I am looking for web server administration services, and please recommend me any such provider who can investigate the problem I have (Linux server with Cpanel often goes down and need to know the exact reason).

I know
http://www.easyservermanagement.com/
but if any other,

Please let me know.

Theres several of them:

linux-tech.net
wemanagedservers.net
easyservermanagement.com
fastservermanagement.com
acunett.com
seeksadmin.com
Geeks4Help.com
rackaid.com
visionexcomm.com
rfxnetworks.com
esupport.org.ua
www.hellodev.net/index.php?page=remotemanagement
serverwizards.com
etechsupport.net

I also believe choon and sheps offer administration services.

We shouldn't forget that Rack911.com is one of the best in the field.

Don't forget rloxy.com

I use them and am very happy with their service.

I have heard good things about rack911, I also recommend considering a quality fully managed provider such as rackspace.com or liquidweb.com.

I've just tried looking at rack911's site, and the dedicated link doesn't work at all.... would I want to use them to manage my critical servers when they can't even keep their own website up and running properly? Probably not...

Originally posted by lexis200
I've just tried looking at rack911's site, and the dedicated link doesn't work at all.... would I want to use them to manage my critical servers when they can't even keep their own website up and running properly? Probably not...

Hmmm, you might want to do a search before you pass judgement.

I doubt, at this point, rack911 would take you on.

Sirius

As far as I know rack911's hands are all full now so they no longer take new server management orders, probably till they hire new sysadmins.

Sorry? I don't understand what you're saying.

I would expect a hosting company, any hosting company, to show a professional "shop window" into their business. If they can't even do that, then I wouldn't bother to walk through the front door.

I was trying to look out of interest at their dedicated servers offering, but as their website isn't functioning properly, I can't. All I'm saying is that it doesn't give a very good first impression.

I have only just had the need for a dedicated server (or probably several) due to a new business venture I'm undertaking, and therefore haven't had the chance to spend hours trawling through this site for info on the thousands of hosts out there. When I see someone say "I have heard good things about rack911" I go take a look at their website to see how professional they look.

At this point in time, Rack911 don't give me a good feeling (or indeed give me any information as their page doesn't load).

I think my judgement is valid... first impressions are paramount.

lexis200

Originally posted by lexis200

At this point in time, Rack911 don't give me a good feeling (or indeed give me any information as their page doesn't load).

I think my judgement is valid... first impressions are paramount.


So you would agree then, that we should all avoid you due to your inability to use english grammar correctly? The first impression I have is that you cannot form a complete sentence using proper grammar.

Not trying to slam you, but do you get my point? Sometimes first impressions aren't worth a thing.

Sirius

They always say, dont judge a book by its cover. First impressions in the administration world should be based on:

1.) Talking to the bussiness
2.) Asking technical questions and find their reply.
3.) etc

Rather then a website. I know several admins that operate with no more then a email address. No site no nothing, and they do a great job and make decent money.

Another thing, a administration firm, could have the best looking website ever, filled with content, but they cant fix a simple problem.

Anyways, diablo76 is right, we are not taking any administration clients currently. We do not have enough staff to handel the work load. Taking more clients would make current service hindered.

I'm sure Steve has both hands full, (maybe even toes :P)

I recently had www.Geeks4help.com optimize my server and they did an AWESOME job! I plan on moving to a dedicated server very soon and they will be the people I call for admin help - I HIGHLY recommend them!

I agree with lexis200, I've looked at Rack911's site as well and find it hard to gather some info as the pages are either blank or doesnt load and no reason as to why - however I have heard a lot of good things about them.


-Michael

Well, I guess I'll chime in with my usual recommendation of Geeks4Help too, even if I am a bit late to the party. I've been using their services for a while now and Krishnan hasn't let me down yet. I'm sure the remaining staff are just as professional and courteous as he is.

i read gr8 reviews about rack911 and geeks4help. thanks for that list thelinuxguy :)

Sirius

The difference is that I'm not trying to sell anything, they are. I don't have to prove anything to anyone, they do.

If we are going to argue over grammatical or spelling errors, there are plenty on this thread alone, that doesn't mean I think the person who made the mistake is superior or inferior to me. They could after all have learning difficulties or dyslexia or any number of other problems I don't know about. But a business, on the other hand, should reflect a certain level of professionalism, or they are not going to get the business that their website is obviously there to generate.

What we were talking about before was their inability to keep their website functioning correctly. If they aren't able to take on further managed servers because, as thelinuxguy states, "We do not have enough staff to handel (sic) the work load", I would have expected a statement to that effect, rather than a blank page. There is no shame in saying that your success means you've expanded quicker than expected and you need to stop new business temporarily, but a blank page says nothing.

