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Posted by jattsingh, 07-23-2007, 09:04 PM I have a dedicated server from aplus.net running fedora and plesk. I have a video sharing site, and am concerned about hackers taking away my bandwidth. Can anyone suggest a good server management/monitoring company who can perform security hardening and monitoring for the plesk control panel? I would have chosen http://platinumservermanagement.com/, however they do not currently support plesk.
Posted by Frimon86, 07-23-2007, 10:33 PM Just a shame, no body matches to Platinum Server Management. Try giving www.seeksadmin.com a shot, I know they deal with plesk.
Posted by MrZodiac, 07-23-2007, 10:41 PM I also recommend seeksadmin, the staff their know what they are doing.
Posted by intellitech, 07-24-2007, 03:59 AM Hi, It is indeed a shame the PSM don't do Plesk - or for that matter even Windows Server! Perhaps we should all form a lobby and ask them to start offering support for those - I know i sure would be love it if they offered Plesk + Windows Server support, and at the price they offer it at, I don't know anyone can beat that.
Posted by mrbister, 07-24-2007, 04:22 AM I've used serverwizards a while ago and they responded promptly and was very helpful.
Posted by Mikie4648, 07-24-2007, 04:49 AM There is a difference between a server management company that only login when you need something as opposed to a server management company that logs in ALL THE TIME to check up on thingd. Now thats what i call service. And you wont find it for 29 bucks but i prefer the latter not the first as I'd much rather have them login whenever they want to check the health of my boxes.
Posted by HE/LW-Sam, 07-24-2007, 06:45 AM Seems like you need pro-active management, even if you were using cPanel, PSM is not for you. Heard good things about touchsupport http://www.touchsupport.com/outsourc...rver-admin.php
Posted by jattsingh, 07-24-2007, 11:58 AM so PSM doesnt provide pro-active server management?
Posted by sirius, 07-24-2007, 12:00 PM Have you taken a look at their website? It will answer your questions.... http://www.platinumservermanagement.com/FAQ.html Sirius
Posted by MyIndianHost, 07-24-2007, 04:03 PM if PSM does not support plesk..i'd change my control panel to something they support.. they're that good.
Posted by bithost(NET), 07-25-2007, 12:09 AM No, they do not. Bailey
Posted by jattsingh, 07-25-2007, 09:50 PM any other recommendations?
Posted by uberhostNET, 07-25-2007, 10:12 PM Didn't you end up getting a deal from LT on a dedi with cPanel so you could use platinumservermanagement.com?
Posted by jattsingh, 07-26-2007, 02:08 PM i did get a deal from LT, but this is for a server i already have with aplus.net
Posted by uberhostNET, 07-26-2007, 02:14 PM I see. Well, congratulations on the deal with LT then. Are you up and running on that new server yet?
Posted by jattsingh, 07-26-2007, 10:44 PM I ordered it on Monday, but the server is still not ready yet... I need to find out whats going on with that...
Posted by AH-Sal, 07-26-2007, 11:37 PM PSM is good, but more or less you need to monitor your own hardware / boxes. Again though, most pro-active management companies are a lot more costly then PSM. Take your pick lol.
Posted by Frimon86, 07-27-2007, 12:00 AM Platinum Server Management has always been good to me, I never had to watch my hardware or my box they did all of that stuff for me. I can sleep at night with a handful of issues knowing that PSM will have them fixed. I dont have to stay up all night trying to fix them myself. I never had to watch anything. PSM is good. Is the grass green on your side?
Posted by jattsingh, 07-27-2007, 02:02 AM i cant use PSM, they dont support plesk. I would need someone that can support plesk.
Posted by midwestwebsites, 07-28-2007, 05:15 PM Give Acunett.com a try. They've done well for us.
