Looking for VPS recommendations

[RobinHood]

I'd like to purchase a VPS in the next 24 hours for a site I'm going to launch shortly.

I'm currently using shared hosting with EZPZ Hosting, which has been good, but I want to ensure consistent maximum performance for the site from the get go when I launch this week.

I'm going to be advertising the new site locally and the last thing I need is potential new users becoming frustrated due to server issues when they try it out.

I know very little about server hosting and configuration, so I'm guessing I'm going to need a managed one?

These are the prices for the company I'm currently with. However I'm open to suggestion for other companies or offers from hosting providers here.

 

[Paul B]

I notice you linked to a UK company so not sure if you want to stay UK.
I have shared hosting with these: http://www.eukhost.com/vps-hosting.php

I can't comment on their VPS hosting but I have had very few problems with their shared product for several years and that is with up to 200 visitors online.

 

[MattW]

Those prices aren't too bad, especially if you get the Cpanel licence, as they are then offering to manage the VPS for you.

I've got 3 VPS boxes. My main one is with Xtrahost
XenVM-3GB 3GB 50 GB 1500 GB £40 pm +VAT

and 2 VPS which I use as a backup and monitoring server with Xensmart.
256MB 15GB 250GB £9.00 GBP
and
512MB 30GB 450GB £16.00 GBP

However, all 3 are un-managed. Both companies have been VERY reliable.

This is the uptime on my backup server (the 512MB one)

[z22se@backup ~]$ uptime
17:02:28 up 317 days, 12:26,  1 user,  load average: 0.03, 0.02, 0.00

If you get one with Cpanel, it's quite easy to self manage, and there are plenty of guides on the net to help you secure it (I'm sure people on here would be willing to offer advice as well).

 

[RobinHood]

I notice you linked to a UK company so not sure if you want to stay UK.
I have shared hosting with these: http://www.eukhost.com/vps-hosting.php



I can't comment on their VPS hosting but I have had very few problems with their shared product for several years and that is with up to 200 visitors online.

I'm in the UK and the users will be UK based too, so I'd definitely like a UK server.

Those prices don't seem bad either, £24 a month with cPanel and 512mb guaranteed RAM vs £30 a month for 256mb guaranteed RAM with my current host.

How important is the RAM value for XF installs? I'm anticipating the possibility of a fair bit of photo and attachment uploading.

Those prices aren't too bad, especially if you get the Cpanel licence, as they are then offering to manage the VPS for you.

I've got 3 VPS boxes. My main one is with Xtrahost
XenVM-3GB 3GB 50 GB 1500 GB £40 pm +VAT

and 2 VPS which I use as a backup and monitoring server with Xensmart.
256MB 15GB 250GB £9.00 GBP
and
512MB 30GB 450GB £16.00 GBP

However, all 3 are un-managed. Both companies have been VERY reliable.

This is the uptime on my backup server (the 512MB one)

[z22se@backup ~]$ uptime
17:02:28 up 317 days, 12:26,  1 user,  load average: 0.03, 0.02, 0.00

If you get one with Cpanel, it's quite easy to self manage, and there are plenty of guides on the net to help you secure it (I'm sure people on here would be willing to offer advice as well).

I would like to learn how to self manage it at some point and learn the ins and outs, but for the time being I think I'd be better off paying a bit more to ensure someone else is on top of that. Especially while I'm focussing on developing the site itself.

I'd rather pay a bit more at this point to make sure it just works.

 

[ChemicalKicks]

Linode has UK servers, PC me fir a referral.

 

[Paul B]

Linode is unmanaged, isn't it?

 

[MattW]

How important is the RAM value for XF installs? I'm anticipating the possibility of a fair bit of photo and attachment uploading.

My main VPS has 3GB of dedicated RAM, and it's currently using724MB

free -m
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:          3072       2984         87          0        204       2055
-/+ buffers/cache:        724       2347
Swap:         2047          0       2047

However, Cpanel takes a bit to run, and we do a lot of photo and attachment uploading.

 

[Ghan_04]

If you're willing to try unmanaged and/or find someone to help you out with setup and config (I'd be willing to help if you just need a VPS setup and configured for a Xenforo install) then I'd definitely give Linode a try. Their platform is incredibly flexible and should allow you to do exactly what you need.

 

[dieketzer]

while linode is my favourite, it is completely unmanaged. unless OP is comfortable setting up and managing a linux server from the command line, linode is probably not the best choice for them.

 

[wrx1]

while linode is my favourite, it is completely unmanaged. unless OP is comfortable setting up and managing a linux server from the command line, linode is probably not the best choice for them.

But with a good setup, you should never really need to do anything. I have been running linode for 3 years now and other then when I made the switch from VB to XF, I never had to touch anything on the servers. And they only thing I did at the change over was update the PHP, MYSQL, etc, to the latest versions.

 

[SchmitzIT]

If you want fast and reliable servers in the UK, with excellent support, give NimbusHosting a look. We have been hosting with Tim and his team pretty much since we started, and could not wish for more in a host.

 

[RobinHood]

Thanks' for all the input and offers of help guys, I appreciate it. In the end I took the plunge for am unmanaged server with my current host.

30GB space, 900GB bandwidth, 512mb guaranteed ram and 1024MB burst with cPanel. £23.99 a month inc. VAT.

One of my buddies kindly offered to help me set it up so hopefully we should be up and running shortly

 

[PVO_Dave]

Bit late to the party here, but I also highly recommend nimbushosting.co.uk

 

[m1ne]

http://www.futurehosting.com/web-hosting/virtual-servers/pricing
^ using them now (not for vps). Their services are outstanding.
I can also vouch for http://knownhost.com - had a vps with them for over a year, support was second to none.

 

[rbecking]

I recommend http://www.nimbushosting.co.uk very fast servers and best customer service I've ever had.