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We're looking for a managed host to handle our high traffic, multiple server network. We'll have multiple database servers (master and slave), load balanced web servers, cache servers, and others, as well as a data store consisting of multiple storage servers and/or NAS/SAN storage, and we want to lease all this equipment from the host. Also, we'd like management included from our host, if possible. So, we need a serious host to be able to handle this size network for us. Any recommendations for a setup of this size? We obviously want a larger, higher-end host.
Thanks.I am curious as to which database server and cache software you will be using?Any reason you prefer a larger host?We'll be using MySQL, and Memcached for object caching.We want a larger host for several reasons, primarily because we want a host with plenty of resources, experience and stability. Also someone who will allow us to grow and scale as our product does.I would suggest you check out BitPusher (sorry, no link as I'm a new member). About 3-4 months back I was looking for a new system administrator to fill my old job. BitPusher has colo space in the same datacenter and I figured I would talk to them to see if they could fill the void. They're now managing over 50 servers of ours, database pairs (primary/secondary), web servers, mail server, routers, load balancers, the works. We did have our own equipment, but BitPusher has an immaculate space with plenty of their own servers. We've actually gone as far as having them redo all of our existing wiring.
Highly suggested, it's saved me massive amounts of time and is much more cost effective than hiring a few system admins. They have a great team who are always quick to respond to any incidents no matter what the hour is.
JesseSome off the top of my head (and in no particular order):
IBM
AT&T
EDS
NaviSite
Rackspace
Savvis
OpSource
DataReturn
DataPipe
Verizon/DigexGreetings:
We're looking for a managed host to handle our high traffic, multiple server network. We'll have multiple database servers (master and slave), load balanced web servers, cache servers, and others, as well as a data store consisting of multiple storage servers and/or NAS/SAN storage, and we want to lease all this equipment from the host. Also, we'd like management included from our host, if possible. So, we need a serious host to be able to handle this size network for us. Any recommendations for a setup of this size? We obviously want a larger, higher-end host.
Thanks.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rackspace.com/">http://www.rackspace.com/</a><!-- m --> would be able to handle the above.
Thank you.Thanks for the replies everyone. Any other suggestions?Couple questions:1) Anyone know anything about Verio's managed hosting?2) Rackspace has been mentioned a couple times, but I remember hearing bad things about them several years ago (lots of porn customers, sucking up all the bandwidth, etc.) Has this changed? Are they better/more reputable now?Thanks.How long are you going to sign a contract for? That's quite a bit of setup and hardware.How long are you going to sign a contract for? That's quite a bit of setup and hardware.
We're good for at least a year. It's an existing product that we're upgrading, so we're aware of what we need, and how much it'll cost.Honestly the larger providers are not what they are cracked up to be. I have noticed smaller hosts will give you more of a personal touch. Bitpusher is a good option. Many of the larger hosts are very limited in what they will do, or accommodate you for.We're looking for a managed host to handle our high traffic, multiple server network. We'll have multiple database servers (master and slave), load balanced web servers, cache servers, and others, as well as a data store consisting of multiple storage servers and/or NAS/SAN storage, and we want to lease all this equipment from the host. Also, we'd like management included from our host, if possible. So, we need a serious host to be able to handle this size network for us. Any recommendations for a setup of this size? We obviously want a larger, higher-end host.
Thanks.
For the level of complexity you're looking for, the size of the host isn't as important as the skill-level of the host. It appears that you're looking for about 10-12 servers, and a dedicated storage resource.
For the setup, I'd recommend contacting Adam Jacobs at HJKSolutions, <!-- e --><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><!-- e --> . They're a Seattle based consulting company that does an excellent job of bootstrapping well designed, automated infrastructures. HJK doesn't do hosting, but they'll hook you up with a good host, as well a build an awesome infrastructure for you.
I'd expect a good, solid managed host who also manages applications to charge you between $7.5k and $10k/month month for a setup like this, with a setup fee between $20k and $40k, depending on the complexity of your environment, technologies used, and the amount of cleanup that would be involved fitting your current infrastructure into theirs.
Now, as for selecting a host, you don't just want a dedicated server company. Even a "managed" hosting company like Rackspace is likely to be the wrong choice. Most managed hosting companies have a pretty low bar where they draw the line, and that's often somewhere below your application, and possibly below services configuration on your servers.
