Hi,

I know this has been asked 1000 times, so forgive a newbie, but I need a recommendation for hosting my site.

It's a not-yet-very-popular web site. About 17,000 visitors a month, 2gig bandwidth. Based on past performance, I hope to have 50k a month by this time next year.

I'm now on a managed shared account, but have become very frustrated with support. I want a host that has great uptime/support and I'm willing to pay (within reason).

I've looked into Rackspace, based on recommendations here and on other boards, but I don't know anything about server administration. It also seems to be a over-kill for my site, but I'm not sure.

Should I go with a managed dedicated? or another shared account, but use a name brand like Dell? (I need php and mysql).

It doesn't sound like you need a dedicated server yet, though I don't know if you're running heavy scripts and have been told by your host that even your small amount of traffic is a problem (I wouldn't think it would be, but...)

I'll leave specific recommendations to the forum...

I do run heavy scripts and will pay for a dedicated, but I need it managed. I don't think I'd run into many problems, but need to have someone ready, willing and able to fix anything that goes wrong. Is this the type of thing you get with the basic ($199) Rackspace account?

What about hiring "the kid next door"? I'm sure that your local high school or college has some computer whizzes. Offer a decent rate, let them know they're on call, and whenever you need something installed, fixed, etc., you have someone on hand that will be willing and able to help you. You would need to figure out how often you'd need them (average), so that they do not become either too dependent on your pay, or so little dependent that they work fulltime somewhere else and then suddenly get nailed with 20 billiion things to do for you.

This kid can bring the site down forever. And one will have to pay hoster's stuff $50/hr for repairing damages.;)