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  1. #1

    Talking My Servint First Days Review

    This is my starting on Servint first days official review for WHT. On November 19th, 2009, after evaluating 29 VPS providers, I decided to make a review on Servint, a company online since April 1996, based in Elm Street, Suite 4B, McLean, VA 22101, US. Servint is not a reseller, it is a big company, owner of it's data center and are using the most advanced and powerful nodes to offer virtual private servers running Linux (actually CentOS 5.x), without control panel or with cPanel or Plesk, both free. According a lot of VPS users, Servint is the creme-de-la-creme in the virtual private servers market because is uptime is around real 100% and it's famed support is considered fantastic. No negative issues for Servint from it's customers are known on the Web.

    Using Paypal I ordered the product Essential VPS ($ 49.00 USD) with this spec:
    30 GB Disk Space
    1 TB Monthly Transfer
    768 MB Guaranteed (1.5 GB Burst RAM)
    CentOS 5 Operating System
    4 IP Addresses
    Unlimited Domains and User Accounts
    FREE Virtuozzo Power Panel
    FREE nightly backups
    FREE cPanel, Plesk, or Parallels Small Business Panel Available
    No set-up fee
    $49 monthly

    Minimum server specs for all ServInt VPS products are:
    Dual Quad Core Intel Xeon L5300/L5400 Series CPUs
    32 GB 667 MHz DDR2 Dual Rank, Fully Buffered RAM
    15K RPM SCSI/SAS Hard Drives in RAID 10
    Zero Downtime During Drive Failure
    Hot-Swap Drives and Fans
    Replaceable on the Fly
    Dual Gigabit Network Interfaces

    I found this info from my ssh shell (8 CPUs found, with the same spec):

    PHP Code:
    Last loginSat Nov 21 09:53:43 2009 from 189.25.14.3
    root
    @server [~]# cat /proc/cpuinfo
    processor    0
    vendor_id    
    GenuineIntel
    cpu family    
    6
    model        
    15
    model name    
    Intel(RXeon(RCPU           L5320  1.86GHz
    stepping    
    11
    cpu MHz        
    458.206
    cache size    
    4096 KB
    physical id    
    0
    siblings    
    4
    core id        
    0
    cpu cores    
    4
    apicid        
    0
    fpu        
    yes
    fpu_exception    
    yes
    cpuid level    
    10
    wp        
    yes
    flags        
    fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm syscall nx lm constant_tsc pni monitor ds_cpl vmx tm2 cx16 xtpr lahf_lm
    bogomips    
    3726.69
    clflush size    
    64
    cache_alignment    
    64
    address sizes    
    38 bits physical48 bits virtual
    power management


    In the order form I specified a request of complete migration (16 domains, one of them with two complicated Word Press blogs) via cPanel migration tool, total around 8GB of data from Chicago. I also requested installation of third party tools, including Midnight Commander, Webmin. I was expecting a welcome in 24 hours but, for my surprise, Servint guys informed me that my VPS is ready for running. When I entered its WHM I saw all 16 domains there with all configurations, without only one error (in anterior migrations, using Plesk, I've noticed some errors like login truncated for email accounts etc.). At that time the only task I have to do was register new name servers using Servint IPs and change DNS in my registrar (Dotster, special IWA account). I did it and in few hours all it is O.K. because Servint's IPs are fine and it's networks connection exceeds, opffering pure premium bandwidth. By default Servint does no enable ssh and do not inform the VZPP link but I requested both and in few minutes I visited VZPP and entered my shell to run WHT Unixbench:

    PHP Code:
    BYTE UNIX Benchmarks (Version 4.1-wht.2)
    System -- Linux server.macarlohost.net 2.6.18-028stab064.7 #1 SMP Wed Aug 26 13:11:07 MSD 2009 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
    /dev/vzfs             31457280   7665004  23792276  25% /

    Start Benchmark RunFri Nov 20 00:10:37 EST 2009
     00
    :10:37 up  7:02,  1 user,  load average0.070.020.00

    End Benchmark Run
    Fri Nov 20 00:21:08 EST 2009
     00
    :21:08 up  7:12,  1 user,  load average14.375.882.58


                         INDEX VALUES            
    TEST                                        BASELINE     RESULT      INDEX

    Dhrystone 2 using register variables        376783.7  9137520.6      242.5
    Double
    -Precision Whetstone                      83.1     1004.0      120.8
    Execl Throughput                               188.3     3433.9      182.4
    File Copy 1024 bufsize 2000 maxblocks         2672.0    88264.0      330.3
    File Copy 256 bufsize 500 maxblocks           1077.0    26840.0      249.2
    File Read 4096 bufsize 8000 maxblocks        15382.0   595644.0      387.2
    Pipe Throughput                             111814.6   941775.7       84.2
    Pipe
    -based Context Switching                 15448.6   278625.4      180.4
    Process Creation                               569.3     9099.3      159.8
    Shell Scripts 
    (8 concurrent)                    44.8      647.2      144.5
    System Call Overhead                        114433.5   739381.8       64.6
                                                                     
    =========
         FINAL 
    SCORE                                                     171.8
    root
    @server [/unixbench-4.1.0-wht-2]
    Servint offers a tech forum with over 6,000 members, an official tech blog and a Customer Portal for support and much more and I've noticed that it's support tickets response are around 1 minute, no more, on 24 hours. Servint technicians are very efficient and very polish, solving all problems in minutes. Example: I informed I want run rkhunter and in few minutes this app was installed and running just fine. I have noticed that Essential VPS is very stable, running like a real server.

