I finally have my own little slice at Slicehost! Hurrah!
3 months, 1 week ago.
50 comments so far
Hmm I don't know much about them, how does it work? Their prices
look pretty cheap for a VPS. I might have to look at them when my
renewal comes up soo
They are very cheap, but come highly recommended. I love their
vps manager panel, and the backup system (which costs you $5 a
month but is a very small amount for the ability to take a
'snapshot' at any time). Obviously haven't had much time to play
with it yet, all I've done so far is intall an OS.
But I've had 2 personal recommendations as well as researched
myself and most people seem to have a high opinion of them. :)
Yep all Xen based...also my VPS was up an running literally in 5
mins after I paid for it. The only downside is the initial payment
is 3 months up front, so $60 initially, but you're billed monthly
after that.
$60 works out at about £30 these days so for a learning tool
it's perfect as you said. The price of a video game for 3 months to
play with a server, I can see a lot of people going for it.
The cool thing about VPS (for "personal / non-production use")
is that you can play around with different distros and change 'em
basically with a few clicks :)
@hypocrisy - Very true,
I see they offer Arch and Gentoo amongst their list of distros as
well, most hosts just offer CentOS or Debian and that's it. For
experimentation and learning it looks perfect :)
Yeah I've just gone for the smallest one. Will probably stick
with that for quite a while. My aim is to become very familiar with
setting up and securing a VPS/server, and that's no easy task so I
expect it to take quite some time. :)
@hypocrisy CentOS is
definitely the leader for hosting, yeah. But I'm being awkward and
going for Ubuntu to start with. I'm more familiar with it and a
couple of people have told me they're using it with no problems
(not saying it doesn't have its faults, and maybe not ideal in a
shared hosting environment, but it'll do for me I think).
@dantheman YOU should
know about "exotic" if anyone does ;D
@zenith I personally don't
think Ubuntu is quite "enterprise ready" when it comes to servers,
but then again - I'll get hit over the head for saying that (haha).
Are you going with any control panel software? LXadmin or what it's
called? (free?)
I tried LxAdmin on another VPS this week, and it was horrible.
Really horrible. Ugly and slow are the words I'd use I think. :D
But no, I plan to go command line only, this is about learning
after all. :)
@zenith You might wanna
install the webmin package from the repos, it's quite useful and
it's like a free control panel, it's not brilliant but can help
with a lot of functions while you're learning :)
@BUGabundo I don't see
a reason to go from something I know works, has good support and is
stable to... Well, "the flavour of the month" (which Ubuntu really
is when it comes to servers, if one looks at it more
objectively).
@dantheman I don't
remember webmin being in the repos of Ubuntu, but they have a
working .deb on webmin.com , which later updates itself separately
from the actual operating system.
Regarding testing OS:es in a server role, this is more difficult
I'd think - as there are other parameters and also a longer testing
time is required to see "what works" and what doesn't.
It isn't, from quite a few stand points. But, virtualization can
be good under certain circumstances, no doubt about that.
But, in the hosting world; replacing shared hosting with a VPS
instance is just not a very wise move (imo), as you as a client pay
more and still sit in the same boat as you are with the shared
hosting; You are still depending on that no other client on the
same VPS node will start using too much system resources, as this
behaviour would make your own VPS instance slow too.
Oh I agree, if it's more resources you need as opposed to just
the freedom to play around and install what you want, then a VPS is
definitely not the best option. I had a server once for precisely
that reason but I had to pay somebody to do the admin which made it
even more expensive than it already is. Luckily I managed to find a
good shared host willing to take the site on. However, if I find
myself in that position again I want to be able to run the whole
server myself, hence the current attempts at learning. :)
I'm pretty sure Webmin is in the Ubuntu Server repos, it was
last time I played around with it which was about a year ago. You
can just apt-get install webmin I think. Worth a try :)
@zenith If one needs a
managed VPS, you have to pay a lot more - just as you say, and then
it defeats the purpose really, as you can get a high-end shared
service for less.
If you as a client "knows what you're doing", then a low-end
dedicated is a much better choice than a VPS instance.
@dantheman I remember
searching for it in synaptic the other day, and it wasn't there. Ah
well, either or - it is a peace of cake to install :)
@hypocrisy Really?
That's weird I used Feisty server edition when it was still in beta
to play about with at home and I installed if then from the repo,
they must have removed it. Weird. It's not hard to install though
as you said. It seems pretty popular as well
Well sudo user is now set up, SSH secured and iptables config
written. Next up is mysql/php/apache install. That'll have to wait
until later today though. :)
I'll definitely check out webmin at some point. I have used it
before on another host, found it pretty basic and sometimes
confusing then. But if I have a better idea of what's going on
underneath the hood I might have a better experience with it.
