Has anyone ever used <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rackspace.com/">http://www.rackspace.com/</a><!-- m --> ?
I have been looking at them for managed dedicated hosting. I love some input on the company.WHT is hosted there! If that tells you anything useful.WHT is hosted there! If that tells you anything useful.
Yes it does. The price is higher then I wanted to go and they are talking about something like called a "rack" and I have no idea what that is. Do you?Yes it does. The price is higher then I wanted to go and they are talking about something like called a "rack" and I have no idea what that is. Do you?
I'm not a big colocation person, in regards to racks and whatnot. Let the remainder of the hosting community clue you in.I'm not a big colocation person, in regards to racks and whatnot. Let the remainder of the hosting community clue you in.
PLEASE PLEASE Someone clue me in, what is a colocation???
:blush:
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I found <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colocation">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colocation</a><!-- m --> - can someone please put this in simple terms for me??Colocation is like something where you buy your own hardware and servers and all that jazz and then send it or drive down to their facility to have it hooked up. If you are not into some serious hosting, ie own your business or running something pretty large. Or just have the money to spend and your own pride in owning your own hardware then your best bet is a simple dedicated server. If you use cpanel I think psm would help cut your costs dramatically from web hosts trying to earn that extra buck because they say "fully managed server" heck for $29 for a fully managed cpanel server, you couldn't really ask for more. If you are looking for offers try checking out the forums dedicated server off area and or try some other forums to make requests since they are not allowed here, maybe hosthideout.com?Here are some definitons for Colocation:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1B2GGGL_jaJP203JP203&q=define%3Acolocation&btnG=SearchAnd for Rack:http://datacenter.5points.net/datacenter/support/glossary/Rack - a structure used to securely hold servers at data centers. A standard height measure for servers is a rack unit. A unit (or "U") is 1-3/4" tall. There are 42 units in a rack.
Colocation is like something where you buy your own hardware and servers and all that jazz and then send it or drive down to their facility to have it hooked up. If you are not into some serious hosting, ie own your business or running something pretty large. Or just have the money to spend and your own pride in owning your own hardware then your best bet is a simple dedicated server. If you use cpanel I think psm would help cut your costs dramatically from web hosts trying to earn that extra buck because they say "fully managed server" heck for $29 for a fully managed cpanel server, you couldn't really ask for more. If you are looking for offers try checking out the forums dedicated server off area and or try some other forums to make requests since they are not allowed here, maybe hosthideout.com?
Thank you I will check it out. I have been trying to hit as many different forums as I can to get information.Greetings:
If you don't use any control panel, Rackspace.com can be awesome.
If you use an automation system or a control panel, then it can vary based on what automation system.
Even so, the Rackspace.com network is among the very best in terms of up time; and even when there are support mistakes (mainly with automation and control panel systems), give them a call on the phone, and they are there for you.
Thank you.Greetings:
If you don't use any control panel, Rackspace.com can be awesome.
If you use an automation system or a control panel, then it can vary based on what automation system.
Even so, the Rackspace.com network is among the very best in terms of up time; and even when there are support mistakes (mainly with automation and control panel systems), give them a call on the phone, and they are there for you.
Thank you.
They said for software when giving me a quote: SWsoft Plesk. Any thoughts on it?I used to be at Rackspace (2 servers). I really liked the support althought it seemed to go off a little over my time with them. Once we figured out how to setup our servers we left Rackspace and went to Godaddy and now have 8 servers for the same price BUT support is useless.I used to be at Rackspace (2 servers). I really liked the support althought it seemed to go off a little over my time with them.
Once we figured out how to setup our servers we left Rackspace and went to Godaddy and now have 8 servers for the same price BUT support is useless.
Thank you for your input. However I have a question. When I was talking to the sales guy he told how my site would load faster due to their network type which honestly I did not understand.
Did you find site loading time faster with Rackspace? I have a lot of graphics on my site and need the faster loading.
thanksHorse crud on loading faster. ANY datacenter with a well set up network and fast servers will load quickly.
High speed loading will be a function of:
- Quality network providers feeding the DC with large capacity lines
- A well set up and maintained network inside the DC
- High powered servers
And you can and will get these features anywhere. You simply need to shop around.Greetings:
"ANY datacenter with a well set up network and fast servers will load quickly."
True with a lot of if statements.
Rackspace.com has time tested, among the best networks around (please note we don't host with Rackspace.com, and have zero financial interest with them; and in some areas compete against them -- but credit where credit is due).
There are data centers out there which do not have the historical record of Rackspace.com in terms of network uptime, network performance, and the ability to get a knowledgeable human being 24x7x365 via the phone.
While we've had to take a number of measures to ensure they don't kill H-Sphere-based servers due to their lack of knowledge of H-Sphere, their network is among the top 10 (if not top 5), and get them involved on something, and they will work through it.
They are not a fly-by-night operation, and they are built to handle from the one person business start ups to major financial institutions.
Thank you.Horse crud on loading faster. ANY datacenter with a well set up network and fast servers will load quickly.
High speed loading will be a function of:
- Quality network providers feeding the DC with large capacity lines
- A well set up and maintained network inside the DC
- High powered servers
And you can and will get these features anywhere. You simply need to shop around.
I disagree; Rackspace, with several upstream providers and using Internap's FCP route optimization, probably will offer better routes and slightly faster loading than your run of the mill hosting provider with less providers and not doing route optimization. The question is if it's noticeable enough to the enduser and worth it to the OP; there's a difference between "faster" and "fast enough". If you want the fastest load times you'll need to look to a CDN anyways. Even an inexpensive CDN (PantherExpress is currently my favorite of the ones I've evaluated, and starts at only $55/mbps for no commit) is going to offer faster performance across the board to a geographically diverse set of end users than any provider in a single location, no matter which upstreams and route optimization they employ.Greetings:
"ANY datacenter with a well set up network and fast servers will load quickly."
True with a lot of if statements.
Rackspace.com has time tested, among the best networks around (please note we don't host with Rackspace.com, and have zero financial interest with them; and in some areas compete against them -- but credit where credit is due).