What I think you'll really get the best value out of is a complex web hosting company. A good company in this realm will :
- Provide architectural guidance for your application
- Setup detailed trend analysis to help you understand scaling/growth needs and reliability concerns
- Learn how to install and setup your application, as well as build a solid understanding of your critical components.
- Own all low-level systems administration tasks (user management, storage management, hardware, network, etc)
- Provide a fixed price for systems administration up to a point, and allow you to understand where extra fees come from (for example upgrading a service would be included,configuring a new service would be hourly)
- Own the risk of your environment (you pay them the same amount of money whether they have to perform 10 hours of maintenance in a good month, or 80 hours of maintenance in a very, very bad month).I would agree.. Bitpusher is a really good option to handle your requirements..Have you checked with Bitpusher? Those guys have been doing that stuff for years. Talk to Michael Halligan, he is <!-- e --><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><!-- e --> Dan Marsh at Savvis. <!-- e --><a href="mailto
[email protected]">[email protected]</a><!-- e --> want a larger host for several reasons, primarily because we want a host with plenty of resources, experience and stability. Also someone who will allow us to grow and scale as our product does.
If you are insistent on a large provider I would suggest SunGuard or Unisys they are large, but still offer very custom solutions. With the larger providers a lot of the times you don't get the service that you expect and have to pay a large amount for the name. What you should really look at is how well YOU and your staff work with the company that is providing your service. Also if you are looking to save some look for a company that will manage collocation for you, this will also allow your investment to be long term while planning for the growth. We have had some very high end customers recently that collocate and then use a high end consulting company for all management. The management companies that I am speaking of are not the ones that you will find around WHT, but the ones that are local to your data center. With any management company have 24x7 support call available to you and try to get a dedicated engineer or consultant that you have his mobile number to.How many servers are you looking to lease to start out with, and what OS platform are you building this from?We'll be using MySQL, and Memcached for object caching.
We want a larger host for several reasons, primarily because we want a host with plenty of resources, experience and stability. Also someone who will allow us to grow and scale as our product does.
Are you having any issues with scaling the writes specifically in your database setup? Or is your setup primarily read like 80/20? There are a few solutions managed hosting providers can provide for scaling database's, web farms and such beyond just simple master/slave and round robin load balancing to help optimize your site that alot of the bigger providers don't and won't and won't offer you.
Thanks.I am curious as to which database server and cache software you will be using?Any reason you prefer a larger host?We'll be using MySQL, and Memcached for object caching.We want a larger host for several reasons, primarily because we want a host with plenty of resources, experience and stability. Also someone who will allow us to grow and scale as our product does.I would suggest you check out BitPusher (sorry, no link as I'm a new member). About 3-4 months back I was looking for a new system administrator to fill my old job. BitPusher has colo space in the same datacenter and I figured I would talk to them to see if they could fill the void. They're now managing over 50 servers of ours, database pairs (primary/secondary), web servers, mail server, routers, load balancers, the works. We did have our own equipment, but BitPusher has an immaculate space with plenty of their own servers. We've actually gone as far as having them redo all of our existing wiring.
Highly suggested, it's saved me massive amounts of time and is much more cost effective than hiring a few system admins. They have a great team who are always quick to respond to any incidents no matter what the hour is.
JesseSome off the top of my head (and in no particular order):
IBM
AT&T
EDS
NaviSite
Rackspace
Savvis
OpSource
DataReturn
DataPipe
Verizon/DigexGreetings:
We're looking for a managed host to handle our high traffic, multiple server network. We'll have multiple database servers (master and slave), load balanced web servers, cache servers, and others, as well as a data store consisting of multiple storage servers and/or NAS/SAN storage, and we want to lease all this equipment from the host. Also, we'd like management included from our host, if possible. So, we need a serious host to be able to handle this size network for us. Any recommendations for a setup of this size? We obviously want a larger, higher-end host.
Thanks.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rackspace.com/">http://www.rackspace.com/</a><!-- m --> would be able to handle the above.
Thank you.Thanks for the replies everyone. Any other suggestions?Couple questions:1) Anyone know anything about Verio's managed hosting?2) Rackspace has been mentioned a couple times, but I remember hearing bad things about them several years ago (lots of porn customers, sucking up all the bandwidth, etc.) Has this changed? Are they better/more reputable now?Thanks.How long are you going to sign a contract for? That's quite a bit of setup and hardware.How long are you going to sign a contract for? That's quite a bit of setup and hardware.
