one and one dedicated servers

[snooze]

One and one has an offer on at the moment but before I leap I want to know if any one here is using their dedicated servers or using them as a host? What is their customer service like?

Thanks

 

[stevebrowne]

I use them (for Windows servers). 99% of the time they are fine. I have had various times where the DNS is dead, so now use a third party public DNS somewhere (only an issue if your server consumes webservices etc.)

Support hasn't ever really helped, and I try and ignore them to be honest. With dedicated you can do pretty much what you would ever want to do anyway.


Generally nice and quick, and as it's dedicated, they are stable Lock things down with the firewall though. I had a new one once, and before I even used it, it had been hacked. I reimaged the server (from the control panel) and locked the firewall down and it was OK.

 

[jimm]

I have heard so many horror stories about 1und1 I really would avoid. There are so many better companies out there.

 

[stender]

I wouldnt recommend rapidswitch

 

[jimm]

I wouldnt recommend rapidswitch

Whys that strender?
I know they were always bargain basement stuff and you were totally on your own but they always had a good network and fast responce to hardware issues but im talking before the IOMart merge.

Snooze, What are you wanting? Un/Managed? Linux/Windows? High quality network/cheap but high transfers orver crap routes? London at a premium/cheaper outside of London/Outside the UK? SLA/No SLA?

 

[snooze]

My websites are growing and I want some where to put them. At the moment I am using shared. I think if I have my own server it will reduce the cost while I concentrate on growing. I looked at easyspace and fasthost but they are out of my range.

- I am worried about being hack to I would rather managed
- linux
- UK
- I know price will dictate SLA so I want to see what is on offer
- High quality network (This is key)
- RAID a must

stevebrowne, did you have to pay for any else apart from the server e.g firewall, virus software?

 

[stevebrowne]

firewall comes with and is controlled via a web based control panel . It's separate from the server itself, so I assume it's there for linux as well.

 

[woopwoop]

I will never touch 1and1 again.

They wasted so much of my time and my money. Issues weren't resolved for about a year.

Transfer issues, billing for domains that weren't with them (and hadn't been with them for months) being hung up on because each of their departments couldn't help (billing, support, transfers).

The other department that could help (complaints) ignored my emails and have a policy of no calls.

I was charged hundreds for services I didn't have with them and they were angry when I had to cancel my card to stop them from charging me more.

... The worst company I have ever dealt with... period.

 

[pendragon]

Please avoid 1and1. They are fraudulent.

 

[golddiggerguy]

1and1 = nightmare

 

[mally]

1and1 - over complicate everything, makes things very hard to leave!

 

[m4c]

Have had a managed box with 1and1 for a couple of years - mainly because I am too lazy to switch over a load of old sites - while everything is OK I forget about them - but if there is ever a problem support is shite - Indian call centres with no authority - bad response times, losing emails, slow server.

Would NEVER recommend or use them again.

Have heard that evohosting is cheap and OK. For bigger / busier sites, Rackspace is good but expensive - now they have a cloud service which I use - seems reliable and has unlimited scalability as you grow - but some limitations such as no shell access.

 

[Edwin]

If you want a good hosting solution and are willing to pay a bit more for quality, I strongly recommend Atjeu.com. They're US based, so you'll want to use them with .co.uk names if you're targeting a UK audience to ensure that Google "knows" that the sites are intended for the UK. Spring for the extra $99 a month for the fully managed service and you get really great support. I've been with them for just over 5 years now.

 

[FC Domains]

Dedicated servers:

For fast high bandwidth sites a few people around here use Netrino.
If anything goes wrong they are small enough to deal with you personally.

For a backup and low bandwidth sites I use BWS. £14.99 a month for a dedicated server.

 

[jimm]

When your looking at the management side find out what management covers. Ive seen some companies say managed when all they do is stick a control panel on and let you go!
We set up properly and make the server as secure as you can without making it unusable (dont forget the security side, its very important and can land you a big bill if not done) and monitor the server to ensure it is running properly. Also ask if they will help tweak your httpd and mysql to get the most out of your server.
Also fully managed and you having root access dont mix. This is because you could do something to the server which damages it or fully wipes it out. If you are getting root the best you can expect is semi managed.

Colin, Where are BWS servers hosted? I cant rack and power the best for power R200 for £15 a month, never mind pay for any network, hardware or support!

 

[FC Domains]

Colin, Where are BWS servers hosted? I cant rack and power the best for power R200 for £15 a month, never mind pay for any network, hardware or support!

This is really limited bandwidth. I just host servers there to run tests, mini-sites and backup my main server.
In an emergency it is a dedicated server so I could import a backup and have all my sites back on line in a few hours. They would be slow, but working.

As for support. One server lost its network card on Thursday. It was replaced in a few hours and they phoned me to apologise.

They do come across as amateurs and their web site is a mess, but for second line hosting they seem fine.

As for my primary server, I can fix most things and if that fails there is a bloke in the States who fixes anything for $50.

I'll add:
BWS do have servers that are suitable for primary use. Those at £15 a month really are only for secondary use.

 

[snooze]

I want to thank everyone who contributed to this thread, I appreciate it very much.

Thanks

 

[GreyWing]

Agree with others, stay away from one and one at all costs.