Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : Web hosting / VPS suggestions

[gnetcon]

Hello, everyone!

I currently have a dedicated server I'm paying $149/month for. I originally thought with my design business I should have a dedicated server to handle my email and web hosting. I'm relatively new to Linux administration, but I set it up using Apache, MySQL, Postfix, etc. It "seems" to be working, and I haven't gotten blacklisted.

Anyway, I'm looking to cut my costs, so I'm switching servers. I'm moving my clients domains to another web host. That's all going well. I pay $20/month for a ton of space and bandwidth (through 1and1).

What I would like are some recommendations on a web host/VPS solution for my my own personal site. It has a 450 MB MySQL database, about 50 MB of web files, and does quite a bit of email. It handles about 5k unique visitors and 20k - 25k page views per day. It also uses Open Ads as the banner displayer, so I need the power (and permission) to handle all of this.

So are there any suggestions from you more experienced users on the best way to go? Are their web hosts that will host it under a cheap plan? Or should I go a VPS route? If so, any suggestions on what might be suitable (RAM, CPU, etc)?

Also, I'm not a spammer, but I have a mailing list for members (about 22k) that I send out on a infrequent basis (say twice a month). It would be great if the host would allow me to also send these out via my web site. It is an opt-out list.

TIA for any feedback.

[WireSix-Matt]

You can always check out the offers section to find a company that fits your requirements and your budget. And make sure you go around the forum and check out the reviews for the companies you are interested in.

[Cybercon]

With VPS's (technically, virtual servers) you can usually increase your RAM on the fly (or at least very easily), so you might want to start slim and see how far you can go before upgrading. If you are on an actual virtual server (some claim shared hosting as VPS) you should be able send out mail as long as the lists are opt-in. The beauty of a virtual server is thats just like a dedicated. What is your budget?

[gnetcon]

Originally Posted by Cybercon

If you are on an actual virtual server (some claim shared hosting as VPS) you should be able send out mail as long as the lists are opt-in. The beauty of a virtual server is thats just like a dedicated. What is your budget?

I was pretty sure I could send out the emails, but I know I also should verify with the provider before signing up.

I'd like to keep it under $60, if at all possible. The cheaper the better (w/out giving up features and service).

Thanks for the feedback.

[portalgod]

I have my VPS at Spry.Com and I'm very happy there. 1.5Mbit up/down unmetered bandwitdh, 10GB disk space. Fully managed VPS.

[ldcdc]

You should be able to find fully managed VPS with 256MB of guaranteed memory at about $50, from reputable providers. It's the way to go given your need to send numerous emails, as shared hosting environments have rather strict limitations in order to maintain server stability.

Read threads in the VPS forum, you will in a short time be able to create a short list of worthy providers. A bit of ulterior research and presales communications with each one should enable you to find the one for you.

[gnetcon]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. It's greatly appreciated.

[john8]

Since you may need a control panel, it will consume $5-$10/mo and around 256M RAM. I think you need at least 512M guaranteed RAM to handle your site.
For 50 budget, I'd suggest:
VPSLand, VPSLink, CheapVPS.