Need help deciding between two providers

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Posted by jdubatl, 09-29-2011, 11:37 PM
Hello everyone, After doing a ton of research (much of it on the WHT forums - thanks!), I've decided to go with Cloud hosting for my new (ASPX) website. I've now narrowed my provider choices down to two: Rackspace and Gigenet. I need to decide between the two and wanted to get your input. Given my need for a Windows server, I have to get a more expensive package to start then I would if I could go with Linux. So: Rackspace - $65/month (1gb Memory, 40gb disk space, Pay as you go ($.18 per gb) bandwidth)Gigenet - $88/month (1.5gb Memory, 80gb disk space, 1000gb bandwidth) Starting off, Rackspace is cheaper at ~$65/month. However, it becomes more expensive once bandwidth exceeds 135gb/month. After that it is much more expensive, as 1000gb/month bandwidth would cost $238, while Gigenet would still be $88. At the ~$238 price point, we could get a much larger package at Gigenet (8gb Memory, 440gb disk space, 5500gb bandwidth). Given the above, it seems to me that Gigenet, while more expensive now, will be much cheaper down the line. So, as long as we believe that we will eventually consume more than 135gb/month in bandwidth, the only real differences between the two is: Technical/customer support - appears to be solid at bothBackup functionality - Gigenet has r1soft, but I'd feel more comfortable if my backups were stored in a separate location. As such, I'd use a service like the one Rackspace has where I can have my virtual server in one data center and my backup in another.Company history - Rackspace is a big company and has been around forever, so the thought is they aren't likely to be going out of business any time soon. Anyways, sorry for the long post. Any thoughts you can share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jason
Posted by Stratogen, 09-30-2011, 03:47 AM
There has been quite a bit of talk about rackspace on here - some people don't consider their platform to be a true cloud. Take a look at http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1035397 It's always worth asking what the physical infrastructure is behind any cloud. There is a big difference in reliability between cloud providers!
Posted by jdubatl, 09-30-2011, 07:26 AM
Ah, well that certainly changes things. Having the auto failover and SAN storage is really important to me. Thanks for posting that link, Stratogen. Well, looks like Gigenet it is. Anything else I should know about Gigenet (or anything else) before I pull the trigger?
Posted by dediserve, 09-30-2011, 12:17 PM
Shop around, you can get what you are specifying above for around 40-50 dollars a month from reputable, SAN based clouds...
Posted by jdubatl, 09-30-2011, 08:38 PM
I looked at quite a few and I didn't see any others as highly rated that had a Windows cloud hosting at that price. Any suggestions?
Posted by zahirw, 10-01-2011, 01:16 AM
Gigenets solid, no downtime besides the occasional maintenance windows. That too, they claim 2 hrs but its seldom more than 30 mins. You're in good hands
Posted by arisythila, 10-01-2011, 08:06 PM
Out of those two I would choose Gigenet as well. There has been a bit of fluff on here about Rackspaces. Good luck and let us know how they work for you.
Posted by junodavid, 10-02-2011, 09:38 PM
My Question here would be - do you really feel that you may require a monthly bandwidth more than 135gb/month.... because 135GB bandwidth is good volume.... If not, at least for the next 1 year... you could go for rackspace and later on as your bandwidth requirements increase.. you could migrate to other providers... After all its about the money you pay and the service you get for it... also to add - are you able to fully utilize the provided services to its maximum extend... Also regarding backup services, you could avail the Jungledisk backup facility provided by rackspace... That one is pretty cool.. I use the same...
Posted by Samuraid, 10-03-2011, 05:03 PM
It is also worth mentioning: Gigenetcloud uses Xeon X5620 CPUs, at that price, you get approximately 1 CPU core guaranteed. Rackspacecloud uses Opteron 2300 series CPUs, and at 1GB, you get 1/4 of a CPU core guaranteed. If CPU power is important to you, you will likely see better performance with gigenet.

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