A Small Orange(VPS Review)

[Vega]

Awhile back, I did a review for A Small Orange's Shared hosting. I took the chance simply because

1. It was free(they give you $5 off the first month with a coupon and the plan I chose it was free)
2. I was curious about EIG host and if they were all bad.

Certain people on WHT and other places will have you believe that all EIG hosts are bad, awful, no good hosts that you should avoid. That may be true for some or even most, but I implore consumers to do their own legwork and do the research. Get on twitter like I did. Twitter is far more convenient than WHT for finding reviews because customers take to the twitter to voice complaints(or praise) and it is good to get a real time look.
Don't just go off what people on WHT say. Take it as inspiration to find out more...

A. Pricing(5 out of 5)

They had another promo for VPS $5 for the first month on any of their VPS plans. Which is an amazing good way to trial. On the norm, their prices start at $20 for a 1 GB VPS.

I think they are incredibly priced. The VPS are managed(but it's more like an enhanced Semi-managed VPS). For my needs, it was applicable. Migration, Cpanel set up, Server configuration/secure, etc etc

Things like litespeed installation are not supported under their Management. I've decided to go without litespeed for the month to test my experience without it(Spoiler alert: I prefer litespeed)

B. Set-up time, Migration and getting started(4.5 out of 5 stars)

Signing up for their Cloud VPS was easy....and fast.

The migration process was smooth, it did take a little longer than I am used to BUT all in all it worked out well enough and they did it correctly with no issues for my site.

C. Support( 4 out of 5)

I'll give Support a 4  out of 5. this is probably one of the few companies I've had that

1. Seems competent

2. Lacks the ego/arrogance I've seen at some hosts

3. Is actually useful

I knocked of .5 points due to the fact their phone service is only available during 9-5 hours. It's good they have it(when many don't) but there have been sometimes when I wanted to call in after hours but couldn't. Also, the phone experience isn't bad but it isn't quite as....smooth as some other hosts.

I knock off another .5 points because there are many times when your problem is escalated to Level 2 or higher, which sort of bothers me only because that means I sort of just wasted my time talking to you.

Otherwise, they are a friendly bunch and as cheesy as it is, I love the fact that their signatures they have some silly name "Tech Ninja" or "The Tech Guru" or something like that. It's silly and trivial but makes them seem a little less robotic and more like everyday people.

D. Performance & Uptime(3 out of 5 stars)

The No Score doesn't indicate good or bad. Here's what it is...I've had a the same software(IPB) for years and using it on various hosts, including shared hosting. I've had the same exact mods and the same overall activity and visitor amounts.

I really haven't had any issues with performance whatsoever or a host(except the shared) telling me I am using too much CPU/Ram.

However in the past month with ASO, my site has gone down quite a few times. 500 errors here or there and as long as a couple of hours.

They are telling me it is due to my site overloading the server and this or that. Problem with this is

1. It happens sporadically...my site does not go down everyday. It's usually every couple of days and around the same time of day(usually midday/early evening).

Why not more consistent?  My traffic is the same and I haven't made any changes, so why doesn't the site go down every day if it has the same consistent use?

2. Based off the above, why don't I have these same issues with my past host I had?

It's quite annoying when the site goes down or goes slow. And this is where the phone support is good to have but often times than not, they are unavailable.


That said, the support on live chat usually has to reach out to the technicians but they usually do respond and fix it in a timely manner so I am not completely UNHAPPY with them.

When the site isn't going down and is running with no problems, it is fast and it generally feels good to use.

I also don't like that there is no guarantee for their VPS.  They give you a guarantee uptime with Shared hosting and if they fail to meet it, they will compensate you. However, VPS customers don't get that luxury. A bit odd to me really.

E. Overall

I haven't officially decided but I am leaning towards leaving A Small Orange and venturing elsewhere. Am I unhappy with them? By no means, I am not.


