Hi all Would some of the experienced members please advise all the noobs on when you think its time to step up and get a dedicated server? I mean for instance at what point does it become cheaper...after how many sites? And also what do you guys think is the best way to go in terms of hosting completely different domain names and not just subdomains? Thanks all
There's no point in getting a dedicated server unless you have a specific need. Here are some possible reasons though: 1) Your site requires more server resources (CPU, memory, disk I/O) than shared hosting or a VPS can provide 2) You need to install custom software which requires root/admin privileges or you need a specific configuration of a service which is not available through shared hosting.
Thanks for the reply. I guess actually i should have included vps in there.I know its a self booting partition on another server with shared resources and such, but can you run seperate domains on there easily ? And do most vps have easy to run admin and control panel for setting them up. Is it as straight forward as getting a domain name and pointing its name servers towards the vps or is it more complicated?
A VPS acts just like a dedicated server. You can host as many domains as you wish on a VPS. You can run any control panel you want on a VPS. You would need to setup nameservers, but after that, yes it would be as simple as changing the domain's nameservers and it will point to the server.
thanks jliu next bit then...what the best specs to look at ? I know you get what you pay for generally, but are there any specific technical specs worth looking for? And any any vps hosts you and others use that are reliable? Seems like i should look into getting one.You seem to be able to get them for like 20 bucks a month which is the same as hosting 3 or 4 sites on a lot of hosting services.
The specs would depend on the sites you are hosting and how much activity there is. But, you can start with a small VPS and if your sites require more server resources, it's always easy to upgrade. If you have no experience administering a server, I would recommend a managed VPS solution like WiredTree (http://www.wiredtree.com). They will setup, secure, maintain your VPS so you don't have to worry about that. They'll go out of their way to help you as well. cPanel/WHM also comes with each of their VPSes. It will cost more for a managed VPS though. If you want to learn how to manage a server, I would highly recommend Linode.com. I use them for a few sites and to test various software. No control panels come with it however. You'd have to buy a control panel from a third party and install it yourself. Linode also uses Xen as their virtualization software which in my opinion is the best VPS software on the market.
cheers Gitana. they look interesting. Another noob question though.... are you likely to get penalised for non adult sites by giggle.It seems if they specialise in adult sites then the servers are likely to be associated with adult content in giggles eyes? Or is that not relevant?
For un-experienced admin, I would suggest to go with managed server. Otherwise, you will have trouble with your server performance, even it can be attacked easily. Unfortunately, a fully managed server is not cheap. But if you can afford, you will have peace in mind