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05-28-2016, 09:22 PM #1Performing Magic in the Cloud
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Kimsufi (OVH) Micro Dedicated Server Review 2015-2016
Last year, I signed up for an OVH VPS. The price was right but it performed horribly. Upon cancelling, I noticed that OVH operates multiple hosting-related brands and I discovered Kimsufi.
Wait... Who?
As an American, the name sounded a little funky. They stock older, sometimes slower processors and configurations with a fairly decent network offering a 100Mbps unmetered slice of the internet. Their smaller (cheaper) servers sell out extremely quick; I ended up wanting something closer to the U.S.A. and settled on a tiny server in France. At first I was a little worried by the geographical location and hunting down a budget server in a more popular location is tricky to say the least. Speeds were decent to the United States and Mexico where I do most of my business and I'm sure they were really snappy closer to the data center in Roubaix, Northern France.
Money in the Bank
For roughly $13 green United States Dollars per month, I received a dual-core Intel Atom N2800 running at 1.86GHz paired with 4GB of memory and my choice between a 40GB solid-state hard drive or a whole 1TB spinner. I ended up first ordering one with the SSD and quickly ran out of space before my bill was due. I don't think I noticed a gigantic overall speed increase between the SSD and regular hard drive, given the fact that it has a decent amount of memory and the CPU can only go but so fast. The extra space really makes it worth more for the money spent.
The only downside to this micro dedicated server is the processor. When I say tiny, I mean TINY! Granted, it shows up as 4 cores (2CT+HT), it performs more like half a core! I sort of knew what to expect before my purchase when I looked up some benchmark scores and compared the intel Atom offering to some of my older and more current computers off the top of my head. It took nearly an entire 8-hour work day to compile and reboot into a custom kernel for FreeBSD 10. I constantly have to rely on as many precompiled packages as possible -- you don't want to code anything heavy on this thing. The main benefit is even though it's really small, it's all yours. You don't have to worry about another user on the server that contains your VPS, or configuration errors, global reboots, and sure 8 hours is one long time, but you can even customize your kernel if you wish.
EUR Payment Due
Another issue I had was with how they do their billing. For some reason, my bank kept flagging my account every time I pay my bill. They didn't seem to be able to bill me automatically, so every month I would have to log in, click my invoice, enter my payment information, and so forth for every single month of service. After I'd submit the renewal invoice, my bank would block the payment from their French credit card processor. I would then have to turn around and call my bank, hoping they're open at the moment, to have them put in the system that today I'm traveling to France! I wish I traveled to France as much as my bank thinks i do because I have to call them every single month. They said eventually the system might learn that I just do the French thing and leave me alone, but for now I have to enter all my details twice, in between calling my bank. It's the craziest thing I've ever had to deal with thanks to my weird bank and OVH/Kimsufi's euro payment company.
Speaking of the euro, since my server is in France I'm billed every month in euros. This isn't so bad until the currency exchange rates adjust. I think one month I paid around $11.45, then after a while one month it was $13 and some change. It takes some getting used to, but since you have to manually pay your invoices every month you will become accustomed to looking at your bill a lot.
I'm well-versed in the BSD environment, also being a Mac user -- I only had to request Kimsufi's support a few select times, mostly to learn more about how their network is configured so that I could set up web applications properly. The IPv6 setup was very shaky but I got it to stick better and the built-in monitoring app definitely got uninstalled. I use a third party monitor and just didn't feel right with all these Kimsufi entries in my package manager. It's really hit or miss if you will get in touch with a support rep that knows how to solve your problem. Often, tickets are transferred and the right reply (or any) can take days, up to a whole work week to get an answer. Sometimes it's not the right answer, and you learn to Google everything before filling out a ticket. For the less experienced user, this isn't for you.
Uptime Monitoring
(Cake, cake, cake, cake)
I've attached a recent uptime report from StatusCake that I've used since receiving the dedicated server last year. I understand that this isn't some fully managed redundant farm and downtime happens. The network performance on my little server was top notch. I would often forget my server is France, and since my clients don't directly pay my server bill, they never really asked or noticed that I moved some clients overseas. Now if only those cPanel licenses would come down in price for a full dedicated server...
Some Numbers
Setup: 7/10 (had to do some verification, phone support crawls)
Speed: 9/10 (I didn't need much, but when I did, bandwidth didn't disappoint)
Software: 7/10 (wish they had an easier option to install OpenBSD)
Support: 5/10 (pray that you don't need anything more than a password reset)
Overall: 7/10 (do your homework, enjoy low prices)
Some Pictures
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05-28-2016, 11:56 PM #2Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Mar 2007
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- 2,050
Sounds about right for a cheap host, it is good that you were not expecting a premium experience at a cheap cost going in and did your homework before pressing the buy button. Are you using them to host your production site or just as a disaster recovery or development and testing site host?
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05-29-2016, 03:51 AM #3Web Hosting Master
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- May 2009
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- The Netherlands
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- 1,057
This is an awesome review. Easy to read and focuses on what usually matters most. Thanks for that Richard.
Oh and 7/10 is not bad at all for what I like to call a super budget provider.Maple-Hosting - Netherlands Dedicated Servers
Award-Winning Highly-Customizable Dedicated Servers Since 2008
“After 14 months, I can’t give them less than 10/10 on all aspects!” - Read Our Customer Reviews
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05-29-2016, 07:52 AM #4Web Hosting Guru
- Join Date
- Mar 2004
- Location
- UK
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- 265
When you pay the renewal invoice, can't you select 3 or 6 months at a time to prevent the regular hassle you experience with your bank?
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05-29-2016, 05:31 PM #5New Member
- Join Date
- May 2016
- Posts
- 1
Terrible Service
I made my first purchase to Kimsufi almost 2 weeks ago and I received an email confirming my purchase. The email states that they would contact me shortly about my purchase subject to availability. It has been two weeks now and I have had no word from them. I have used their forums, sent them emails, but have received no help from them. I understand if they have a limited number of servers, but if they are going to be several weeks, they should at least register customers a discount or reply with a discount for their next invoice. If they are hosting dedicated servers, I see no dedication. I should not be waiting 2 weeks for a dedicated server I purchased for $40. A good company should only keep their customers waiting minimum 3 days or less with fast and full customer support. I would feel less ripped off if they gave me a few answers. They don't seem like they value me as a paying customer as I feel very forgotten and set aside.
I have heard that Kimsufi servers can take a few days to a week to be set up, but that's all the more reason they shouldn't keep their customers waiting this long. At this rate, I will have my server set up after a month after my purchase which is ridiculous.
I also don't want to start foraging for a new host because I don't want to pay another host and then Kimsufi finally respond to my purchase, thus wasting money.
Don't use this company if you're in need of a server within a month. You'll definitely need LOTS of time and patience that some people probably don't have. I normally have lots to spare but I'm almost at the end of my rope!
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05-29-2016, 08:52 PM #6Web Hosting Master
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- Nov 2006
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- USA
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- 767
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05-30-2016, 03:20 PM #7
Even for an ultra budget provider, waiting that long is just not acceptable. I suspect it won't get any better the longer you wait. Good luck to you, sir.
█ ProlimeHost - Dedicated Server Hosting & KVM SSD VPS
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06-01-2016, 11:34 AM #8Newbie
- Join Date
- May 2016
- Posts
- 8
I had some dedicated Servers from them, they're good as a OVH Brand, everything but the Anti DDoS.
Someone can easily put your Server down.
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