Dedicated Linux Servers Using Other Than Red Hat? 8
morzel asks: "I've been looking on the internet to rent a dedicated Linux server to perform some back-up tasks for DNS/SMTP and perhaps some minor WEB/FTP. There are a lot of options out there, from $99/month deals to over a grand a month. What amazed me is that in almost every shop, 'Red Hat' is virtually a synonym of 'Linux'. And even if there are different choices, it's basically 'Red Hat 6.2 or Red Hat 7.0'. I for one would like another distribution to be on my production machines (like Slackware), but are there shops out there that can give me that?"
"Since the initial setup of the machines is being done by the hosting admin team, it's very important that they know their way around in the distribution I want, and that they can support me when I screw up big time doing maintenance on that machine. (I do think I'm competent enough to manage without getting in trouble, but these things tend to happen nevertheless <grin!>)
Basically it boils down to me wanting:
- Good quality connectivity
- A greater choice in Linux distributions (Just slack is fine by me, but it's interesting to know if there are other options as well)
- quality support (both in the initial installation, as well as afterwards)
- Possibly added services (back-ups, monitoring)
- A reasonable pricetag for all of the above - mind you, I don't necessarily want the cheapest around, but it has to be payable.
Slackware Hosting (Score:1)
I just did a Server Hosting Slackware Linux [google.com] and came up with some results.
Cybercon [cybercon.com] gives a choice of what os you can run one choice being Slack.
Also Redan [redan.net] also gives a choice of OS to run. But it seems to only be Slack 3.6 maybe they just haven't updated it in a while.
itconnect.co.nz [itconnect.co.nz] seems to only use Slack.
And i2net [i2net.net] turns up a hit but upon searching thier site I can't find anything about Slack. I assume there are more choices there on google but I started feeling lazy and stopped looking. Hope that helps..
own experience... (Score:1)
A FEW other things about COLO's, they are over rated and dont really get you all they say! We have had a bad time with the SLA being kinda bad as far as upgradablity and its pretty exp. if you want just the basics! RTF SLA i guess
Cant wait to get back to work next year, have an ultra 10 just begging for the current-release of Slackware for sparc....happy hacking
Co-lo? (Score:1)
Re:Co-lo? (Score:1)
SUWAIN: Slashdot User Without An Interesting Name
VMware (Score:1)
Essentially, it creates a virtual machine. It was 'designed' to let you run Linux under Windows and vice versa. (They have two different versions - one to run on Windows, and one to run on Linux.) However, you are not tied to running the opposite - I am considering getting the version for Linux (since that's what I use) and putting multiple Linux distros on it.
So, essentially, you can buy VMware (they seem to have a new server edition; don't quite understand the added features), and run Slackware, Debian, or whatever under the RedHat they force you to use... Or, you could opt for Windoze (if you think viewers will like the blue "color scheme" that occurs frequently...), or even another *nix. I think BeOS is possible, too...
Again, I've never actually used it much, so I don't know if it's the type of thing I want powering my webserver.
SUWAIN: Slashdot User Without An Interesting Name
Re:VMware (Score:1)
If you read VMwares Readme it says you can not run the same OS in the VM as the one the VM is running on.
And anyways, it would be insane to run VMware, because it would run so slow (I had windows running under it and took twice as long as normal just to boot up.)
Power PC (Score:1)
Re:Co-lo? (Score:2)
If you co-lo your machine you:
have to buy the machine
are responsible for the hardware maintenance, or an SLA is needed with the hosting company (mucho $$$)
Choice is quite limited - basically it needs to be nearby.
In my case (I live in Belgium, Europe), co-lo and hosting are still more expensive than in the US. I don't want to ship a machine to the other side of the planet, and hope that it gets installed properly. I want the hosting shop to be responsable for the HW, so that they can replace that fried NIC, without me coördinating everything.
Co-lo is an option, but it's not always the perfect answer.
Okay... I'll do the stupid things first, then you shy people follow.