Bad Times, Good Times

[Ralle]

I know it's horrible with that "Service Temporarily Unavailable" message. I am looking for something bigger to move to. I am looking at
https://www.servermatrix.com
and
https://www.layeredtech.com
but I am not sure what to get.

 

[Mechanical Man]

At servermatrix.com that price is for month?

 

[Ralle]

I am gonna pay ~100 $ / month for hosting yes. But I hope I will have earned that by ads soon.

 

[Samuraid]

Ralle:
Both Servermatrix (owned by ThePlanet/EV1) and Layered tech have reasonably good reputation. Bear in mind that they are self-managed though, so you will ultimately have to manage the entire server yourself, upgrade software, and take responsibility for backing up the server every week.

If you were interested in getting a managed server (in which the company would manage most of the server for you), you may want to check out www.servstra.com as they use Layered Tech servers but also provide some management for them included in the cost. (Just make sure to get CPanel/WHM when you order the server)

I work with dedicated servers a lot (I own 2 and manage 3) and I would gladly help you figure out anything you need, just contact me on MSN anytime. (I am PiRho from Wc3Anvil and you should already have my screen name)

 

[Wolverabid]

Thanks for addressing this topic chieftain; I think everyone will agree that it is the most critical issue presently facing THW.

Since you have administered your own server for some time you already the basics. The Hive’s resident hardware geeks may be able to provide some relevant input; additionally, you might search the server hardware forums to find out what technology other operators are currently using.

In general, when upgrading hardware its always a good idea to go for as much overkill as possible. Whatever horsepower you think you might require for CPU/RAM/HD, try to DOUBLE it, if such is available.

Acquiring the best and latest hardware will not be cheap, which leads to the subject of financing. Were each user to click on several of the many g-ads once per day, it might go a long way toward underwriting the upgrade. You might also consider adding a Pay Pal or credit donation banner; some members may be willing to contribute.

What say the masses?

 

[Kimbo]

I am gonna pay ~100 $ / month for hosting yes. But I hope I will have earned that by ads soon.

ah, much better than 350, but still alot of money though, i hope it works out for you and that those ads chill out enough money or more than 100.

and well, i say go for the cheapest, i dont know much about servers at all though.

 

[Ralle]

Yeah well 95$ is cheap for a dedicated server. And Samuraid, I will be needing your help.. A LOT.

I know how to install mySQL and PHP and apache. But how do I configure my domains and setup mailsystem? FTP etc..

And how do I make it safe?

 

[Samuraid]

Yeah well 95$ is cheap for a dedicated server. And Samuraid, I will be needing your help.. A LOT.

I know how to install mySQL and PHP and apache. But how do I configure my domains and setup mailsystem? FTP etc..

And how do I make it safe?

Well, the easiest way to do things is to just get CPanel installed on the server. CPanel/WHM will take care of most things for you automatically, especially the mail server setup and adding new domains. You can just use the graphical web interface to do most things, and CPanel will automatically install and configure most of the server software for you. (It's definitely worth paying $20-$25 a month for CPanel)

Get CentOS 4.x as your operating system by the way; it is one of the best choices for a server these days.

If you don't have any control panel software, you'll need to edit the Apache configuration file by hand (httpd.conf) and add the domain configuration information manually. Additionally, without a control panel, you also need to configure the DNS (bind/named) by editing named.conf. This can take a while and it's pretty hard to describe in a single forum post. If you want to do it this way though, I'll still help with whatever you need.

Securing the server also takes some time, but a few general things will make the job easier:
- make sure you have a good software firewall in place and make sure you block all ports except the ones you need. You'll need to allow 21 (FTP), 22 (SFTP/SSH), 25 (Mail), 53 (DNS), 80 (HTTP) at least, and you may want 443 (HTTPS/SSL) as well and a few others. (CentOS and RedHat Enterprise Linux often come with a software firewall preinstalled that you simply need to configure)
- Don't host any other sites on the server, unless you ABSOLUTELY trust the people running the other sites to keep their code and passwords PERFECTLY secure. If you are the only one using the server to host, things are just a lot safer, and you have to worry less about security.
- Don't use Telnet or FTP. They are insecure and unencrypted. Use SSH and Secure FTP instead.

I hope this helps.

Have you decided on which server to get?

 

[MetalWarrior]

You know what? If it's space that miss, you should delete the old Wc3sear Forum... But what do I know? Except that this problem occured right after merging Wc3sear with the hiveworkshop...

 

[Samuraid]

You know what? If it's space that miss, you should delete the old Wc3sear Forum... But what do I know? Except that this problem occured right after merging Wc3sear with the hiveworkshop...

The problem arose because Hive is using a lot of CPU power and memory on the current server, not because of space limitations.

 

[brad.dude03]

Well i'm am just amazed I can post. This 503 is really getting in the way of that lately. Both of your hosts look good so choose either or as long as your up to maintaining them yourself. I don't doubt your ability to do that Have some confidence people! Good luck with your hosting adventures, and here's hoping we can get our problems sorted out soon

 

[Ralle]

I have chosen servstra and the server will be setup in a matter of hours. Hopefully the new hive server will work by the weekend.

 

[Samuraid]

Congratulations on the new server.

 

[brad.dude03]

Yessir, that way the noobs will stop complaining and I can continue posting regularly again