Linux hosting options, pros and cons

Kent Johnson kent37 at tds.net
Fri Mar 9 06:28:29 EST 2007


<trying again, first time didn't seem to get through>

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. 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)

In my new job I am hosting a web site at WebFactional. I thought you
might be interested in some first impressions.

We are hosted at the Shared 1 level ($9.50 / month). At present I am
running a minimal Django app, a Trac site and a Subversion repository on
the site. I can ssh and rsync to the site.

Trac and svn are running as CGIs behind Apache. I have access to the
app-specific config files but not the Apache instance that runs them.

Django is running in mod_python behind a private instance of Apache that
AFAICT I control completely - I can edit the http.conf, restart the
server, etc. I have my own site-packages folder and my own Django
installation. It was painless to replace the stock Django (9.5.1
release) with the current svn trunk - just deleted the stock folder and
svn co the trunk.

As I understand it, there is a master Apache server that is the front
end. This server serves static files and forwards dynamic requests to my
owned server which runs mod_python and Django.

There are three running httpd processes. It seems like httpd +
mod_python + Django takes about 13-14MB. So with three instances running
I am bumping up against the 40MB memory limit. This is a very small site
at this point - basically a Django Admin interface to a single SQLite
table in a 250K database. So the Shared 1 plan is kind of marginal for
this. I am planning to upgrade to Shared 2 so I don't have to worry
about it.

I did bump over the memory limit a few days ago due to a memory leak
(mine), the response from WebFaction was to post a trouble ticket asking
me what I was going to do about it. So that is pretty gentle, they
didn't shut down the site or restart the server for me or anything
draconian.

Setup is pretty easy. Most of it is handled with a control panel that
lets you set up applications (Django, Trac, svn) and domains and link
them together. There are numerous screencasts to walk you through the
config. There is also a forum that answers a lot of questions and has
specific configuration tips.

I am a linux novice - I don't freak out when faced with a bash shell,
but I don't know how to configure Apache either. I have had a few times
when I have had to muddle through but mostly it has gone smoothly.

Support is by email. I have asked a couple of questions and received
replies within 24 hours. Not great turnaround but the answers were
accurate - in each case I was answered by Remi Delon who runs the site.

Can't answer about reliability yet, the site is new and not open to the
public.

Most of the rest of what you ask for below is available but I have not
had to use it.

Hardware is Dual Xeon 2.4 Ghz with 4 GB RAM. I seem to be sharing the
machine with about 80 other users at the moment.

> 
> 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.

Yes, 200GB / month.
> 
> Basic software requirements:
> Linux
Red Hat

> Apache 2.x
Apache/2.0.52 (Red Hat) mod_python/3.2.8 Python/2.4.4

> SSL   
Yes

> PHP 4.3 or better with the ability to add PEAR modules
PHP is available, not sure which version. My experience with Django is
that I can add modules; my guess is it would be the same with PHP.

> MySQL 4.1.19 or later or 5.1
Not sure which version, 5.something I think

> ssh/scp access, preferably on a non-standard port
ssh/scp/sftp yes. Don't know about changing the port

> rsync support
yes

> ability to add custom cron jobs
yes though apparently cron can't send mail
http://forum.webfaction.com/viewtopic.php?id=2

> outgoing email, a few a day.
Yes, my Trac instance is configured to send mail and that is working fine.
> 
> Storage: data is dinky, a couple of megabytes, HTML, CSS and .js files a 
> few hundred K

Yes, 2GB on the Shared 1 plan.
> 
> 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.

Don't know yet. So far 100% uptime :-)
> 
> 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.

You can use a shared cert for free, if you want your own it is $5 / mo
for your own IP.
> 
> 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?

Don't know about the DB.

Kent
> 
> So, what are folks doing, and why?
> 
> 
> Ted Roche
> Ted Roche & Associates, LLC
> http://www.tedroche.com
> 
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