I've decided to strike out on my own and put 3 or 4 servers in a collocation center, but the more I research the more convoluted the information becomes.

On one side, you have Open Source, and on the other, Microsoft.

Which one is best for me to operate a Virtual Sever, and which one is best for my customers to use once they come on board?

By the way, it seems most Hosters use Red Hat. I went to Red Hat to check out there Linux Sever solution. There's nothing free or inexpensive about it. If I’m going to spend that kind of money, wouldn’t it make more sense to go Microsoft?

Any opinions…

Originally posted by hisaacs11
I've decided to strike out on my own and put 3 or 4 servers in a collocation center, but the more I research the more convoluted the information becomes.

On one side, you have Open Source, and on the other, Microsoft.

Which one is best for me to operate a Virtual Sever, and which one is best for my customers to use once they come on board?

By the way, it seems most Hosters use Red Hat. I went to Red Hat to check out there Linux Sever solution. There's nothing free or inexpensive about it. If I’m going to spend that kind of money, wouldn’t it make more sense to go Microsoft?

Any opinions…

Not necessarily. While Linux distributions like Red Hat cost, you're overlooking the price for software to support the protocols needed to fully operate a virtual hosting provider. Also, there are many alternatives to Red Hat, which are free, and better than what you'd buy in the store but don't offer the support. A few examples of these are Debian and Slackware Linux. Microsoft is easy-to-use for both you and your customers, but it's never the cheapest or most plausible road due to all the extra software you'll need which all include a price tag. With Red Hat, and almost every Linux, *BSD, etc.; these software packages are free and included.

Most hosts use Red Hat Linux. There are many possible reasons for this. One would be that almost all the "good" control panel applications are developed for Red Hat, two would be that nowadays Red Hat Linux "does the security itself" with RHN (Red Hat Network), and three would be that you don't need to be a *NIX God to operate it properly. From a security standpoint, Red Hat Linux has come a long way in the past 2 years, but I still don't sleep at night now that I've had a need for those "Red Hat Only" control panels.

Bottom line: Red Hat Linux over Microsoft, hands down.

(Edited to fix redundant word).

Well - obviously what do you plan to be offering? If just general hosting then yeah go redhat - but obviously keep the learning curve of both in mind.

Just curious - why not just check out one of the many turnkey setups from the zillions of reseller and dedicated service providers? There's lots of services that you can signup and be selling hosting plans the same day!

I hope this response is not to long. It may however validate my reasoning for wanting to enter the hosting business at a tier 1 level (albeit small). I don’t presume to know which method is best, just the contrary, but with my career history it seems the most logical choice.

I have an extensive career in telecommunications (23 years). Initially starting in the Central Office environment, I later moved into the premise equipment side when I lost my job after the AT&T breakup. I eventually became an expert in PBX’s, Voicemail etc.. The last 7 years however, I made a return to the larger infrastructure side and eventually obtained my RCDD (Registered Communication Distribution Designer) certification.

Why Hosting?

On my last project, my employer moved me to Denver where I led a team of RCDD’s and Electrical Engineers in the Telecommunications Infrastructure design of 25 Internet Data Centers. Based on it’s success, I became the Senior Project Manager in charge of building 5 of the first 11 facilities in phase 1. Unfortunately, there was no phase 2 and I was let go along with everyone else on the project when the owner cancelled the program. This was June last year and the economy was slowing dramatically, especially in the telecommunications infrastructure sector where it was calculated that the industry had over-built 10 times what was needed.

This in itself was a great career that made me a very good living. But 9-11 was the final blow that sounded the death nil for my career along with thousands of others. The phones stopped ringing from head hunters, and friends trying to land my services prior, were out of business themselves or had a hiring freeze in place. After a year of job searching and waiting, it’s time to take charge and reinvent new opportunities for myself?

Having worked so closely with data centers and provisioning equipment earlier in my career, hosting and provisioning servers in a collocation facility seems to make perfect sense.