    On November 21th, two days after my order, I received another invoice ($18.97 USD) and this is related to Servint pro-rata billing system. Servint do not display this for public access and only you are its customer you will know this billing system as follows:

    Servint Billing FAQs

    1) I received my first Invoice, but I don't understand it?

    When you signed up with ServInt your initial payment covered your 1st full calendar month of service. The first invoice you receive includes the days that elapsed between your turn-up date and the 1st day of that calendar month. How this is represented on your invoice depends on where in our billing cycle your service began. Below are two examples explaining each instance.

    Example one: For New orders placed between the 1st and 20th of the month.

    jondoe.com ordered an Essential VPS on May 16th. He paid $49.00 when he placed his order and his new server was turned up the same day. On May 21st he received an invoice for $23.71 which represents the prorated amount for 15 days of service between May 16th and May 31st. The initial charge and payment were also reflected, but offset.

    On June 21st he will receive an invoice for the month of July. On July 21st he will receive an invoice for the month of August and so on.

    Example two: For new orders placed between the 21st and the last day of the month.

    Janedoe.com ordered an essential VPS on May 24th. She paid $49 when she placed the order and her new server was turned up the same day. On June 21st she received an invoice for $61.65 which includes her $49.00 monthly charge for the upcoming month of July as well as a prorated charge of $12.65 for the 8 days of service between May 24th and May 31st. The initial charge and payment were also reflected, but offset.

    On July 21st she will receive and invoice for the month of August and so on.
    2) I just signed up with ServInt a few days ago and I already got an invoice. What gives?

    Regardless of what day of the month your new server is activated and your service begins, invoices go out on the 21st. For more information on your first invoice please see the previous FAQ question.
    3) When will I receive my monthly invoices?

    You will receive your invoice via email on the 21st of each month. Therefore, make sure to keep your billing contact email address up to date with us.
    4) When is my invoice due?

    Invoices are due on the 1st of every month.
    5) Why are my 'Service Period' and 'Usage Period' dates different?

    ServInt pre-bills monthly service. That means that the invoice you receive on the 21st of the month covers the service period of the upcoming month. So a bill received June 21st would cover July 1st - July 31st.

    The only exception to this is if a client utilizes more bandwidth than is included in their base package, resulting in overages or other utilization charges. This obviously cannot be pre-billed, so it is billed in arrears. ServInt post-bills for bandwidth usage, and the usage period runs from the 21st - 20th of the prior month. Therefore the same invoice you receive on June 21st would cover the usage period of May 21st - June 20th.
    6) How do I enroll in ServInt's Auto-Bill program and have my credit card automatically charged each month?

    You may use the link below enroll in Auto-Bill.

    https://www.servint.net/ccupdate

    Simply enter your billing account number as it appears on your invoices, your email address used for billing correspondences, your credit card information and don't forget to check the 'recurring billing' box. Your credit card will then automatically be charged on the 21st of each month and you will receive a statement via email explaining the charge.
    .
    7) Can I prepay for multiple months at a time? Do I get a discount?

    Yes, and yes. You may pre-pay for as many months at a time as you like. 6 month pre-pays include a 5% discount and 12 month pre-pays a 10% discount. After you pre-pay you will still receive statements on the 21st of each month showing a portion of the total payment applied towards your monthly charges. When the payment runs out you will begin receiving actual invoices again. It is up to you to pay those monthly invoices or pre-pay again.
    8) I want invoices sent to a different email address. What do I do?

    To change the email address Servint uses for billing correspondences either open a ticket in the customer portal requesting the change, or send an email to billing@servint.com from the current billing email address we have on file.
    9) I accidently deleted my invoice. How can I get a copy?

    Simply send an e-mail to billing@servint.com or open a billing ticket to request a copy of your latest invoice.
    10) Why can't I see my invoices and payment history in the customer portal?

    We understand that it would make things significantly easier if ServInt's support and billing databases were linked, but at this time they are not. A project is underway to link the two, but our goal is - first and foremost - the security of your billing data. For that reason we will be unable to display invoices and payment history here in the customer portal until it can be done completely securely and with our utmost confidence. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
    11) How do you determine whether or not I have overages?

