Hi I have just taken out a windows 2000 box with "Fasthosts" and am interested to know if anyone has the Linux box from the same company.

I am very impressed with the ease of use and would like opinions on ease of use of the Linux option as it is a more cost effective and offers true Perl suport.

Any opinions welcomed

PB

Hi,
I've just signed up for one today, but my first impressions are very good. The admin tool is flexible, quick, and painless, but allows for advanced stuff as well (DNS settings, anyone?)

My sites obviously aren't up yet, but I don't foresee any problems.

I've been running 3 hosting accounts till now:

1. 1 domain high-spec on NT, allowing custom DLLs to be installed and MX record changes

2. NT reseller account with fasthosts, basic hosting but unlimited domains (Had lots of downtime early on, but they got a lot better just in the nick of time before I changed hosts again)

3. 1 domain high-spec on Unix, using procmail, cron, etc


Total cost = $60 + £40 + $45/mth
Now I got all this on one linux box with iASP (OK, the DLLs can't be installed as it's not NT, but I can probably live without them). Total cost = £100/mth (+VAT!)

A couple of points:
* Bandwidth could be an issue for some people (4GB/month), but not for me at this stage.
* Their sign up form is a pain - make sure you fill in ALL the fields, even if you put dots in some of them. It doesn't tell you what fields are required, it doesn't tell you which you've missed, and if you click BACK it's not cached the page so you have to do it all over again.

Hope that helps,
Andy

I've just got a Linux matrix server and I am delighted with it, the control panel is very easy to use and allows you to do most things.

If you are wanting to add software or use databases you will need to know a wee bit about Linux, but it is easy to learn.

I have manged to upgrade PHP and mySQL and install IMP (webmail prog) and Majordomo (Mailing list manager).

If your wondering about any specific features then drop me an email and I'll try and tell you if the Linux box can do it.

-Stuart :)
stuart@loy.co.uk

Stuart,
How did you get on with IMP - I was toying with something like that myself. I can't see a way to set up a catch-all email address, which the software I'm looking at requires...

Did you get your server with Fasthosts? I already had mySQL installed, as well as postGreSQL, which is a bit strange. I had to reinstall mySQL, as they used a non-std package and I couldn't integrate the perl DBI/DBD modules into it. Took me a while but got there in the end.

Regards,
Andy (Also in Scotland!)

I had a bit of bother installing IMP actually, I went the entirely manual route as apposed to opting for RPM's.
I had to upgrade PHP aswell, but I couldn't do this from PHP source code because the original apache source and the IMAP source have been removed from the server, but I manged to find some good RPM's that let me upgrade PHP and add support for mySQL and IMAP.
Then installing phplib, horde and IMP was not so difficult.
If you opt for IMP and have any problems just email me.

This package (IMP) does not require a catchall facility - it simply allows users to login to IMAP mail boxes.

However I am looking to setup a catchall facility on the matrix server, have a look at this post: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=11268

Oh! and yeah I did get it from fasthosts, and I also upgraded mySQL, but I don't know what your talking about with Perl modules, I never came across a problem, but I probably do not need to do what you are doing. What are those modules for anyway?

I'll let you know how I get on, and keep an eye on that thread.

-Stuart Loy :)
stuart@loy.co.uk

Stuart,
Thanks for the reply. The perl modules are only needed if you are using perl - I hadn't realised that IMP was PHP. They simply give you an interface into Mysql, similar to compiling PHP with mysql support, but you can do it withou recompiling the whole kit.

I'm looking for something similar to Everyone.net or Bigmailbox.com running from my own server, so it sounds like IMP is not the best solution, as I'll need to set up the mailboxes....

I'm also looking to set up wildcard DNS, but I'm not done yet. I'll pass that one when I'm finished for anyone that's interested.

HHmmm. Maybe I'll set up a Matrix Servers forum seeing that Fasthosts and Matrix seem incapable of doing so...

Andy

Great IDEA ! :D

I would be more than happy to help you setup something like that.

I could type up some routines for the changes I have made and post them aswell

-Stuart

Stuart,
It's taking a while to set up. I had problems with the mysql installation, the mysql-JDBC installation, and just about everything else.

However, I think I've got them sorted now, and I've even got iASP and mysql to start on boot-up, which is kinda nice!

So give me a couple of days and I'll have an FAQ, forum etc application up and running. I've been making notes as I go along, so we'll have plenty of useful content to begin with!!!

All the best,
Andy

I wish a provider in the US would offer a server deal with management software like Fasthosts. I would be a happy camper...

AH

You don't need the server supplier to provide the management software, you can get a standard Linux server then buy some management software such as Plesk ( www.plesk.com ).

-Stuart

I wish a provider in the US would offer a server deal with management software like Fasthosts. I would be a happy camper...

Not with their track record you wouldnt !!!

There would be plenty of :bawling: in the end!

Cheers,

Hi Andy

I was just wondering what your load averages were like on your matrix server?

I'm getting:
2:59pm up 1 day, 22:54, 1 user, load average: 0.05, 0.48, 0.60

Which I know isn't bad but, the server isn't really doing anything apart from running "webspy" which seems to be what the matrix server uses for log analysis.

PS - Drop me an email sometime so as I can get your email address, also do you have any Instant Messaging software??

-Stuart
stuart@loy.co.uk