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  1. #1

    Questions about VPS...

    Hi All

    I am brand new to this forum. I host about 10 wordpress websites on webhostingpad shared hosting and am simply not happy with the downtime and slow page load speeds. I was however very happy with the cpanel features and ease of managing my sites, email, domains, subdomains etc.

    My driver in facilitating this change is speed and uptime so I figured that within my budget, VPS would be my first port of call.

    I have had a look at hostgator, serverint, AlienVPS and Future Hosting, but really don't know what to look for or where to start...So hopefully someone can help

    My Profile:

    - I am based in Australia but have a mix of websites targeted at USA, Australia and South East Asian markets.

    - I host about 10 websites, but will increase to host maybe 30-40, all on Wordpress.

    - Concurrent visitors, I have no idea currently, but I want to be prepared for maybe 100-200 concurrent visitors across all my sites.

    - Budget: $60-80 per month.

    What I need (I think):

    - Cpanel and Fantastico.
    - Unlimited domains, email addresses, databases.
    - Regular backups by host.
    - Managed hosting, must keep up to date with PHP updates.

    My questions:

    - Is Cpanel always the same? Ie, would one hosting company’s Cpanel have different features to anothers?

    - Do I need to consider geographic location of host (taking into account my geographic target spread)?

    - I have read about Apache vs Nginx and the data just confused me. Do I need to consider this? And what considerations do I need to make?

    - What other things do I need to consider when looking at VPS and moving from Shared to VPS?

    And Finally:

    Can someone recommend a good host and plan for me?

    Sorry for the War and Peace, but I figured I may as well give as much info as possible

    Thanks in Advance!!

  2. #2
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    cPanel is the same everywhere unless a host customizes it with a skin or something. As for Fantastico, I'd recommend getting Softaculous instead since it's better and has more scripts available.

    Since it's a VPS you won't need to worry about unlimited domains, etc.

    Since you're running cPanel, I'd suggest sticking with Apache since it's easier to maintain and work on. Eventually down the road you can switch to Nginx if you want.
    Nothing here right now.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt - HostMist View Post
    cPanel is the same everywhere unless a host customizes it with a skin or something. As for Fantastico, I'd recommend getting Softaculous instead since it's better and has more scripts available.

    Since it's a VPS you won't need to worry about unlimited domains, etc.

    Since you're running cPanel, I'd suggest sticking with Apache since it's easier to maintain and work on. Eventually down the road you can switch to Nginx if you want.
    Thanks Matt.

    It seems most host plans offer more IPs for an extra cost. why would I need multiple IP addresses? One for each website or something like that?

    And how does VPS uptime compare to Shared and dedicated hosting?

    I had a look through the Hostmist plans. Next to CPU Power it says Equal Share burstable to 5000Mhz. What does this mean? What are the considerations when looking at host CPU?

  4. #4
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    I see you've already looked at AlienVPS, can't really go wrong there, I personally know John, he's a nice guy and from I've heard his clients are really happy with the service provided and for the price, they're pretty good in that respect too.


    - Is Cpanel always the same? Ie, would one hosting company’s Cpanel have different features to anothers?

    cPanel will always have the same features, the only thing that differs will be the add-ons which a host has installed.

    - Do I need to consider geographic location of host (taking into account my geographic target spread)?
    It depends where the majority comes from.

    - I have read about Apache vs Nginx and the data just confused me. Do I need to consider this? And what considerations do I need to make?
    Nginx is definitely a lot better from personal experiences, but for someone who's new, you should stay away, at least, for the time being.

    - What other things do I need to consider when looking at VPS and moving from Shared to VPS?
    Well, since you'll be transferring your data, check whether or not the host will transfer everything for you, most do.

    And Finally:

    Can someone recommend a good host and plan for me?
    What's you budget?
    HDD usage?
    Bandwidth usage?

    I already know you have around 100-200 concurrent users, you want cPanel, and you're running 10 wordpress sites, so I'd say no less than 512MB dedicated RAM.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Karl View Post
    I see you've already looked at AlienVPS, can't really go wrong there, I personally know John, he's a nice guy and from I've heard his clients are really happy with the service provided and for the price, they're pretty good in that respect too.


    - Is Cpanel always the same? Ie, would one hosting company’s Cpanel have different features to anothers?

    cPanel will always have the same features, the only thing that differs will be the add-ons which a host has installed.

    - Do I need to consider geographic location of host (taking into account my geographic target spread)?
    It depends where the majority comes from.

