[Hidden-tech] Alternative to SiteGround?

Wed Mar 24 15:39:47 UTC 2021

I try not to give Jeff Bezos even one more dime, so will likely never 
wind up on AWS. Amazon's reach into the household with their live mics 
on the smart speaker freaks me out (I mean, hasn't ANYONE read 1984?). 
One hundred percent it's mining your conversations for marketing info. I 
just don't trust him or his products.

If I had a lot of sites and needed to consolidate, I would find an 
inexpensive colo company who, if they sell out, will be sold to another 
colo company who probably will not interfere with the server you're 
leasing. Once you have your own box out there, you are free to do 
whatever you want with it. And if it's big enough you can build a 
semi-cloud inside via virtual networks and shared drives, if need be.

My associate who helps me with higher-end server issues uses 
https://www.colocrossing.com/ <https://www.colocrossing.com/> and swears 
by them. They have eight server farms located around the country. Choose 
the colocation closest to your audience; rack space size (single unit, 
half-rack, full rack); and server size.

For instance, choosing NY location, single machine space and a "bronze" 
level machine gets you some fairly powerful resources for about $120/mo, 
especially if you're on Linux etc. A machine like that could definitely 
run a few dozen thin websites. If you were to host client sites, even at 
$10/each, you'd still be making some profit... enough to possibly make 
it worth your while as a side gig.

  * https://www.colocrossing.com/colocation/new-york-city-colocation/
    <https://www.colocrossing.com/colocation/new-york-city-colocation/>
  * https://www.colocrossing.com/server/dedicated-servers/
    <https://www.colocrossing.com/server/dedicated-servers/>

Mik

Mik Muller, president
Montague WebWorks
239-R Main Street, Greenfield, MA
413-320-5336
http://MontagueWebWorks.com
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On 3/21/2021 3:49 PM, Rich at tnr via Hidden-discuss wrote:
>
> For some yes, for others no:
>
>
> I divide the web sites into 3 major categories, I am not including  
> high end commercial online businesses:
>             the likes of google and amazon, these are beyond any 
> discussion here.
>
> 1)  commercial sites with a major commitment to providing content 
> online or generating business.
>       These clearly need what Rob is describing, and are well advised 
> to have such pros on their teams.
>       We worked with such a site for over 10 years, moving from 
> dedicated multiple load-balanced web servers, database and 
> Elasticsearch search engine,
>        moving to AWS as cloud services developed -- there were teams 
> from 3 companies in this project: https://www.thomasnet.com/
>
> 2) semi-commercial, and smaller non-profit sites: these support 
> organizations with long term goals, and where commercial,
>              they don't expect the bulk of their business from the web 
> or are not revenue driven.
>      I would expect them to rely on managed hosting with security 
> features and call in consultants for setup, for maintenance and to 
> work on security.
>      When this doesn't happen, they often lose their site for various 
> reasons.  These need to hear what Rob is saying and don't drop the ball.
>     The better hosting companies can be a good choice them.
>
>      For years, I've been providing a number of local organizations 
> probono domain registration because when they do not commit the resources
>      to maintaining their web presence, esp, when the organization 
> goes through changes, they can lose their domain because they miss the 
> renewal,
>
>
> 3) The low end, or hobby, sites.  These are fits for the cheap end 
> hosting and will definitely get hit by the technology and company 
> shifts that Rob predicts.
> It takes a experienced web developer to address these changes OR one 
> becomes one fairly quickly.
> It is wise to expect such changes and keep reasonable offline (or 
> alternate cloud) backups.  Personally I have a set of local local 
> linux boxes and a drobo raid-like backup system.  But then I am 
> spinning down from decades of very hi-tech work so I'm not a good one 
> to compare to.
>
> One idea occurred to me, In looking at the hcoop group and looking at 
> how I want to address the issues with Siteground, would be an mutual 
> support coop web service.
> The hcoop is far too different from what I found I'd like to use.  I 
> am drifting toward getting a vps to run the 50 or so web  sites I have 
> and am still looking.
> My deadline is to make a choice by may/june so I can move off the SG 
> system by Dec with more control going forward included.
> Note: i am running HT lists on a AWS nano instance as well as using 
> Elasticsearch on aws for a number of sites include Shakerpedia.
> What this all means is that my budget is a bit higher than most.
> Any other suggestions or alternate ideas welcome.
>
>
> Stay well all - Rich
>
>
>
>
> On 3/21/2021 11:45 AM, Rob Laporte via Hidden-discuss wrote:
>> I anticipated years ago what has proven true: dedicated Pros like Mik 
>> and https://nubbernaut.com/ <https://nubbernaut.com/> (and I'm sure 
>> others on this list and in western MA), are required these days. 
>> Rarely do webmaster generalists have the deep tech background and 
>> dedicated time to keep up with web hosting risks these days.
>>
>> Take Care,
>>
>>
>> Rob Laporte
>>
>> Chief Business Development Officer | Founder | Chairman
>>
>> DISC - Making Websites Make Money
>>
>> 413-584-6500
>>
>> rob at 2disc.com <mailto:rob at 2disc.com> | LinkedIn 
>> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/2disc/> | 2DISC.com <https://www.2disc.com>
>>
>>
>> *NOTE:* Emails can be blocked by spam filters throughout the web. If 
>> you don’t get a reply within an expected span of time, please call.
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* Hidden-discuss <hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net> 
>> on behalf of Michael Muller via Hidden-discuss 
>> <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>
>> *Sent:* Thursday, March 18, 2021 9:44 AM
>> *To:* hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net 
>> <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Hidden-tech] Alternative to SiteGround?
>> Montague WebWorks had been using a cPanel host from 1999 til about 
>> 2004 when we switched to a VPS, then around 2010 to a slice of a 
>> cloud server. About 2015 we moved to CloudMailStore.com, based out of 
>> Michigan, leasing a Google-grade host server (12 quad cores, 192GB 
>> RAM, 1.6TB RAID HD), with four Virtual Machines, each connected via 
>> internal virtual network. Cost is about $800/mo. I know the trend 
>> these days is to lease smaller, cheaper boxes, and there are plenty 
>> of colo hosts out there that do that, but I wanted the speed of the 
>> internal virtual network and the portability of backed-up VMs under 
>> my control. To wit, last July the host server was hit by ransomware, 
>> and with the nightly VM backups, we were up and running 14 hours 
>> later as if nothing had happened. Screw those bastards.
>>
>> We have two separate machines for transactional email (virtualized) 
>> and bulk email (practically a Pentium).
>>
>> Having a VM gives you maximum flexibility to do anything you want, 
>> wherever you want, including setting up a cPanel and offering hosting 
>> to others. And if the VM is backed up every night, you have no fear 
>> of ransomware or other major disasters.
>>
>> Mik
>>
>> Mik Muller, president
>> Montague WebWorks
>> 413-320-5336
>> https://MontagueWebWorks.com  <https://MontagueWebWorks.com>
>> Powered by RocketFusion!
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
> -- 
> Rich Roth
> CEO TnR Global
>
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