Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : VPS Hosting : Questions about VPS...

[Zhoom]

Hi All

I am brand new to this forum. I host about 10 wordpress websites on webhostingpad shared hosting and am simply not happy with the downtime and slow page load speeds. I was however very happy with the cpanel features and ease of managing my sites, email, domains, subdomains etc.

My driver in facilitating this change is speed and uptime so I figured that within my budget, VPS would be my first port of call.

I have had a look at hostgator, serverint, AlienVPS and Future Hosting, but really don't know what to look for or where to start...So hopefully someone can help

My Profile:

- I am based in Australia but have a mix of websites targeted at USA, Australia and South East Asian markets.

- I host about 10 websites, but will increase to host maybe 30-40, all on Wordpress.

- Concurrent visitors, I have no idea currently, but I want to be prepared for maybe 100-200 concurrent visitors across all my sites.

- Budget: $60-80 per month.

What I need (I think):

- Cpanel and Fantastico.
- Unlimited domains, email addresses, databases.
- Regular backups by host.
- Managed hosting, must keep up to date with PHP updates.

My questions:

- Is Cpanel always the same? Ie, would one hosting company’s Cpanel have different features to anothers?

- Do I need to consider geographic location of host (taking into account my geographic target spread)?

- I have read about Apache vs Nginx and the data just confused me. Do I need to consider this? And what considerations do I need to make?

- What other things do I need to consider when looking at VPS and moving from Shared to VPS?

And Finally:

Can someone recommend a good host and plan for me?

Sorry for the War and Peace, but I figured I may as well give as much info as possible

Thanks in Advance!!

[MattS]

cPanel is the same everywhere unless a host customizes it with a skin or something. As for Fantastico, I'd recommend getting Softaculous instead since it's better and has more scripts available.

Since it's a VPS you won't need to worry about unlimited domains, etc.

Since you're running cPanel, I'd suggest sticking with Apache since it's easier to maintain and work on. Eventually down the road you can switch to Nginx if you want.

[Zhoom]

Originally Posted by Matt - HostMist

cPanel is the same everywhere unless a host customizes it with a skin or something. As for Fantastico, I'd recommend getting Softaculous instead since it's better and has more scripts available.

Since it's a VPS you won't need to worry about unlimited domains, etc.

Since you're running cPanel, I'd suggest sticking with Apache since it's easier to maintain and work on. Eventually down the road you can switch to Nginx if you want.

Thanks Matt.

It seems most host plans offer more IPs for an extra cost. why would I need multiple IP addresses? One for each website or something like that?

And how does VPS uptime compare to Shared and dedicated hosting?

I had a look through the Hostmist plans. Next to CPU Power it says Equal Share burstable to 5000Mhz. What does this mean? What are the considerations when looking at host CPU?

[Karl]

I see you've already looked at AlienVPS, can't really go wrong there, I personally know John, he's a nice guy and from I've heard his clients are really happy with the service provided and for the price, they're pretty good in that respect too.


- Is Cpanel always the same? Ie, would one hosting company’s Cpanel have different features to anothers?

cPanel will always have the same features, the only thing that differs will be the add-ons which a host has installed.

- Do I need to consider geographic location of host (taking into account my geographic target spread)?
It depends where the majority comes from.

- I have read about Apache vs Nginx and the data just confused me. Do I need to consider this? And what considerations do I need to make?
Nginx is definitely a lot better from personal experiences, but for someone who's new, you should stay away, at least, for the time being.

- What other things do I need to consider when looking at VPS and moving from Shared to VPS?
Well, since you'll be transferring your data, check whether or not the host will transfer everything for you, most do.

And Finally:

Can someone recommend a good host and plan for me?
What's you budget?
HDD usage?
Bandwidth usage?

I already know you have around 100-200 concurrent users, you want cPanel, and you're running 10 wordpress sites, so I'd say no less than 512MB dedicated RAM.

[Zhoom]

Originally Posted by Karl

I see you've already looked at AlienVPS, can't really go wrong there, I personally know John, he's a nice guy and from I've heard his clients are really happy with the service provided and for the price, they're pretty good in that respect too.


- Is Cpanel always the same? Ie, would one hosting company’s Cpanel have different features to anothers?

cPanel will always have the same features, the only thing that differs will be the add-ons which a host has installed.

- Do I need to consider geographic location of host (taking into account my geographic target spread)?
It depends where the majority comes from.

