I was one of the first to jump on the Cobalt band wagon as a great low cost solution. In fact, I still have many sites hosted on Cobalt servers with virtually no problems. That said, I pose the following question for discussion.

Now that other more traditional Unix servers are available at prices comparable to Cobalt, does/will Cobalt continue to have a place in web hosting? Let's face it, we all went to Cobalt for price. Now what is there to keep us there. Is there still growth potential for the Cobalt platform.

Can hardly wait to see the replies....this may stir things up a little.

Originally posted by Incognito
I was one of the first to jump on the Cobalt band wagon as a great low cost solution.

<snip>

Now that other more traditional Unix servers are available at prices comparable to Cobalt, does/will Cobalt continue to have a place in web hosting? Let's face it, we all went to Cobalt for price. Now what is there to keep us there. Is there still growth potential for the Cobalt platform.
You must be talking about leasing servers from either providers here, or similar who offer low rates. If you've ever priced a Cobat RaQ, you know that they aren't low priced, never have been, and still aren't today (even used).

Their advantage has been, and continues to be, the admin cp which is easy to use... easier than Plesk, Ensim, and maybe cpanel (have never used cpanel myself except for the end user one almost two years ago so I can't comment), and easy to update, add scripts (in some ways, hard in other ways).

I think it's about time for a Raq 5

If they make it al good one, I see no reason why not to continue with Raqs.

The raq 4 is with 450 mhz and 512 mb max ram is getting a bit outdated but no doubt will there be a new raq out soon.

I have a RAQ4 myself and just as you said only because of the price ( RS ). It was last summer and RS had no alternative at the moment. Today I would get a regular box with Plesk or Ensim machine instead, no doubt.

I can't understand the value of a web server appliance ( total solution including sw/hw). I mean if the CP is so good ( and if you ask me it is nothing special about it, other than the maintainance update thing) why cant they make it work on a standard box?

I think Sun(Cobalt) should get away from the whole package thing and focus on the CP. With SUN:s resources I believe they could develop an amazing CP.

This poll is very interesting so far. Few middle of the road. Strong opinions on both sides. Sort of the way its always been with Cobalt.

I would agree with the earlier poster that it is time for an update. If they could introduce a more powerful solution continuing on their basic framework they would stand a better chance of avoiding defections.

In addition, they need to incorporate some additional functionality. The one missing capability that I see impairing their growth is the lack of reseller functions.

what about the XTR? Have they re-released it?
I see that the XTR demo is back up at cobalt.com...

it is really time for a RAQ 5 :) or at least 4.1.1 like php

From what I've read, the XTR was only pulled for a short time (certain amount of months), and has been back for quite a bit. Their main problem is that they aren't cheap (not that any cobalt has ever been). Somehow, the problems with them seemed to kill it in the market place, or at least I've not seem mass numbers of providers offering them, has anyone?

I can't remember seeing them anywhere really, except for sale at cobalt.com..

You're right, they are not cheap but if you are a blubox fan, they sure do look nice!

What with the price of everything else getting so much lower, I'd love to see them drop the price on them...

Would be a perfect move up for the "pizzabox crowd"..

I'm pretty much ok with the 4i for my current needs but mo'powa is always nice!

Shortrewired

yeah, $4,000 + is way to expensive for a cobalt xtr for me. If I had a chance to get one cheaper I would go for it in a second...

Yes, the Sun Cobalt machine's are way to expensive if you look at them hardware wise, but their webinterface is just the best what you can get (for your customers!). I mean the 'other' webpanels are great too, but IMHO too difficult to understand if you are a customer.

The webinterface of the Sun Cobalt XTR is even better than the RAQ4x versions. It is written in PHP instead of CGI and runs quite faster. The also changed the layout and it looks darn pretty. ;)

I also heard a rumor though... that there were/are plans to release their webinterface standalone (thus not only for the Sun Cobalt) for *nix boxes.

Just another question....why the love of their panel? Must be the simplicity, but guess I just miss the functionality advantages of other panels. I have just never seen the attraction of the Cobalt panel, but know I am in the minority. So, help me...explain the love.

people seem to dislike the look of it, but as you said it is very easy to use, that's why I like it:)

While the poll results look somewhat troublesome for the raq, the general apathy and lack of passion as demonstrated by so few positive votes may be even more serious. If there is no passion for something a little out of the mainstream, then people will tend just to stay with the mainstream...in this case plain, vanilla, Unix based servers.

Originally posted by Incognito
While the poll results look somewhat troublesome for the raq, the general apathy and lack of passion as demonstrated by so few positive votes may be even more serious.

Errr... "apathy", 'ey??? :eek:

Maybe you could conclude that most people that viewed the poll didn't vote because they considered your "issue" to actually be non-issue... :D

There is a new line of doorknobs on display at my local hardware store, but I haven't rushed to buy all new knobs for my doors, largely because the one's I'm using now are still doing their job of allowing me, and my invited guests, access to my home, while at the same time, keeping the uninvited visitors out.

If you conclude (from a poll with a poor response) that the "poll results look somewhat troublesome for the raq", then I'd conclude that you have a vested-interest regarding the question you're attempting to raise... :rolleyes:

And I admit my conclusions may not be correct. However, I am coupling what I've seen here with other polls and with the general lack of participation in various Raq forums. I am also comparing to what I saw about a year ago at this time.

In fact, if I had a vested interest it would be the other way around as I have a sizable investment in Raqs and a very large number of customers hosted on Raqs. And, they have been virtually trouble free.

However, quality and perceived quality are two different things. And, I think the introduction of all the low cost server appliances has limited the growth rate that Raq was achieving (note: I did not say stopped, just limited).

Also, I think the decisions made by certain key players in the market will continue to influence the market direction. Specifically, the emphasis Rackshack has placed on non-Raqs where a year ago they were 100% Raq, the emphasis Host2Own/Cari.net has placed on non-Raqs where a year ago they were 100% Raq.

The Raq opened an incredible new market of server appliances..in many respects they were a true leader. However, now, Sun must respond to actions others have taken to maintain their share of new business.

And, as in any poll of this nature....all this is just opinion....

But, I was interested in opinions of others in the business as a part of my information gathering as I decide whether to continue to invest in additional Raqs.

I like to look at the RaQ line much like I do Ford's "Model A". Yes, when the 1,000,000th Ford Model A rolled off the assembly line a lot of the muckidee-mucks at Ford mumbled that both Henry Ford Sr. and the Model A were getting a bit "dated".

However, these youngsters at Ford overlooked the fact that standardization offers loads of benefits to: the end user; the mechanic supporting the end product; the manufacturer; and the distributor. Whether we're talking about automobiles or micro-computers, standardization helps keep costs down... to all parties.

But yes, Ford did drop the Model A from their line, and within a few years the company introduced the "innovative" Edsel, in an effort to stay "in touch with the times", and in response to what the competition was doing...

Hi Folks!

I have about 20 raqs and they have been fine for the most part.
The only thing that bothers me about them is you get 3 or 4 medium sites on a server and the servers spent. I limit my servers to 200 sites only but one crowded xBox site could do you in. It's the CGI that tears up a cobalt real fast.

The other issue for me is, It would be a drag trying to get all of my clients off the cobalts and on to other servers. Then you have the user issues along with password issues.

So does it cost more to buy or lease a cobalt, or try and move all your site to a custom server and deal with the headache.

I think the cost of a cobalt is well worth it.

Matt