I have been developing a fairly large Tolkien based site for the past three months and am ready to make my move from my testbed to a real server. I have no idea how much bandwidth I will need, but judging from some of the other sites dealing the same content, I can only imagine it will get to be at least 15gb when the release of 'The Two Towers' starts getting press. I am running PostNuke, Apache, PHP and MySQL on the test server.

I estimate a good bit of forum activity and image downloads. Few file, music and video downloads.

I need a server that:

good prices (under $25-50/month - site is free, im paying myself!)
generous bandwidth allowance,
reliable servers,
options for future growth,

//VERY IMPORTANT

Excellent configurability as some of the options on my site require 'Safe-Mode' to be OFF in PHP and mod_rewrite to
be enabled.

//VERY IMPORTANT

Root access so I can install and configure at will would be preferable.

I have a few other domains I would like hosted in seperate directories on the server if possible, I know some hosts don't
allow this, but it would save me time and effort to have all my
sites on one server. This is not a requirement though.

I would also like the ability to restart my servers via a control panel, Ensim or Plesk preferred.

I'd like to be able to backup the site to a zip or something so I can download it and backup on my tape.

The ability to provide users their own e-mail addresses at my domain would be a good feature too!

I know it sounds like a ton, but I am taking a shot in the dark and trying to prepare for the best experience. I don't want to move servers after getting up and running, and want an honest, reliable provider with a technically competent staff.

If you can help me I welcome an opportunity to speak with you.
:D

You'll probably need a VDS, and they probably will run more than $50.:)

You won't get root pass unless you're on a dedicated server

I am currently looking at Remarkable's private server option.
I've seen great reviews for this company on this forum.

I don't think I'll be able to do Multi-Domains with Remarkables private servers though.:eek:

I really dont think you will find a host which will let you restart a shared server and give you root access.

What you have asked for is a dedicated server.
I think there are cheap ones for $99 dollars at Yahoo Hosting.
But thats definately not PLESK or ENSIM.

You might be able to find a dedicated linux box and install the free version of Plesk onto it.

I know its horrible out there. Many web developers have awesome sites on testbeds and once they complete it and are ready to make it live, they get shocked at the prices outside.

But then again, if you are preparing to make it an awesome site and have ample space for growth, to say future problems with the host you choose, You better not look in the gutters for "reallly really hard to beleive low prices" as what you pay eventually is what you get.

Virtual private servers would definately be the way to go. They'll provide both the space, bandwidth, and root access you need. Try doing an online search for the term, or visit some large hosts like Interland, Verio, and webhosting.com.