Friendly support can make the world of difference and having much experience with less than friendly or helpful staff, I know the difference and I appreciate it.

But my present site(IPB forum) is not compatible with it. I am sure I could probably work with them to optimize the server and site a bit better. I am not sure if it is my site that is the problem, ASO that isn't or a mix of both. But I do know I never had an issue with it on the other companies I've used.

However, I also want things such as litespeed which is not officially supported. Not all companies do support installing it and keeping it up to date and all that good stuff.

For my present site, I do not think ASO is a great fit. It's good but could be much better. That being said, aside from some issues here or there, ASO is a company I do plan to continue using for my other projects(Shared or VPS related) and a company I truly don't mind recommending to friends.

This is what I mean...take the time to research, take a risk and experiment and if they suck(any host in general), leave. It's always good to choose a host with a moneyback guarantee and in ASO's case they have a 90 day guarantee. Which is awesome.

ASO is a host that is owned by EIG. It's not EIG...It's not hostgator or bluehost or fatcow or any of those other known bad EIG brands. It's ASO. Let ASO stand on its own with its own name and reputation. That's not to say that ASO may not become yet another bad EIG host. It's saying, judge them for who they are presently and not off what another EIG hosts is known for.

My overall rating for ASO is 4.1 out of 5 stars.

 

[Licensecart]

was that a paid review haha? 

 

[Vega]

was that a paid review haha?

Nope not at all lol....I am not sure how it'd be paid when I was critical of them

 

[drmike]

So problem here was LiteSpeed... Is LiteSpeed bundled / option in cPanel?  If in cPanel then blah on them.

Most shops are "managed" but heavy around just what cPanel does.  Anything outside of the tools gets into murky area.

 

[Sonic]

Paid review? I dont trust EIG's services

 

[Tyler]

The issues you described are not acceptable at any hosting provider, regardless of whether EIG owns it or not.

Why is the rating so high for issues that should have been fixed on the first go-around? For the issues you explained, few would rate as kindly as you have. 

 

[Vega]

The issues you described are not acceptable at any hosting provider, regardless of whether EIG owns it or not.

Why is the rating so high for issues that should have been fixed on the first go-around? For the issues you explained, few would rate as kindly as you have.

I rated them highly because the site performed adequately so for 75 percent of the time(making the 3 out of 5 an accurate rating of uptime). The other 25 percent is where I had issues. As I stated in my ad, this was not an everyday thing or an every other day thing. It was sporadic.

When it works(like now) it's fine.

I'd rated them lower IF they weren't helpful to due their due diligence to help me rectify the issues. I've had HostDime who literally deleted my site by accident after they failed to do a back-up before doing some changes that caused the site delete(thankfully I was able to recover it with my own back-ups)

Or in the case of spark node/hivelocity, not only did it take them 12-14 hours to reply but the tech support was literally rude. Actually told me he refused to talk to me because of a bad comment I made on WHT and he didn't want to 'lose his job' over something he may say.

Or in the case of Knownhost where I complained for a month and a half and my site was down several times and they literally couldn't find anything until a month and a half later and moved me to a new server.

ASO handled it fast enough and they get a 3 out of 5 for the issues and resolutions.

So problem here was LiteSpeed... Is LiteSpeed bundled / option in cPanel?  If in cPanel then blah on them.

Most shops are "managed" but heavy around just what cPanel does.  Anything outside of the tools gets into murky area.

I am not 100 percent sure. I had to use a litespeed free trial.

Paid review? I dont trust EIG's services

And that's fine I mentioned people like you in my reviews. I enjoy using services and getting my own opinions instead of solely following all the bad(or good) someone says about a company.

Not every person who uses EIG is a paid reviewer. I have nothing to gain from this review.

 

[Tyler]

Wow, sure seems like you've had a bad history with some of the best hosts out there. KnownHost, Hivelocity, and others are known for great management.

