Hi. I have some experience with Linux. I have installed and played around with a a few distros as well as FreeBSD but I am by no means a system admin and not very well versed in ssh and the command line other than simple navigation and some package updating.
I am thinking about a VPS vs reseller hosting. How hard is it to maintain a managed VPS with Cpanel? Will the host update the OS, Apache, PHP, mail server, etc? This will be used for client websites, I'm concerned about security and don't want to get in over my head.
I really don't need to install any software that reseller will offer me but I do like the idea of not being on a shared server. I have had some training in networking and programming so I am capable of learning technical details of IT, I just don't want it to be a hassle either. I want to concentrate on website development and not managing a server.
Any thoughts that may help me decide?
Well, I'm just a customer (last 4 years) but in very similar situation in terms of Linux experience/knowledge so I thought I would offer my take on it. You shouldn't have any problem at all with being able to manage the VPS. And, if you do, KnownHost will be there to install or update any standard software that needs updating. If you're not familiar with WHM yet, I would definitely get there, but other than that its been pretty painless for me. I'm in the process of getting my 2nd VPS (VS3) if that tells you anything. Good luck!
Let me give you my take. I came from shared hosting that started out good for a few years then went down hill giving me no end of problems. After doing due diligence and researching I chose KH and their VPS offering. I am a struggling, self taught web designer who needed idiot proof hosting with an occasional hand holding from the support department. I'm coming up on a year with KH and can say I couldn't be happier and absolutely made the correct choice. Moving all my accounts was a simple matter and when I did hit a snag, the KH support department was there to help immediately with little to no lag time. Give KH a try and you will be singing their praises as well I'm confident. They do the hosting game right with reliance and integrity plus sterling support. Best of luck!
Thanks for the replies. I think I'll just go for it when the time comes. KH does have some excellent packages and the reviews have all been stellar.
If the VPS goes down, is it automatically restarted by KH or does the owner have to discover it's down and restart the VPS? How is this handled?
If the server as a whole goes down then KH puts the data center techs on it.
I have never seen a VPS, as a whole, go down. Although services can get overloaded and crash or whatnot or get stuck in a loop and use large amounts of CPU. Typically it's up to you to monitor services and if you are unable to get it to recover KH will of course assist with the problem.
Then there are also DOS attacks which will effect the whole network and KH will notice and put the data center techs on to null route the IP being attacked.
Well, I signed up last night and had my VPS running in an hour. I decided to transfer all my domains, files, and mysql databases over myself and it went over without a hitch. WHM and cPanel is intuitive which made it an easy transition.
I had trouble with the email but it turned out to be that I had the wrong incoming and outgoing servers defined in Outlook. Support was quick to help, answered all my questions, and offered some commands I could use to help trace the problem.
The only pain was getting my DNS set correctly at 1and1. They have a crude way of doing it in their proprietary control panel. You have to follow instructions in creating subdomains that call a Glue Domain. Not user friendly to say the least.
Anyway, my initial impression concerning KnownHost is very good and I'm thinking the glowing KH reviews I read prior to signing up are correct. I think I'm going to like it here. Thank you.
Welcome! As someone that has used 1and1 in the past, I know how difficult their control panel can be. Glad to hear you made it over fine, though.
Thank you. I couldn't take it any more. I switched my domains to NameCheap.
Ha ha ha!!! Nicely done! I had a client using 1and1 not too long ago, and I did the same thing. Was easier to just pay to move it somewhere else. Recently dealt with Globat as well. They're right up there with 1and1 in my book.