There are data centers out there which do not have the historical record of Rackspace.com in terms of network uptime, network performance, and the ability to get a knowledgeable human being 24x7x365 via the phone.
While we've had to take a number of measures to ensure they don't kill H-Sphere-based servers due to their lack of knowledge of H-Sphere, their network is among the top 10 (if not top 5), and get them involved on something, and they will work through it.
They are not a fly-by-night operation, and they are built to handle from the one person business start ups to major financial institutions.
Thank you.
And that what I want, something in the top 10 (or 5). I have great hope my great great great grand-daughter will be running my company long after I am gone.
I think I am pretty much decided. I have a few things left to check out but petty much there.
So ... I want to thank everyone for all there input. It has meant a great deal to get help.My main site is full of pictures and I do not see any difference between my old rackspace servers and my new godaddy servers. (and we have about the same level of server). Alexa rates us as fast!Has anyone ever used <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rackspace.com/">http://www.rackspace.com/</a><!-- m --> ?
I have been looking at them for managed dedicated hosting. I love some input on the company.
I recently had to deal with their support and I was not impressed. One company that is doing well in this arena is <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://bitpusher.com/">http://bitpusher.com/</a><!-- m --> Give them a call.could you provide more detail about why you weren't impressed?I recently had to deal with their support and I was not impressed.
yes Steven....give us an update...I'm curious
owmMy main site is full of pictures and I do not see any difference between my old rackspace servers and my new godaddy servers. (and we have about the same level of server). Alexa rates us as fast!
GoDaddy was one of my first stops but I didn't see full managed hosting plus I read a lot of different forums their control panel freezes up.I recently had to deal with their support and I was not impressed. One company that is doing well in this arena is <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://bitpusher.com/">http://bitpusher.com/</a><!-- m --> Give them a call.
I would like to know to, why where you not impressed.Kimber I think you should go with RackSpace
Kimber I think you should go with RackSpace
I picked someone yesterday after getting all the quotes and contacts (which was a lot of reading) from everyone but I am not saying who till I am finished what is going moved and who is going to own what. I have some people wanting to buy a few of my sites and they might want to stay on the server I have now due to cheaper price or I might leave a few sites on my old server and pay someone to run them.
A lot is still up in the air and I don't want to jinx myself. This is a major big move for my corporation and I am past the æ˜ill I move?to "what will I move" and "who will own what" and MOSTLY ?What will go wrong!
Once everyone the ink dry on all the contracts I will post who I picked and why. I will tell you a lot came down to who did not get annoyed when I asked very stupid questions on the phone. How fast my email got answered and who took the time to check back in with me five minutes before my office closed to see if I had any questions before the end of the day. I have half a notebook full not notes I made on company while on the phone with them. I even called some pretending to be a different person to see if I got the same answers twice.
I am working on hiring a migration company now.Anyone interested in details pm me as explaining in on the board would be considered self promotion.I picked someone yesterday after getting all the quotes and contacts (which was a lot of reading) from everyone but I am not saying who till I am finished what is going moved and who is going to own what. I have some people wanting to buy a few of my sites and they might want to stay on the server I have now due to cheaper price or I might leave a few sites on my old server and pay someone to run them.
A lot is still up in the air and I don't want to jinx myself. This is a major big move for my corporation and I am past the “will I move†to "what will I move" and "who will own what" and MOSTLY – What will go wrong!
Once everyone the ink dry on all the contracts I will post who I picked and why. I will tell you a lot came down to who did not get annoyed when I asked very stupid questions on the phone. How fast my email got answered and who took the time to check back in with me five minutes before my office closed to see if I had any questions before the end of the day. I have half a notebook full not notes I made on company while on the phone with them. I even called some pretending to be a different person to see if I got the same answers twice.
I am working on hiring a migration company now.
Gotcha. Well Kimber I must say you are certainly a worker who does their homework. Impressive. I'd say give psm a try. They are excellent Have you ever though about calling them? Anyhow, give them a shot and :stickout: Enjoy your weekend!
Anyone interested in details pm me as explaining in on the board would be considered self promotion.
WHT themself does not need this, they are already alerted with self promoted pm's.Gotcha. Well Kimber I must say you are certainly a worker who does their homework. Impressive. I'd say give psm a try. They are excellent Have you ever though about calling them? Anyhow, give them a shot and Enjoy your weekend!PSM offers a good value, I guess, but they do NOT compare to Rackspace. Not that Rackspace is good either, but these two companies are in completely different leagues.WHT themself does not need this, they are already alerted with self promoted pm's. I don't think that's what he had in mind...Rackspace are a waste of time IMO. It is blooming impossible to get a quote off them, when they do phone you they ring for 0.00003 of a second as so you can't answer the phone. Personally I think you would be better off with a smaller host that will provide you with a better service. Not some giant marketing machine.Rackspace are a waste of time IMO. It is blooming impossible to get a quote off them, when they do phone you they ring for 0.00003 of a second as so you can't answer the phone.
Personally I think you would be better off with a smaller host that will provide you with a better service. Not some giant marketing machine.
Sorry to hear that. I had three companies send me contracts to review with a quote and RS got their's to me first plus called back twice just to check in if I needed anything. And I made everyone send me full contract so I can review the legal junk frist.PSM offers a good value, I guess, but they do NOT compare to Rackspace. Not that Rackspace is good either, but these two companies are in completely different leagues.
You don't think I know this already?
PSM rules rackspace, PSM actually cares of their clients, no matter the size they are. Remember the only advantage RackSpace is, they have their own datacenter but thats a whole different subject. PSM rules :agree:
I don't think that's what he had in mind...
No? Well if thats the case he can make a reply to my reply towards him. K
Sorry to hear that. I had three companies send me contracts to review with a quote and RS got their's to me first plus called back twice just to check in if I needed anything. And I made everyone send me full contract so I can review the legal junk frist.
Very smart move. I can't wait till I know who you choose, hopefully they are good because girl you did your homework A+ for today, take it home and get your parents to sign it and bring it back for 5+ extra credit points Kimber. :agree:You don't think I know this already?
