Background:
I was running one of my blogs on a shared host web server at A Small Orange. After it was purchased by EIG, I started to look for alternatives. Finally I found out miniwebhost.co.uk run by Martin-D. Since he was (and still is) one of the VPSBoard moderators, I assumed that he knows how to operate a shared hosting service.
Services:
Shared web host package EU-Web 1 - 2013-09-04..current (1 year)
Premium VPS-4 (OpenVZ, 1GB RAM, 40GB + some extra disk) - 2014-05-13..current (3 months)
Summary: 4/5
Reliable shared hosting and VPS provider. Good support response times, but sometimes the responses themselves could be better. Minor unpolished things, but overall provides excellent services.
Shared web host service (EU-Web 1)
Presales questions went well. Since I use static web pages (generated by Pelican blogging engine) and have relatively small amount of visitors, I could choose the smallest package. Martin-D was mostly worried about slashdot/reddit effect, which my blog generates sometimes. But in the end he was ok with me as his customer.
Stability of the web server has been good. I don't have 24/7 monitoring for the site, but daily manual visits have always reached the site.
I initially had problems with encrypted (SSL) FTP connections, but Martin-D solved it quickly after few ticket iterations and short IRC discussion (server side problem, related to firewall settings).
As I use only static web pages, I haven't tested PHP, CGI scripts, or databases.
Premium VPS-4 (1GB RAM, custom disk space)
This was kind of impulse purchase. I needed a VPS from UK for private VPN / web proxy and as I had miniwebhost service, I decided to try VPS service also. I planned to run random compilations on the server also, so I ended up purchasing somewhat big virtual server.
The server initially came with 40GB disk space, but I quickly run out of it, because I was cross-compiling small Linux ARM distributions on the server. As the disk space started to run out, I cancelled the server (and planned to buy a bigger from elsewhere), but Martin-D contacted me and offered a custom disk space deal which was good enough, so I decided to keep the server after all.
So far I haven't noticed any downtime and the performance is good enough. Compiling gcc takes about 1h40 minutes on the server (slightly longer than on my INIZ SSD server):
My biggest surprise has been that I haven't got any warnings about my CPU or I/O usage. There are days when I do 4 or 5 big 1h..2h software builds/compilations in a row and those probably use the server resources quite much. Of course, there are also days, when the server sits completely idle.
Support
Support responses have always been quick, the biggest response delay has been 1 or 2 hours. In addition, Martin-D has been available via IRC for more complex queries. That probably is mostly because we happen to be on similar timezones (Europe).
My only complaint about support is that the responses were sometimes slightly inaccurate (or sloppy). For example,
Me: "Do you have Ubuntu 14.04 or Fedora 20 templates available?"
Support: "Yes"
And when checking the template list (after purchasing the vps), there are "Ubuntu 14.04" and "Fedora 17" (not 20) listed. Technically "Yes" was correct, but I was hoping more complete answer ("Ubuntu 14.04 yes, Fedora 20 no"). In this case, I got Ubuntu 14.04 from MiniVPS, but I had to do extra work and get Fedora 20 VPS from elsewhere.
Linux distribution Templates
I have tested only Ubuntu 14.04 template. It was good except for one small detail: root login via ssh was initially denied.
So, the first login had to be done via control panel console and not via ssh, as it happens with most other providers. Of course, this could be seen as a security feature, but for me it again meant some extra work.
Control panels
For shared web hosting, standard cPanel interface is provided. Virtual servers are managed via WHCMS and SolusVM. Both ways allow console access, but reinstallations happen only via SolusVM.
The billing, support, and service management happens via WHCMS, which is common for shared web hosts and virtual servers.
Random remarks
It was somewhat "difficult" to find miniwebhost.co.uk page. I ended up to the page via route minivps.co.uk -> xavvo.com -> "Our brands" -> miniwebhost.co.uk. Also, smallest VPS from minivps.co.uk costs same as the smallest shared web hosting package, so you might consider VPS unless you want to avoid all the VPS maintenance work as I do (in case of my blog).
At one point, (thanks to PatrickINIZ and Martin-D both being active #vpsboard members?), MiniVPS.co.uk and INIZ.com servers were booted at the same time, meaning that I had many servers (from two different providers) offline at the same time:
Oh and: I haven't got yet big traffic spikes to my blog when it has been hosted at miniwebhost.co.uk, so I don't what happens in case of bigger spikes. I should probably write more interesting articles...
Final conclusion
I rate MiniVPS/MiniWebhosting at the same level with my other providers (INIZ.com, EDIS.at). The services which you get from Mini* are not perfect, but good enough that you keep using them. I like especially the shared hosting package. After the initial setup, it has been totally trouble free.
