Linux hosting options, pros and cons

[David J Berube]

I'd also very strongly recommend checking out site on WebHostingTalk.com 
- it's a hangout for industry insiders and those who do a lot of web 
hosting.

Take it easy,

David Berube
Berube Consulting
djberube at berubeconsulting.com
(603)-485-9622
http://www.berubeconsulting.com/

Python wrote:
> You are already getting replies, but here's more.
> 
> On Wed, 2007-02-07 at 11:44 -0500, Ted Roche wrote:
>> A client with a database-backed LAMP application is considering  
>> moving to a new hosting provider for their system.  Surfing the web,  
>> they find all of these $6.95/month deals and can't figure out why  
>> anyone would pay more. 
> Try to find a phone number for those folks.  Usually support is only
> available through email.  If the site is used to post pictures of the
> grand-kids, that's probably good enough.  If something goes wrong and
> you want it fixed in hours, you probably need a phone number.
> 
>> I know there are a number of folks on the list  
>> who provide such services for themselves or their customers, and  
>> would welcome feedback, from what questions should be asked to what  
>> features we should be looking at. (I should explain "we" - I am the  
>> developer of the app, and an adequate sysadmin, and will likely end  
>> up installing, configuring and maintaining the system)
>>
> Back in my days of being an ISP, I neglected the web hosting side of the
> business because I thought it was too hard to compete against the cheap
> hosting outfits.  That was a mistake.  Your local ISP will provide
> hosting at reasonable monthly rates ($20 - $50) and provide real
> support.  (A local ISP who is still in business succeeds because of the
> support provided to customers.)
> 
> You need to realize that $7/month is not going to include much beyond
> static web pages.
> 
> The main downsides to your relying on you local ISP is likely to be
> somewhat limited bandwidth and limited backup power.  The upside will be
> having a vendor who actually values your business and who has the
> expertise to help you succeed.  MV would be a good place to start.
> 
> 
>> Bandwidth: minimal. The system is a custom query application used by  
>> a small number of customers. Data is plain 'ol HTML with a few token  
>> branding graphics.
>>
>> Basic software requirements:
>> Linux
>> Apache 2.x
>> SSL	
>> PHP 4.3 or better with the ability to add PEAR modules
>> MySQL 4.1.19 or later or 5.1
>> ssh/scp access, preferably on a non-standard port
>> rsync support
>> ability to add custom cron jobs
>> outgoing email, a few a day.
>>
>> Storage: data is dinky, a couple of megabytes, HTML, CSS and .js  
>> files a few hundred K
>>
>> Reliability: of course, clients expect web presence to work like  
>> dialtone: five 9's at no extra cost. A flaky ISP who blinks on and  
>> off is obviously undesirable, but the client is not going to pay for  
>> their own standby diesel generator, either. What's a realistic  
>> expectation, and how closely is it tied to "you get what you pay  
>> for?" In terms of mission-criticality, uptime is good, but going  
>> black during a natural disaster is not a deal-breaker, as long as the  
>> machine does a good shutdown and recovery.
>>
>> Security: Client requires https communications, so a certificate is  
>> mandatory. Only one httrps per IPaddress/port combination, so an ISP  
>> would be charging extra for that, too.
>>
>> The data is confidential business information, so there would be a  
>> concern with sharing an instance of MySQL and Apache. What are  
>> opinions of the current technologies of VMs and VPSes and UMLs?
>>
>> So, what are folks doing, and why?
> 
> It sounds to me like data security could be a driving factor.  I would
> not use virtual-web-site based hosting to distribute data that *must* be
> tightly controlled.  In general, the virtual sites are publishing data
> to the world and read-permission security is not critical.  You don't
> want to be the only web site on the server with top-secret data.
> 
> A virtual server gives you near total control of the system.  You should
> be able to configure any necessary security controls.  If you are more
> paranoid, you would get your own dedicated hardware.  I'm using
> tummy.com for my production virtual-server.
> 
>>
>> Ted Roche
>> Ted Roche & Associates, LLC
>> http://www.tedroche.com
>>
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