 

[Vega]

Wow, sure seems like you've had a bad history with some of the best hosts out there. KnownHost, Hivelocity, and others are known for great management.

Knownhost was alright tbh. I'd rank them a 3 out of 5 and would use again in the future.
HostDime likely not ever again.

I used Sparknode(Hivelocity's VPS company) and I was not a fan of how slack and rude the support was. I was just disappointed and I even tried to give them a 2nd shot(actually a 3rd) because I am always one to work with people who want to work with you and it wasn't a good experience.

I posted about it here on WHT

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1462741

Some people are on the prowl for a good man/good woman...I'm just on the prowl for a good host for a long term relationship.

HAHAHA

 

[Hxxx]

A vps that is not managed by the provider cannot be guaranteed. Thought maybe you said it was fully managed?

ASO is a decent shared hosting provider.

And in reference to rude support. Man customers are not easy. But if you are paying for fully management as addon, there is no real excuse. Unless they fix it, and you break it. That's why sometimes i think that specifying a maximum of hours of support/management/work might be the right path. 

 

[Tyler]

You've had some terrible luck OP. I hope things get smoother for you! It's just so odd because these are all regarded as great providers, and if you go on WHT and ask for recommendations, they'll point you to WiredTree or KnownHost or HostDime and maybe even Hivelocity---but not ASO.

And in reference to rude support. Man customers are not easy. But if you are paying for fully management as addon, there is no real excuse. Unless they fix it, and you break it. That's why sometimes i think that specifying a maximum of hours of support/management/work might be the right path. 

Yeah, and another option that some take is to remove root access for managed VPS. I know Site5 does this:
 

http://www.site5.com/vps/

 

[Hxxx]

You've had some terrible luck OP. I hope things get smoother for you! It's just so odd because these are all regarded as great providers, and if you go on WHT and ask for recommendations, they'll point you to WiredTree or KnownHost or HostDime and maybe even Hivelocity---but not ASO.

Yeah, and another option that some take is to remove root access for managed VPS. I know Site5 does this:

http://www.site5.com/vps/

But in such case, then the provider needs to send  a report monthly or on request of the current status in term of updates, rootkit scans, performance, as well as csf reports. If not then is not trustworthy. Trust is earned by evidence/facts. If a provider is going to manage and wont give  root access, therefore restricting the customer  just like a reseller, then reports is a requirement. I really discourage signing up with a provider with such restrictions in place and that provides no reports.

Is just better to provide root access, and limit work in term of hours.

 

[Tyler]

But in such case, then the provider needs to send  a report monthly or on request of the current status in term of updates, rootkit scans, performance, as well as csf reports. If not then is not trustworthy. Trust is earned by evidence/facts. If a provider is going to manage and wont give  root access, therefore restricting the customer  just like a reseller, then reports is a requirement. I really discourage signing up with a provider with such restrictions in place and that provides no reports.

I agree and I think it's laziness on their side. Site5 targets designers/developers, who are not the type who would really even care about seeing these reports though.

Whereas if you target the vpsB or even LET community, these people would want to see the reports. Just different types of consumers, in my book.

 

[joepie91]

You've had some terrible luck OP. I hope things get smoother for you! It's just so odd because these are all regarded as great providers, and if you go on WHT and ask for recommendations, they'll point you to WiredTree or KnownHost or HostDime and maybe even Hivelocity---but not ASO.

Yeah, and another option that some take is to remove root access for managed VPS. I know Site5 does this:

http://www.site5.com/vps/

Should note that I'm very much not a fan of Site5, after their security fuckup. The click-to-view-image-at-full-size doesn't seem to have survived my migration to Jekyll, so here is the full copy of that thread.

They don't seem to have any clue what they're doing regarding security.

 

[Vega]

A vps that is not managed by the provider cannot be guaranteed. Thought maybe you said it was fully managed?

ASO is a decent shared hosting provider.