    - I have read about Apache vs Nginx and the data just confused me. Do I need to consider this? And what considerations do I need to make?
    Nginx is definitely a lot better from personal experiences, but for someone who's new, you should stay away, at least, for the time being.

    - What other things do I need to consider when looking at VPS and moving from Shared to VPS?
    Well, since you'll be transferring your data, check whether or not the host will transfer everything for you, most do.

    And Finally:

    Can someone recommend a good host and plan for me?
    What's you budget?
    HDD usage?
    Bandwidth usage?

    I already know you have around 100-200 concurrent users, you want cPanel, and you're running 10 wordpress sites, so I'd say no less than 512MB dedicated RAM.
    Thanks Karl!

    My original budget was $60-80 per month, but it seems there are a few plans around that could fit my needs for $50 or under.

    In regards to geographic majority, it would be a reasonably even split between USA, Australia and South East Asia.

    Yes, transfer is something I should consider! When you say some will transfer everything, does that mean I basically do nothing and my sites are moved then continue to operate as usual on the new server? I definitely want this service!

    HDD usage, I only use around 500mb of my host space now...But I would expect that to quadruple at least in the next 12 months. I would like to have relatively large storage available however. Maybe 30 GB?

    Bandwidth usage, I don't really know how to figure out what I would need in this regard.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zhoom View Post
    Thanks Karl!

    My original budget was $60-80 per month, but it seems there are a few plans around that could fit my needs for $50 or under.

    In regards to geographic majority, it would be a reasonably even split between USA, Australia and South East Asia.

    Yes, transfer is something I should consider! When you say some will transfer everything, does that mean I basically do nothing and my sites are moved then continue to operate as usual on the new server? I definitely want this service!

    HDD usage, I only use around 500mb of my host space now...But I would expect that to quadruple at least in the next 12 months. I would like to have relatively large storage available however. Maybe 30 GB?

    Bandwidth usage, I don't really know how to figure out what I would need in this regard.
    Well, I'd probably go with a US provider, just because they're cheaper, reliable and most used anyway.

    Transferring is very simple if you're going from a cPanel server to another cPanel server, it could take minutes to transfer and most hosts do it free of charge, however, I'd ask first.

    I'd recommend, 30GB HDD, 200GB Bandwidth, 768MB Guaranteed RAM, 1536MB Burstable RAM, with an equal share of 1000MHZ. That should set you up pretty nicely.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Zhoom View Post

    And how does VPS uptime compare to Shared and dedicated hosting?
    hello !

    this is the age old question in this industry

    Simple fact is, a hosting account can have very good or very bad uptime. it is all a matter of the host you are with and what they have done to reduce the probabilities of downtime.

    I will say this however - with a GOOD provider, there should be very little difference in uptime between shared, VPS or dedicated hosting. Solutions should be chosen based on resource requirements - and uptime should be roughly the same across all solutions. Granted - shared hosting will likely always have less overall uptime then VPS or dedicated solutions - but, even this might not be as true as it once was. Isolation should improve uptime - and it does.. but, with the advent of technology like CloudLinux, providers can offer pretty much software virtualization in shared hosting - so, the barrier between solutions is becoming pretty fuzzy..

    Also - it is important to note that there are differences between software virtualization (ie openvz or virtuozzo) and hardware virtualization (ie xen or vmware). Xen or VMware are pretty much the same as a dedicated server, whereas solutions like openvz or virtuozzo are simple software level virtualization - and much closer to shared hosting then dedicated or isolated hosting. If you are going to look at software level virtualization - you are much better off looking at shared environments with CloudLinux installed - your performance and uptime will be nearly the same, and the price will likely be more reasonable for the resources you will actually receive

    hope this helps...
    www.cartika.com
    www.clusterlogics.com - You simply cannot run a hosting company without this software. Backups, Disaster Recovery, Big Data, Virtualization. 20 years of building software that solves your problems

  8. #8
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    - I am based in Australia but have a mix of websites targeted at USA, Australia and South East Asian markets.
    Based off this, I'd recommend you go with a provider in the USA. Connectivity from the USA to the rest of the world is still pretty good. While Australia is improving, it's not quite as good, and Asia is even comparable. So, based on that, your USA customers will be pretty pleased, the rest of your visitors won't really notice if you choose a USA based host. If you went the others, then you're going to have angry customers from 2 out of the 3 locations.

