Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Managed Hosting and Services : Looking for Quality Small Business Config

[gregorym]

Hey Guys,

I am looking for an entry level type of dedicated / managed server, which could fulfill the following (should not be too difficult):

For config 1:

# Handle up to 25,000 unique visitors/day
# 99.9 uptime SLA
# Dedicated IP's (up to 30 is ok)
# linux
# 24/7 support (or so good that I never have to contact the support )
# Reasonable hardware replacement time


I've contacted RS, sounds good but damn pricy! Also contacted theplanet, not sure what to think about them -

I am really looking for advice, currently all the sites we want to move to dedicated are on multiple shared server plans.

[layer0]

# Handle up to 25,000 unique visitors/day

If those are dynamic pages (generated on the fly via PHP, etc...) you are referring to, then you will definitely need a nice config with a Single Opteron or even Dual Opteron. Don't skimp out on the hard drive(s) or RAM either.

# 99.9 uptime SLA

Most providers will not offer this for the hardware itself, as of course there is no way to guarantee the life of the hardware for your box. However, you can definitely get an SLA on the network uptime. Iknow RS (rackspace) offers 100% (as their SLA, anyways). But do keep in mind that an SLA does not automatically translate into real life results. It just means you get a credit when they don't live up to X%. In many cases those credits are too little to alleviate the losses due to downtime, too. Be prepared.

# Dedicated IP's (up to 30 is ok)

Not a problem *unless* you can't properly justify their use. SSL, etc. is fine, but SEO is not

# 24/7 support (or so good that I never have to contact the support )

Sounds reasonable.

# Reasonable hardware replacement time

AFAIK rackspace guarantees this to 1 hour which should be excellent. I'm sure most providers in the managed services market can offer something like that too.

I've contacted RS, sounds good but damn pricy! Also contacted theplanet, not sure what to think about them -

RackSpace is a good choice but I wouldn't go for ThePlanet if they paid me. ThePlanet doesn't exactly offer the best managed service...to say the least.

best of luck, and always remember - you get what you pay for.

P.S.

there's one little trick at Rack Space . I'm found that if you have an attitude showing that you are poor when speaking to a rep you will get a significantly lower rate than someone who sounds like they are willing to pay a decent amount. The reps are trained to get the max $ out of each customer.

[gregorym]

Hi Elix,

thanks for your comments - You actually reminded me that I will also need a private SSL on a few sites if I decide to move them all in the future.

I will also need multiple class C IP's ...if possible, if not well I will live with it but they need to be in the US.

I am not trying to be cheap, I also found out long ago that paying little = little satisfaction and lots of trouble most of the time. Though RS really pushes to the limits! Even after negociation.

What do you mean exactly when you say that ThePlanet doesn't offer the best managed service? Not efficient? not offering what's promised?

Any other suggestions?

[ayksolutions]

ThePlanet has not been very solid according to reviews around here, so, I'd recommend to stay away. I think SoftLayer is the hot topic these days, maybe check them out. I'd also recommend Gnax. When they start taking new orders (sometime next week) everything should be kosher. They do provide semi-managed services. However, if you need something more complicated and around the clock monitoring, get a third party administrator to work with you. For that, I'd recommend Jon from www.got-management.com. Have been with them for almost 2 years and everything's been solid.

[gavint]

What's the idea behind having the IPs on different subnets?

[gregorym]

Originally Posted by gavint

What's the idea behind having the IPs on different subnets?

This is a pure search engine issue.


For te rest, I didn't know Softlayer but it looks quite good, and as for Gnax...I still try to figure out what exactly I am supposed to do with their website (very confusing IMO )

Any other recommendation ?

[dkitchen]

In terms of your IP's, providers will get into trouble with ARIN/RIPE if they are found to be allocating IP ranges for SEO purposes.

I think the OP is looking for a fully managed solution rather than an unmanaged dedicated + third party management. Yes it's an option but IMO a bad one, hardware and software need to work together properly and putting it all under the same roof takes another step out of communication.

Do you have a budget for this?

Dan

[gregorym]

Originally Posted by RazorBlue - Dan

Do you have a budget for this?

Dan

I am not looking for the most expensive solution nor for the cheapest one.

I just want a real good service at a fair price (notion long time lost by RS IMO).

If I have to cut my costs by adding a WHM and placing also a few customers on the same server well I will do it eventually.

So to aswer your question, yes I have the budget.

Note: ARIN/RIPE >> that's another discussion and I could argue this one for a long long time but yes I would like to be able to have this option on a dedicated solution.