hosted services
BitFolk have been a very good XEN VPS provider for this server for over a year. I've experienced zero IO/reboot problems with them.
For a small sum each month I get a very tidy service, console access, nagios/cacti graphs, whopping bandwidth and it's all housed in THDO.
I've had a VPS before and it didn't come close to the service that I get with BitFolk. The service is run by a very dedicated chap who is very technically minded and experienced with both XEN and Debian.
For me, essentially what I needed was a hosting system where I can get my mail with mutt, have some files and database for my web site, run my own DNS and perl scripts. Dedicated servers just aren't even an option for the budget that I'm on and this package works very well. If you're thinking of running an internet server of any sort, you have to think about how you're sharing your hardware with the rest of the internet anyway, so why not think of something where you share all the system resources anyway.
The hardware (for me at least) does not appear to be over subscribed.
Highly recommended.
comparison
After some time I thought that I could get the same service from another VPS for less. So the process of moving my very particular system to quickvps, who provided two IPv4 addresses and the same disk space for 65% of the cost.
However, I have to say that I got less than 65% of the customer service. Andy gives outstanding service, gives very informed updates to what's happening, gives plenty of notice with regards to service interruptions (when they occasionally happen).
If you value your uptime then perhaps learn a little form my experience, the service and professionally are very hard to beat.
Low ping times are perhaps not everything, but you can see the immediate difference on the 3rd of Dec:
| DNS updated on the third | Response times become stable |
|---|---|
| pictures/width/100/Bitfolk_dns_update.png | pictures/width/100/Bitfolk_pingdom_report.png |
Frequent system reboots and lack of information from their help system was of very little use. Scheduled maintenance that happened on the wrong days was also gave little confidence.
- root shell on the console was not brilliant either
- system clock that represented GMT off by one hour
One other thing worth considering is the type of reputation you have to consider you give yourself when messing other people around who have to update their static IP addresses that your systems run from.