Posted by searcher1, 08-18-2007, 12:00 PM I'd agree with this ... Their monitoring is from memory 10 minute server checks followed by if no responses 5 times will automatically call for a reboot. Initially they install basic software and secure your server for you. They charge per IP (not per server) so you need to ensure this is a obviously the primary one, with reductions for more IP's. Responce is great in so much as if you have a problem at all (WHM/Cpanel in my case) you open a ticket and they respond within minutes. You would be hard pressed to get better than PSM (IMHO anyway)for this type of service. Michael
Posted by Nick H, 08-18-2007, 12:28 PM Actually, a few corrections about PSM: 1) Monitoring is 5 minute intervals, and they take action after 3 failures 2) Pricing is $29 per server [Note: Responses based upon my experience as a customer, not an official response.]
Posted by searcher1, 08-19-2007, 03:01 AM Yes my (half lol)apologies: 1. Sorry 5 minute intervals but by the time you see server reboot notice time has marched on and more 5 minutes checks have been made. 2. With respect you are wrong. It's per server IP as in additional IP's are at 19.95usd - go look. It might say 'server' but in fact it means a single IP .. adding more will cost you as stated here. Still great value and I've never had reason to fault their work. A1 value and service even!! Michael
Posted by RobertMaltby, 08-19-2007, 04:36 AM I've been with ServerWizards for some time now and they have come down hill for me. First off, which this is no biggie as my site wasnt ready to go live, they took almost a full month to harden / secure a server. I chose them over PSM (at the time) because I had 2 new servers - 1 running DA and 1 running nothing (PSM didnt cover it). So I hired SW to take over, Well, after about 5-6 ticket replies about how NOTHING was done; They finally hardened both servers. The next month, I transfered all of my servers to SW (canceled PSM and signed them up on SW). I was getting great service, fast responses, etc. So about few weeks ago, I asked them to update my software and just double check things again.. They replied "We're working on it".. So a few days later, nothing was done.. I complained some more.. and it got done.. Now we sit at some server side software, that I requested to be installed in JAN-FEB of this year and also again about a month ago, not being installed correctly.. When I questioned it, I got the response "are you using it on the server now?" -- Well, Duh! Why would I say that there is an error with the software if I wasn't trying to use it?? Anyways, thats just my rant about SW going down hill.. Will I end up leaving them - Probably not.. They have been good to me in the past and I'll stick around just to see what happens..
Posted by ServerManagement, 08-19-2007, 05:43 AM Our price is $29/month for the 1st "server", and $19/month for each additional "server". We only charge per "server", it does not matter how many ips you have added to the server. You can have 100 ips on 1 server and we still only charge you for 1 server. Thanks for your compliments!
Posted by barry[CoffeeSprout], 08-25-2007, 08:52 AM Start supporting non cPanel servers
Posted by FYMP, 08-25-2007, 07:52 PM I would like to ditto this. Any plans?
Posted by ServerManagement, 08-25-2007, 08:18 PM We're always discussing other options for the future but nothing at this time. At the moment, we prefer to focus on a specific server environment rather than trying to be a jack of all trades with all operating systems and panels. Linux/cpanel is one of the most popular environments for the hosting industry which is why we choose to stick with it exclusively. We're able to work more efficiently knowing that every server has the same infrastructure, and therefore are able to deliver the highest quality of service at the lowest possible price. Thanks, Ethan
Posted by Swizi, 08-26-2007, 12:17 AM I'd go with PSM if I were you. They show updates in their news section, all you have to do is ask them to update. Or you can give seeksadmin a shot and for 54.95/mo they're pro-active. Cheaper option compared to touchsupport. I've got another server coming trough with LT and I will be tossing up between touch support and PSM. Both have many reviews. But there's probably more bad reviews about seeksadmin than psm. If you're willing to run the risk. EDIT: there's also http://www.linuxnetworkcare.com/serv...management.php with pro-active updates etc. They support plesk and fedora OS. Only problem is for basic plan 4 tickets included, have to buy more. With advanced, $90 setup, $105/mo, 6 hours of support included. May be a bit too pricey. Also there's RFX Networks for security - http://rfxnetworks.com/ haven't really looked at their website, will leave that to you. Last edited by Swizi; 08-26-2007 at 12:31 AM.
