# Is it viable to switch?



## 7ropics (Jul 3, 2013)

I'm currently in a pickle. I'm unsure if I want to sacrafice my current managed VPS with it's great resources for a managed VPS with a different provider that has a much better network and support.

Current Specs:

2GB RAM.

60GB Storage (SATA2, RAID10) w/ FlashCache.

2TB @ 100Mbps (though during cachefly tests I have always hit 300Mbps+)

Single core of Xeon-1240v2.

Fully managed/cPanel included.

$25/mo.

-There have been issues with uptime lately, not with my VPS but with their reseller/shared node, it's been down for nearly 48 hours.

-I don't really like the fact that they use CC.

What I'm considering switching to:

512MB RAM

640MB Burst

40GB Storage (SAS 15k RAID10)

1.5TB @ 100Mbps.

Fair share CPU.

Fully managed/cPanel included.

$40/mo.

Currently, my VPS is hosting a fairly small vBulletin forum (Usually around 5 online users, sometimes bursts to 30+) and two small wordpress sites. Will I see a massive drop in performance if I switch? Will optimizing MySQL/PHP and running nginx in tangent with apache help with this?


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## shovenose (Jul 3, 2013)

Who's the new VPS with?


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## 7ropics (Jul 3, 2013)

shovenose said:


> Who's the new VPS with?


If I was to switch it would be BigScoots.


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## Amitz (Jul 3, 2013)

For that price, you will also get managed VPSs with Knownhost.com or Futurehosting.com. I would take one of their offers instead if you ask me.


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## MannDude (Jul 3, 2013)

If you're not entirely happy with your current provider, and you do not need all the resources given to you, and you believe that the new provider will be better for you (in terms of service quality), then do it.

I believe people will tell you, "No" because you get less resources for more money, but if they've got a better network and the company is ran by a crew more capable then go for it and let us know how it went.


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## drmike (Jul 3, 2013)

You should have no problem "downsizing".

RAM you don't need for   a forum and some Wordpress sites.  512MB of RAM should be more than adequate.   Upside is that RAM ideally is going to be available and not served out of swap, SSD, etc.

Cachefly isn't a good indicator of much since peering is very local.   Better to run multiple tests and have base idea of throughput to multiple locations (non CDN locations and servers).

100Mbps speeds for $20-$40 a month?  I'd be looking for gigabit if you need throughput.  I pay less and typically am running gigabit.

CPU comparison?   You are getting *use* of a shared resource either way.  No clear winner.  I prefer idle servers with less resource contention.  Ideally that is the 512MB plan, but nothing is for certain in this industry.



7ropics said:


> Will I see a massive drop in performance if I switch?


No.  You might actually see an increase in performance.  Hard to say since most providers share little to nothing about their servers, load and oversubscribed/use ratios.



7ropics said:


> Will optimizing MySQL/PHP and running nginx in tangent with apache help with this?


You should optimize MySQL, PHP and Nginx always to use resources within your plan rather than letting these pigs have free range (leave some headroom always - 20% is what I leave).

Now, unsure if you are married to Chicago  for some reason, but, a suitable alternative without much latency difference usually is Dallas, Texas.  Catalyst Host offers plans out of there.   I recommend them because:  1. They don't oversell.  2. Their pricing is fair, albeit pricey to low enders  3. You won't run into resource contention problems, swapping, gimmicks. 4. The publicly post node info and reports for ultimate transparency.  Plus @jarland is active on here.


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## vanarp (Jul 3, 2013)

While I do not have any experience with Managed VPS Services (too expensive for me), I can suggest you WiredTree whom about I heard great feedback. Their entry level plan is _feature packed _and slightly expensive at $44.10/mo (check out on WHT for discount).

Personally I would pick a 1 GB plan from one of the reputed hosts here and learn a bit about managing the server/applications myself.


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## shovenose (Jul 3, 2013)

CatalystHost is great, not sure if they do managed though.


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## drmike (Jul 3, 2013)

vanarp said:


> Personally I would pick a 1 GB plan from one of the reputed hosts here and learn a bit about managing the server/applications myself.


 

1GB is overkill   But, working towards ditching the panel cost would save a bundle and be long term great idea.

$40/mo is in dedicated and colocated pricing for me.


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## Amitz (Jul 3, 2013)

buffalooed said:


> 1GB is overkill


Not for a cPanel server, I'd say... 512 MB is the minimum here, not only to run cPanel but also to survive a small peak in activity in case somebody ever visits the website hosted on the server.


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## drmike (Jul 3, 2013)

Amitz said:


> 512 MB is the minimum here, not only to run cPanel but also to survive a small peak in activity in case somebody ever visits the website hosted on the server.


 

Lots of folks are running far more in far less. 

Official Cpanel and WHM requirements are:


```
Hardware RequirementsComponent	Minimum Requirement
Processor	266 MHz processor
Memory	512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended when hosting many accounts)
Disk Space	10GB hard disk
```


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## Marc M. (Jul 3, 2013)

*@7ropics* Catalyst Host is a great provider and we do get along with them very well, we're basically friends. Contact can contact *@jarland*, *@ryanarp* or *@HalfEatenPie* via PM here or via their pre-sales contact form here: https://catalysthost.com/clientarea/submitticket.php?step=2&deptid=2

They have recently upgraded their packages and added new hardware (which is excellent I might add). I am not 100% sure if they have managed services, but knowing them I am pretty sure that they would guide you in the right direction and help you set it up. Your best option would be just to get a VPS from Catalyst Host and ask them to install cPanel on it for you. To be perfectly honest, high end shared hosting sounds more like what you need. Look into Catalyst for that as well.

