I'm trying to keep this brief and readable but less detail usually
means more questions... I can provide more info if required.

One of our clients has a hosted virtual private Linux server and they
need a new service provider. They are running D3 virtuals in a couple
RHEL environments, along with full LAMP stack and various FOSS apps.
They need 2 environments for now, with about 50GB disk and 500MB RAM.

They do not have anyone on staff who is familiar with Linux
administration. They need a company with a staff, not individuals who
may be on vacation when you need them. They need a support group to
administer DNS, web server, security, updates, and other admin
responsibilities. They have multiple domains which require occasional
DNS (ANAME, CNAME, MX) configuration. They need email services for
each domain, and can use shared SMTP/POP3 services if they're
reliable, and where it's easy to setup new accounts.

They als have a Windows 2008 Server in-house which they probably
should have hosted in the cloud too. The ideal service provider can
maintain Windows as well as Linux in the same data center.

Let's state the unspeakable: they don't want to pay a lot either, but
good service has a price and they need to know the options.

So - any recommendations?

I can search for "virtual private server", so no blind links please.
I'm looking for recommendations based on experience.

Thanks!
T

Tony Gravagno
Nebula Research and Development
TG@ remove.pleaseNebula-RnD.com
remove.pleaseNebula-RnD.com/blog
Visit PickWiki.com! Contribute!
http://Twitter.com/TonyGravagno

On 2011-02-17 18:11:26 -0500, Tony Gravagno
<tony_gravagno (AT) nospam (DOT) invalid> said:
For *nix VPS, Linode.com or Slicehost.com, but you're on your own with
regard to server management - That's what VPS is all about. Linode is
slightly less expensive than Slicehost.

Another good alternative for *nix and Windows, with various levels of
managed services available, is Rackspace's Cloud Hosting services.

I have stuff going at both Linode and Rackspace. It works well, but
such setups are not for everyone. Pricing is straight forward and
there aren't really any hidden costs, but there are aspects of the
pricing of each service that one must carefully consider before going
down the VPS / managed server road.

--
Kevin Powick

Tony,

We've talked to Zumasys about some of this stuff but a) I don't have first hand experience because we haven't pulled the trigger and b) probably not cheap (depending on your definition).

Steve

Steve Douglas wrote:

Thanks Steve, Zumasys is at the top of my list when something like
this comes up, but I don't think this opportunity fits the Zumasys
model. I won't write them off without asking.

I'd also like to consider the EasyCo / MirroredSolutions offering, but
their advertised pricing is a generation behind competitive offerings
in terms of memory, disk, and bandwidth. If they update their website
with something competitive I'll take another look.

A colleague also mentioned Atkins/Jones.

Still hoping for more responses,
Thanks!

On Feb 18, 11:42*pm, Tony Gravagno <tony_grava... (AT) nospam (DOT) invalid>
wrote:
Tony,

Give Doug Owens a call at Ashwood. For hosted solutions they have a
data center in Cincinnati so they can go on-site if needed. They also
can arrange some cloud hosting options but I don't have info. I
believe they have some cloud-bound clients right now. Doug Owens told
me they just recently added a resident D3 specialist so you'll have
some client assistance if needed. Like with any other supported tech
service, you get what you pay for. That's especially true with cloud
hosting and level of redundancy/fail-over if offered.

GlenB