I consider these two companies the best hosting companies out there. They do have a solid connection, offer quality servers and good support. Now, I would like to know why would you consider one is better than the other. Please no negative stuff, only serious people with extensive knowledge and experiences with both companies post their opinions.

Thanks.

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In my opinion, Rackspace tend to look a bit more professional than Dialtone. As far as service goes, I can't comment. I haven't used either company.

Pluses;

Great Network
Prior Notification of Maintenance
DNS has a good interface - (watchout sometimes it hides a cname)
Network Support - send a traceroute and it gets fixed.

Normal;

Server Support - I have had 5 hosting companies in the last couple years and Rackspace support is par. Don't expect much. Manage your own server.

Unbelieveable;

Once they sent me an email saying that my server was being hacked. When I saw it the server had a 1ion hack on it. So they know when your in trouble.

I have a server with Dialtone for over two years. I have been very happy with the support and network. I would highly recommend them...even though they are a little pricier than others out there...the support makes up for the price difference.

No experience with Rackspace...

I agree with the above comment. I have been with dialtone for some time and have had excelent support and service, I to would highly recommend them.

I use to host with rackspace, until I existed the hosting industry, and they were one of the most professional companies I have ever delt with. The customer support, services, everything were the best it could be. Network speed is awsome, and never ever down. The server is monitored by them 24/7 and almost always they will fix the problems before you knew they occured.

Awsome overall, Rackspace is certainly the lead in managed hosting.


Jim

I somehow prefer RackSpace over Dialtone. Their web site says it all. It's too bad that their pricing is quite expensive and I can't afford it yet, with my current high bandwidth usage.

If you can afford it, I think going with RackSpace can't be wrong :)

I havn't used them but I have heard they are very good. Try them and you won't be disapointed. If i had the cash I would go with them!!!

Chris

I can certainly say that Rackspace is nothing but the best. I've found that with their servers being high quality, meaning less faults... you don't have to contact support that often, compaed to some other hosts I've been with. I can sometimes go with a whole month asking no questions, and if I do ask something, it'll just be one support ticket a month.

Never been with Dialtone, so can't comment on them.

Alan

Good question. I think you're right that both companies are top notch, and as such, they both charge more than other alternatives. That said, on avg, Dialtone charges less. We currently host w/ both companies and my breakdown would be as follows (On a scale of 1-5...5 being high):

-Network
RS:5
DT:4
We've never had a server go down due to network issues at either location and seed is fast for both.

-Support
RS:3
DT:5
RS offers a smooth ticket (secure) interface for support where DT does not. However, ticket turnaround time is much faster at DT. (both usually reply in less than 24hrs and both can be counted on in an emergency 24/7). Also remember, the name of the game is dedicated hosting--READ: MANAGE YOUR OWN SERVER ;)

-Security
RS:3
DT:4
RS monitors the servers better than DT unless you buy a port monitoring service. However, the initial install, in our experience, is better at DT. At RS you must take steps to secure the server. Also it seems we get more hack attempts at RS.

-Working Relationship
RS:3
DT:5
I think DT is a smaller company than RS. We feel more like a name at DT and a # at RS. Which also means you have to like to work w/ people at DT!

-Administrator Interface
RS:5
DT:3
RS allows you to view invoice, support tickets, and bandwidth through a smooth, some would say MS looking interface.

-Contracts:
RS:5
DT:3
RS has no min contract length. DT is 6mo. Make sure you know proper procedure for canceling contracts w/ DT.

-User Interface/Cpanel
RS:NA
DT:4
DT has their own user cpanel/interface which works very well. RS you can choose from webmin/plesk etc. DT also standard installs wusage :)

-Price
RS:2
DT:3
Both are expensive, but that's what to expect from the best. DT is still less expensive.

Overview:
My overall value/quality award goes to DT by a slim margin. A lot of that is because what we use the servers for. Like most better than/worse than questions about dedicated hosting, I think it depends on what your server needs are. In some cases Rackspace would be better, in others, Dialtone. For ex, hosting single sites I'd suggest RS/Webmin, for multi-sites: DT.

Hope that helps. Sorry to be longwinded.

Originally posted by percent5
-Price
RS:2
DT:3
Both are expensive, but that's what to expect from the best. DT is still less expensive.

Is DT still less expensive? Rackspace is advertising servers as low as $200/month on their site, and I recently got an email which mentioned $155/month.

We've usually found Bandwidth is less expensive at DT, but prices at RS have come down a lot lately. I'm guessing the two offers you mention come w/ 10gb. DT usually offers between 40-65gb at similar prices.

Both of those were with 30GB; that seems to be the lowest tier which Rackspace provides.

That's a pretty good deal. I agree prices are comperable, but in our experiance DT is less expensive...ie the prices we pay now--which are subject to change! For ex, we recently got a DT offer for PIII 1Ghz, 256RAM, 40gb/mo for $188, which was better than offers from RS at the time ;)

I see that Dialtone offers a wide array of products; always coming up with new plans and variations in servers. They also offer free ip addresses which can go both ways, one does not need an ip to host domains but if you need them, they are free. The 6 month contract is not a problem if you are a serious business but again I consider there is no need to attach a customer to be with one for 6 months or a year. As long as you offer quality services month-to-month is a way to tell customers do business with us. Rackspace seems to be a top-notch company with good connectivity and support. They offer manage solutions whereas Dialtone does not. They carry more servers that Dialtones does (I called both companies to verify this). Rackspace have some know-name companies hosted with them - could not verify the same at Dialtone. Bottom line: it seems that finally there are 2 great companies out there, the rest of them seem to have more problems with various aspects of the business. You pay higher prices but you get quality services, that is the name of the game if you are running a business on the net.

I've always read great comments on WHT about Rackspace and its services. However, when I did a search on Google a few months ago, the comments I found (on alt.www.webmaster and other places) were surprisingly mixed... Most of us can't afford their fees, so I guess we can't find out for ourselves. :)

I have been with Rackspace for more than 4 years. Here is my comment:

Their price is expensive but they have cut the price lately.

Their support is very good. Whenever your server down, just let them and your server will be up within mins.

Their network is solid.

I would suggest if you don't have much Linux experiences and your server is mission critical, host with them and you won't go wrong.

But if you have Linux experiences and your server is not mission critical. You can find another host which provide 24/7 reboot and manage the server by yourself. The cost is much lower. But you shouod also consider what network that the comapny is using.

Originally posted by percent5
Overview:
My overall value/quality award goes to DT by a slim margin. A lot of that is because what we use the servers for. Like most better than/worse than questions about dedicated hosting, I think it depends on what your server needs are. In some cases Rackspace would be better, in others, Dialtone. For ex, hosting single sites I'd suggest RS/Webmin, for multi-sites: DT.


Thanks for your comprehensive personal experiences sharing about these two top-notch hosts.

Which servers/products on DT that you use right now? I notice that they are offering a wide array of products on their web site (IBM, value, etc). Are they all have the same quality and values?

As far as value goes, it depends on your server needs. As quality is concerned, it is safe to say that IBM servers are probably better than your avg generic server. The main difference that I know of between the "value" and "IBM" packages is hardware. Don't quote me, but the services offered/connectivity for both packages are the same otr than hardware. IBM units come w/ an enhanced web interface which provides more control options than the "value" packages.

That's all I know. Hope it helps.