Hi guys. Found this forum by mistake, by wow... lots of info to get here. Anywayz, here's my question:

I just need a host that gives the following features:

1. 100 to 200 megs of space
2. packages from 10 dollars to 20 max (sort of like what webexpose used to be.... ;( )
3. Cold fusion
4. unlimited odbc connections (question: is unlimited odbc similar to unlimited bandwidth or space? Meaning, is it bad to have unlimited odbc?)
5. transfer / month is variable. 6 gigs would be nice. ;]

Could u guys suggest some hosts meeting these requirements? I used to be with Webexpose... but they're kinda different now... ;[

As of today, my research has led me to http://www.frontserve.com and http://www.crystaltech.com . Any others?

Hmmmm... You didn't exactly say what your budget would be :D

Here's a few more to add to your list : http://www.innerhost.com http://www.intermedia.net

Frontserve is/used to be a reseller for WebExpose, so you might like to investigate their service if you're still pining for WebExpose's arsenal of languages and services offered. CyrstalTech is also very nice from what I've heard.

But you're right.. stoopid of me for forgetting to put in my budget... I usually go for hosts that has packages at around 10 dollars (lowese package) to 20 dollars (for high end.) thanks for the response!

Hello
I think the unlimited DSN's would be a bit of a problem.

Having just finished a couple of months sorting out the NT hosting side of my business it has become clear that NT hosting is more expensive to provide than Linux.

In the end I had to make the NT prices higher than the Linux ones.

Good luck with your search.

Gordon

Gordon,

I know that because of the licencing fees, as well as the many nuances of NT, that generally NT hosting is more expensive. For everyone else's reference, however, (including mine) would you mind elaborating on the main reasons why NT hosting is more expensive?

Would be much appreciated - thanks.

theplonk, what I would recommend before you do anything else is look at the following article:

http://www.learnasp.com/learn/dbopen.asp

It shows you how to create a DSNless (non-ODBC) connection, which is both faster and more stable than an ODBC connection (I've connected databases both ways. Believe me, there's a heck of a difference). This will work on any half-decent NT host and thus, eliminate your need for any DSNs. So it'll make your hunt a little easier.

As far as your Cold Fusion request, you probably won't find it for under $20 a month in an NT environment. It's not a common feature on most web plans as it is. But if you're not pressed for time, by all means, look around, ask around, you might get lucky. (here's hoping, eh? :)

Can u create DSN-less connections with ColdFusion though? The guy from Webexpose (Philip I think.. ) told me that this was not possible... and I don't know how to script in ASP :(...

Actually, for under 20 dollars, you could find pretty good hosts with Cold Fusion. Webexpose for that matter.. but then again... they're gone.. sigh...

Hello
The main price differences are doe to thje licensing but also economies of scale.
The more servers you have the cheaper it gets.
Unless you only provide NT hosting you may never reach the economies you can with Linux, which is more popular.

Also, there is a perceived higher support requirement for NT.

One of my marketing clients has an NT dedicated server and it keeps their engineer as busy as I am with all my Linux customers added together.

I am not suggesting this is typical, but there seems to be a lot more thats capable of going wrong with NT/IIS compared to Linux/Apache.

Gordon

I'm afraid I don't know if you can do a DSNless connection with Cold Fusion. I imagine it would be possible, however, based on the performance issues associated with DSN vs. DSNless connection.

I use a program called EditPad Classic (it's a freeware text editor available at download.com) to program in ASP myself. Maybe you can open up your ColdFusion files, find the point where the DSN connection is established, and change the text to a DSNless connection. (Again, I don't know if this will actually work, but it's worth a shot. Besides, weird ASCII characters are really fun to look at when you're bored or haven't slept in a few days.) :)

I trip out too when I'm just so bored or so sleepy... ;] I find myself doing some strange things when I'm really sleepy.... ;]

Thanks for the help guys! I'll try out your suggestions and see if I can make things work! Thanks again! ;]

pl0nk?!
http://www.digitalketchup.com - me company hosted on webexpose.. account expiring in 5 days... whoa!!!!!!!!!
http://www.claninabox.com - me self project with the webdesigner in mind. ;]

Actually no you can't do DSNless connections for use with Cold Fusion. For ASP though they work great and make things pretty portable.

I have been with Crystaltech for little over 2 years now and I can tell you the first year I was with them, I was on and off with them. Ya know every host isnt perfect. But for the past year they have been right on! They have made some great improvements and having been with about 20 different hosts in the past few years I now am right back with them. You can have as many DSN's set up as you need and I usually get support responses back within an hour on most but maybe a few hours at the most.

For $19.95 its great if you need CF and Access databases. Personally I need SQL server on their higher plan but its a good price for that as well.

I do still have one account with Webexpose, Im hoping maybe one day they improve so Im keeping my status with them just in case. Can't beat their price, if only they had better support.

Actually, I'm with Crystaltech now.... their support is great.. but they should be a little friendlier though... whenever I'm dealing with them, I feel like they're treating me like someone stupid... but oh well, I don't care actually. Their support is great! ;]

pl0nk?!

I too was going to go with Crystaltech, I thought their plans were good for me, but there attitude when I emailed them with a couple of questions, and even called was to like "hey this is what we offer take it or leave it"

So I thought I might be better off looking on. Let me know how it goes with you I might be interested in the future knowing someone here has had an experiance with them. I also noticed that there was no mention of a 30 day period for a refund, dont know if this matters but I think a host, would display this to attract folks. Well good luck

I also noticed that there was no mention of a 30 day period for a refund, dont know if this matters but I think a host, would display this to attract folks. Well good luck


Hello
Their 30 day guarantee may just be well hidden on their website.
We didn't have it on our front page and the site search logs showed that people were looking for it so we moved it up.

Best to contact them to see if they have one.

Gordon

Well I called to see how they handle this issue, and NO they do not offer a 30 day refund policy. It was mentioned to me that I would have to prove that the service is bad for a refund. This does not guarantee that you will get your money back.

I dont know good NT plans though.....