PSM rules rackspace, PSM actually cares of their clients, no matter the size they are. Remember the only advantage RackSpace is, they have their own datacenter but thats a whole different subject. PSM rules :agree:
No? Well if thats the case he can make a reply to my reply towards him. K
Very smart move. I can't wait till I know who you choose, hopefully they are good because girl you did your homework A+ for today, take it home and get your parents to sign it and bring it back for 5+ extra credit points Kimber. :agree:
Thank you for the homework comment. Honestly, I pull about 60,000.00 year at home working on my laptop from my sofa and I have no college training at all. I just started reading computer books back when Windows 3.1 was amazing everyone and after all these years of hard work, I can't afford to loose everything because I did not do my homework. Because Homework is what got me to being a work at home on my own hours lifestyle. Don't take me wrong, I have to work a lot of hours to keep the money coming in but it nice to decide in the morning if you are going to work that morning or if you going to veg on Farscape DVD's all day.You don't think I know this already?
PSM rules rackspace, PSM actually cares of their clients, no matter the size they are. Remember the only advantage RackSpace is, they have their own datacenter but thats a whole different subject. PSM rules :agree:
No? Well if thats the case he can make a reply to my reply towards him. K
Very smart move. I can't wait till I know who you choose, hopefully they are good because girl you did your homework A+ for today, take it home and get your parents to sign it and bring it back for 5+ extra credit points Kimber. :agree:
Have you ever even used Rackspace?We used Rackspace a year or so back and I have never worked with a better company as far as support and sales. They followed through and the support was great. Network is rock solid. I really have a hard time with hearing the whole "rackspace 's only advantage is they own the datacenter" by someone else. Are you speaking from actual experience or are you just being political?I think if you want to put money in the business then RackSpace is the way to go for fully managed.PSM offers a good value, I guess, but they do NOT compare to Rackspace. Not that Rackspace is good either, but these two companies are in completely different leagues. Um... what? Can you enlighten us as to what you base your bold comment above upon? I think three Microsoft Hosting Partner of the Year awards along with several Redhat awards and MySQL reader's awards means something. I think three top finishes in the American Business Awards service category means something.This afternoon, I called Rackspace because my client's web app was down even though we hadn't changed anything and it didn't appear to be hacked. I had a tech on the line within 30 seconds. He sat on the phone with me for an hour, tracked down the reason the app was borked (corrupted DB tables -- partly my fault), checked the disk integrity, fixed the database for me, and even optimized it. Expensive, but 100% worthwhile.IMO the only negative point which rackspace have is that they do 24 month contract ... there is no month to month contracts ... i had to a lease servers for my clients .. contact rackspace but due to this restriction didn't select them ..Greetings:
Keep in mind, typically length of contracts are negotiable; and sometimes even more so than the monthly price.
Thank you.I contacted Rackspace some time ago and I can tell you their sales department is awful. On live chat the sales rep wouldn't tell me anything, but insisted he called me (why have live chat?!). After calling me I gave him the specifics of what I wanted and he gave me a rough price, and said he's call back the next day and that a month to month contract would be possible
The next day he called me back with something completely different, insisting I took things I didn't want and with a much higher price. I gave him some corrections (to get rid of things!) And the next day someone else called me back, with a price still higher.
I let him send me a PDF quote, which I got the following day. The quote had a still higher price and was the first instance I was told about a HUGE setup fee (probably commission for both sales reps, who couldn't answer the simplest of questions for me) and was also informed of the 12 month contract I was told I wouldn't have to take. The quote had a section where one of the sales reps listed what I needed out of the service and it was the opposite of what I had informed both of the techs!
The next day, although they were supposed to, they didn't phone me. I guess I was glad in a way. Now I use LiquidWeb instead, very happyI contacted Rackspace some time ago and I can tell you their sales department is awful. On live chat the sales rep wouldn't tell me anything, but insisted he called me (why have live chat?!). After calling me I gave him the specifics of what I wanted and he gave me a rough price, and said he's call back the next day and that a month to month contract would be possibleThe next day he called me back with something completely different, insisting I took things I didn't want and with a much higher price. I gave him some corrections (to get rid of things!) And the next day someone else called me back, with a price still higher. I let him send me a PDF quote, which I got the following day. The quote had a still higher price and was the first instance I was told about a HUGE setup fee (probably commission for both sales reps, who couldn't answer the simplest of questions for me) and was also informed of the 12 month contract I was told I wouldn't have to take. The quote had a section where one of the sales reps listed what I needed out of the service and it was the opposite of what I had informed both of the techs!The next day, although they were supposed to, they didn't phone me. I guess I was glad in a way. Now I use LiquidWeb instead, very happy Some clarification for you. The folks that you chat with are NOT sales people. They are like a concierge at a hotel. Their job is to identify potential customers and get their contact info to the proper sales person. They are NOT supposed to give you detailed prices. Rackspace has a very specific sales process that requires that you TALK to a customer. There are different sales teams that focus on different customer sizes and types. If you just want price, you don't understand what Rackspace has to offer. There are lots of companies that sell cheap servers, Rackspace is not one of them. Sometimes people slam the chat reps for prices and they spit out numbers that are very general and are NOT the whole story. Once you factor in o/s licensing, firewalls, backups, etc. prices are quite different than originally stated. So, if you are in a hurry and care only about spending as little as possible, look elsewhere. The chat reps are there to qualify leads, not to generate quotes. Rackspace is all about service and consultative selling, not pricing out speeds and feeds. You can't please all of the people all of the time, right? Hi Mitra,Thanks for jumping to conclusions. Let me help you a bit:Some clarification for you. The folks that you chat with are NOT sales people. They are like a concierge at a hotel. Their job is to identify potential customers and get their contact info to the proper sales person. They are NOT supposed to give you detailed prices.>> That's news to me, and anyway it was the person I spoke to on live chat who called me to discuss things.There are lots of companies that sell cheap servers, Rackspace is not one of them.>> Really?!Once you factor in o/s licensing, firewalls, backups, etc. prices are quite different than originally stated. >> I wanted a free OS, no firewall and I make my own backups. Nonetheless they tried to sell me all of the above and despite quite clearly stating I didn't need or want any of the above, they included it in the quote after the 2 phone calls!So, if you are in a hurry and care only about spending as little as possible, look elsewhere.