Posted by Swizi, 08-26-2007, 12:48 AM Found this too - http://angelnetworkz.net/services.htm I feel a wiki post coming on.
Posted by Evolver, 08-26-2007, 08:47 PM Check out Acunett http://www.acunettmanagement.com/management.php Have used them for 6+ months with no problems. Most tickets are done within 1-2 hours.
Posted by RobertMaltby, 08-26-2007, 08:58 PM I think frimon was more of referring to the cost of PSM and the level of service received from it.. Acunett is absolutely great but is indeed more costly.. They are however, PRO-ACTIVE and fix/update when new stable releases are out.. where as PSM isn't they just update when asked to update.
Posted by Swizi, 08-26-2007, 11:24 PM PSM doesn't support plesk (pity I frogot that when I replied). So basically what we're doing to help is listing server management companies who do support it.
Posted by shed, 08-30-2007, 05:09 AM I'm becoming dissatisfied with my current server management company (serverwizards) - several issues open over a number of months without resolution, and latest issues over the past couple of day's (where they have actually asked me what I think they should do to resolve an outstanding issue!) are making me think it's time to jump ship to a more professional/technically knowledgeable outfit... I don't mind paying for a decent service. I have been with PSM and touochsupport over the years and had okay experiences with PSM and wasn't so impressed with touchsupport... so where to now? Thanks in advance, Terry
Posted by @email, 08-30-2007, 06:13 AM I'd try service gateway to allocate the bandwidth you need.
Posted by Frimon86, 08-30-2007, 09:42 AM Where to now? Nobody can tell you where to go, we can only direct you in a path. I would suggest contacting PSM and telling them to issues you had with them (which makes you say they are okay and get it worked out) -- Im a PSM customer and Im more than happy with them. If you feel they are not satisifying you as much then tell them. A company can't improve without input.
Posted by shed, 09-11-2007, 05:55 PM Well, Signed up with PSM... can't say I'm impressed so far...seems they don't support any third party server additions outwith what cpanel 'recommends'... We run mailscanner, Squirrelmail with nutsmail addon and roundcube in place of horde on our server... I asked for help with a squirrelmail issue and got the following response: "Since those are all nonstandard programs (ie, not distributed by cpanel) a lot of times when cpanel updates it causes these conflicts. For us to fix this, we'll have to set it back to the way cpanel recommends (ie, no mailscanner, no roundcube, no nutsmail, etc., just regular exim with horde/squirrelmail)..." "If cpanel is installed, but cpanel's standard software is removed/modified, then that part that is removed/modified is no longer considered part of a "cpanel" server..." Seems pretty drastic... no attempt whatsoever to look at the problem itself.
Posted by ServerManagement, 09-11-2007, 06:58 PM It seems like you are just reiterating what our web site "already" says. As clearly stated on the very front page of our web site, as well as our FAQ page, we only support servers running cpanel. There is no place where it says we will support non-standard cpanel customizations or non-standard cpanel programs. Our web site even says we do not support non-standard cpanel customizations or non-standard cpanel programs. As our tech explained in the ticket, if you modify a part of the server to non-standard cpanel specs, then that part is no longer considered part of cpanel. You said we made no attempt to fix it which is a complete lie, because you even pasted here that we offered to reinstall the standard cpanel modules to fix this. We do not offer nor claim to support any non-standard cpanel modules. If you 'assumed' that we would, that is not our fault. We have people come to us all the time saying they have cpanel installed, but changed apache to lighttpd, changed exim to qmail, changed webmail to roundcube, etc., and they ask if we support it, and the answer is "no". If you have cpanel installed but you remove or change all of it's standard components, then it's no longer really a cpanel server. We only support cpanel, and therefore only support the standard cpanel software (ie, apache, php, mysql, exim, pop, ftp, etc.). In fact, for the maximum stability, cpanel even recommends sticking with all it's standard software only. The vast majority of cpanel servers all have standard software. Unless someone specifically manually changes the core software, then any cpanel server would have all standard software. We currently support over 2,200+ servers monthly all with standard cpanel specs. If you buy a Ford car, but replace all the parts with Cadillac parts, can you take it back to the Ford dealer for service by Ford? No (unless they also service non-Ford cars too). But the point is that when a company provides service for in a specific area, such as we do with cpanel+linux, if you change core components to non-standard specs, naturally those custom parts will not be supported. Why would we say we only support cpanel servers, then go on to support all non-cpanel customizations and