JohnCompanies and RootBSD (was Re: FreeBSD based web hosting?)

[thomas at zaph.org]

* Maxim Khitrov <mkhitrov at gmail.com> [2008-06-18 22:37:13+0000]:
> Is anyone here using RootBSD?

I am using both RootBSD and JohnCompanies.

> I'm currently with JohnCompanies. Overall, it's been a positive
> experience, though I wish they offered FreeBSD 7. Beta testing for it
> was supposed to begin last month, but so far no news.

Agreed. JC has been fine so far, and I asked them to include me in their
FreeBSD 7 beta testing when it opens up. I don't think they have a
schedule posted for when that will start.

I started out at RootBSD on 6.2, and when FreeBSD 7 was first offered by
them (about a month ago), they were nice enough to setup a 7.0 VPS for
me, and give me a liberal amount of time for me to move my data over
from my 6.2 VPS.

> My main concern is disk space; I have 2GB for ~$26 per month.

This too is my only gripe about JohnCompanies. For $29 a month, I only
get a VPS with 2GB of space -- and they don't allow you to add more
diskpace unless you upgrade to a higher ($49/month) plan.

Contrast that with RootBSD, where I pay $19 a month and I get 10GB of
space.

On the JC server, one can easily fill up that 2GB by building various
ports (I did it by running "cd /usr/ports/graphics/ImageMagick; make
install"). The RootBSD box comes with 10GB of space which is more than
enough to build almost any port.

I am sticking with both for now, only because JC reliability/uptime is
purported to be excellent. Granted, I've not had any hardware or
connectivity issues with either provider yet, so I've not yet
experienced any serious problems firsthand.



I should also add that they both have excellent customer service and
response times, I've been pleasantly surprised with how good the support
from both places are.

hth,
Thomas