@BUGabundo the .deb
package is up to date, and as Webmin has it's internal update
mechanisms and also handles packages (yum/apt etc) from within the
web-interface, so there is no loss to throw in webmin on a box for
an alternative.
Of course one should go with a stable software solution,
imo.
@BUGabundo Yes, I mean
the built in mailbox/dir reader. It's just not very good. I don't
fancy Mutt personally, and the Webmin reader I have only tested out
sometimes to check if some emails synched properly.
50 comments so far
Hmm I don't know much about them, how does it work? Their prices look pretty cheap for a VPS. I might have to look at them when my renewal comes up soo
3 months, 1 week ago by dantheman.
I like their marketing strategy :)
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
(and XEN is it?)
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
Oh wow it lists Django support as one of their features, that's great. I'm tempted to try the $20 slice thing just to see what it's like :)
3 months, 1 week ago by dantheman.
@hypocrisy: never new ur email. :P i'm doing fine. except moving from UK to Slovakia, so bit of a chaos in my head. goin next weekend-ish.
3 months, 1 week ago by bubu1uk.
it was supposed to be *knew hehe
3 months, 1 week ago by bubu1uk.
@hypocrisy It says it's all Xen based yeah
3 months, 1 week ago by dantheman.
They are very cheap, but come highly recommended. I love their vps manager panel, and the backup system (which costs you $5 a month but is a very small amount for the ability to take a 'snapshot' at any time). Obviously haven't had much time to play with it yet, all I've done so far is intall an OS.
But I've had 2 personal recommendations as well as researched myself and most people seem to have a high opinion of them. :)
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
mutters VPS bad IO karma, VPS bad IO karma :P ;)
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
@zenith: nice! u're not going to set up a X again are u ?
3 months, 1 week ago by BUGabundo.
Yep all Xen based...also my VPS was up an running literally in 5 mins after I paid for it. The only downside is the initial payment is 3 months up front, so $60 initially, but you're billed monthly after that.
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
@hypocrisy You're right but sadly dedicated servers are unaffordable to most people, my wallet has bad I/O karma right now :D
3 months, 1 week ago by dantheman.
Oh, and I absolutely love their tutorials. Very handy for a n00b like me. :)
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
@zenith: from what i've heared all around they are on of the best VPS and XEN based hoster.
3 months, 1 week ago by BUGabundo.
@dantheman haha ;D
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
@hypocrisy Just in case you're worried, I have no plans to give up my hosting with you. ;) I'm using this as a learning platform.
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
$60 works out at about £30 these days so for a learning tool it's perfect as you said. The price of a video game for 3 months to play with a server, I can see a lot of people going for it.
3 months, 1 week ago by dantheman.
Yep, it's extremely cheap. And maybe I shouldn't say this but I'm having more fun in the command line than I have with a game for a long time. :D
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
The cool thing about VPS (for "personal / non-production use") is that you can play around with different distros and change 'em basically with a few clicks :)
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
Hehehehehe nice, enjoy. I'm tempted to try the smallest slice just for playing around and maybe set it for one Django development site. We'll see :)
3 months, 1 week ago by dantheman.
@hypocrisy - Very true, I see they offer Arch and Gentoo amongst their list of distros as well, most hosts just offer CentOS or Debian and that's it. For experimentation and learning it looks perfect :)
3 months, 1 week ago by dantheman.
"CentOS is all you need" :( :P
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
Yeah I've just gone for the smallest one. Will probably stick with that for quite a while. My aim is to become very familiar with setting up and securing a VPS/server, and that's no easy task so I expect it to take quite some time. :)
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
CentOS is great yeah but I did say "For experimentation and learning" you might wanna try exotic distros on a testing system ;)
3 months, 1 week ago by dantheman.
@hypocrisy CentOS is definitely the leader for hosting, yeah. But I'm being awkward and going for Ubuntu to start with. I'm more familiar with it and a couple of people have told me they're using it with no problems (not saying it doesn't have its faults, and maybe not ideal in a shared hosting environment, but it'll do for me I think).
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
@dantheman YOU should know about "exotic" if anyone does ;D
@zenith I personally don't think Ubuntu is quite "enterprise ready" when it comes to servers, but then again - I'll get hit over the head for saying that (haha). Are you going with any control panel software? LXadmin or what it's called? (free?)
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
I tried LxAdmin on another VPS this week, and it was horrible. Really horrible. Ugly and slow are the words I'd use I think. :D But no, I plan to go command line only, this is about learning after all. :)
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
/me smaks @hypocrisy for trashing Ubuntu Server lol
@hypocrisy: have u even tried it yet?
3 months, 1 week ago by BUGabundo.
