Ok, we need to get a new host soon; our problems are becoming unbearable. After looking around it's either RackShack (what we use now but through a crappy reseller but maybe it's just their server that sucks) or The Planet. I spoke with Kyle Bennett (from HardOCP) and he said mostly good things about them and it seems from the posts here they're top notch. And that's what we need, http://www.mikhailtech.com is growing pretty quickly and we've gone through enough hosts already. We need to settle down with a reliable host that doesn't just say "99.99% uptime" but actually means it.

The only "problem" is this whole unmanaged thing. Now I'm a total n00b; I know computer hardware, I know web/graphic design (I'm a digital design major) and I know some programming (JS, PHP, C++) but I'm no server admin. From what I gather unmanaged just means they set it up for you and do hard reboots (for free?) upon request; the rest is up to you.

What exactly is "the rest"? I heard that unmanaged servers don't have a control panel either (for the sake of the argument let's stick with The Planet's servers for this discussion). So I guess I need to learn Linux command line? How hard is it to manage your own server; what kind of security risks are involved (I mean, how do I log in to the server, through a simple password-protected directory or something more reliable like a Veritas client?) and how much do I have to learn.

Please help a beginner in this niche ...

Being a "total n00b" isn't going to get you very far if you want to manage a live Unix webserver.

It takes quite a lot of trial and error before you can master Linux and server management. It's definitely not something you want to try on your "live server."

If your site is generating any kind of revenue, I would recommend biting the bullet and going for a managed solution until you're certain you can handle things on your own. The anxiety and hair loss you'll avoid is worth the money alone, assuming it's not a lot.

just go for a managed server, its a lot easier and reliable.

Ok well what kind of rates are we talking about for managed solutions (let's say we're using the RackShack $100/month 400gb deal) and what's a good company? I assume it's mostly resellers renting out company servers and using their own tech support team.

get an old computer at home, install linux on it, try managing that for a few months. That way you can jack that one over and over. Its gonna take much trial and error, many errors, and much breaking :) so always have a practice server