If Catalyst doesn't offer shared hosting anymore, or you don't want to get a VPS + cPanel, then we have Shared Hosting plans running on CloudLinux starting at $10/mo. With the lowest plan we assign 1GB RAM to your account, and you can switch PHP version anywhere from 4.4 up to 5.5, and up the PHP memory limit to 512MB. Still, I would recommend that you get a VPS + cPanel from Catalyst and have a semi-managed solution 

Either way, please give Catalyst Host a try first, and I guarantee that you won't regret it. I think that $40/mo. is steep for a 512MB OpenVZ VPS, but on the flip side it is the fact that it is managed. If you want to pay for a managed VPS then you shouldn't skimp on resources because the bulk of the cost is not the VPS, but the monthly management fees.



buffalooed said:


> $40/mo is in dedicated and colocated pricing for me.


*@* sometimes people just want someone else to take care of their hosting so that they can take care of their business. Managing someone's VPS can be time consuming, as customers can be extremely demanding in what they want you to do for them. Back in March we had a customer that wanted a managed VPS, and when we asked him who he uses as his email provider he raised his eyebrows, saying that he expected it to be done by us (he meant that he wanted us to set up his email server). We said sure, no problem, and then asked if he would be comfortable using RoundCube and adding new users to his email server using the command line or PostFix Admin. Needles to say that he gave up on the idea and we transitioned him to Shared Hosting where he's been happy ever since. I'd say that a managed VPS is not always the perfect solution, but if you have better things to do than be your own admin then it might be your only option. We are discontinuing our managed solution option simply because *a.* It is very time consuming, *b.* it is expensive for the customer and *c.* customers can just get a VPS with cPanel and save themselves monthly VPS management  fees.


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## vanarp (Jul 3, 2013)

buffalooed said:


> 1GB is overkill


 
The OP seems to lack exposure to managing/configuring server. So it is a good idea to start with 1GB and learn tuning it. If he starts with small RAM initially, he _might _quickly curse himself for not going with a managed service.

In my own case, I went with 1GB one when I just started with VPS and learned over a time that 512 itself an overkill for my needs. So simply downgraded and saved a few bucks. More than money saved, the learning is of great use.


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## jcaleb (Jul 3, 2013)

try catalyst texas


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## HalfEatenPie (Jul 4, 2013)

shovenose said:


> CatalystHost is great, not sure if they do managed though.




Thanks.  We actually do provide managed services, we just haven't taken the time to market them yet.  



Marc M. said:


> @7ropics Catalyst Host is a great provider and we do get along with them very well, we're basically friends. Contact can contact @jarland, @ryanarp or @HalfEatenPie via PM here or via their pre-sales contact form here: https://catalysthost...step=2&deptid=2







jcaleb said:


> try catalyst texas



Thanks gents.  We actually do provide Shared Hosting and in a few months we'll be migrating our shared hosting to a dedicated system.  

*@7ropics*, In answer to your question, (from what I understand) the resources from both providers are more than enough for you to operate your vBulletin software and blogs (both 2GB and 512MB plans).  What's important is the network and customer support experience of the provider you're with, especially because it'll be the knowledge of their support staff maintain your Full Managed system.  While we would appreciate your business and would work hard to make sure you're satisfied, make sure you're choosing what's best for you and your users.

(This message is non-moderator HalfEatenPie/Don)


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## vanarp (Jul 4, 2013)

HalfEatenPie said:


> We actually do provide Shared Hosting


 
Where is the pricing/features available?


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## ryanarp (Jul 4, 2013)

vanarp said:


> Where is the pricing/features available?


Here is the page on it, working on a few website changes. When we introduced KVM we dropped shared hosting from main links temporarily. However we still offer it. https://catalysthost.com/plans.php. As Don has mentioned in a few months we will be moving our shared hosting and it will be completely redone. So stay tuned and as always feel free to put in a pre-sales ticket for a custom plan


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## Marc M. (Jul 4, 2013)

*@**ryanarp* I think that *@**7ropics* will be well served by one of your shared hosting plans


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## jcaleb (Jul 4, 2013)

For 40 bucks, might as well look for KVM?


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## ryanarp (Jul 4, 2013)

Marc M. said:


> *@ryanarp* I think that *@7ropics* will be well served by one of your shared hosting plans


Thanks guys for the recommendation  We always appreciate the support of the members of this forum.


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## wdq (Jul 4, 2013)

ryanarp said:


> As Don has mentioned in a few months we will be moving our shared hosting and it will be completely redone.


 

I'll be keeping my eye out.


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## jcaleb (Jul 4, 2013)

i have to warn you, sometimes catalyst's ticket replies takes more than 5 minutes.


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## 7ropics (Jul 5, 2013)

MannDude said:


> If you're not entirely happy with your current provider, and you do not need all the resources given to you, and you believe that the new provider will be better for you (in terms of service quality), then do it.
> 
> I believe people will tell you, "No" because you get less resources for more money, but if they've got a better network and the company is ran by a crew more capable then go for it and let us know how it went.





HalfEatenPie said:


> *@7ropics*, In answer to your question, (from what I understand) the resources from both providers are more than enough for you to operate your vBulletin software and blogs (both 2GB and 512MB plans).  What's important is the network and customer support experience of the provider you're with, especially because it'll be the knowledge of their support staff maintain your Full Managed system.  While we would appreciate your business and would work hard to make sure you're satisfied, make sure you're choosing what's best for you and your users.
> 
> (This message is non-moderator HalfEatenPie/Don)


Very insightful replies, thank you!

I decided to bite the bullet and make the switch, I'll be sure to post a review of BigScoots after a month or so.


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