>> I'd have bought from LayeredTech if I wanted a cheap server. I was looking for something else which is why I contacted them for a quote.You can't please all of the people all of the time, right?>> Believe me, I'm not difficult to please when it comes to a single server. I've been VERY happy with HiVelocity, LayeredTech, RapidVPS, Futurehosting, A2B2, LiquidWeb and eApps.>> I'd have bought from LayeredTech if I wanted a cheap server. I was looking for something else which is why I contacted them for a quote.<<If you only wanted a free o/s (Redhat I assume), no firewall or backups, what did you want from Rackspace that the other providers you mentioned can't provide? You can't please all of the people all of the time, right?>> Believe me, I'm not difficult to please when it comes to a single server. I've been VERY happy with HiVelocity, LayeredTech, RapidVPS, Futurehosting, A2B2, LiquidWeb and eApps.[/quote]None of these companies are in the same business category as Rackspace. People around here will try to tell you that they are the same, and they are simply wrong. Dedicated servers, dedicated network gear, enterprise servers and processes that are required by large companies or other companies that require industry accepted standards for change control, data security, certifications, national recognition and awards (not stuff like the popular "TopHosts" awards that anyone can get). Lots of folks around here have said that if you want a better price at Rackspace, call back and get a different sales rep. Perhaps the person you worked with is new and there are other folks that could meet your needs better?Lots of folks around here have said that if you want a better price at Rackspace, call back and get a different sales rep. Perhaps the person you worked with is new and there are other folks that could meet your needs better?>> I spoke to 2 people from Rackspace (it may be worth stating, Rackspace UK). Besides that I don't believe I was ever given a telephone number.None of these companies are in the same business category as Rackspace.>> LiquidWeb and eApps come close.If you only wanted a free o/s (Redhat I assume)>> Yesno firewall>> Yesor backups>> Why would I let my provider make backups for me?! I bet term number 1000 in their TOS has something like "we are not responsible for backups..." I prefer to make my own backups.what did you want from Rackspace that the other providers you mentioned can't provide?>> That doesn't matter any more, but I made is very clear to both sales people.Whats the point to offer 24 months contract .. when you can negotiate it to month to month contract .. I agree VT6 the same person which was on live chat called me too .. What i think that not mentioning the prices on the website by rackspace is that they can give same type of service to different client at different cost ..I agree rackspace is one of the best but you can get cheaper price if you compare with different provider .. one of my friend have few servers with peer1.com and the prices are cheaper then rackspace and he is happy with them too .>> Why would I let my provider make backups for me?! I bet term number 1000 in their TOS has something like "we are not responsible for backups..." I prefer to make my own backups. Actually, Rackspace has a fully managed backup service where they provide weekly fulls and daily differentials. Backups should be expected from hosting providers, they should not be an exception. It sounds like you simply worked with a new or average salesperson... this is the luck of the draw that every potential customer has to deal with with any provider.Whats the point to offer 24 months contract .. when you can negotiate it to month to month contract Month-to-month contracts are for small businesses and small providers that are simplu afraid of financial commitment. Or, they don't yet have the consistent revenue stream needed to support a real business relationship. Most businesses leverage long-term contracts to lower prices. If you lease a car for 12 months versus 24, the price will be much lower... you should never expect a month-to-month price to be similar to a legitimate contract price. Why would any business go with a month-to-month contract other than to avoid getting tied up in a term that the business can't support? Solid hosting providers have SLA's and contracts that let customers out if the provider fails to meet it's contraftual obligations.Mitra,May I ask if you work for Rackspace? You seem heavily biased in their favour and have gone from putting Rackspace on a pedastal alone to grouping it with other companies, refuting what I would call logic and poking holes in what is my personal opinion all to safeguard the reputation of this company.Why would any business go with a month-to-month contract other than to avoid getting tied up in a term that the business can't support?>> To avoid huge losses should a new venture fall through, to allow moving to another company should the provider's service slump, as happens with most in the hosting industry, for something which won't last 2 years, the list really does go on.If I'm totally honest with you, the sales people at most companies aren't great, however I do expect the person working on my quote to listen to and understand what I'm saying which unfortunately isn't Rackspace. Considering I spoke to 2 people from Rackspace and they were both lacking fundamental skills I was pleased not to hear from them. The smaller companies such as RapidVPS tend to have the best sales departments since they are handled by the same people who do support, and have the indepth knowledge and can answer questions regarding the service. Rackspace sales people didn't know what ECC RAM was.<<May I ask if you work for Rackspace?>>Yes, you may ask. And yes, I do. <<Why would any business go with a month-to-month contract other than to avoid getting tied up in a term that the business can't support?>> To avoid huge losses should a new venture fall through, to allow moving to another company should the provider's service slump, as happens with most in the hosting industry, for something which won't last 2 years, the list really does go on.>>As I said before, SLA's exist to protect customers. If a "provider's service slumps" the SLA should cover you.<<The smaller companies such as RapidVPS tend to have the best sales departments since they are handled by the same people who do support, and have the indepth knowledge and can answer questions regarding the service. Rackspace sales people didn't know what ECC RAM was.>>Does it matter if the rep knows or cares about ECC RAM? Personally, I actually see this this as a potential problem. It is the sign of a small company. What happens if a salesperson/support tech is at the end of the month and is short of his number, while at the same time technical problems occur? Salesperson's gotta eat, so he's going to focus on closing deals that put money in the bank before dealing with an upset customer. Or, he's going to work on a tech problem and let his commission slip away. It's something that many small companies go through, and when they grow they eventually separate sales roles from support roles. Not a bad thing, just a matter of scalability. And please remember, Rackspace is all about providing customer service, not simply selling hardware, speeds and feeds. If you want to talk about ECC memory you probably don't need to be shopping so far up market. Sure, it is nice to be able to talk to a tech during the sales process. But how does that model scale as the company gets more customers? And, if you want to talk to someone technical at Rackspace, just ask. Ask the sales rep to get an engineer on the phone. There is a team of folks ready to take customer questions. Does it matter if the rep knows or cares about ECC RAM?>> Without doubt, yes. I wanted to make sure I got some with my server. I didn't want Rackspace just for that, but it's something I wanted to make sure I got.As I said before, SLA's exist to protect customers. If a "provider's service slumps" the SLA should cover you.