Just because good things have been said in the past, it doesn't mean that circumstances can't change. Although I take into account what other people say, I have to make my own judgement at this particular point in time. It may be that (and I'm not saying this is necessarily the case) Rack911 used to be one of the best hosts, but now due to their lack of staff, they've let things slip (including the website). I just can't tell. But I do know that as a result of the poor maintenance of the website, coupled with what appears to be an employee (or possibly the owner) saying they can't handle the workload, that I certainly won't be putting rack911 onto my shortlist. My website will be critical to my business even if theirs isn't.

lexis200

Originally posted by lexis200

If we are going to argue over grammatical or spelling errors, there are plenty on this thread alone, that doesn't mean I think the person who made the mistake is superior or inferior to me. They could after all have learning difficulties or dyslexia or any number of other problems I don't know about. But a business, on the other hand, should reflect a certain level of professionalism, or they are not going to get the business that their website is obviously there to generate.


You missed the point, clearly.

Sirius

Could we get back on topic to the OP questions though? Someone asked for reputable server management companies, and from what I've read and heard rack911 fits the request, however, as he noted, he's not taking on anymore clients at this time.

side note:

There's no need to pick apart a company, solely based on their website, and start arguments with no experience of a company to back that information. If you've used company xyz, feel free to comment on their level of service, and your choice for choosing them, but let's not judge a book by its cover, shall we?

Originally posted by lexis200
The difference is that I'm not trying to sell anything, they are. I don't have to prove anything to anyone, they do.

I think you're giving yourself too much credit. Your initial post on this topic was your first post ever to WHT. Since you seem to have taken the time to register and post now, for the first time, to question the abilities of a management service provider with whom you've had no experience and who enjoys a good reputation here, people are quite right to question your intent.

How about reading the forum rules, contributing useful reviews about providers with whom you've had some experience, and generally doing something worthwhile? Maybe then we'll be interested in your otherwise meaningless opinions.

It might be better if we just stay on topic and ignore non-relevant postings.

easyservermanagement is great and very responsive. I often see tickets answered within a few minutes. Nighthawk is a true Plesk expert and they also have some CPanel experts there. Downside: their monitoring system usually catch downtime quite late so the response is slow, often more than 30 mins. Maybe they are monitoring too many servers there.

acunett is also great and cheaper. Not as responsive as ezsm but still okay so far.

Greetings:

Wolfstream from the WHT forums is good.

Rackaid.com and EasyServerManagement.com are also good.

Thank you.

Originally posted by dynamicnet
Greetings:

Wolfstream from the WHT forums is good.

Rackaid.com and EasyServerManagement.com are also good.

Thank you.

dont forget www.wemanageservers.com

I used guru-host.com for a while as I was very busy and I didn't have time to administer new clients.
I am fully satisfied, no problems at all.

I read also very good comments about rack911 but unfortunately their site does not include details on many things, like what they are using to avoid attacks etc.

Originally posted by asmar
I used guru-host.com for a while as I was very busy and I didn't have time to administer new clients.
I am fully satisfied, no problems at all.

I read also very good comments about rack911 but unfortunately their site does not include details on many things, like what they are using to avoid attacks etc.

Define what you mean by avoiding attacks.

I believe he meant the firewall and basic dos protection..

But when I read the website, everything looked clear to me..

APF is the firewall that rack911 use, and APF with sysctl configurations for basic dos protection..


BruteForce attacks are blocked via APF using BFD ( Brue Force Detection )..

Everything is clear..

Greetings:

COUGH... clear as what? Muddy rain? <smile>.

On a serious note, you mention only one layer out of how many layers of protection? And that means? Safe? Or maybe a false sense of safety?

Yes, Steve and others may use open source tools. We happen to use a combination of open source and our own developed products.

However, how the tools are implemented (whether already existing or custom made) can make or break the difference.

One of the most common situations we've faced over the past two years are people who questioned us about our rates for hardening, passed on the hardening to follow our public how to's, and then came back stating they got hacked.

We go in, and find holes left and right because the implementation was not tightly woven.

I'm sure Steve, Tom, Ryan, and the other security professionals encounter the same problems of people reading how to's and seeing that the professionals use xyz tools and therefore they are "clear" and protected.

Unfortunately, most of the time that is far from the truth.

Thank you.

Originally posted by lexis200
I've just tried looking at rack911's site, and the dedicated link doesn't work at all.... would I want to use them to manage my critical servers when they can't even keep their own website up and running properly? Probably not...

Search this board and see who knows their stuff. I wouldn't care if they had a cardboard box on their site with a button that said "press here".

There is no doubt the they know their stuff.

Originally posted by thelinuxguy
Define what you mean by avoiding attacks.

Hello,

For example, on your site you have:

2.4.x kernel compile $15 (w/ grsecurity $20)

How should I now as a customer what you are going to do.