I was running one of my blogs on a shared host web server at A Small Orange. After it was purchased by EIG, I started to look for alternatives. Finally I found out miniwebhost.co.uk run by Martin-D. Since he was (and still is) one of the VPSBoard moderators, I assumed that he knows how to operate a shared hosting service.
Services:
Shared web host package EU-Web 1 - 2013-09-04..current (1 year)
Premium VPS-4 (OpenVZ, 1GB RAM, 40GB + some extra disk) - 2014-05-13..current (3 months)
Summary: 4/5
Reliable shared hosting and VPS provider. Good support response times, but sometimes the responses themselves could be better. Minor unpolished things, but overall provides excellent services.
Shared web host service (EU-Web 1)
Presales questions went well. Since I use static web pages (generated by Pelican blogging engine) and have relatively small amount of visitors, I could choose the smallest package. Martin-D was mostly worried about slashdot/reddit effect, which my blog generates sometimes. But in the end he was ok with me as his customer.
Stability of the web server has been good. I don't have 24/7 monitoring for the site, but daily manual visits have always reached the site.
I initially had problems with encrypted (SSL) FTP connections, but Martin-D solved it quickly after few ticket iterations and short IRC discussion (server side problem, related to firewall settings).
As I use only static web pages, I haven't tested PHP, CGI scripts, or databases.
Premium VPS-4 (1GB RAM, custom disk space)
This was kind of impulse purchase. I needed a VPS from UK for private VPN / web proxy and as I had miniwebhost service, I decided to try VPS service also. I planned to run random compilations on the server also, so I ended up purchasing somewhat big virtual server.
The server initially came with 40GB disk space, but I quickly run out of it, because I was cross-compiling small Linux ARM distributions on the server. As the disk space started to run out, I cancelled the server (and planned to buy a bigger from elsewhere), but Martin-D contacted me and offered a custom disk space deal which was good enough, so I decided to keep the server after all.
So far I haven't noticed any downtime and the performance is good enough. Compiling gcc takes about 1h40 minutes on the server (slightly longer than on my INIZ SSD server):
Code:
../gcc-4.8.2/configure --enable-languages=c && time make bootstrap
make bootstrap 5378,52s user 323,35s system 93% cpu 1:41:22,48 totalSupport
Support responses have always been quick, the biggest response delay has been 1 or 2 hours. In addition, Martin-D has been available via IRC for more complex queries. That probably is mostly because we happen to be on similar timezones (Europe).
My only complaint about support is that the responses were sometimes slightly inaccurate (or sloppy). For example,
Me: "Do you have Ubuntu 14.04 or Fedora 20 templates available?"
Support: "Yes"
And when checking the template list (after purchasing the vps), there are "Ubuntu 14.04" and "Fedora 17" (not 20) listed. Technically "Yes" was correct, but I was hoping more complete answer ("Ubuntu 14.04 yes, Fedora 20 no"). In this case, I got Ubuntu 14.04 from MiniVPS, but I had to do extra work and get Fedora 20 VPS from elsewhere.
Linux distribution Templates
I have tested only Ubuntu 14.04 template. It was good except for one small detail: root login via ssh was initially denied.
So, the first login had to be done via control panel console and not via ssh, as it happens with most other providers. Of course, this could be seen as a security feature, but for me it again meant some extra work.
Control panels
For shared web hosting, standard cPanel interface is provided. Virtual servers are managed via WHCMS and SolusVM. Both ways allow console access, but reinstallations happen only via SolusVM.
The billing, support, and service management happens via WHCMS, which is common for shared web hosts and virtual servers.
Random remarks
It was somewhat "difficult" to find miniwebhost.co.uk page. I ended up to the page via route minivps.co.uk -> xavvo.com -> "Our brands" -> miniwebhost.co.uk. Also, smallest VPS from minivps.co.uk costs same as the smallest shared web hosting package, so you might consider VPS unless you want to avoid all the VPS maintenance work as I do (in case of my blog).
At one point, (thanks to PatrickINIZ and Martin-D both being active #vpsboard members?), MiniVPS.co.uk and INIZ.com servers were booted at the same time, meaning that I had many servers (from two different providers) offline at the same time:
Oh and: I haven't got yet big traffic spikes to my blog when it has been hosted at miniwebhost.co.uk, so I don't what happens in case of bigger spikes. I should probably write more interesting articles...
Final conclusion
I rate MiniVPS/MiniWebhosting at the same level with my other providers (INIZ.com, EDIS.at). The services which you get from Mini* are not perfect, but good enough that you keep using them. I like especially the shared hosting package. After the initial setup, it has been totally trouble free.
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