>> What about the other cases? It is also leaving the provider in control to an extent.It is the sign of a small company. What happens if a salesperson/support tech is at the end of the month and is short of his number, while at the same time technical problems occur?>> Financial stability has little to do with size. Before I buy from hosting providers I do ask if they have significant debts and so forth, and RapidVPS as my previous example seemed perfect.And please remember, Rackspace is all about providing customer service, not simply selling hardware, speeds and feeds.>> Sure, but I still need the hardware, speeds and feeds.If you want to talk about ECC memory you probably don't need to be shopping so far up market.>> I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. If I want to make sure I get good hardware I should go to LayeredTech? Rackspace is for people who don't know anything about servers? Easy customers only?Sure, it is nice to be able to talk to a tech during the sales process. >> Sorry, I wouldn't know since I wasn't offered that opportunity.And, if you want to talk to someone technical at Rackspace, just ask.>> I given the impression that the support team were only available after purchase.<<May I ask if you work for Rackspace?>>Yes, you may ask. And yes, I do. What i think that reviews are valid from actual customers not employees .. company team member always say's that we are the bestWhat i think that reviews are valid from actual customers not employees .. company team member always say's that we are the bestI would say that it depends on the company and on their employees.But FYI I'm a customer of Rackspace for enough time to know what they mean by fanatical support.They are a very good hosting company. I have tried many since 6 years and I can say this company is quite unique. I don't know if they love their job as much as I do (I do love my job) but their support is just awesome. Any day, any time.I wish anyone involved in developing, designing, managing commercial websites to work with a company that supports you like Rackspace does.Just my 2 cents.GregoryI would say that it depends on the company
And by that I gather you mean Rackspace is fine since they sponsor WHT.<<May I ask if you work for Rackspace?>>Yes, you may ask. And yes, I do. <<Why would any business go with a month-to-month contract other than to avoid getting tied up in a term that the business can't support?>> To avoid huge losses should a new venture fall through, to allow moving to another company should the provider's service slump, as happens with most in the hosting industry, for something which won't last 2 years, the list really does go on.>> As I said before, SLA's exist to protect customers. If a "provider's service slumps" the SLA should cover you. <<The smaller companies such as RapidVPS tend to have the best sales departments since they are handled by the same people who do support, and have the indepth knowledge and can answer questions regarding the service. Rackspace sales people didn't know what ECC RAM was.>> Does it matter if the rep knows or cares about ECC RAM? Personally, I actually see this this as a potential problem. It is the sign of a small company. What happens if a salesperson/support tech is at the end of the month and is short of his number, while at the same time technical problems occur? Salesperson's gotta eat, so he's going to focus on closing deals that put money in the bank before dealing with an upset customer. Or, he's going to work on a tech problem and let his commission slip away. It's something that many small companies go through, and when they grow they eventually separate sales roles from support roles. Not a bad thing, just a matter of scalability. And please remember, Rackspace is all about providing customer service, not simply selling hardware, speeds and feeds. If you want to talk about ECC memory you probably don't need to be shopping so far up market. Sure, it is nice to be able to talk to a tech during the sales process. But how does that model scale as the company gets more customers? And, if you want to talk to someone technical at Rackspace, just ask. Ask the sales rep to get an engineer on the phone. There is a team of folks ready to take customer questions. I would like to add my personnal experience... First, I am a happy customer of Rackspace UK since a year now and well... already 7 servers.... 1) Long contract terms: I do agree that Rackspace is an investment that cannot be measured in a period of a month or even a few months... But I do agree signing up for long term contracts give you better deals, normal... 2) The sales rep did not know about ECC memory ? Well OK and so ??? During this year I had frequent contacts with my BDC and god knows we asked him anything and everything !! Did he know all ? For sure no and this is not his job but at each time he did not know he put a Tech on the line... Fair enough... 3) Now I saw earlier a post about pricing and peer1, I can talk about both Rackspace and peer1 since I am a rackspace client and I was a peer1 client: Reboot / Boot (if server does not respond) request sent to peer1: reboot done with 40 to 60 minuts, YES !Reboot / Boot (if server does not respond) request sent to Rackspace?: within the next few seconds, with or without ticket (if you call them)... Does it worth the price ??? Well if you can stand being down for an hour waiting for your server to be booted no it does not worth the price but if like our business you need to be as fast as possible back online after an outage, yes iit does... I think that every people should check their goals before contacting any companies..+1 for rackspace. Very nice support and uptime.I'm having a lot of problems dealing with Rackspace right now. It seems that they do not want to deal with handicapped persons. They are giving me a hard time about trying to converse via email or chat instead of over the phone. They even told me that I should have someone else call for me. This does not seem to be fanatical support. If Rackspace is discriminating against me prior to the sale, I can just imagine how un-fanatical thier support will be later on. I will give Rackspace another chance, see if they can get thier stuff together, but so far, Rackspace sucks!I've definitely heard good things about Rackspace, although I've never been a customer.+1 for Rackspace here too.I'm having a lot of problems dealing with Rackspace right now. It seems that they do not want to deal with handicapped persons. They are giving me a hard time about trying to converse via email or chat instead of over the phone. They even told me that I should have someone else call for me. This does not seem to be fanatical support. If Rackspace is discriminating against me prior to the sale, I can just imagine how un-fanatical thier support will be later on. I will give Rackspace another chance, see if they can get thier stuff together, but so far, Rackspace sucks!This is third thread I've found that you've posted this topic in. I work for Rackspace and I've offered to help if help is needed. That was about ten hours ago. I've not yet received a PM with your information. Please contact me if you still require assistance.Month-to-month contracts are for small businesses and small providers that are simplu afraid of financial commitment. Or, they don't yet have the consistent revenue stream needed to support a real business relationship...Or they don't quite believe the hype about the provider they are testing. Saying a month-to-month contract is only for small businesses or those who "are afraid of finanacial commitement" is just plain wrong. There has to be a testing period for dedicated servers, especially if you're getting in to a really specific environment.When I called our business office ISP, who happen the be the fastest and best in the province, I told them I was only signing month-to-month. "But