I figured that I would document my experience in this forum so others could get an idea about Server4you and the quality of their service.

THE BEGINNING
Ok, let me start by saying that I'm not an expert at running my own dedicated server but I decided to jump in and try it out. I'm a web developer and have been previously running a reseller account at DataPipe. I got to the point where I needed the flexibility to run whatever software I wanted so I decided a dedicated box would be the way to go.

THE DECISION
I did some research and browsed the forums and actually decided to go with the Server4you Starter plan. I really didn't find many others with experience with Server4you, but they seemed like a reputable provider, and the $49/mo seemed like a deal (they have a money back guarantee, so I went for the annual plan). The $149 setup fee seemed kind of steep, but if I factor that into the yearly fee, it still comes to a respectable $62/mo.

THE SIGN UP
I signed up, and the process was pretty straight forward. About 15 minutes after signing up, they called me back to confirm my order. Everything sounded right, and I was told that my server would be set up within 48 hours. After I got off the phone, I started thinking, and I went to the Server4you site and checked the "compare" page an low-and-behold there was a bullet that said "Instant Setup" with a check next to it. Wondering what "Instant Setup" meant, I logged into their online chat and asked. I was told that it basically meant they were building a brand-new server, and it would be setup in less then 48 hours. To me, less then 48 hours isn't what I would call "instant" - I think this is kind of misleading for them to say on their site. Now I wait for my server.

To be continued...
I will continue to document my experience here as it develops.

keep us updated

Here's the next installment on my Server4you experience...

SERVER SETUP
Well the estimate of less then 48 hours held true and 28 hours later my server was ready! Server4you provides a URL, login and password to access the PowerPanel. The only other thing they mention is that you can open a support ticket if you have questions, and they will happily assist. The Starter plan that I have only allows two free tickets each month, so I don't want to waste them on anything stupid (additional tickets are $15). I figure I will just login to the PowerPanel and see how it goes, hopefully there's some helpful info provided.

POWER PANEL
I go ahead and log into the PowerPanel where I find the login info for the Plesk control panel under "Contract & Server Information." I also find the Service section that contains FAQs, Tutorials and Documentation. I figure this is a good spot to help figure stuff out. The FAQ section has a bunch of info, but I still can't find anything like a "getting started" guide for Server4you. The Tutorial section has lots of animated movies on how to configure Plesk (I believe these are the same ones as on the Plesk website and nothing specific to Server4you). The Documentation section contains more info on Plesk (Admin. manual and Advanced Feature manual). I think that diving into Plesk may be my next destination - hopefully that will help me figure this out.

More to come...

their power panel looks very attractive to me. some1 else posted here b4 about it. it has some unique useful features such as instant reboot, instant restore, instant backup, etc.

I must admit that their control panels looks absolutely awesome. Especially "power restore".. ahh.. *wants*.

I can screw around with the system all I want and then restore it to a useable state without any trouble.

I guess I'll see how they do and if they build up a good reputation I'll use them instead of RS.

Where do they save backups?

Is this, PowerPanel, in-house coded?

From looking at the PowerBackup section, it appears that the backup is saved on one of their FTP servers. A pre-defined server location, login and password are provided. The PowerBackup for my plan (Starter plan) is $15/GB/Mo. and it looks as though I can backup up to 15GB.

While I'm no expert on control panels, I would have to guess the PowerPanel is in-house coded. Most of their custom PowerFeatures are accessible through it. The PowerFeatures do seem pretty cool and were a definite selling point to me.

trouble tickets for everything bothers me a little.

Especially if the trouble ticket is for something that is beyond your control .... like your server being down due to their network ... etc.

David

You are in a bit of a bind if you've got too many problems (or require more than two tickets for any reason); there's no point in paying $49 for a server if you're paying twice that per month in support tickets. ;)

You're right, the cost of the support tickets would probably drive the price up to near the cost of a standard dedicated server from other companies in a lot of cases. I find the instant restore thing (especially if it's free and unlimited) to be a horribly intriguing idea, though.

I'd like to hear more about your experiences as they happen as well, just to see how what sounds to be a rather unique provider fares.

yes, that control panel has me quivering in my panties.

I really want to get a hold of it :D


PowerBackup for my plan (Starter plan) is $15/GB/Mo. and it looks as though I can backup up to 15GB


Do they charge extra for the PowerBackup feature?
And its $15/month PER GB of backed up stuff? or $15/month FOR 15GB of stuff?