    I had a look through the Hostmist plans. Next to CPU Power it says Equal Share burstable to 5000Mhz. What does this mean? What are the considerations when looking at host CPU?
    Equal Share means each client is guaranteed a minimum amount. Essentially you're equally sharing it all the CPU. If there's enough CPU available, you can use up to 5000 GHZ though when necessary.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by inogenius View Post


    Equal Share means each client is guaranteed a minimum amount. Essentially you're equally sharing it all the CPU. If there's enough CPU available, you can use up to 5000 GHZ though when necessary.
    Hello inogenius, I "think" you are right...

    I agree, it "could" mean this - but, more then likely, what this actually means is you are sharing CPU with all of the users on the physical node you are sharing. Which actually means that, just like shared hosting, you are at the mercy of your providers allocation rates and whether or not they have over allocated their CPU to an extent where your usage will be limited or not.
    Last edited by cartika-andrew; 09-10-2010 at 12:26 AM.
    www.cartika.com
    www.clusterlogics.com - You simply cannot run a hosting company without this software. Backups, Disaster Recovery, Big Data, Virtualization. 20 years of building software that solves your problems

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by cartika-andrew View Post
    hello !

    Also - it is important to note that there are differences between software virtualization (ie openvz or virtuozzo) and hardware virtualization (ie xen or vmware). Xen or VMware are pretty much the same as a dedicated server, whereas solutions like openvz or virtuozzo are simple software level virtualization - and much closer to shared hosting then dedicated or isolated hosting. If you are going to look at software level virtualization - you are much better off looking at shared environments with CloudLinux installed - your performance and uptime will be nearly the same, and the price will likely be more reasonable for the resources you will actually receive

    hope this helps...
    Thanks so much! This virtualization stuff is a bit over my head to be honest. So I guess when choosing a VPS plan, look for Xen or VMware?

    Quote Originally Posted by inogenius View Post
    Based off this, I'd recommend you go with a provider in the USA. Connectivity from the USA to the rest of the world is still pretty good. While Australia is improving, it's not quite as good, and Asia is even comparable. So, based on that, your USA customers will be pretty pleased, the rest of your visitors won't really notice if you choose a USA based host. If you went the others, then you're going to have angry customers from 2 out of the 3 locations.


    Equal Share means each client is guaranteed a minimum amount. Essentially you're equally sharing it all the CPU. If there's enough CPU available, you can use up to 5000 GHZ though when necessary.
    Thanks for the info!!

    Quote Originally Posted by cartika-andrew View Post
    it "could" mean this - but, what this actually means is you are sharing CPU with all of the users on the physical node you are sharing. Which actually means that, just like shared hosting, you are at the mercy of your providers allocation rates and whether or not they have over allocated their CPU to an extent where your usage will be limited or not.
    ok, so can you recommend some providers who have good track records at not over allocating? Thanks again!!

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by cartika-andrew View Post
    with the advent of technology like CloudLinux, providers can offer pretty much software virtualization in shared hosting - so, the barrier between solutions is becoming pretty fuzzy..
    Count me on this. Since deploying Cloud Linux on our shared hosting servers, the load is lower, customers are more than happy

    Quote Originally Posted by Zhoom View Post
    why would I need multiple IP addresses? One for each website or something like that?
    You don't need multiple IP addresses, unless you want to use dedicated SSL for each domain.

    For network performance, you will get better result with someone who has NTT, PCCW in the network mix, cause they are very strong in Asia-Pacific area.

    Do you really need cPanel? DirectAdmin is a better control panel, from my experience.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by gate2vn View Post
    Do you really need cPanel? DirectAdmin is a better control panel, from my experience.
    Everyones experience is different, I personally cannot stand to us DA, lack of features, rubbish usability. But that's just me.

    cPanel is far better.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by gate2vn View Post
    Do you really need cPanel? DirectAdmin is a better control panel, from my experience.
    I don't know if I really need Cpanel, but have never tried anything else and I know how to use Cpanel quite well.

    Quote Originally Posted by Karl View Post
    Everyones experience is different, I personally cannot stand to us DA, lack of features, rubbish usability. But that's just me.

    cPanel is far better.
    Ok, thanks again for your input Karl...

  14. #14
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    Which feature do you need? And "rubbish usability"??? You are the first one I hear that thing cPanel is a mess. More scripts inside, more chances for cracking, out-of-date things, messing up, etc.

    Not mention to support from DirectAdmin is much much better than cPanel support. cPanel supporter messed up one of my servers after 4 days playing, back to 5 years before, when I used cPanel.