Of course I am not saying that you wont do anything, but obviously you will know that clients asking for admin support and they want to know 'exactly' what they are paying for. Speaking personally, from the sentence '2.4.x kernel compile $15 (w/ grsecurity $20)' I cannot understand what kind of security you are offering.

Just unload some modules?

I also agree with lexis200 about the web site.

almahdi, you said 'BruteForce attacks are blocked via APF using BFD ( Brue Force Detection )..
Everything is clear.. '

It is clear to people that knows about security,hosting etc and usually those are doing theirselves the administration.
What I want to say is that a more detailed description of each service should be more than welcome for those with limited knowledge.

Thanks

Originally posted by asmar
What I want to say is that a more detailed description of each service should be more than welcome for those with limited knowledge.

Thanks The problem with giving too detailed of a description is that for those not familiar with server hardening and security, in many cases anything said is probably going to be over their heads.

Originally posted by asmar
Hello,

For example, on your site you have:

2.4.x kernel compile $15 (w/ grsecurity $20)

How should I now as a customer what you are going to do.

Of course I am not saying that you wont do anything, but obviously you will know that clients asking for admin support and they want to know 'exactly' what they are paying for. Speaking personally, from the sentence '2.4.x kernel compile $15 (w/ grsecurity $20)' I cannot understand what kind of security you are offering.

Just unload some modules?

I also agree with lexis200 about the web site.

almahdi, you said 'BruteForce attacks are blocked via APF using BFD ( Brue Force Detection )..
Everything is clear.. '

It is clear to people that knows about security,hosting etc and usually those are doing theirselves the administration.
What I want to say is that a more detailed description of each service should be more than welcome for those with limited knowledge.

Thanks


First off if they dont know what a kernel is they should not even have a server. Second, they shouldnt even order the service if they dont know what a kernel compile is. Third, google is a great tool. search grsecurity. Besides, a little email to sales with questions go a long way. I have no problem getting customers with the current site, so its not changing.

besides, look at any administration site, how many actually explain every little thing? Almost none of them.


Speaking personally, from the sentence '2.4.x kernel compile $15 (w/ grsecurity $20)' I cannot understand what kind of security you are offering.


Well then... I dont know what to tell you, I wouldnt trust you with a running a dedicated server that is all I have to say.


The problem with the industry is everyone and their mother has a server, and maybe half of them know anything about them. I am not going to go and explain every thing on my website for that half. Most of the time, I dont even want that kind of customer because it causes a great load on work. (dont take that personally, I do have some clueless customers that are nothing but great!) I just rather have a customer that knows what I am talking about when I talk to them instead of saying "whats a kernel? Popcorn?"

actually...the less security info you have it on the web site - the better it is for the clients from the security point of view... ;)

Well then... I dont know what to tell you, I wouldnt trust you with a running a dedicated server that is all I have to say.

I'm sorry but I didn't say that I don't know what grsecurity is.
(grsecurity is an innovative approach to security utilizing a multi-layered detection, prevention, and containment model. )

I just wanna emphasize the fact that you need to include more details in your web site. Obviously you don't think that this is necessary, it is your business, so no problem!

Originally posted by asmar
I'm sorry but I didn't mean, that I don't know what grsecurity is.
(grsecurity is an innovative approach to security utilizing a multi-layered detection, prevention, and containment model. )

I just wanna emphasize the fact that you need to include more details in your web site. Obviously you don't think that this is necessary, it is your business, so no problem!

Your right, It is my business, and its not changing.

I believe Rack911 is doing an excellent job, though it would benefit from a more informative website. But then again they already have as many client they can handle, so i would conclude that they are doing something right.

Regards
Mian

I don't care if they take the site down as long as they keep providing the great service that they do.

Scott

Part of Security is Secrecy.
if everything is Public, nothing is Secured.

Originally posted by asmar
Hello,

For example, on your site you have:

2.4.x kernel compile $15 (w/ grsecurity $20)

How should I now as a customer what you are going to do.

Of course I am not saying that you wont do anything, but obviously you will know that clients asking for admin support and they want to know 'exactly' what they are paying for. Speaking personally, from the sentence '2.4.x kernel compile $15 (w/ grsecurity $20)' I cannot understand what kind of security you are offering.



A quick search in google will get you the relevant information. Also you should trust the admin you hire. If you don't trust, just don't hire. If you don't believe the admin when he says he has installed something, probably you should get someone with some knowledge about server admin to check it out.

Unless, the admin is a crook, I doubt anyone will take your money just like that. Steve of Rack911 has a very good reputation. You can trust him.

Again, in my opinion, their knowledge matters more than their site. Steve is pretty knowledgeable and experienced.

Anyone know whether any of the server management companies listed likewise work with qmail?

Thanks.

linuxnetworkcare deals with qmail.