we can offer you a better price," they said. My reply to them stands also against your very naive response" Price doesn't matter right now. What matters is whether you can deliver on what's printed in your ads. Call me in four months. If I am happy, I'll sign your annual contract".Business relationships are exactly that: relationships. Everybody knows that the best relationships aren't started by one party telling the other to cough up $XXX no matter how bad things get. Yearly contracts (as opposed to optional yearly payments) just don't tend to work out in the hosting industry. It's volatile, it's ever-changing, it's too easy for a user to crash their server and try and blame the provider.If someone doesn't want to sign a monthly contract, that's their choice. They shouldn't have to be called cheap (which is what you did, in a round about way), they shouldn't have to have their company size or stability called in to question. It's their choice.SimonMonth-to-month contracts are for small businesses and small providers that are simplu afraid of financial commitment. Or, they don't yet have the consistent revenue stream needed to support a real business relationship.WOW - there is alot wrong with this statement - Simon has hit on most of the points - but, we dont sign yearly contracts with ANY vendor until we are certain that the risk of doing so is minimal - once they have proven themselves, we will sign on the dotted line in order to realize a lower monthly rate - in the interim, we will happily pay more per month until we are convinced that they are a good fit for our business.Conversely, we do not even offer yearly contracts for our services nor do we offer discounts for such terms. We assume our customers want to stay with us and our rate is our rate - why should we offer a discount for annual payments? especially when we prefer monthly revenue streams....Offering discounts for 12 or 24 month contracts makes business sense. Just like a 30-year lease on a house has lower payments than a 15-year lease. Costs need to be spread over the life of a contract. When you are just talking hardware it's easy to recover the costs in a short amount of time. Rackspace is about much more than hardware, the majority of its costs are labor/people/support. SLA's exist for a reason: If a provider fails to meet them customers have an out. Perhaps it's easy to deploy a single server solution on a month-to-month basis, and Rackspace offers month-to-month terms for all configurations... but when you talk about deploying ten servers, redundant firewalls, etc. the company has to dish out a lot of cost up front to provide the hardware. It's a different story. Each business is different. Month-to-month contracts are an option, and in my personal experience I've only seen them requested by companies on a tight budget, unsure of their future, or those that constantly price shop. Just my opinion, mind you. Each business is different. Month-to-month contracts are an option, and in my personal experience I've only seen them requested by companies on a tight budget, unsure of their future, or those that constantly price shop. Just my opinion, mind you. Well, we are certainly each entitled to our opinion - however, I can assure you that very large companies look for and only accept monthly contracts now - and especially with infrastructure. Nothing like being 12 months into a 36 or 48 month contract and needing to cough up $100k to exit it because you arent happy. SLA's are great, but, if the customer does not believe it is being met to their satisfaction and the vendor claims it is - what is the result? take them to court (VERY expensive) and hope you get a favourable ruling?Each business is different. Month-to-month contracts are an option, and in my personal experience I've only seen them requested by companies on a tight budget, unsure of their future, or those that constantly price shop. Just my opinion, mind you. We have MANY such customers with 10 or more servers, load balancers, storage arrays, firewalls, DDOS equipment, full management services, etc - and they are all on monthly contracts - the reality is, as long as the hardware is within its servicable life cycle, they can be re-used - if a customer cancels after that point, then the investment has been re-couped. It is all about how a business wants to operate - there is no requirement for longer commits and a model can be easily constructed to accomodate that.If you want to avoid low end bargain shopper types of customers, dont hit their price points. We only attract higher end customers and businesses and except for the very rare occassion, our monthly commit model has done nothing to hinder our growth and has directly related into businesses trying our services (and ultimately growing into a VERY large relationship) who would otherwise might have been hesitent to do so if the initial commit was 3 to 4 years guaranteed....I have no issue with most of what you have said - it is your experiences you are sharing and who am I or anyone else to disagree with your experiences - however, blanket statements should be avoided, as the monthly model does work quite well in this industry and my experiences show that very large customers are starting to do, and prefer to do, business this way...disclaimer - this has nothing to do with rackspace in particular - if their model works and thats how they do business, all the power to them - I am not judging whether its right or wrong or whether it is inferior or superior to other models...Well said Cartika. I again defer to SLAs. From what Ive seen of most of them out there, they have no teeth. Rackspace offers specific SLA criteria and specific remedies. There's no ambiguity. It makes SLA enforcement and/or credit requests much easier to deal with.
I have been looking at them for managed dedicated hosting. I love some input on the company.WHT is hosted there! If that tells you anything useful.WHT is hosted there! If that tells you anything useful.
Yes it does. The price is higher then I wanted to go and they are talking about something like called a "rack" and I have no idea what that is. Do you?Yes it does. The price is higher then I wanted to go and they are talking about something like called a "rack" and I have no idea what that is. Do you?
I'm not a big colocation person, in regards to racks and whatnot. Let the remainder of the hosting community clue you in.I'm not a big colocation person, in regards to racks and whatnot. Let the remainder of the hosting community clue you in.
PLEASE PLEASE Someone clue me in, what is a colocation???
:blush:
- - - -
I found <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colocation">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colocation</a><!-- m --> - can someone please put this in simple terms for me??Colocation is like something where you buy your own hardware and servers and all that jazz and then send it or drive down to their facility to have it hooked up. If you are not into some serious hosting, ie own your business or running something pretty large. Or just have the money to spend and your own pride in owning your own hardware then your best bet is a simple dedicated server. If you use cpanel I think psm would help cut your costs dramatically from web hosts trying to earn that extra buck because they say "fully managed server" heck for $29 for a fully managed cpanel server, you couldn't really ask for more. If you are looking for offers try checking out the forums dedicated server off area and or try some other forums to make requests since they are not allowed here, maybe hosthideout.com?Here are some definitons for Colocation:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1B2GGGL_jaJP203JP203&q=define%3Acolocation&btnG=SearchAnd for Rack:http://datacenter.5points.net/datacenter/support/glossary/Rack - a structure used to securely hold servers at data centers. A standard height measure for servers is a rack unit. A unit (or "U") is 1-3/4" tall. There are 42 units in a rack.