We're good for at least a year. It's an existing product that we're upgrading, so we're aware of what we need, and how much it'll cost.Honestly the larger providers are not what they are cracked up to be. I have noticed smaller hosts will give you more of a personal touch. Bitpusher is a good option. Many of the larger hosts are very limited in what they will do, or accommodate you for.We're looking for a managed host to handle our high traffic, multiple server network. We'll have multiple database servers (master and slave), load balanced web servers, cache servers, and others, as well as a data store consisting of multiple storage servers and/or NAS/SAN storage, and we want to lease all this equipment from the host. Also, we'd like management included from our host, if possible. So, we need a serious host to be able to handle this size network for us. Any recommendations for a setup of this size? We obviously want a larger, higher-end host.
Thanks.
For the level of complexity you're looking for, the size of the host isn't as important as the skill-level of the host. It appears that you're looking for about 10-12 servers, and a dedicated storage resource.
For the setup, I'd recommend contacting Adam Jacobs at HJKSolutions, <!-- e --><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><!-- e --> . They're a Seattle based consulting company that does an excellent job of bootstrapping well designed, automated infrastructures. HJK doesn't do hosting, but they'll hook you up with a good host, as well a build an awesome infrastructure for you.
I'd expect a good, solid managed host who also manages applications to charge you between $7.5k and $10k/month month for a setup like this, with a setup fee between $20k and $40k, depending on the complexity of your environment, technologies used, and the amount of cleanup that would be involved fitting your current infrastructure into theirs.
Now, as for selecting a host, you don't just want a dedicated server company. Even a "managed" hosting company like Rackspace is likely to be the wrong choice. Most managed hosting companies have a pretty low bar where they draw the line, and that's often somewhere below your application, and possibly below services configuration on your servers.
What I think you'll really get the best value out of is a complex web hosting company. A good company in this realm will :
- Provide architectural guidance for your application
- Setup detailed trend analysis to help you understand scaling/growth needs and reliability concerns
- Learn how to install and setup your application, as well as build a solid understanding of your critical components.
- Own all low-level systems administration tasks (user management, storage management, hardware, network, etc)
- Provide a fixed price for systems administration up to a point, and allow you to understand where extra fees come from (for example upgrading a service would be included,configuring a new service would be hourly)
- Own the risk of your environment (you pay them the same amount of money whether they have to perform 10 hours of maintenance in a good month, or 80 hours of maintenance in a very, very bad month).I would agree.. Bitpusher is a really good option to handle your requirements..Have you checked with Bitpusher? Those guys have been doing that stuff for years. Talk to Michael Halligan, he is <!-- e --><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><!-- e --> Dan Marsh at Savvis. <!-- e --><a href="mailto
[email protected]">[email protected]</a><!-- e --> want a larger host for several reasons, primarily because we want a host with plenty of resources, experience and stability. Also someone who will allow us to grow and scale as our product does.If you are insistent on a large provider I would suggest SunGuard or Unisys they are large, but still offer very custom solutions. With the larger providers a lot of the times you don't get the service that you expect and have to pay a large amount for the name. What you should really look at is how well YOU and your staff work with the company that is providing your service. Also if you are looking to save some look for a company that will manage collocation for you, this will also allow your investment to be long term while planning for the growth. We have had some very high end customers recently that collocate and then use a high end consulting company for all management. The management companies that I am speaking of are not the ones that you will find around WHT, but the ones that are local to your data center. With any management company have 24x7 support call available to you and try to get a dedicated engineer or consultant that you have his mobile number to.How many servers are you looking to lease to start out with, and what OS platform are you building this from?We'll be using MySQL, and Memcached for object caching.
We want a larger host for several reasons, primarily because we want a host with plenty of resources, experience and stability. Also someone who will allow us to grow and scale as our product does.
Are you having any issues with scaling the writes specifically in your database setup? Or is your setup primarily read like 80/20? There are a few solutions managed hosting providers can provide for scaling database's, web farms and such beyond just simple master/slave and round robin load balancing to help optimize your site that alot of the bigger providers don't and won't and won't offer you.