I'm in the process of evaluating possibilities for "managed" hosting. After reading this board and performing some investigation, I narrowed it down to 3 options:

Rackspace
HostMySite
SoftLayer+Outsourced Management

I am in the process of launching a site/service. The site is heavy in PHP/MySQL (all dynamically generated pages / many complex queries). However, there aren't many other bells & whistles needed. This is a new product launch and the traffic could be extremely high (I hope), so I would like good options for scaling upward.

I like to hear the opinions of others. I'm more of a software guy, so I don't know the specifics of the networks/hardware/administration.

Here's what I've been quoted:
Rackspace:
Standard Chassis Server
O/S Redhat Enterprise Linux 4.0
Includes: Apache 2.0, MySQL 4, PHP 4, etc
Access: Full Administrative Control via FTP or SSH
Processor: Single AMD Opteron 270 DUAL CORE Processor – Dual Capable
Memory: 2 GB DDR RAM
Hard Drive(s): 2 x 73 GB SCSI
RAID: LSI 320-1 RAID Card – Raid 1
Primary Connectivity: 100Mbps Fully Burstable
Port Monitoring Agent: Rackwatch Basic
S.L.A.: 0 % Downtime / 1 Hour Hardware Replacement Guarantee
Service: FANATICAL 24x7x365 Support and Service
Support: Dedicated Account Manager / Technician Team
IP’s: 2
1000 MBs Bandwidth

Promotional Pricing + Free Rackwatch Platinum (till September 30, 2006)
12 Months Contract- $610.00/mo $300.00 setup

HostMySite:

Processors:
2 x Intel Xeon 3.2 GHZ (1066 MHz FSB)
Memory:
DDR 2048 MB (2 GB)
Hard Drives:
2 x SAS 73 GB (10k RPM, 3.5 inch)
Raid Cards:
SAS Raid Card
Operating Systems:
Linux RedHat Enterprise
Bandwidth:
1000 GB monthly transfer
Number of IPs:
1
Hot Swappable Drives:
Yes
Managed Backups with 40 GB
Managed Security Patches
Subtotal
$520 Setup
$670 / month

SoftLayer:
Opteron 270 (Dual Core Dual Processor)
2GB RAM
2x73GB 10K SCSI in RAID 1
100Mbps public/private connection
2000GB public bandwidth
Unlimited private bandwidth
RedHat Enterprise Linux 4 (64-bit)
5 usable IPs
Ping monitoring with Email notification
Total: $419/month, $0 setup

Add at least $100 for management.

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

Do you know the kind of hardware you actually need ? Because those servers are while quite good maybe just over the top. What kind of work would the site doing ? What kind database useage will there be ? In terms of pages and queries per page . That would determine if you need just a single chip or single chip / multi core or more higher level of systems. There are plenty of startups using lower end systems quite effectively.

Rackspace option is quite over the top. Do you have a budget where you can sustain the site out of pocket for a few months at that sweet spot ?

There's no bad option here-- if you are looking to scale upwards, there's no reason not to start on a small spec server and move up fast. These companies are all capable of providing a mid-level server first.

Rackspace = 1000 MBs Bandwidth

1GB bandwidth?

Rackspace = 1000 MBs Bandwidth

1GB bandwidth?
Probably meant 1TB.

Sorry, it should be 1000 GBs for rackspace.

I should have added some more specifics but I was rushing through.

Initially, my worse case expectation for the peak page views would be in the low 100's per min and average page size is somewhere between 40-60k.

The number of queries per page depends on the details of the page. Between 5-15 depending on the page is a reasonable approximation, and typically there is only one complex query per page. The others are singleton SELECTs.

What I'm really trying to wrap my head around is the competitive advantages of each solution. I don’t like signing the long term deal with rackspace; it limits my ability to negotiate down the road. I also see a ton of folks saying you can find better value elsewhere.

check out servint too. they have some good deals:
http://webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=548957

Clarify with Rackspace about this:


Hard Drive(s): 2 x 73 GB SCSI
10K or 15K? (big difference)

Sorry, it should be 1000 GBs for rackspace.

I should have added some more specifics but I was rushing through.

Initially, my worse case expectation for the peak page views would be in the low 100's per min and average page size is somewhere between 40-60k.

The number of queries per page depends on the details of the page. Between 5-15 depending on the page is a reasonable approximation, and typically there is only one complex query per page. The others are singleton SELECTs.

What I'm really trying to wrap my head around is the competitive advantages of each solution. I don’t like signing the long term deal with rackspace; it limits my ability to negotiate down the road. I also see a ton of folks saying you can find better value elsewhere.

Platinum Server Management are awesome for their server management support, I recommend to anybody who needs a management company that is affordable yet value for your money.

http://www.platinumservermanagement.com

I currently use them for my dedicated server and I have no problems since. Been going on 6 months strong with them.

I do agree with these guys though, you should figure out exactly what type of server you need to take the usage your sites will be doing. It's good to be a little bit over then "just enough". But if you have the money to spend, go right ahead. Yeah you don't want to get into a contract, since you might change your mind down the road. I am hearing a lot of horror stories from SoftLayer. Look around the forum before you make a solid decision. The more you research, the less headaches you'll have down the line.

I am hearing a lot of horror stories from SoftLayer.
Like what?

instead of me listing them, just go ahead and do a search for softlayer on here