Colocation is like something where you buy your own hardware and servers and all that jazz and then send it or drive down to their facility to have it hooked up. If you are not into some serious hosting, ie own your business or running something pretty large. Or just have the money to spend and your own pride in owning your own hardware then your best bet is a simple dedicated server. If you use cpanel I think psm would help cut your costs dramatically from web hosts trying to earn that extra buck because they say "fully managed server" heck for $29 for a fully managed cpanel server, you couldn't really ask for more. If you are looking for offers try checking out the forums dedicated server off area and or try some other forums to make requests since they are not allowed here, maybe hosthideout.com?Thank you I will check it out. I have been trying to hit as many different forums as I can to get information.Greetings:
If you don't use any control panel, Rackspace.com can be awesome.
If you use an automation system or a control panel, then it can vary based on what automation system.
Even so, the Rackspace.com network is among the very best in terms of up time; and even when there are support mistakes (mainly with automation and control panel systems), give them a call on the phone, and they are there for you.
Thank you.Greetings:
If you don't use any control panel, Rackspace.com can be awesome.
If you use an automation system or a control panel, then it can vary based on what automation system.
Even so, the Rackspace.com network is among the very best in terms of up time; and even when there are support mistakes (mainly with automation and control panel systems), give them a call on the phone, and they are there for you.
Thank you.
They said for software when giving me a quote: SWsoft Plesk. Any thoughts on it?I used to be at Rackspace (2 servers). I really liked the support althought it seemed to go off a little over my time with them. Once we figured out how to setup our servers we left Rackspace and went to Godaddy and now have 8 servers for the same price BUT support is useless.I used to be at Rackspace (2 servers). I really liked the support althought it seemed to go off a little over my time with them.
Once we figured out how to setup our servers we left Rackspace and went to Godaddy and now have 8 servers for the same price BUT support is useless.
Thank you for your input. However I have a question. When I was talking to the sales guy he told how my site would load faster due to their network type which honestly I did not understand.
Did you find site loading time faster with Rackspace? I have a lot of graphics on my site and need the faster loading.
thanksHorse crud on loading faster. ANY datacenter with a well set up network and fast servers will load quickly.
High speed loading will be a function of:
- Quality network providers feeding the DC with large capacity lines
- A well set up and maintained network inside the DC
- High powered servers
And you can and will get these features anywhere. You simply need to shop around.Greetings:
"ANY datacenter with a well set up network and fast servers will load quickly."
True with a lot of if statements.
Rackspace.com has time tested, among the best networks around (please note we don't host with Rackspace.com, and have zero financial interest with them; and in some areas compete against them -- but credit where credit is due).
There are data centers out there which do not have the historical record of Rackspace.com in terms of network uptime, network performance, and the ability to get a knowledgeable human being 24x7x365 via the phone.
While we've had to take a number of measures to ensure they don't kill H-Sphere-based servers due to their lack of knowledge of H-Sphere, their network is among the top 10 (if not top 5), and get them involved on something, and they will work through it.
They are not a fly-by-night operation, and they are built to handle from the one person business start ups to major financial institutions.
Thank you.Horse crud on loading faster. ANY datacenter with a well set up network and fast servers will load quickly.
High speed loading will be a function of:
- Quality network providers feeding the DC with large capacity lines
- A well set up and maintained network inside the DC
- High powered servers
And you can and will get these features anywhere. You simply need to shop around.
I disagree; Rackspace, with several upstream providers and using Internap's FCP route optimization, probably will offer better routes and slightly faster loading than your run of the mill hosting provider with less providers and not doing route optimization. The question is if it's noticeable enough to the enduser and worth it to the OP; there's a difference between "faster" and "fast enough". If you want the fastest load times you'll need to look to a CDN anyways. Even an inexpensive CDN (PantherExpress is currently my favorite of the ones I've evaluated, and starts at only $55/mbps for no commit) is going to offer faster performance across the board to a geographically diverse set of end users than any provider in a single location, no matter which upstreams and route optimization they employ.Greetings:
"ANY datacenter with a well set up network and fast servers will load quickly."
True with a lot of if statements.
Rackspace.com has time tested, among the best networks around (please note we don't host with Rackspace.com, and have zero financial interest with them; and in some areas compete against them -- but credit where credit is due).
There are data centers out there which do not have the historical record of Rackspace.com in terms of network uptime, network performance, and the ability to get a knowledgeable human being 24x7x365 via the phone.
While we've had to take a number of measures to ensure they don't kill H-Sphere-based servers due to their lack of knowledge of H-Sphere, their network is among the top 10 (if not top 5), and get them involved on something, and they will work through it.
They are not a fly-by-night operation, and they are built to handle from the one person business start ups to major financial institutions.
Thank you.
And that what I want, something in the top 10 (or 5). I have great hope my great great great grand-daughter will be running my company long after I am gone.
I think I am pretty much decided. I have a few things left to check out but petty much there.
So ... I want to thank everyone for all there input. It has meant a great deal to get help.My main site is full of pictures and I do not see any difference between my old rackspace servers and my new godaddy servers. (and we have about the same level of server). Alexa rates us as fast!Has anyone ever used <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rackspace.com/">http://www.rackspace.com/</a><!-- m --> ?
I have been looking at them for managed dedicated hosting. I love some input on the company.
I recently had to deal with their support and I was not impressed. One company that is doing well in this arena is <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://bitpusher.com/">http://bitpusher.com/</a><!-- m --> Give them a call.could you provide more detail about why you weren't impressed?I recently had to deal with their support and I was not impressed.
yes Steven....give us an update...I'm curious
owmMy main site is full of pictures and I do not see any difference between my old rackspace servers and my new godaddy servers. (and we have about the same level of server). Alexa rates us as fast!
