linode.com, Was: Hosting options

[Mike Fieschko]

On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 14:02:03 -0400 (EDT)
Rob McCauley <robmccau at radonc.duke.edu> wrote:

> 
> Hi, everyone.
> 
> I'd like to have a box of my very own out on the net somewhere.  I
> have some specific services I want on it (www, ssh), but generally
> speaking, I want to have free rein to make it do whatever I'd like.
> I think that gets me to shared hosting options or colo.  I haven't
> ruled out business class cable entirely, but I'm not entirely happy
> with residential service, so I'm a bit prejudiced against it.
> 
> I'm looking for recommendations.
> 
> Must be linux or openbsd.
> 
> I'd rather it be geographically nearby.  Not critical, but nice.
> 
> Having root access is firm requirement.
> 
> Bandwidth is an unknown.  Some of the things I'd like to do may use a
> lot, so affordable growth options are good.
> 
> Inexpensive is, of course, good.
> 
> If you have personal experience of such a provider, work for one,
> know of one, etc, please let me know.  I know they're out there, but
> in such quantity that sifting through them without prior knowledge of
> who is good and who is not is painful.

I've been with linode.com for a little more than a year now.  It's
user-mode Linux, and there are no restrictions on what services I can
run, including irc.  I use it to run ssh, Apache, vsftp, exim4 for
mail, etc.  The distro I went with was Debian Sarge, thought they have
others (Ubuntu 4.10, Fedora Core 2, Slackware 9.0, Gentoo 2005.0, etc.).

They're in Tennessee, though I believe the actual box is in Texas.  I
have root and can break anything I want.  You install and configure
everything yourself.

When I was hunting last year for a host, I came across them and several
factors influenced me to choose them, one of which was the praise
linode.com got from a then fellow NYLUG member.  The no restrictions
on services, including irc, was first on my list.

I'm very satisfied with them, though I don't have any experience really
with support, since I've been able to configure and maintain everything
on my own or through other fora.

I use my site almost exclusively for personal mail and web presence,
including two blogs, so the basic plan (Linode 80 - $19.95/month
80M RAM, 3GB disk, 50GB xfer) is more than adequate for my
needs.

-- 
Mike Fieschko
Raleigh, NC
http://devmike.com
http://devmike.com/blog
http://inillotempore.com