I'm on shared at LP
About the only thing that LP doesn't want you changing in php.ini on shared hosting, for obvious reasons, is memory - wiki.lunarpages.com/Create_php.ini

LP also has 2 levels of reseller accounts Basic and Webmaster.
I prefer to have my few clients purchase their own hosting accounts rather than get involved in reselling. (I'm not an affiliate, just a happy customer)

but, as in all things, Your Milage May Vary.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your knowledge and exeperience, stuff like this is really useful for a lot of our members.

Like I said, they all look great on paper and make some big promises, but you really don't get an idea until you start using the host.

Matthew -- For what it's worth: I just purchased reseller hosting with Rochen. First hiccup: There's no way to restore a full backup / cpmove file in whm.

I'd have to restore the files, restore databases, and recreate email accounts..... Shouldn't I be able to do all that with one restore file? (Or am I missing something?)


[Update: Rochen clarified.... This would be possible on a dedicated account; but not the reseller hosting. Grrr.....]

I know this may be blasphemous, but I'd love to get feedback about Godaddy's VPS accounts? My recent experience with the failure of my last host was my inability to get someone on the phone. Totally missing customer support and tickets were answered 24 hours later. Wouldn't a large company like Godaddy have better ability to provide better service? And, this is really blasphemy for me; I abhor Godaddy on principle, but am terrified of switching to a smaller company where I get screwed again...

Go daddy has very stringent restrictions but perhaps they're a bit more flexible for VPS.
I don't know of anyone that wanted to do more than a basic site that was happy with their service.
They also charge for every little thing so hosting that looked affordable at the start becomes very expensive quickly. Go Daddy is usually best for registering domains, but host elsewhere

GoDaddy is one of the trickier hosts that we have to deal with when it comes to support.

I guess if I was starting again I would be looking at:

- Rochen for a VPS
- Softlayer for a dedicated server
- Hostican for a cheapish VPS. Support is good but depends on timezone. Not so good for Australia
- Site5 perhaps for absolutely low ball pricing.

Id love some recommendations from folks regarding cloud and node hosting. Always seems a little above my pay grade when I try to read through the specs.

Anthony

Anthony -- I know GD is trickier, but I'm wondering if that's with their Shared accounts. I'm playing with their VPS account, and will let everyone know what I find in terms of restrictions. I was more wondering about reliability and support with their VPS stuff.

I also have to add my two cents about Hostican, who was sold to Jumpline. They gave me a 5 hour notice of an account migration to new hardware..... Long story short, and there's still no clear answers. Hardware failure. Lost data. All my sites down for 40 hours, email down for another 12. Locked out of whm and cpanel access. Support answered tickets 12 hours later; couldn't speak with anyone. Utter, utter nightmare. And, just my experience. But, if you read through the support forums, this kind of thing has been happening ever since Jumpline taking the reins of Hostican.

Rochen's reseller hosting just doesn't work for me because I can't import the accounts without their dedicated plan ($150/month).....

I'm really appreciating this forum and ability to have this discussion and get people's feedback and experiences.

best,
p

I have seriously been considering Linode recently; www.linode.com/

If you can manage your own server you get some serious bang for your buck!

Hello,
I have been looking at the VPS options from various hosts.

I have to admit, I don't quite understand how VPS fits into the scheme of things. It's more than "shared" (although you are still technically shared) but less than "dedicated" and you usually have to pay extra for cPanel and you have to manage a lot yourself. The cost is about the same (usually) of a reseller plan.

So, is the main benefit that you get greater system resources?

Thanks,
Matt

Yep thats the way I understand it. Pretty sure each account is a separate instance on a server with fewer people on the actual box. You also get access to the WHM and perhaps even a level up to monitor server stuff depending on the system.

@Peter your hostican experience sounds like a nightmare. Sounds like I got out of that server just in the nick of time.

Anthony

Yes, that's it Matt.

Crucially, in a VPS you are guaranteed a fair share of CPU/RAM unlike a standard shared host where another accounts (over)usage can impact yours. Of course the actual server resources are still finite and shared, but you always get your portion and no-one else will get any of yours even when you are not using it.

The performance you get will depend only upon the performance of the hardware and how many VPS are running on it. If the host sticks 20 on a box, you get 5% of resources.

Shared=100s of accounts on one box, all fighting for resources
VPS=fewer accounts, each with dedicated resources
Dedicated=the whole box, and all its resources are yours!

Seth,
This subject of hosting is a funny one. It's really tough, because so many "information" and "review" sites are fronts for the hosts themselves. So I'm always glad to hear a more expert opinion!

It definitely seems worthwhile to move up to a VPS account as soon as possible. I'm just starting to build clientele, but already with just about 10 clients paying for annual hosting I'm already making enough from that to pay for all my hosting fees. Plus, I get to host my own domain(s) on the same account.

Back to Hostgator: I do like their service generally. They are always helpful, and their account limits are generous without being silly. They also have VPS accounts. I'd probably get better performance from Hostgator if I moved up to their VPS.

However, under VPS I think I still cannot alter the php.ini settings.

Thanks,
Matthew

Just thought I'd update this conversation on my situation...

I've migrated most of my personal accounts off Hostican's VPS to GoDaddy's VPS. The GD VPS has some quirks and restrictions, but I have far more freedom than their shared accounts.

And..... I'm going to get out of the business of hosting. I can't promise impeccability to my clients; and these hiccups with providers are undermining the way my brand occurs. My consulting and development is way more valuable than the hosting side of things....

So now I'm just looking for solid shared hosting accounts to move folks to. I'll keep the VPS for my personal domains; but don't want to support this for clients.

I feel the same way about my old hosting clients from when I was doing custom work. I'm keen to find someone in Australia who can take them on if possible as the responsibility of having everyone's email and sites up and running is far greater than the small amount of money I charge them for hosting each year.

Good news re godaddy - hope it goers well there.

Anthony

HI,

Does Rochen still only do support by email? I don't have a paid account there so maybe it's different with VPS or dedicated accounts.

In my account there is a ticket system. Thats on an MVS though.

Anthony

I switch to SiteGround after seeing a lot of Joomla Professional move there.

Here is the list of Joomla Guru using SiteGround' host:

JoomlaBamboo (www.joomlabamboo.com)
NoNumber (www.nonumber.nl)
GavickPro (www.gavick.com)
much more ...

Way back in this thread I said I was having trouble with Rochen and was considering a move.
The situation became worse with Rochen so I moved 40 sites to a server closer to home and very glad I did.
I now have faster sites and better support.

I have also posted in this forum about the bamboo site being so sloooow. But since they have move from Rochen to new servers I haven't had a problem the bamboo site is now 10x faster for me.

Thanks for the updated posts

Its great to know that the server move to siteground.com has improved the experience of using Joomla Bamboo

For me personally I'd say its better than 10x

Thanks again guys

Cheers
Paul

Is the general feeling that SiteGround is doing a better job than Rochen?

I know in my experience we dropped Rochen and moved to SiteGround.

I manage Joomla Hosting Reviews and have seen the reviews Rochen go down
http://www.joomlahostingreviews.com/joomla-hosting/rochen-review.html

While the SiteGround Reviews have improved.
http://www.joomlahostingreviews.com/joomla-hosting/siteground-review.html

With the reviews it can be hard to tell if they are real or not, I try email each person for confirmation, sometimes I get a reply sometimes not.

I am finishing up a SiteGround vs Rochen comparison article and thought I would reach out to people actually using the services in addition to my experience and the reviews on the site.

Thanks for the post and any input! -- Steven