comes up, I will probably go with OLM.

Thanks,

Peter

I investigated a virtual dedicated a while back and decided against it for a couple reasons:

1) host pro had decent bandwidth but their lower priced plans didn't allow root access and you couldn't install servlets without root access
2) host pro's plans don't give you a guaranteed portion of the cpu or memory so another customers out of control programs could bring your site to a crawl
3) verio did give you a guaranteed portion of the cpu and memory but their "unlimited" bandwidth turned out to be 10G which wasn't enough.

Both plans were expensive enough that I could get a RaQ at 4webspace for the same price. That's what I did and I haven't regretted it.

Now at 50-60 per month you're not going to get a dedicated machine but I wonder if you can get even a virtual dedicated. I haven't even heard of OLM so I can't comment on them.

Also beware that while you get "root" access on a virtual dedicated you can't do everything you can with real root access on your own machine. I'm not exactly sure what the limits are but there are limits.

Thanks jnestor!

OLM is the least expensive one I can find, the lowest RSE is 60 per month, plus $50 setup. This price is actually already slightly beyond my limit. But I hope the power and fleixibiliy I get as a dedicated(semi) server will be worth it.

Could you please tell me anything at all how a virtual root differ from a real root? I was hoping the root access will allow me a great deal of flexibility. Or if anyone else know what the differences are?

Thanks,

Peter

Check forsite.com, they seem to have a good offer for private servers with guaranteed cpu and ram usage.
I don't know the quality of its services since I have no experience with them.
Anyone knows about forsite.com services?

Thanks sensei!

Forsite does have a reasonably priced server, but it doesn't offer as much features as OLM and the price was slightly higher.

Still, I much appreciate your input. And I will keep forsite in mind.

Peter

<<EDIT>>

I think if you want a root access and want some good features your going to pay for that.

I think 5% utilization is rather low, I would recommend a reseller plan or something to that degree.

Joe

For your Knowledge, both Forsite and OLM are Ensim (www.ensim.com) provisioners.

And jnestor, full root with Ensim is full root. We know, we have the ServerXchange. If I gave you the Pepsi challenge, I bet you couldn't tell which was a VDS.

Thanks to Joe and UmBillyCord!

UmBillyCord, are you saying that there is no difference between a real dedicated server root access and a VDS root access? That means I can install another web server or mail server?

Just out of curiosity, is VDS a feature of ensim serverxchange? Or are they using something else like vmware?

Thanks,

Peter

The VDS (private server) is a patented-pending product of Ensim. We have ran these things to the ground (installed IRC, Streaming servers, dedicated MySQL servers, custom software, etc..) in an attempt to bring them down (the physical box that is. You can crash the VDS like any server). I can say they are good at Fault Isolation. We have been able to install a lot of software with the VDS, however some things, I admit, we can not.

When I say you would be hard pressed to find a difference between a true dedicated box and a VDS, I guess I should say the average Joe (no pun intended). If you are looking to install a mail server and new web server. Good Lick. If you want a dedicated server to isolate, run custom software, and use root to manage, Ensim kicks but. If you wish to do what it sounds like, $60 isn't even close to what you will need. Appliances like Cobalt won't let you do that either.

I have used the HostPro servers. They don't even come close to Ensim. I have not used Verio's but have heard good things. (I believe it was Utah based iServers, which Verio bought, who created them and started the virtual dedicated introduction to the masses).

Also to clarify one thing. JBIZ718 stated "I think 5% utilization is rather low". This is a minimum, not maximum. If you are on a server with 10 others and you *spike*, if there is 80% resources available, you have it. If you get on a box with some serious resource hogs, you are always guaranteed 5%.

Thanks UmBillyCord.
So are there any specific examples that a VDS root is different from a real root?
Just curious, how does your method compare to VMWare's?

Peter

My work with VDS's has been with HostPro, Sphera, and Ensim. Ensim blew them away as they have the best fault tolerance.

Here is the bottom line. It sounds like you want to tear apart a box (you said you wanted to add your own mail server and change the web server I believe?). If you want to do this, buy your own Vanilla Linux box. Your problem is that you have $60. The Ensim VDS is the best option for what you can afford. You can trash your VDS and it won't effect others, only yours.

Root is root. Each VDS has it's own set of applications and services. It may be hard to believe, but what you would expect to do with a true dedicated server, you can do with a VDS.

I think that ensim is a great product for your needs here. I do believe that many companies overload how many VPS are on the box.

The bottom line is I have seen companies put 20,30, even 40 vpn's on one machine. Server load is through the roof, and its not good for anyone.

I think for what your trying to do, 60$, thats a small budget.

Expand that a little bit, and get more reward.

Joe

Thanks guys for all your info. I much appreciate that.

I am sure I will figure out something for my small burget.

Peter

I would like to know how they do it. :-) We stick more then 10 on and it causes the physical box to crash.

Opps.... I shouldn't of said that.

JBIZ718 is right. But just like shared hosting, companies want to push it to the limit to pocket a few more dollars. This only leads to pissed off customers and more refunds then greater profits. Just my 2 scents.

Yes, it is true. Root on an Ensim Private Server have the same abilities as real root on any other server. You can even restart a private server from within. Each private server is has Fault/Functional/Performance Isolation. Each can have it's own set of unique users and applications running. There is a minimum QOS Guarantee for Bandwidth and CPU and Max settings for Memory, Disk and Processes.

Since each private server is totally isolated you can crash one with out hurting another, although you would have a hard time crashing just one private server under even the highest load. The only limitation is the physical server; you cannot have more resources than what actually exist.

There should be very few applications that will not run on a Private Server. If it runs on Red Hat and does not access raw devices then it should work. You at least with some applications need to update or install some libraries.

This makes a Private Server an ideal lightweight dedicated server alternative.

We have customers with as many as 40 Private Servers on a physical server, although the average is fewer than 15 private servers per physical server. It all depends on the server you setup and customer type you setup on the server.

Obviously if you only have 512MB of ram you can only setup so many 128MB Private Servers. Typical configuration is a server with 1GB to 2GB RAM and 2GB Swap. Then you can easily get 15 to 20 private servers per physical server. You also have to calculate and adjust for server load and overhead for each virtual domain. The real power behind the ServerXchange technology is that you can easily move customers VDS from one server to another and modify their QOS to adjust for load.

If you are a ServerXchange customer you will have a login to our support area. Download this document. It explains in detail about memory requirements.

http://www.ensim.com/documentation/education/SXCVirMemGuideBook.pdf

Matthew Feinberg
Web Hosting Architect





Originally posted by UmBillyCord
I would like to know how they do it. :-) We stick more then 10 on and it causes the physical box to crash.

Opps.... I shouldn't of said that.

JBIZ718 is right. But just like shared hosting, companies want to push it to the limit to pocket a few more dollars. This only leads to pissed off customers and more refunds then greater profits. Just my 2 scents.