Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Managed Hosting and Services : Managed server vs outsourcing management

[guest99]

I found this site recently and it's been a tremendous help... but it has given me so many options that I'm confused.

With a budget of $300, Im looking for a fully managed server, or a dedicated server and I'll get a management company.

I've been looking at serverwizards and allmanaged, but of which look good. I've heard good things about serverwizards management here, but I'm wary of getting a server though them because I haven't heard much about that aspect. Their website is very minimalistic, which makes it look slightly less professional and well established than other providers.

I could also just use layeredtech or something (recommendations??) and use totalserversolutions, serverwizards or acunett.

I can find deals using any of the above options that fit in my price range, but I can't figure out which is best. I'm ver interestd in going with a company with a reliable network and reliable staff. I'd prefer an established company.

Thanks for any help.

[Coolraul]

Ignore the look and feel of the website as anyone can pay for a nice website and offer terrible service.

There really are two options and I probably won't help in narrowing it down but perhaps you can determine which is more important to you.

1) Fully managed service offers single point of contact, no possiblity of finger pointing.

2) unmanaged provider plus a separate managment service will keep your provider honest if you are unable to manage the server yourself.

If you are new, then I would recommend that you stick with a fully managed server at first. If you feel that you must have someone else to help someone like platinum server management can give you that peace of mind for $29. I personally am not a fan of them for all your management needs but they are good at certain things.

[guest99]

Thanks for your insight. Can you give me a few recommended servers? I know there are many, many threads (I've done my searching) but I'm not sure if I've seen something specifically about a managed server with the emphasis on management as opposed to hardware and managment only to a lesser degree.

[itwanabe]

What are you running? Scripts? BB? We need more information to recommend you a certain type of server.

[efarmer]

I think
http://webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=478528
will suit you.
Idologic provide top notch service, they are knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and flexible.

[guest99]

I didn't provide more details in my initial post because I didn't want to focus on what sort of hardware I need as much as where I can find a good managed host or dedicated host w/ outsourced management.

For the record, it's a small e-commerce site with a very active forum section, a moderatly active wiki, shopping cart, and online magazine. We use about 80gbs total bandwidth a month, and don't really run anything that intensive. (But yes, we want a dedicated server as opposed to VPS).

I've communicated with serverwizards, inetu, and rackspace (too expensive) so far. I'm leaning towards serverwizards for both hosting and management but Im still looking. I'll take a look at Idologic too, tahnks for the link.

[mywebadmin]

In case of managed dedicated server, affordable price + excellent support is crucial matter. Essentially the question is how frequently you need the support. The response of dedicated server provider within given time frame will prove their support effectiveness.

[adam]

Originally Posted by mywebadmin

In case of managed dedicated server, affordable price + excellent support is crucial matter. Essentially the question is how frequently you need the support. The response of dedicated server provider within given time frame will prove their support effectiveness.

Not to mention network and past experiences. Do a search on whomever you choose whether it be managed or outsourced on WHT before you go ahead and use them and you can gain insight into current and past customer experiences with them.

[guest99]

Yes, I understand there are many aspects of a good managed hosting company, and I can search for comments about individual hosting company, but I wrote the original message hoping some of the more experienced pepole could give me specifics recommendations.

I think, after being a part of a community (like this one) for a while, one gets a good sense of which companies are solid with a few complaints here and there, and which companies are just bad. It's difficult to get that sense just by searching and reading the original message.

I've only found two comments on serverwizard's hosting. One saying the unmetered 20mbps wouldn't go above 15, and one saying the sevice was excellent.

[mrzippy]

http://www.acunett.com/management/

These guys seems to know their stuff, and have been referred to me by several people I trust. I'm considering to use them for a server in the next month.