Linux Server Host

January 4, 2005 10:27 AM

I'm looking for a good (and cheap) dedicated linux server host. [MI]

The key requirements are:

1) Ability to install custom software (mailserver, etc)
2) Lots of disk space included (30+GB)
3) Reasonable bandwidth included (20+GB)
4) Cheap, but not unreliable (hopefully under $50/month)

It wouldn't need to serve a very large load. Any suggestions?

posted by chundo to computers & internet (7 comments total)

If a large load isn't a concern, are you willing to go with a virtual dedicated server (one where your dedicated machine is actually either one of many virtualized machines running inside another machine, or one where a combination of chrooting and messing with users/permissions gives you pretty much the same result)?
posted by weston at 10:49 AM on January 4, 2005

I'm willing to go that route, but all of those that I've seen only give me 2-4GB of disk space, and then charge something ridiculous like $5/GB/Month for additional space. Do you know of one that has a decent amount of disk space?
posted by chundo at 10:58 AM on January 4, 2005

I did a roundup of virtual dedicated servers a few months ago, it's on my blog. You're right, disk is a problem. CPU and RAM are also a significant problem. But if it meets your needs, you can't beat the price and control.
posted by Nelson at 11:05 AM on January 4, 2005

Have you considered buying your own machine, and renting space somewhere?

It is far from an ideal solution for many cases. I run a small web/mail hosting company on the side, and I break even, but I would jump to another solution if I thought I could get something comparable.

I pay $99/month for a 2U server, but it is hardware I installed, so I'm not limited on disk space (40 gigs now) or RAM (2 gigs). The machine was put in place more than 3 years ago, and I haven't seen it since.

If I can find something comparable, I'll abandon my machine, but so far I haven't been able to.
posted by bh at 11:16 AM on January 4, 2005

ServerBeach offers dedicated Debian and RedHat machines for a relatively low fee. A friend and I split the cost of a Power2600 (2 80GB hard drives, ~2TB of transfer per month) and have been more or less happy. The unexpected hardware failure that downed our box for 24 hours was less than pleasant, but understandable and within the terms stated in the subscription agreement. No contract either, so if we find a superior deal, we can migrate the entire box in a matter of hours.
posted by Danelope at 12:22 PM on January 4, 2005

I'll second Serverbeach. I admin a server hosted by them for a couple of very active forums, and they've been great. Their support department has always been very responsive. Great value for the money.

Just recently we got hit by that worm that targets phpBB. We simply ordered a new server, which was ready in about 8 hours, and migrated things over to that. Good stuff.
posted by kableh at 3:10 PM on January 4, 2005

I use Rimuhosting and I think they're great. They have different linux distros you can install and you have complete control over the server. The have a few plans for less the $50 that would work except they don't give you as much disk space as you're talking about.

Another I looked at was Linode

I'll go along with the Serverbeach recommendations. We just got done with a 9 month project using a Serverbeach server and they have great support. They give you everything you want, except they cost a lot more.

I've noticed a lot of the VPS plans have 50GB bandwidth a month. Maybe you can get someone to let you swap bandwidth for disk space.
posted by gus at 8:21 AM on January 5, 2005