The PowerBackup charge depends on the plan. For the Starter Plan it is $15.00 each addtl. GB/ month. You can see all the fees and compare the plans here... http://www.server4you.com/us/dedicated/compare.php?products=0,1,2

As far as the cost of support tickets, I would agree that it could add up if you had a lot of problems. I figured I would see how it goes. They do have a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the service. I will keep posting my experiences here as long as people keep reading.

Another update...

PLESK
While my old reseller account had a control panel, it was nothing like the Plesk control panel. Tons of buttons for configuring everything on the server - it is kind of overwhelming. I started with the Plesk Admin Quick Start Guide (http://www.plesk.com/doc/plesk6-admin-qs-guide.pdf) and followed their Step by Step server setup instructions. The guide is pretty good, and some items are already initially setup by Server4you like host name and IP address. The "add services" area in Plesk did not seem to work (this basically hooks your server into myplesk.com where you can register domains, purchase SSL certs, etc.) I'm not sure why it wouldn't work but the "Register" button popped up a blank window. Not a show stopper so I continued onto the DNS setup in Plesk.

DNS
This is where I got real confused. I never dealt with configuring DNS before, so this was all new to me. The instructions in the Quick Start guide seemed pretty detailed, but I was not really sure what to do next. Server4you did not say what nameservers I would be using for my DNS in any correspondence, so I scratched my head for a while. I guess I could have opened a support ticket at this point, but I was determined to figure this out on my own. I tried looking on the Server4you site, but that was no help. Next I looked through the FAQs in my PowerPanel and still no luck. While in the PowerPanel, I noticed the "DNS & Domain" sections, I figured this was it! This section has 3 areas - Reverse DNS, Allocate IPs, and DNS Service. I chose the "DNS Service" area and got a new screen with two options "Domain Overview" and "Add a domain." It would have been nice if there was some help text on this page to help less experienced users like myself. Clicking "Domain Overview" just refreshed the page. Clicking "Add a domain" presented a form where I could enter a Domain Name, Server IP, a Domain Type checkbox for "Create the domain only on ns2" and an area to enter a Primary IP. I went ahead and entered one of my domain names and the IP address that Server4you had assigned me into both the Server IP and Primary IP fields. I submitted the form, and it returned saying that my new domain had been successfully added to the name server and also provided the nameserver addresses - this was the info I needed! I went back to Plesk and added the nameserver info as detailed in the Quick Start Guide. Next I set up a Client and added a Domain - this is pretty strait-forward. The Plesk Manual for Administrators (http://www.plesk.com/doc/plesk-6-um-adm) helped here. Next a trip to my registrar to point my domain's DNS to the Server4you nameservers.

Now I wait for the updates to populate - more to come.

Yes... their dual power plan looks very tempting. Probably the best hardware you can get for that price. Now we need to see if everything else pans out. Also their instant restore, power reboot, and backup (4 gigs free with dual power) look very nice.

so far this makes me think that server4you will be the next rackshack because of the deals/control panel.

once they stop the year prepay to get the good deals I think they will start gobbling up market share.

I know I do not feel like paying a year in advance ... that is never good for cashflow.

I actually prefer year a contract to get the good prices :D ...

David

Matt: your order is now being processed you will receive an e-mail confirmation shortly and your server will be setup in less than 48hrs.
Richard Thomas: I placed the order almost 24 hours ago
Richard Thomas: [13] How long does it take for my server to get set up? We set up your server instantly once we have confirmed your order by calling the phone number you have provided during signup. Please make sure that we can reach you at that number, otherwise we may not be able to process your order.
Richard Thomas: Directly from your website
Matt: It is an instant setup the are going to build it right now. you order has been just been confirmed
Richard Thomas: Really need to be more specific on your site.. Thats misleading

Fixing broken thread

Testing fix

SITE IS UP
Well my first domain is finally reachable on my new Server4you server! Everything went pretty well once I found the nameserver address. I have since setup a few more domains. The Plesk software makes setting up domains really easy. I even contacted Plesk's tech support for a problem, and they were quick to reply and solve my problem. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with Server4you. They have a good system set up with their PowerPanel and Plesk software bundle. I was able to get my domains moved over to their servers without opening a single support ticket. The only thing that I think Server4you could do to improve the setup experience is to offer a "Quick Start" guide of their own that walked you through the basic setup.

I hope these postings of mine have been helpful to someone. I will continue to post any positive or negative experience I have with Server4you as I continue with their service.