Code. Rackspace Cloud hosting good option for SME?

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    Good option for SME?

    http://www.rackspacecloud.com/cloud_hosting_products/sites/pricing

    Any impressions, experience, anecdotes, reasons to use, reasons to avoid, etc…


    Ta, muchly, as per.
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    If you can handle the initial set-up yourself, (which is easy if you follow the articles on their site), Slicehost * is way cheaper and runs on the same infrastructure, (they got bought by Rackspace).

    I run everything off of mine from two of their $20 slices - one for Flickrshow and one for everything else. They are fantastic support wise too, their chat system is brilliant and has helped me out many a time, (even when my mistake was not to 'sudo').

    * (Referral link)
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    When I asked Rackspace chat support about the differences…
    Slicehost is our unmanaged service that is currently Linux only. You are given root access through SSH. Slicehost does not come with a control panel, but you are welcome to install one. Cloud sites is our managed service that supports Windows and Linux technologies and your access it through FTP. Cloud Sites comes with a great control panel that lets you manage domains, manage email accounts, view usage/activity,etc..


    I'm thinking that the Rackspace Cloud Sites might still the better option, not least due to the managed approach and the fact that the typical hosting environment comes by default - control panels, etc…. We're planning to list Rackspace as a preferred hosting partner which means we can possibly establish that the client should approach Rackspace support directly for certain support requirements.

    Going with Slicehost would (seem to) mean that we'd be the only/principle support - and we don't particularly want to make hosting support part of our provision.


    Still, I'm considering moving my own hosting over to Slicehost, particularly as I've had some less than impressive experiences in terms of customer service from my current host.
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    Yeah, I totally get having someone else look after the pain for you, but is it worth $120 a month for what will probably be feck all after the first month?

    If it is, (or it isn't your cash), then its probably a good deal, since Rackspace have a good reputation all round.
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    "or it isn't your cash"

    Bingo

    Still, I'll look into the option of going with a Slicehost-type setup and having one of the techs set up the kind of environment.
    Still, the direct support thang is a big convincer for me.

    Either way, thanks for the pointer/referral.
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    I have been hosting with Rackspace for about 6 months now after jumping ship from Mediatemple during a particularly bad period of technical problems.

    I have to say the experience has been good. I really do recommend the Rackspace Cloud.

    They had a couple of hiccups recently, but unlike most companies they are very transparent about their problems, and their support is indeed fanatical (as they describe it). Its actually a pleasure to communicate with them.
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    Agree totally with what Shealan said, been with them for over a year - expensive but well worth it.
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    Seconded over the Rackspace Cloud. Superb support, and very easy to manage. Plus, it is excellent for re-selling and actually generating cash. The fact your clients can speak direct to tec support 24/7 is invaluable.
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    Singed up for a Cloud Sites account yesterday. Had a bit of an issue signing up (some weird problem with my username, apparently) but other than that, finding it impressive so far. The control panel is definitely the best I have ever used (for hosting at least) and like others have said, the support is great. Also like the fact that you can offer white label support to your clients, which is great if you want to resell hosting services.
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    Just for the record: I set up a cloud account last week, and got the site live last night, and Rackspace really are amazing.

    The control panel/etc is superb, but the live chat support (with intelligent, technical people) is a lifesaver. I'm genuinely blown away by how good the experience is with them. Things happening instantly, stuff just working, friendly and helpful support, and no environment hiccups.

    They feel like a very open and honest company, a pleasure to work with.

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    Sounds a lot like Slicehost, (who got bought by Rackspace a while back). Absolutely excellent service.

    Case in point, I wander in and moan that Apache won't start, on a self managed box - they point out that I am forgetting to 'sudo'. There's no snarky comments or stalling, just friendly, quick service.
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    Yep, I had a problem last night that ended up being because I'd changed db settings for the admin application, but not the client, and after about twenty minutes of the both of us investigating, and me finding it was my cockup (after some prompting and log file nosing that he did) the guy says something like: 'Haha, after that much coding you start seeing double! Glad you've got it sorted.'

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