- I have read about Apache vs Nginx and the data just confused me. Do I need to consider this? And what considerations do I need to make?
Nginx is definitely a lot better from personal experiences, but for someone who's new, you should stay away, at least, for the time being.

- What other things do I need to consider when looking at VPS and moving from Shared to VPS?
Well, since you'll be transferring your data, check whether or not the host will transfer everything for you, most do.

And Finally:

Can someone recommend a good host and plan for me?
What's you budget?
HDD usage?
Bandwidth usage?

I already know you have around 100-200 concurrent users, you want cPanel, and you're running 10 wordpress sites, so I'd say no less than 512MB dedicated RAM.

Thanks Karl!

My original budget was $60-80 per month, but it seems there are a few plans around that could fit my needs for $50 or under.

In regards to geographic majority, it would be a reasonably even split between USA, Australia and South East Asia.

Yes, transfer is something I should consider! When you say some will transfer everything, does that mean I basically do nothing and my sites are moved then continue to operate as usual on the new server? I definitely want this service!

HDD usage, I only use around 500mb of my host space now...But I would expect that to quadruple at least in the next 12 months. I would like to have relatively large storage available however. Maybe 30 GB?

Bandwidth usage, I don't really know how to figure out what I would need in this regard.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by Zhoom

Thanks Karl!

My original budget was $60-80 per month, but it seems there are a few plans around that could fit my needs for $50 or under.

In regards to geographic majority, it would be a reasonably even split between USA, Australia and South East Asia.

Yes, transfer is something I should consider! When you say some will transfer everything, does that mean I basically do nothing and my sites are moved then continue to operate as usual on the new server? I definitely want this service!

HDD usage, I only use around 500mb of my host space now...But I would expect that to quadruple at least in the next 12 months. I would like to have relatively large storage available however. Maybe 30 GB?

Bandwidth usage, I don't really know how to figure out what I would need in this regard.

Well, I'd probably go with a US provider, just because they're cheaper, reliable and most used anyway.

Transferring is very simple if you're going from a cPanel server to another cPanel server, it could take minutes to transfer and most hosts do it free of charge, however, I'd ask first.

I'd recommend, 30GB HDD, 200GB Bandwidth, 768MB Guaranteed RAM, 1536MB Burstable RAM, with an equal share of 1000MHZ. That should set you up pretty nicely.

[cartika-andrew]

Originally Posted by Zhoom

And how does VPS uptime compare to Shared and dedicated hosting?

hello !

this is the age old question in this industry

Simple fact is, a hosting account can have very good or very bad uptime. it is all a matter of the host you are with and what they have done to reduce the probabilities of downtime.

I will say this however - with a GOOD provider, there should be very little difference in uptime between shared, VPS or dedicated hosting. Solutions should be chosen based on resource requirements - and uptime should be roughly the same across all solutions. Granted - shared hosting will likely always have less overall uptime then VPS or dedicated solutions - but, even this might not be as true as it once was. Isolation should improve uptime - and it does.. but, with the advent of technology like CloudLinux, providers can offer pretty much software virtualization in shared hosting - so, the barrier between solutions is becoming pretty fuzzy..

Also - it is important to note that there are differences between software virtualization (ie openvz or virtuozzo) and hardware virtualization (ie xen or vmware). Xen or VMware are pretty much the same as a dedicated server, whereas solutions like openvz or virtuozzo are simple software level virtualization - and much closer to shared hosting then dedicated or isolated hosting. If you are going to look at software level virtualization - you are much better off looking at shared environments with CloudLinux installed - your performance and uptime will be nearly the same, and the price will likely be more reasonable for the resources you will actually receive

hope this helps...

[IGobyTerry]

- I am based in Australia but have a mix of websites targeted at USA, Australia and South East Asian markets.

Based off this, I'd recommend you go with a provider in the USA. Connectivity from the USA to the rest of the world is still pretty good. While Australia is improving, it's not quite as good, and Asia is even comparable. So, based on that, your USA customers will be pretty pleased, the rest of your visitors won't really notice if you choose a USA based host. If you went the others, then you're going to have angry customers from 2 out of the 3 locations.

I had a look through the Hostmist plans. Next to CPU Power it says Equal Share burstable to 5000Mhz. What does this mean? What are the considerations when looking at host CPU?