    The traffic stats we use for billing purposes are the same ones reported in real-time here in the customer portal. These stats are generated by monitoring the switchport, which accurately manages all traffic on all ports, both incoming and outoging. If the amount of traffic reported is higher that the amount allotted in any given package it is billed at a rate of .25 cents a MB.

    Please do not use the traffic statistics reported by your Control Panel to estimate your traffic usage. Control Panels also provide their own traffic stats, however they do not include all traffic on all ports, and are therefore not accurate and not used to determine total traffic for billing purposes.
    12) How can I tell If I am using more bandwidth than is included in my package, and how do I avoid going over my bandwidth allotment?

    Bandwidth statistics are provided in real-time here in the customer portal, and can be accessed 24/7. You should be actively monitoring your traffic stats in the customer portal. If you see that you are approaching your maximum we encourage you to contact a member of our sales team to discuss moving to a larger package before you incur overage charges.
    13) Will you automatically shut me off if I have used too much bandwidth so that I do not incur overage charges?



    I will post this review in my blog with a lot of photos of Servint.
    Last edited by The-REV; 11-21-2009 at 12:31 PM.
    The-REV, OS/2 Guru
    http://macarloshark.com/
    Trusted Since 1997
    Blog: http://my.opera.com/The-REV/blog/

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Vancouver
    Posts
    973
    Wow this is one of the most thorough reviews on a hosting provider I've seen! Thanks a lot for taking the time to write and I'm sure it will help a lot of people considering ServInt.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    6,884
    I wonder how will your 3/6 month reviews look like . Thanks for sharing your initial impressions in such a detailed manner.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    10
    The Best review i ever rad, Thank you for writing this review

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    517
    Well, support time isn't always within a minute, but it's definitely very, very fast. Just trying to tone down expectations a little bit.

    I completed three years with ServInt yesterday. Look forward to staying with them for another three and more.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    30
    How can i login use ssh with root user in servint vps?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Eta Carinae
    Posts
    2,672
    Quote Originally Posted by ghostape View Post
    How can i login use ssh with root user in servint vps?
    using the IP and password they provided you?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    30
    Quote Originally Posted by njoker555 View Post
    using the IP and password they provided you?
    But i cannot access with this user/ip/pass.So why?With this user/ip/pass i also login vitourzoo,WHM,cpanel usualy!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Eta Carinae
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    2,672
    contact them and ask them for help, something could be off, such as the ssh port could have been changed.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    30
    Quote Originally Posted by njoker555 View Post
    contact them and ask them for help, something could be off, such as the ssh port could have been changed.
    Thanks for helpfull!

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by ghostape View Post
    Thanks for helpfull!
    ssh should be on another port , 8888 perhaps? and you shouldnt be able to log in as root directly (at least on a cpanel server) you need to create a normal user, add them to the wheel group and log in as that user and su to root. Its a safety measure.
    Ive just hit 6 years with servint and they have yet to disappoint. They are truly excellent. How many other providers have so many customers stay so long and have so very few XXXX sucks threads on wht?
    The truly excellent service you have received will continue, its great, you almost forget you have the server. It just works. If anything goes wrong they bend over backwards to sort it out for you. Reed has an excellent team there and servint seems to be going from strength the strength.
    --
    Rich

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Spain
    Posts
    4,251
    I'm very happy with Servint too! Best host I've had in ten years!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    1,272
    I had a vps with servint and they have a great support team. But their vpses are weak, look at the benchmark score you received. There are many $20 vpses that could easily double that score. But I guess you are paying for the support.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Posts
    243
    interesting you should say that. I find benchmark scores somewhat unreliable. On a bad day you can see for example linode go below 200 and they are considered one of the best in unmanaged vps.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    New York
    Posts
    2,883
    Quote Originally Posted by usera View Post
    interesting you should say that. I find benchmark scores somewhat unreliable. On a bad day you can see for example linode go below 200 and they are considered one of the best in unmanaged vps.
    I wouldn't say that they are unreliable, just that they are not always 100% accurate in measuring the power of the VPS
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  16. #16
    Historically servint havent returned the highest benchmark results but I believe they explained that they have proprietary software in place that throttles high usage threads to ensure stability for everyone. I could be wrong as this is going back several years. I havent ever found servint wanting for speed, the ram allocations and hdd space is also quite generous. It is true they may not be one of the fastest but the quality is great. Anyone worried about the speed is probably best trying them out. It isnt a huge risk because they are obviously a well respected company and migrating between providers is quite easy, but the benchmarks dont tell the whole story. They wouldnt keep as many happy customers if they were routinely bested by much cheaper products.
    Yes the support will make up a serious part of the cost because they genuinely are good. I've never had a feeling that a member of the MST has rushed to close a ticket, theyve always taken the time to explain a situation and offer advice on solutions.
    --
    Rich

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