@hypocrisy Yeah that's a good point I should know about distros :P
3 months, 1 week ago by dantheman.
@zenith You might wanna install the webmin package from the repos, it's quite useful and it's like a free control panel, it's not brilliant but can help with a lot of functions while you're learning :)
3 months, 1 week ago by dantheman.
@dan Maybe you could do a special on server distros after experimenting for a bit? :D
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
Yeah I'll probably try it at some point. I have no problem trying out anything that's free. ;)
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
@BUGabundo I don't see a reason to go from something I know works, has good support and is stable to... Well, "the flavour of the month" (which Ubuntu really is when it comes to servers, if one looks at it more objectively).
@dantheman I don't remember webmin being in the repos of Ubuntu, but they have a working .deb on webmin.com , which later updates itself separately from the actual operating system.
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
Regarding testing OS:es in a server role, this is more difficult I'd think - as there are other parameters and also a longer testing time is required to see "what works" and what doesn't.
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
@hypocrisy That's true, hadn't thought of that. Though similar I guess a VPS isn't exactly the same as a full server. :)
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
It isn't, from quite a few stand points. But, virtualization can be good under certain circumstances, no doubt about that.
But, in the hosting world; replacing shared hosting with a VPS instance is just not a very wise move (imo), as you as a client pay more and still sit in the same boat as you are with the shared hosting; You are still depending on that no other client on the same VPS node will start using too much system resources, as this behaviour would make your own VPS instance slow too.
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
Oh I agree, if it's more resources you need as opposed to just the freedom to play around and install what you want, then a VPS is definitely not the best option. I had a server once for precisely that reason but I had to pay somebody to do the admin which made it even more expensive than it already is. Luckily I managed to find a good shared host willing to take the site on. However, if I find myself in that position again I want to be able to run the whole server myself, hence the current attempts at learning. :)
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
I'm pretty sure Webmin is in the Ubuntu Server repos, it was last time I played around with it which was about a year ago. You can just apt-get install webmin I think. Worth a try :)
3 months, 1 week ago by dantheman.
@zenith If one needs a managed VPS, you have to pay a lot more - just as you say, and then it defeats the purpose really, as you can get a high-end shared service for less.
If you as a client "knows what you're doing", then a low-end dedicated is a much better choice than a VPS instance.
@dantheman I remember searching for it in synaptic the other day, and it wasn't there. Ah well, either or - it is a peace of cake to install :)
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
@hypocrisy Really? That's weird I used Feisty server edition when it was still in beta to play about with at home and I installed if then from the repo, they must have removed it. Weird. It's not hard to install though as you said. It seems pretty popular as well
3 months, 1 week ago by dantheman.
Well sudo user is now set up, SSH secured and iptables config written. Next up is mysql/php/apache install. That'll have to wait until later today though. :)
I'll definitely check out webmin at some point. I have used it before on another host, found it pretty basic and sometimes confusing then. But if I have a better idea of what's going on underneath the hood I might have a better experience with it.
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.
@dantheman I did try to throw in webmin through the repos on the desktop edition, it could have something to do with it eh?! ;)
@zenith Good stuff! If you run webmin; install CSF + LFD and their webmin module. You won't regret that (a "must" on any server, imho).
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
@dantheman: @hypocrisy: webmin as been removed long time ago.
the upstream requested for it to be removed. it was quite out of date, and no manager.
the recent deb is quite nice, it auto-installs all the service packages you have running.
For Ubuntu the alternative is ebox.
not sure its available pre-intrepid-
3 months, 1 week ago by BUGabundo.
@BUGabundo the .deb package is up to date, and as Webmin has it's internal update mechanisms and also handles packages (yum/apt etc) from within the web-interface, so there is no loss to throw in webmin on a box for an alternative.
Of course one should go with a stable software solution, imo.
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
@hypocrisy: yes it auto-updates! I like it quite a lot! use it many times to configure postfix. I need to give reapache a try too.
3 months, 1 week ago by BUGabundo.
@BUGabundo I use webmin on my local fileserver - helps a lot and isn't that heavy on the system either (except the email-reader that is slooooooow).
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
@hypocrisy: i have mine stoped until i need it!
u mean webmin email reader? why would u use that? never heard of Mutt (aka the best email client ever) ?
3 months, 1 week ago by BUGabundo.
@BUGabundo Yes, I mean the built in mailbox/dir reader. It's just not very good. I don't fancy Mutt personally, and the Webmin reader I have only tested out sometimes to check if some emails synched properly.
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
@zenith Sorry to hijack your thread :( :P
3 months, 1 week ago by hypocrisy.
@hypocrisy Hehehe, go ahead. :) I was without internet for 8 damn hours today anyway (talk about cold turkey)!
3 months, 1 week ago by zenith.