Hi,

First off, I've never purchased a Dedicated Server, only shared and 'reseller' packages, but I'm thinking of moving up due to the tremendous problems all shared accounts and the resellers seem to be offerring (people oversell bandwidth, have crap lines, admins don't know anything, put too many people on the same server, blah, blah)

Anyways, anyone who can be so kind to anwser any (or all) of the following questions I'd greatly appreciate it. So here we go:

First, this is more of a "what I would be looking for" kind of question, here's what I'd be using the box for:

10-50 sites, currently about 13, 1/2 are static html, 1 is heavy on SQL/PHP usage (about 150,000 page views a day, 10-60 SQL queries per page). Most of my other clients use minimal PHP and some small SQL (news scripts, popular forums like ibf, vbulliten, phpbb, etc). So basically I'm looking for what kind of CPU and ram I'd be wanting to run all this smoothly with basically a 0 load average.

Secondly, what kind of bandwidth do I want? I don't understand '1mbps' or '3mbps' or whatever, they don't tell you the max (300gb/m 500gb/m etc) so I don't quite understand that. 150-200 gigs a month would be well over enough for my needs, but I don't know the "<number> mbps" that would fall in. I also do NOT want cogent, bad bad experience with that stuff .... so... I'd like to find another type (?)

Now on to some technical questions. I don't know anything about Linux, or Unix, not going to lie but a lot of my friends do. I'm guessing with these servers you're not responsible for network stuff (ie, keeping the site online, backup power stuff, etc) or am I wrong?

Also, is all I'd really be doing is rebooting, installing, and upgrading stuff like PHP, phpMyAdmin, perl, and apache modules?

What OS can handle extensive SQL quering, lots of PHP usage, etc better? Redhat or FreeBSD?

Lastly, when you buy one of these, do you get total control over it? Can I reboot it when I desire? Can I run stuff like eggdrops or a bnc (irc bouncer), ircd and services aswell as my websites? How would I be 100% sure the people I buy from are not putting people on my box or using it that way?

Any additional things anyone could think of to tell someone looking to step up into a dedicated server would be apprciated to.

Thanks for reading and I hope someone can anwser my questions.

- Bryan

FreeBSD is probably your best bet for that kind of traffic.

As for bandwidth, find out what you are using per month now (100GB, 200GB, 500GB) and see what you can get out of a hosting company for a dedicated server.

While you'll have total control, a lot of companies have user agreements saying what you can and cannot run on their network, so make sure you read and follow it.

As for putting others on your box, keep tabs on the /etc/password file. If an account shows up you don't know, ask the place you got it from. See what it is. If they can't tell you, remove it and any trace of the account.

Hi,

Thanks for anwsering. Well, right now, I'd say about 100gigs a month is comfortable for myself and my clients (current). I would like to venture into offering 2-3 reseller packages also so I could make more profit and perhaps get another server in the future strictly for resllers (say, 5-6 per server).

I've seen nice deals at rackshack.net (sorry for the adv, but I don't work for them or anything if that's what you think) and they have a ton of pictures of their noc, racks, etc... they seem to be fairly legit and I've read a few good things about them. I was debating going with them (would you recommend them?)

Originally posted by DarktidesNET
Hi,

Thanks for anwsering. Well, right now, I'd say about 100gigs a month is comfortable for myself and my clients (current). I would like to venture into offering 2-3 reseller packages also so I could make more profit and perhaps get another server in the future strictly for resllers (say, 5-6 per server).

I've seen nice deals at rackshack.net (sorry for the adv, but I don't work for them or anything if that's what you think) and they have a ton of pictures of their noc, racks, etc... they seem to be fairly legit and I've read a few good things about them. I was debating going with them (would you recommend them?)

Yes, sure, they are great. But remember that these servers are completely unmanaged. You'll be responsible for *anything*, apart from hardware issues and physical reboots.
This is the case for all unmanaged/cheap companies. Leasing a managed dedicated server will easily cost you $200-300 extra per month.

Regards,
Carl

Rackshack is a decent company. They are considered up end of the economy server market in terms of quality. Another thing you will want to consider is how much you are willing to spend a month. $100 will get you a nice server, but $150 will get you a very nice server. Some places you can get a semi-managed server for $150 a month. By semi-managed I mean someone watching the amount of bandwidth you use and if anything looks out of sorts they will contact you (i.e. you normally only have 4 or 5kbps traffic and it shoots up to 45kbps and stays there. That kind of thing.) But, look around and see what you can get for the price you are willing to pay. Email me and I'll be happy to point you at a couple places, including myself I can meet the price to performance you are looking for.