BuyVM.Net - KVM & OpenVZ Review
Alright, review time. I have a couple of companies I would like to review, that I have migrated some services to over the last few months, and BuyVM is first from the list. Over the years, and currently I have services with companies like Crucial Paradigm, Liquid Web, RackSpace so stepping in to BuyVM I did so with very little expectation.
Signup Process
It's WHMCS so not unique in terms of signup, but they did flag my account as "fraudulent." I'm convinced this was due to me being in Australia, it's a Canadian thing they're just jealous of our women here. But alas they fixed that real quick and waiola I had an account.
VPS Setups
I have both OpenVZ and KVM based systems with them, and all have been setup between 5 minutes and 4 hours of ordering.
1x 250gb KVM Storage (Website Backups)
1x 500gb KVM Storage (Office Backups)
1x 128mb KVM Yearly VPS (Runs Server Monitoring Software)
1x 1024mb OpenVZ (TestBench, quick to reimage/reinstall being OpenVZ)
2x 128mb OpenVZ Yearly (I have given these to friends, colleagues etc who just want an inexpensive server to put their personal blogs on, feel their feet, screw up, break it, fix it etc with little consequence)
VPS Reliability
100% Uptime for the first month across all VPS'
Here's a photo of the uptime of my Status VPS which monitors not only those I have at BuyVM, but those I have with other providers. It is a KVM based Debian6 32bit install, optimised using Max's scripts and running Nick's OpenStatus. As you can see, it sits on about 24mb or Ram and takes updates once a minute from about a dozen Servers and Virtual Private Servers.
Support & Communication
To me Support is one element, Communication is just as vital and critical. When you signup it is clearly stated on their website that their support is 8:00am - 5:00pm, Monday - Friday. Outside of these hours I do not expect support, however I have received it. It's not rocket science, these guys run a tight ship, and the reason I can have a $7.50 per month 250gb KVM Storage VPS is because they don't answer 24/7. That, as I understand is what I'm essentially paying for with more "Premium Grade" providers. And as such, I don't deploy services on BuyVM if I envision I would need 24/7 support outside of these hours, so for my use their Support Hours suit me fine!
The technical level of their support is excellent, quite simply these guys collectively know their stuff and keep on the ball. In fact, if you look around the forums enough you will even notice they offer friendly help and advice to other hosts who may hit the same small issues they have at some point. When they respond to a ticket you feel as if you actually got a real answer to a question,
opposed to just being fobbed off by your provider.
IRC #Frantech
Well admittedly it had been nearly 10 years since I used IRC, however I installed it again and jumped on the Channel. Quite simply, there are some VERY knowledgeable people in that channel. In fact, I would say some of the most technically experienced people I have come across in that channel idle in there. Sure you get your random 12 year olds who appear, but overall it's a positive experience, very informal, social, and HIGHLY entertaining at times. People in the channel seem to just want to help, and in return it makes you want to help back. There's even candy-named women in the channel, I just can't decide if they look like a Jessica Alba or more my grandmother, so i've kept it in my e-pants.
The Team
So far I have spoken with Aldryic, Francisco and Matt. All 3 are characters, enjoy a good laugh, are not uptight in anyway, and casual. However, and this is where they all get my respect, when there is work to be done, or something serious to attend to or look at they are incredibly professional, and perfectly capable. It's great to have contact with staff who are not the drones/borgs you find, or with the fake "Are you pleased with my service" style replies. These guys undoubtedly tick every box in personality, and professionalism, knowing when to apply which. I also admire their willingness to speak out, and speak publicly regarding issues and topics that affect them, and honestly as they feel and see it not put through some sort of mediator that results in a dumbed down monolog press release.
The Network
For the price, I can't complain. It isn't the fastest network all day long, yet it isn't the slowest network all day long. I would rate it in the 75% to 85% mark which for me at the price I am paying is well beyond what I actually expected to achieve. I've had speeds of 22MB/s (180mb/s) to a $7.50 p/month VPS. That's nothing to cry about, in fact at that price it's absolutely excellent! If the network was being measured between budget providers, then you're looking at 100% because that speed at that price is incredible.
Overall
My experience with them has been above and beyond expectation, coming from providers for example where I pay $220p/month for 200gbTransfer/2gbRAM/150HDD I thought this was going to be a bit of russian roulette. However, in my opinion value for money this is well above and beyond reasonable.
So that's my first month, i'll come back in 6 and hopefully have nothing else but positives to add again. And a final note, I pay for all my VPS's with them, so there's no sponsorship, back-scratching or shady endorsement deals you see going on with some companies and their 12 year old clients. I am more than happy to share with people my servers and sites if you send me a PM.
Regards,
Joel
We've got a lot of tune ups to our network performance coming with the new kernels. I'm not sure if you took part in the trial runs but performance returned to the old 60 - 90MB/sec speeds which has me smiling for sure.
Linear Mode