non-cpanel software? That would not make any sense. Furthermore, upon account activation, our welcome email clearly says to first open a ticket to the feedback department with any customizations you have. Unfortunately, you never followed this part of the instructions either. If you did, we would've explained all this to begin with and you could've decided whether or not you wanted to continue with our service. Also, you have used our service about 2 years ago also. Our web site had the same details back then too, so it's not like this is even the first time you ever used our service. Lastly, I am perplexed as to why you felt the need to post a public complaint without even discussing it with a supervisor in the feedback department first? What was your benefit to this action? How was this going to help you? I am sorry to sound blunt, but if you would've read our web site, or followed the instructions in our activation email, or at least contacted a supervisor first to discuss this, you would've known that we only support cpanel servers and that means standard cpanel components as well, and your misunderstanding could've been avoided, and this frivolous complaint would've been avoided too. Apparently since you are not satisfied and you need support for non-cpanel modules, then our service does not meet your needs. I'll go ahead and have your payment refunded and I recommend finding a provider that will support non-standard cpanel specs. Last edited by ServerManagement; 09-11-2007 at 07:08 PM.
Posted by Frimon86, 09-12-2007, 10:49 AM I'm on PSM side here. LOL so your going to make a public post about that? I don't think it's drastic at all because thats like saying you are getting a cpanel server and then asking them to install a shoutcast program on it and when they deny you, you turn around and say your not happy with them when infact they give you more than one notice, welcome email, faq. You should have done more reading otherwise you wouldn't have fallen into this step. If anything you were the silly one who didn't bother to read. Don't feel too alone though, people like that every day on here. They will be with a hosting company and complain because their site got suspended and then they dont even know why but in the TOS it says "No Adult Sites Allowed" lol I agree. What are the point of peoples posts? They are just so upset they dont know what to do so they make a public post and after they made that post it's like telling the world and they feel better I guess... How would they expect a company to change without contacting them --first-- to get your issue resolved?
Posted by shed, 09-13-2007, 03:28 AM Who said anything about shoutcast... the problem was a squirrelmail issue?... I did no post this for my benefit but for the benefit of others looking for server management... after all this is supposed to be what this forum is about. Folks with a common business interest helping each other out and sharing experiences and knowledge. As this thread is discussing recommendations and pros/cons of the various server management companies I feel my previous post is certainly of interest to anyone looking for server support... On your website you state that you are happy to install 3rd party software (such as mailscanner) and offer help for complex technical problems... well I had a problem with squirrelmail and was offered to have my server stripped down to the basics that PSM feel they can support... and I declined. My customers benefit from the few additional cpanel addons we support, such as rvskins, mailscanner (which you actually state that you support on your site by the way) and roundcube, these addons allow us to offer a little bit more than the competition and are an integral part of our business... I feel that asking me to remove these addons to troubleshoot a problem with squirrelmail was a little excessive... I looked thoroughly through the information I was sent by PSM and nowhere could I see any mention of them not supporting third party cpanel addons... I find it hard to believe I am the only webhost who wants to offer these small additions for the benefit of my customers... In addition, you state on your site: "Yes, we will be more than glad to install any 3rd party software made for or used by CPanel" The few basic additions we use to the 'standard' cPanel suite surely fall under this category? But then again you don't state that you are able to troubleshoot specific problems with these addons - so fair enough, I just wasn't aware that this was the case. Thankfully, despite my recent issues with my current support company, they have never asked to remove all my 3rd party cPanel addons to troubleshoot a specific problem... so it seems - at least when compared to PSM they are able to offer me a more comprehensive service and one which better fits with my business model of offering my customers the best possible hosting experience. So to sum up... I will stick with Serverwizards... I harbour no hard feelings towards PSM and am sure they are great at what they DO support... but sometimes the grass just isn't greener on the other side. Rgds Terry P.S. Thank you for the offer of the refund, hope to receive it soon.
