Twilight Forums

Just figured I'd ask if anyone knows a good web host that can handle managed dedicated servers. I'm talking to a couple of places right now, but it never hurts to have a good reference.

I'm talking to 1and1.com (my current host) and hosting.com, plus I've got feelers out at one or two other places. But if anyone knows of a capable web host, now's the time to share.

A friend recommenced this site: http://www.hostgator.com/dedicated.shtml, But he's never used their dedicated server plans before.

Hope it helps.

_________________

I sorta skimmed through Dreamhost (I don't know TOO much about this...) but maybe?

I use freewebs.com for my everyday needs infact my clan website is on there, just thought i would add that, though it sucks but it has soulja boy and korn music.

_________________

Well, due to my proffesion, I have been a lot into hosting searches, and I can say for sure the following:

-ANY free service, is completely unreliable. Ok, it is fine for a small comunity that does not bother if the site remains down for a few days, but for anything proffesional, free hosting sucks.

-If a host is willing to provide a testing period, typically they are worth the trouble, but be aware that some hosts are not above providing excellent service during trial, and forget about you later.

-If a host is willing to provide services without a contract, then RUN AWAY AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!. If to get a host, you only need to fill an anonymous form, without any contract guarantess on their part, they are into money making business. In short, they are companies that do not own any servers, isntead, they have rented servers on bigger hosts, and they are trying to make some fast money, and then close down the company.

-Beware of hosts that provide more than 100MB of space, for less than 100$ (domain included). They typically have extreme lagp roblems due to punny mangement.

-Beware of hosts that ask you to set up your own domain, before providing server space and bandwidth. If a host is unable to set a domain for you, they typically have incompetent technical assistance.

-NEVER take a host by web. Find their site, and then PHONE them. Ask many questions, tehcnical and not, and especially, ask them when a technician is available to provide assistance. The majority of hosts, have freelance technicians, that will take care of your problem, more or less when it will be too late for it to be taken care. Also, make sure that they provide the following:

-full functional PHP (as in no mail() function disabled etc)
-MySQL DB creation privileges (even if it is only for one DB).
-MySQL user creation privileges (many give only one user).
-technical support, AT LEAST 12/24, 6 days a week.
-Guarantees of uptime, typicaly by providing free webhosting time, in case something goes wrong (you will not find anyone providing monetal guarantees).

_________________

Please be wary of 1and1--bad customer service.

I don't know what your current budget is, but....

GoDaddy (http://www.godaddy.com) does dedicated servers. We got excellent customer service from them when I was doing professional in-house web work, but we were only doing domain registration through them.

Also, DrakNet (http://www.drak.net/servers) is a highly ethical and quality-minded shared hosting reseller; they recommend LiquidWeb (http://www.liquidweb.com) for dedicated servers. Buy through DrakNet or straight from LiquidWeb, depending on your politics , but I trust DrakNet's recommendation on anything web-related.

I hope this helps,

Doc

_________________
"I don't have enough time to do all the procrastinating I want to."--Littleghost, in chat

I may be making some progress with hosting.com - they've got some easily upgradeable intermediate options that seem good, but liquidweb also looks interesting, so I'll give them a call, too.

Thanks for the recommendations, folks. I think I've got enough to go on now.

I understand that Dreamhost is excellent, but I dunno if they're good for what you need.

Dreamhost has a disclaimer on their site saying dedicated hosting isn't their thing, referring people to hosting.com instead -- that's what led me to hosting.com in the first place. It's a shame, though, because I've heard good things about dreamhost, too.