This letter is long overdue - I think it's important that everyone know the truth about FDCServers...
I got a low end server from FDCServers almost a year ago. It was nothing but trouble. It would crash, it would reboot, settings would be lost, lots of downtime - in short, it was a real mess. But guess what guys?! It was all my fault! I simply wasn't competent enough to be able to properly configure my server and to maintain it.
I had no idea what was going on. Things just kept getting worse and worse, and I had no clue as to what was going on. After suffering with this nightmare for a few months, I decided to find a new provider. I searched and found some good companies with good reputations, and I was all ready to jump. I had mentioned all this to my good friend Jonathan, who's a sysadmin at a university, and the more we talked about servers, the more I realized that I hardly knew anything.
In the end, I found at that my box had been hacked and cracked. Every hacker and cracker in the universe had found a cozy home on my server. My friend had found all sorts of nasties all over my system. So much so, that there was nothing else to do but a reinstall of the OS.
Jonathan convinced me to have FDCServers do a clean install of the OS, and he would then take it from there.
I should mention now, that the support staff at FDCServers is great. I really appreciated everything that they did for me. They always promptly responded to my queries and complaints, and were as helpful as they could be trying to help an ignoramus.
Anyhow, the support staff at FDCServers reinstalled the OS, but not without some problems. The computer itself was fried. The motherboard was bad, they couldn't get the disk working, and who knows what else. Did the crackers do this?? Nah! Hard to believe. Anyhow, all of the faulty components were replaced with more powerful or better components, and OS was installed. This time however, the OS was a bare bones install. My friend wanted to do everything else himself.
After the support team had my server ready, Jonathan took over. He first locked down the box by closing unused ports, deleting unecessary [and potentially dangerous] software, and closing holes. He then installed the SSH so that all access to the box would be secure.
After that came Apache, Bind, Sendmail, etc. Of course, all of the latest security updates and patches were applied. Afterwards, I installed PHP and mySQL and Jonathan gave it the seal of approval.
This was a few months ago, and since then there hasn't been a hiccup. The box just cruises along. I still have a lot to learn, but with my friend's help, I'm able to keep the box running smoothly so far. I may still eventually run into problems, but I realize now that I shouldn't blame FDCServers right off. More than likely, the problem will be a sysadmin job, and that's for me to take care of.
I'm now smarter and wiser. I realize that a dedicated server requires dedicated effort. No less. There's lots to do to take care of your own box. I've been a software developer for over 30 years now, but that doesn't make me qualified to be a sysadmin. This has got to be learned, and carefully applied.
In my opinion, FDCServers is a top-notch provider. The support staff is excellent - they are courteous, prompt, and helpful. Even when dealing with ignorant slobs such as myself. The owner, Petr is also very helpful, and jumps in when necessary. I would definitely get another server with them if I needed. Right now my budget doesn't permit it (neither does my wife
and I really don't need another box at this time.
I do have one constructive comment for FDCServers... It seems to me that if they developed an OS install that was secure, they would eliminate a lot of the complaints posted in this forum. There is no reason for unused ports to be left open and for unecessary software to be running. If this stuff was cleaned up, their customers could get a running start - leaving them with extra time to learn what it means to be a sysadmin.
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