I'm going to order my first dedicated server and I'd like to know which one should I use as the OS: RedHat 7.1, RedHat 7.2, or FreeBSD in terms of stability and uptime.

Is RedHat 7.2 necessarily better than 7.1?

I'm also going to use H-Sphere as the control panel. Do you think it's a good and stable choice for managing multiple sites?

I'll get the dedicated server on WebAuthorities:
- Pentium III 1 Ghz
- 512 MB RAM
- IBM 40 GB 7200 rpm HD
- 300 GB bandwidth at 95th percentile

$150/month $150/setup
Add H-Sphere CP (50 licenses) for $20/month

Do you know a better deal than this? Does anyone here has a good/bad experience with WebAuthorities? I've talked to Mike and he seems to be a nice guy and know what he's doing :-)

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas everyone!

I'm not sure about FreeBSD, but I'd definitely go with Red Hat 7.2 over 7.1. RH 7.2 has a new filesystem (ext3) which handles itself much nicer if your system crashes. This means that if you have remote reboot capabilities, you will not need to run a manual fsck.

HSphere is typically meant to be used on more than one server, but I have heard of people putting it on a single machine. I do believe that HS is the best choice for a control panel currently on the market. (that is, if it is proven to be reliable.) I don't know about the reliability of HSphere. Your best bet is to talk with the HSphere developers, email sales@psoft.net . You should also check out their forums forums.psoft.net


:D

Not to answer one of my future possible clients own message, but really as a message to everyone else.

Hsphere is designed to work like Alabanza's control panel, where you have multiple servers to absorb the brunt of the workload. So mail is a server, DNS is a server, and WEB - SQL is a server. BUT.....all of these can be loaded on one machine. I've got one now that WebAuthorities is on that has everything on one machine and it runs great.

Redhat 7.2 is definately the better choice over 7.1. Improved security and stability etc.

As for H Sphere its one of a number of control panels. CPanel 4.0 is a Linux only control panel which is very flexible but can be dogged by bugs. H Sphere also has billing facilites over CPanel. Webmin is a free Control Panel but is essentially basic and aimmed at root users.

[QUOTE]

I'll get the dedicated server on WebAuthorities:
- Pentium III 1 Ghz
- 512 MB RAM
- IBM 40 GB 7200 rpm HD
- 300 GB bandwidth at 95th percentile

$150/month $150/setup
Add H-Sphere CP (50 licenses) for $20/month


Are you sure these figures are accurate? When I looked at the webauthorities.com site, I found this for $150/month:

800 MHz Pentium III
256 MB RAM
20 GB Drive
100 GB Bandwidth
32 IP's
Psoft CP 50 Licenses

For 300 GB bandwidth, they charge $650/month. And their additional bandwidth is $2.50/GB, a dollar more than Rackshack's price.

LordBob

Originally posted by LordBob
[QUOTE]

I'll get the dedicated server on WebAuthorities:
- Pentium III 1 Ghz
- 512 MB RAM
- IBM 40 GB 7200 rpm HD
- 300 GB bandwidth at 95th percentile

$150/month $150/setup
Add H-Sphere CP (50 licenses) for $20/month


Are you sure these figures are accurate? When I looked at the webauthorities.com site, I found this for $150/month:

800 MHz Pentium III
256 MB RAM
20 GB Drive
100 GB Bandwidth
32 IP's
Psoft CP 50 Licenses

For 300 GB bandwidth, they charge $650/month. And their additional bandwidth is $2.50/GB, a dollar more than Rackshack's price.

LordBob

It's a special...

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=28834

LordBob: check out on their Specials.

BTW, I'd like to know which one is better and more reliable between IBM, Maxtor, or Western Digital for server IDE drive?

For personal use, I prefer IBM 60GXP 40 GB 7200rpm over the others, although I'm also using a Maxtor 40 GB 7200rpm now which has been running great.

I'd go with the IBM 60GXP. I've heard some people say that the maxtor's are good, but do not have any experience with them. Make sure you get the 60GXP and not the 75GXP (75GXP had some stability issues a while back, and I don't trust them...)

Also, ask webauthorities how much it will be for extra ram. If you're going to run HSphere, I'd load up on as much ram as possible right from the beginning.

Just my .02 cents :cool:

Really? I thought 75GXP is better than 60GXP. It has earned good reviews from AnandTech and TomsHardware.

Well, if I don't get 60 GXP, I think I'll choose Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 40 (5T040H4) then. I have two 7200rpm Maxtor drives on my two machines here and they have never disappointed me. It's hard to find IBM HD on my place here.

Ok, for those interested, Deskstar 60GXP is the model of the IBM hard drives in the servers we use.