Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Managed Hosting and Services : Who is #2 in service/support behind rackspace?

[superjsuh]

I've done a lot of reading here at WHT, and I think its pretty clear that Rackspace is head and shoulders above all other "fully-managed" dedicated hosting companies.

Who do you think is #2?

I need scalability and support for load balancing, firewall configuration, etc. I've looked at softlayer, fastservers, liquidweb, and servint based on the reviews and recommendations here.

I'm willing to pay $400-$500 (with no setup fees) for a decent starter system. My site is new, but I expect it to grow quickly.

Thanks for any insights

[starke1120]

" need scalability and support for load balancing"

I would go with Softlayer, it makes it easy to add additional servers with the "second" private network..

I'm launching a site in 3 moths, and I plan on using them..

[inteltechs]

servint might be #2

[Bilco105]

I'd say servint personally.

[starke1120]

Just curious as to why you would say servint over SL, is it because they have been established longer?

Im asking to learn, Im new :-)

[layer0]

ServInt's support is pretty great, but you cannot compare their network (which used to and still does [somewhat] have frequent outages) to Rackspace's 100% uptime network . . .

[nairahost]

Fastservers would be #2, for they have an outstanding friendly support .

[easyplank]

Oh dear - so size automatically means better service... not a very good way of looking at it to be honest...

[waturl]

Yeah sir, Rackspace is the leader, zero down time, if you can pay over $400 monthly enjoy theirs managed servers.

[brunnock]

A few years ago, I considered Servint, but then I found out that their idea of backups was copying your data each night to a 2nd HD on the same server. If that's still the case, then Servint isn't in the same class as Rackspace with their backups to a remote server with daily differentials.

[jay23]

Rackspace is top. I pay around 1500 for the same box that I can get from ServerMatrix for around 500$ and the 1500 does not include bandwidth which is like 65 cents a GB. But never had a problem with them

Jay

[etechsupport2]

I'd recommend fastservers as they are best in managing load balanced servers. Top class response time and highly skilled technical support is their biggest asset.

[layer0]

Originally Posted by etechsupport2

I'd recommend fastservers as they are best in managing load balanced servers. Top class response time and highly skilled technical support is their biggest asset.

Maybe, but their network is amongst the worst, IMHO. I would not put anything remotely close to mission critical on their network, even if they paid me.

[Apoc]

Originally Posted by easyplank

Oh dear - so size automatically means better service... not a very good way of looking at it to be honest...

Not necessarily, but size does matter. Size means the company has money, money means the company is able to make certain investments to ensure reliability.

[Apoc]

Originally Posted by brunnock

A few years ago, I considered Servint, but then I found out that their idea of backups was copying your data each night to a 2nd HD on the same server. If that's still the case, then Servint isn't in the same class as Rackspace with their backups to a remote server with daily differentials.

Everything comes at a price..