For the last month or so, I’ve been having performance problems on my web hosting provider:
- Process were (and still are) getting randomly killed for allegedly using “too much CPU.” Log file activity had entries like this:
[Wed Dec 26 19:43:04 2007] [crit] [client 67.161.90.241] (12)Cannot allocate memory: default_handler: mmap failed: /i/wunderground_dec252007.jpgDisabling some WordPress plugins made the problem “less worse.”
- It takes ~10 minutes to process three days of web site log files. If I try to process a week’s worth, the process gets killed. It’s not like I’ve had an abundance of blogging.
- Snafu with their billing. I wasn’t actually double-billed — ironically — despite receiving an invoice. They have been moderately open about it, but since my renewal term is up in a month, it makes time to consider other options.
That’s where I hope you all can come in. Do you have any recommendations on web hosting?
My basic requirements aren’t extreme:
- Apache web server
- Perl
- MySQL database
- Ssh access – or an usable control panel letting me edit .htaccess
- ~10Gb of transfer/month
- ~1.5Gb of storage
- Support for multiple domains (at least 5)
- Support for multiple email addresses (at least 20)
- Technical support knows more about their systems than I do
Very nice to have:
- Php enabled on the web server
- Python
- Support for subdomains
- Technical support is reachable by phone — For most of the issues, email works out better, but if the server melts down, I want to talk with someone with a clue. Now.
Dreamhost’s plan includes all of the above for $20/month, thus it seems reasonable. I wouldn’t be averse to paying more if there was a substantial benefit. As a fall-back, I could use Amazon’s EC2, but it’s overkill for a J-list blogger like myself.
I noticed you do require a perl (my guess is that you are doing a heavy cronjob with it), if that is the case, likely most shared hosting providers will have to turn down your heavy cron. If that is the case, you might want to consider moving up to a small VPS that has a dedicated slice of resources for you.
Hope that helps.
mediatemple.net
I use http://www.totalchoicehosting.com and http://www.modhost.com. I have no clue if either meet all your requirements but both are cheap with excellent customer service. The modhost folks are a smidge better.
Hmmm, I just host my personal website myself on my own PC (since I have DSL and a static IP – something that you can’t get with cable).
I’ve used Pair (dot com) for years without any hiccups. A little more expensive than many but if you want fast and reliable they are great.