    Quote Originally Posted by Karl View Post
    lack of features, rubbish usability

  15. #15
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    I would suggest you give DA a try. They have demo version on their website at http://www.directadmin.com. It's very easy to use. We have switched from cPanel to DA since 5 years, and customers are still happy

    Quote Originally Posted by Zhoom View Post
    I don't know if I really need Cpanel, but have never tried anything else and I know how to use Cpanel quite well

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by gate2vn View Post
    You don't need multiple IP addresses, unless you want to use dedicated SSL for each domain.

    For network performance, you will get better result with someone who has NTT, PCCW in the network mix, cause they are very strong in Asia-Pacific area.
    I dont even know what dedicated SSL is. Why would I want that?

    What are NTT and PCCW?

  17. #17
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    You don't have plan to deploy SSL, so you don't need multiple IP addresses.

    NTT and PCCW are network upstreams that are very strong in Asia-Pacific area, so if you have them in network mix, your customers can have better network performance, especially when you aim to serve customers in Australia and South East Asian markets. For USA customers, they have good network backbone too, beside other network upstreams such as Level(3)

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Zhoom View Post
    Thanks so much! This virtualization stuff is a bit over my head to be honest. So I guess when choosing a VPS plan, look for Xen or VMware?
    Make sure to get managed provider if you're not really accustomed with server configuration etc.

    For virtualization, I think OpenVZ is perfectly fine for you, it's easy to configure and fit perfectly to your need. with cPanel/WHM, OpenVZ based VPS will only cost around 30-40. My recommendation is VPSLatch, their price/service is really good .

    Otherwise, a managed xen provider will cost a bit more if you need cPanel/WHM. I assume you will require at least 512 MB RAM, or 768 to be perfect. with cPanel/WHM + softaculous, it will cost 50+

  19. #19
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    if you don't need the extra fluff of cpanel DirectAdmin is cheaper
    if the provider provides internal licenses

    http://www.directadmin.com/demo.html
    Last edited by HostingBig; 09-10-2010 at 01:09 AM.

  20. #20
    For the best speeds to Australia, you should host on a VPS located in Los Angeles, as the fiber from Australia terminates there. For SE Asia, anywhere on the west coast of the US is fine. For US visitors, any major city in the US is an acceptable place to host.

    So between the 3 geographies you're looking to serve, a provider whose servers are in Los Angeles could reach them all the best.
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  21. #21
    Thanks everyone for the tips...

    I guess the question I should have asked first is what sort of difference am I going to see by going from shared to VPS hosting?

    The main reason I want to shift is speed...Webhostingpad shared hosting seems very slow sometimes! Will I really see much of a speed improvement by moving to VPS hosting?

    I have read some articles saying that VPS performance is not much different than shared...Is that true?

  22. #22
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    better isolation
    root access
    dedicated resources

    I have read some articles saying that VPS performance is not much different than shared...Is that true?
    that depends on the architecture and the provider

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by HostingBig View Post
    better isolation
    root access
    dedicated resources

    that depends on the architecture and the provider
    Ok, thanks.

    I had a look at the vps hosting (in particular the xen 1024) in your signature and have a few questions.

    - Is the architecture you provide going to give me better performance than shared hosting?

    - The product details say 60,000 MB, but when I click on order now the disk space says 30gb with options to upgrade at a cost. Why is that? Do I get 60gb or 30gb for 42.99 per month?

    - It says system RAM 1gb, Swap 2gb. What does swap mean?

    - Next to Port speed/Bandwidth, it has 2 options: 10Mbs Unmetered and 100Mbs With 800 GB of Bandwith for $5 more. What does this upgrade do and what difference will it make?

    - Is there any backup included in the plan?
    Thanks...

  24. #24
    For your needs I would suggest a Managed Solution with cPanel. VPSLatch.net have a great track record if your looking into OpenVZ which should suit your needs fittingly.They also have daily R1Soft backups which will furfill your backup needs.

    Check out their latest sales thread in the VPS offers section if you want to save a few bucks, but you can't go wrong with VPSLatch.

  25. #25
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    *

    - Is the architecture you provide going to give me better performance than shared hosting?
    Best to open A ticket or live chat session and ask you specific questions

    - The product details say 60,000 MB, but when I click on order now the disk space says 30gb with options to upgrade at a cost. Why is that? Do I get 60gb or 30gb for 42.99 per month?
    Just an error in the order script it has been fixed

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