Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : VPS Hosting : VPS vs. Shared and Backups!

[codydh]

Hello! I've started another thread or two for VPS input, and this is hopefully my last, thanks for your help so far. Skip to the 'big question' if you want to avoid background reading

I have had two budget VPSes recently, one really really budget, and one just on the lower end ($6/month). Both were about 256MB of memory, 10GB or so of storage, and this is plenty for me. I'm perfectly capable of setting up my own LAMP-type server and securing it, so this was no problem, and performance seemed good.

However, I'm running into the problem with VPSes of this size and price point that there are quirky things. Thankfully I had backups, but when I snapshotted before a system update on one, and then ran into issues and restored, I discovered backup wasn't working and my VPS was trashed, all sorts of files missing and programs not wanting to start. So I signed up with Media Temple (gs) and have actually been just fine with how it's performing.

So my big question here is... can I get a VPS with 256MB or 512MB of memory for $10, maybe $15 (at the most) per month that will either have offsite backups included, or at the very least a relatively robust backup system that I can use? Or is this just asking too much? Like I said I had offsite backups, but really I don't want to spend my time managing or restoring the server. I don't mind setting it up and maintaining, but I don't want to be spending my time dealing with things like I mentioned above. I'm starting to wonder if I should stick with shared, as MT (gs) seems to be doing OK for me (for now), although the horror stories still scare me...

Thanks again for any and all input.

[Maple-Hosting]

Originally Posted by codydh

Hello! I've started another thread or two for VPS input, and this is hopefully my last, thanks for your help so far. Skip to the 'big question' if you want to avoid background reading

I have had two budget VPSes recently, one really really budget, and one just on the lower end ($6/month). Both were about 256MB of memory, 10GB or so of storage, and this is plenty for me. I'm perfectly capable of setting up my own LAMP-type server and securing it, so this was no problem, and performance seemed good.

However, I'm running into the problem with VPSes of this size and price point that there are quirky things. Thankfully I had backups, but when I snapshotted before a system update on one, and then ran into issues and restored, I discovered backup wasn't working and my VPS was trashed, all sorts of files missing and programs not wanting to start. So I signed up with Media Temple (gs) and have actually been just fine with how it's performing.

So my big question here is... can I get a VPS with 256MB or 512MB of memory for $10, maybe $15 (at the most) per month that will either have offsite backups included, or at the very least a relatively robust backup system that I can use? Or is this just asking too much? Like I said I had offsite backups, but really I don't want to spend my time managing or restoring the server. I don't mind setting it up and maintaining, but I don't want to be spending my time dealing with things like I mentioned above. I'm starting to wonder if I should stick with shared, as MT (gs) seems to be doing OK for me (for now), although the horror stories still scare me...

Thanks again for any and all input.

I believe you are asking too much...
Someone might offer you this, but you'll end up regretting it for a long time...
Increase your budget now, and save money on all the migraine medicine...

Good luck!

[ControlVM Technology]

backup or offsite backup sometimes very costly.
Most of the host have their own way of backup, you may looking for provider who able to provide you the total solution, or outsource backup solution. But, as mentioned, cost is the primary concern here.

[codydh]

Ok, this is what I figured. It seems a few providers offer this, Bitcable on their shared hosting for example. I don't even truly need offsite backup, I just could use a little extra peace of mind in case of a hardware failure or hack, so that (in the case of a VPS) I wouldn't necessarily have to set it up from scratch, and also to have another backup of my data.

Thanks again for any and all input!

[ezbnc]

Maybe try getting a quality vps then get a lowend and just backup to the lowend server.

[sleddog]

Originally Posted by codydh

I don't even truly need offsite backup...

Yes you do Everyone needs offsite backups.

Any hosting company can suffer castrosphic hardware failure. Any hosting company can fail, business-wise.

An offsite backup that is independent from your hosting company will protect you in either case.

If you're operating on a low budget, then there are some very reputable VPS providers offering backup space for cheap -- check out hostigation.com and securedragon.net. Of course, they only offer storage space and connectivity. It's up to you to build a backup system.

If you don't want to spend the time doing that, then the alternative is to fork out the money for a commercial backup service.

[1787]

I got in on Turnkey's Black Friday VPS specials. They offer a 'Central Backup' service that I used a few times. It has worked well for me.

I'm a relative newbie to a VPS, though I have been able to walk myself through a lot of issues with the help of Google and WHT . One area that still concerns me is the offsite backup. I cannot find good information on the best way to run an offsite backup. I guess that's another thread, but if someone could point me to some good info, I'd very much appreciate the assistance. I'm running Debian 6. First post BTW, but have been a lurker for several months!

[Jhig]

A cheap and dirty way to do this would be to purchase two budget VPS's from two completely different providers.

Make one VPS the "Production" or "Live" while the other act as a "Backup".

Make a schedule and do the backups manually via FTP. Can be time consuming (depending on what you are using the VPS for and/or how much data you're looking to backup) but will save you money.

The second, most expensive option would be to invest in a quality "Production" VPS and use a quality Backup service provider who can link to your Production VPS for complete automated backups. This option can be quite expensive.

[Preetam]

Originally Posted by sleddog

If you're operating on a low budget, then there are some very reputable VPS providers offering backup space for cheap -- check out hostigation.com and securedragon.net. Of course, they only offer storage space and connectivity. It's up to you to build a backup system.

+1 for Secure Dragon. I've been using them for months.

[public_html]

Keeping your own backups is the best way, but you may can find provider with this budget but you may again run into problems, so better is to find a good provider and sleep happy.

[fshagan]

Originally Posted by Jhig

A cheap and dirty way to do this would be to purchase two budget VPS's from two completely different providers.

Make one VPS the "Production" or "Live" while the other act as a "Backup".

Make a schedule and do the backups manually via FTP. Can be time consuming (depending on what you are using the VPS for and/or how much data you're looking to backup) but will save you money.

The second, most expensive option would be to invest in a quality "Production" VPS and use a quality Backup service provider who can link to your Production VPS for complete automated backups. This option can be quite expensive.

I do this now, except I use rsync (faster than archiving and then ftping the archive). My host provides a backup service, then I rsync everything to a VPS in another state, and then my home server rsyncs everything (and I keep 7 days, plus 4 weeks, plus 12 months of complete backups on my home server).

[1787]

I found a reliable and cheap backup solution. I've decided to go with Duplicity and backing up to Amazon's S3 storage. The setup was painless.