And in reference to rude support. Man customers are not easy. But if you are paying for fully management as addon, there is no real excuse. Unless they fix it, and you break it. That's why sometimes i think that specifying a maximum of hours of support/management/work might be the right path.

Do you mean in regards to ASO? it is more so semi-managed but more so than your typical semi-managed but less than fully.

You've had some terrible luck OP. I hope things get smoother for you! It's just so odd because these are all regarded as great providers, and if you go on WHT and ask for recommendations, they'll point you to WiredTree or KnownHost or HostDime and maybe even Hivelocity---but not ASO.

Yeah, and another option that some take is to remove root access for managed VPS. I know Site5 does this:

http://www.site5.com/vps/

Yeah I got recommended not to try ASO by this dude and it pisses him off anytime I have anything positive to say for them since he is so Anti-EIG.

Site5 is pretty good but I hate that they don't support litespeed and I find them a bit too pricey. A 2Gb VPS is like $130 and I think you can get a decent dedi with management for nearly the same price from some decent hosts.

Sparknode/Hivelocity was the worst experience I had. It's why I hate going to WHT to ask advice because they push the same 5-8 hosts and there are more hosts than them out there.

 

[drmike]

Do you mean in regards to ASO? it is more so semi-managed but more so than your typical semi-managed but less than fully.


Yeah I got recommended not to try ASO by this dude and it pisses him off anytime I have anything positive to say for them since he is so Anti-EIG.


Site5 is pretty good but I hate that they don't support litespeed and I find them a bit too pricey. A 2Gb VPS is like $130 and I think you can get a decent dedi with management for nearly the same price from some decent hosts.


Sparknode/Hivelocity was the worst experience I had. It's why I hate going to WHT to ask advice because they push the same 5-8 hosts and there are more hosts than them out there.

2GB VPS @ $130 is insanity.

Problem I think you face with most 'managed' shops is what they manage to do is click and bang within cPanel.  For the type of money you are spending and what your needs are, you'd do good to buy less costly managed VPS and invest some of that money saved into a consultant familiar with the solution stack you want to run. 

cPanel is nice, but it isn't a solution big picture to many needs.  Calling such managed is meh.  Barely managed I call it jokingly.

For $130 I can pick up a decent dedicated server with way more RAM, CPU and disk and pay for a cPanel license and still have 40%+ left over to allocate for whatever instead of playing provider hopscotch from one cPanel shop to another.

 

[Tyler]

Should note that I'm very much not a fan of Site5, after their security fuckup. The click-to-view-image-at-full-size doesn't seem to have survived my migration to Jekyll, so here is the full copy of that thread.

They don't seem to have any clue what they're doing regarding security.

Thanks for sending that link - I look forward to reading it!

 

[Vega]

was that a paid review haha?

 

So problem here was LiteSpeed... Is LiteSpeed bundled / option in cPanel?  If in cPanel then blah on them.

Most shops are "managed" but heavy around just what cPanel does.  Anything outside of the tools gets into murky area.

 

Paid review? I dont trust EIG's services

 

The issues you described are not acceptable at any hosting provider, regardless of whether EIG owns it or not.

Why is the rating so high for issues that should have been fixed on the first go-around? For the issues you explained, few would rate as kindly as you have.

And just like that, I drop my Uptime down....My site is offline/down right now. I am going to say it was down for 30 mins at least(likely longer) since I notice it 30 mins ago.

Dropping the uptime down to 1.

They said it was a memory issue though I don't know why it just randomly ran out of memory(they are investigating).

It was working fine and came back up after they rebooted and I thanked them for their help....as soon as I close chat and what not, my site once again is not working again.

this is ridiculous. I am glad I have support I like(unlike Sparknode) but i'd rather like you and like my uptime lol. I am not going to place this as an EIG thing like some people might but I am going to say this is just not a good experience with a webhost. And we were doing so good the last few days with no issues and complaints.

So glad I am leaving today....Question is, where to. -_-