Equal Share means each client is guaranteed a minimum amount. Essentially you're equally sharing it all the CPU. If there's enough CPU available, you can use up to 5000 GHZ though when necessary.

[cartika-andrew]

Originally Posted by inogenius

Equal Share means each client is guaranteed a minimum amount. Essentially you're equally sharing it all the CPU. If there's enough CPU available, you can use up to 5000 GHZ though when necessary.

Hello inogenius, I "think" you are right...

I agree, it "could" mean this - but, more then likely, what this actually means is you are sharing CPU with all of the users on the physical node you are sharing. Which actually means that, just like shared hosting, you are at the mercy of your providers allocation rates and whether or not they have over allocated their CPU to an extent where your usage will be limited or not.

[Zhoom]

Originally Posted by cartika-andrew

hello !

Also - it is important to note that there are differences between software virtualization (ie openvz or virtuozzo) and hardware virtualization (ie xen or vmware). Xen or VMware are pretty much the same as a dedicated server, whereas solutions like openvz or virtuozzo are simple software level virtualization - and much closer to shared hosting then dedicated or isolated hosting. If you are going to look at software level virtualization - you are much better off looking at shared environments with CloudLinux installed - your performance and uptime will be nearly the same, and the price will likely be more reasonable for the resources you will actually receive

hope this helps...

Thanks so much! This virtualization stuff is a bit over my head to be honest. So I guess when choosing a VPS plan, look for Xen or VMware?

Originally Posted by inogenius

Based off this, I'd recommend you go with a provider in the USA. Connectivity from the USA to the rest of the world is still pretty good. While Australia is improving, it's not quite as good, and Asia is even comparable. So, based on that, your USA customers will be pretty pleased, the rest of your visitors won't really notice if you choose a USA based host. If you went the others, then you're going to have angry customers from 2 out of the 3 locations.


Equal Share means each client is guaranteed a minimum amount. Essentially you're equally sharing it all the CPU. If there's enough CPU available, you can use up to 5000 GHZ though when necessary.

Thanks for the info!!

Originally Posted by cartika-andrew

it "could" mean this - but, what this actually means is you are sharing CPU with all of the users on the physical node you are sharing. Which actually means that, just like shared hosting, you are at the mercy of your providers allocation rates and whether or not they have over allocated their CPU to an extent where your usage will be limited or not.

ok, so can you recommend some providers who have good track records at not over allocating? Thanks again!!

[gate2vn]

Originally Posted by cartika-andrew

with the advent of technology like CloudLinux, providers can offer pretty much software virtualization in shared hosting - so, the barrier between solutions is becoming pretty fuzzy..

Count me on this. Since deploying Cloud Linux on our shared hosting servers, the load is lower, customers are more than happy

Originally Posted by Zhoom

why would I need multiple IP addresses? One for each website or something like that?

You don't need multiple IP addresses, unless you want to use dedicated SSL for each domain.

For network performance, you will get better result with someone who has NTT, PCCW in the network mix, cause they are very strong in Asia-Pacific area.

Do you really need cPanel? DirectAdmin is a better control panel, from my experience.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by gate2vn

Do you really need cPanel? DirectAdmin is a better control panel, from my experience.

Everyones experience is different, I personally cannot stand to us DA, lack of features, rubbish usability. But that's just me.

cPanel is far better.

[Zhoom]

Originally Posted by gate2vn

Do you really need cPanel? DirectAdmin is a better control panel, from my experience.

I don't know if I really need Cpanel, but have never tried anything else and I know how to use Cpanel quite well.

Originally Posted by Karl

Everyones experience is different, I personally cannot stand to us DA, lack of features, rubbish usability. But that's just me.

cPanel is far better.

Ok, thanks again for your input Karl...

[gate2vn]

Which feature do you need? And "rubbish usability"??? You are the first one I hear that thing cPanel is a mess. More scripts inside, more chances for cracking, out-of-date things, messing up, etc.

Not mention to support from DirectAdmin is much much better than cPanel support. cPanel supporter messed up one of my servers after 4 days playing, back to 5 years before, when I used cPanel.

Originally Posted by Karl

lack of features, rubbish usability

[gate2vn]

I would suggest you give DA a try. They have demo version on their website at http://www.directadmin.com. It's very easy to use. We have switched from cPanel to DA since 5 years, and customers are still happy

Originally Posted by Zhoom

I don't know if I really need Cpanel, but have never tried anything else and I know how to use Cpanel quite well