Posted by RobertMaltby, 09-13-2007, 03:37 AM Just wait, your time will come... I've been with them for months and the response times just get slower and slower and slower...
Posted by Nick H, 09-13-2007, 04:21 AM I had that same issue with ServerWizards. Response times would be 2+ hours for emergency tickets. That's the reason I originally switched to PSM. Why keep paying ServerWizards $75/month when I can better service for $29/month?
Posted by ServerManagement, 09-13-2007, 05:41 AM Thanks for your reply Shed49. We all agree that WHT is a place to share feedback on companies, and especially this thread is a place to shared feedback on server management companies. But my objective was that you were complaining about something that we don't even offer. The feedback on a company should be about the services they "do" offer and how well they provide that service, not about what they don't even offer. That's like saying burger stands are bad because they don't sell pizza! As indicated on our site, the 3rd party software that we will install is limited to what is made for cpanel, and there is quite a lot of 3rd party software that we will install. It's not like we have a very small list of 3rd party software we're willing to install. Some examples of 3rd party software that we will install is Fantastico, RVSkin, CpanelPro, CpanelXp, ClamAV, Mailscanner, URCHIN, ZendOptimizer, Ioncube, GD, Curl, Freetype, Eaccelerator, Ruby on Rails, ImageMagick, Perl modules, etc.... It would be impossible to list every 3rd party program that we will or won't install, and of course just about anything can be construed as "for cpanel" if you want to stretch it. I mean, you can even say Shoutcast is for cpanel because it works with it. So we summarize it by saying we will install 3rd party software made "for cpanel". Our definition of "for cpanel" is software that cpanel themself say is stable with it and distribute integrations for it, or any software that we feel at our descretion is a common or stable integration with cpanel. This is all explained in detail with examples on our main page, also on our FAQ page, and additionally in our TOS page. Customized versions of mailscanner or custom squirrelmail design themes are not distributed by cpanel, therefore we do not support them. As explained by our tech, we would be MORE than glad to put the default squirrelmail that cpanel offers back in. We would've also been MORE than glad to reinstall a standard installation of mailscanner too. But we couldn't even get to that point yet because you never gave us a chance. The moment we said customized non-cpanel modules are not supported, you came here to complain without even discussing any options with us first. I'm glad to here your other server management provider is assisting you with your custom non-cpanel modules. But back to my original point, that is only because your other server management provider offers support for non-cpanel servers, so I would obviously expect them to support non-cpanel software. Since we do not support non-cpanel servers, it should not be expected for us to install or support non-cpanel software. Thanks again to everyone else for their compliments! Last edited by ServerManagement; 09-13-2007 at 05:50 AM.
Posted by Frimon86, 09-13-2007, 10:47 AM I did, I'm Frimon86 . I know the issue was about squirrel mail but man you must suffer from a reading syndrom or something because I said and I quote.. LOL I guess its your fault for misunderstanding my post but hey no hard feelings it ok. Being a business owner can be hard but sometimes you really got to take the time to read things before you buy. Your only human though Last edited by Frimon86; 09-13-2007 at 10:52 AM.
Posted by layer0, 09-15-2007, 05:43 AM Well, for what it's worth...CPShout does exist http://www.cpshout.com/
Posted by manofquestions, 09-15-2007, 12:05 PM try the company www.thinksupport.net they do well in this area for plesk and all control panels. But please do chat with that sales guys before proceeding for any buying and ask them about what they will do in the server for the certain amount, they have lot of packages to confuse . They did a good job in all our servers
Posted by uberhostNET, 10-08-2007, 08:16 PM And ask them why their security certificate has expired.
Posted by r2d3m, 10-17-2007, 07:29 PM This is a good thread, it helped me out. Thanks guy.
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