Looking for reliable Web Hosts (recommendations) 1

[SSJpn]

Hi,

Can anyone refer me to some sites offering web hosting for professional sites?

I'm looking for web hosts running IIS servers.

We want reliable service (hosting and customer) as well as a good selection of features (database access, email, etc)

Thanks,

SSJpn

 

[skotman]

How much space/bandwidth do you anticipate? thats going to be a major factor in deciding your host. Is this for a company or an individual? SSL access?

Scott Heath

http://www.scottspad.com

 

[SSJpn]

skotman,

This site is going to be for a small department within a company.

We do not anticipate much bandwith (we will have no more than 100 users and probably no more than 5 MAX users at any given time)

We probably do not need more than 100MB of space.

SSL not needed.


We would like a reliable host with minimul down time of our site and good customer service.

Let me know what you think.

thanks

 

[skotman]

Well to tell you the truth I wouldn't spend more then $25 a month for something like that. It sounds like a basic static HTML site where the changes are done by hand, ie. no database stuff. Try to find a local company that can do it. Key questions I would ask are:

What kind of servers are used?
MS Windows 2000 IIS 5.0
Linux Apache version what ever

How fast is your internet connection?
T1 on up

Do you offer 24/7 support?
Most companies say they do and then stick someone "on call" with a pager.

DO you monitor your servers and network 24/7?
this is a must! You dont want to have to call them to tell them you can't get to your site, they should already know

Don't ask about up time, they will always tell you 99.9% of the time, it's a waste of a question I think.

Where is the server housed?
If possibile take a field trip to see the server. You can learn alot by seeing where the server your site will be hosted in physically sits (behind security doors, not on the 1st floor, non-water based fire retardant..ie halon etc)

The only reason I say local is if there is a problem you can actually go speak with someone face to face and not via phone or e-mail. It makes them harder to blow you off.

I do run a SMALL web host (I'm just getting started and would do not feel comfortable taking businesses that I dont have a part in yet) but here are the answers I would give if asked.

Do I offer 24/7 Support?
Yes, you can always reach me via text message, phone, e-mail, or instant messenger

Do I monitor my servers and network 24/7?
Yes, I use IP Sentry and imail network monitor to watch all of my network services and internet connections. I recieve a phone call and text message when on the rare occasion I do have an outage, this does in clude the false positives, I do check each and every one of them though. Stats can be viewed over the web.

What kind of servers are used?
I run Microsoft Windows 2000 Server for the operating system with IIS 5.0 as my web server, MS SQL 2000 as my database, MS DNS for DNS, imail 7.x for e-mail suporting pop3,imap4, smtp as well as a web calendar and online e-mail access. Currently my mail is on it's own server for speed reasons

How mast is my internet connection?
I have a full T1 at 1.4mbps

Where is the server housed?
Since I am just starting out I have coloed with a local telephone company which has redundant back bone providers as well as a power supply that not only powers the 5eSS but also all of their servers as well. If I have problems, they have major problems, hence it's a great place to be hosted.



Scott Heath

http://www.scottspad.com

AIM: orange7288

 

[SSJpn]

Scott,

Great feedback, thanks. I never would have thought to look locally for a host but it makes sense that I could go talk to them if I have a problem.

I just figured that there were some established "big-boys" out there that I could have host our site and we could be assured that there would be no problems.

I will look into local prospects but are there any well-known hosts out there running IIS ? Our site will not be commercial so we do not need SSL but we will be using ASP and some content will be database-driven.

Thanks again!

Kevin.

 

[skotman]

Check out

http://www.aspin.com/home/hosting

for a list of ASP hosting providers.

Scott Heath

http://www.scottspad.com

AIM: orange7288