GoDaddy was one of my first stops but I didn't see full managed hosting plus I read a lot of different forums their control panel freezes up.I recently had to deal with their support and I was not impressed. One company that is doing well in this arena is <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://bitpusher.com/">http://bitpusher.com/</a><!-- m --> Give them a call.
I would like to know to, why where you not impressed.Kimber I think you should go with RackSpace
Kimber I think you should go with RackSpace I picked someone yesterday after getting all the quotes and contacts (which was a lot of reading) from everyone but I am not saying who till I am finished what is going moved and who is going to own what. I have some people wanting to buy a few of my sites and they might want to stay on the server I have now due to cheaper price or I might leave a few sites on my old server and pay someone to run them.
A lot is still up in the air and I don't want to jinx myself. This is a major big move for my corporation and I am past the æ˜ill I move?to "what will I move" and "who will own what" and MOSTLY ?What will go wrong!
Once everyone the ink dry on all the contracts I will post who I picked and why. I will tell you a lot came down to who did not get annoyed when I asked very stupid questions on the phone. How fast my email got answered and who took the time to check back in with me five minutes before my office closed to see if I had any questions before the end of the day. I have half a notebook full not notes I made on company while on the phone with them. I even called some pretending to be a different person to see if I got the same answers twice.
I am working on hiring a migration company now.Anyone interested in details pm me as explaining in on the board would be considered self promotion.I picked someone yesterday after getting all the quotes and contacts (which was a lot of reading) from everyone but I am not saying who till I am finished what is going moved and who is going to own what. I have some people wanting to buy a few of my sites and they might want to stay on the server I have now due to cheaper price or I might leave a few sites on my old server and pay someone to run them.
A lot is still up in the air and I don't want to jinx myself. This is a major big move for my corporation and I am past the “will I move†to "what will I move" and "who will own what" and MOSTLY – What will go wrong!
Once everyone the ink dry on all the contracts I will post who I picked and why. I will tell you a lot came down to who did not get annoyed when I asked very stupid questions on the phone. How fast my email got answered and who took the time to check back in with me five minutes before my office closed to see if I had any questions before the end of the day. I have half a notebook full not notes I made on company while on the phone with them. I even called some pretending to be a different person to see if I got the same answers twice.
I am working on hiring a migration company now.
Gotcha. Well Kimber I must say
you are certainly a worker who does their homework. Impressive. I'd say give psm a try. They are excellent Have you ever though about calling them? Anyhow, give them a shot and :stickout: Enjoy your weekend!Anyone interested in details pm me as explaining in on the board would be considered self promotion.
WHT themself does not need this, they are already alerted with self promoted pm's.
Gotcha. Well Kimber I must say you are certainly a worker who does their homework. Impressive. I'd say give psm a try. They are excellent Have you ever though about calling them? Anyhow, give them a shot and Enjoy your weekend!PSM offers a good value, I guess, but they do NOT compare to Rackspace. Not that Rackspace is good either, but these two companies are in completely different leagues.WHT themself does not need this, they are already alerted with self promoted pm's. I don't think that's what he had in mind...Rackspace are a waste of time IMO. It is blooming impossible to get a quote off them, when they do phone you they ring for 0.00003 of a second as so you can't answer the phone. Personally I think you would be better off with a smaller host that will provide you with a better service. Not some giant marketing machine.Rackspace are a waste of time IMO. It is blooming impossible to get a quote off them, when they do phone you they ring for 0.00003 of a second as so you can't answer the phone. Personally I think you would be better off with a smaller host that will provide you with a better service. Not some giant marketing machine.
Sorry to hear that. I had three companies send me contracts to review with a quote and RS got their's to me first plus called back twice just to check in if I needed anything. And I made everyone send me full contract so I can review the legal junk frist.PSM offers a good value, I guess, but they do NOT compare to Rackspace. Not that Rackspace is good either, but these two companies are in completely different leagues.
You don't think I know this already?
PSM rules rackspace, PSM actually cares of their clients, no matter the size they are. Remember the only advantage RackSpace is, they have their own datacenter but thats a whole different subject. PSM rules :agree:
I don't think that's what he had in mind...
No? Well if thats the case he can make a reply to my reply towards him. K
Sorry to hear that. I had three companies send me contracts to review with a quote and RS got their's to me first plus called back twice just to check in if I needed anything. And I made everyone send me full contract so I can review the legal junk frist.
Very smart move. I can't wait till I know who you choose, hopefully they are good because girl you did your homework
A+ for today, take it home and get your parents to sign it and bring it back for 5+ extra credit points Kimber. :agree:You don't think I know this already? PSM rules rackspace, PSM actually cares of their clients, no matter the size they are. Remember the only advantage RackSpace is, they have their own datacenter but thats a whole different subject. PSM rules :agree:
No? Well if thats the case he can make a reply to my reply towards him. K
Very smart move. I can't wait till I know who you choose, hopefully they are good because girl you did your homework
A+ for today, take it home and get your parents to sign it and bring it back for 5+ extra credit points Kimber. :agree:Thank you for the homework comment. Honestly, I pull about 60,000.00 year at home working on my laptop from my sofa and I have no college training at all. I just started reading computer books back when Windows 3.1 was amazing everyone and after all these years of hard work, I can't afford to loose everything because I did not do my homework. Because Homework is what got me to being a work at home on my own hours lifestyle. Don't take me wrong, I have to work a lot of hours to keep the money coming in but it nice to decide in the morning if you are going to work that morning or if you going to veg on Farscape DVD's all day.
You don't think I know this already? PSM rules rackspace, PSM actually cares of their clients, no matter the size they are. Remember the only advantage RackSpace is, they have their own datacenter but thats a whole different subject. PSM rules :agree:
No? Well if thats the case he can make a reply to my reply towards him. K
Very smart move. I can't wait till I know who you choose, hopefully they are good because girl you did your homework
A+ for today, take it home and get your parents to sign it and bring it back for 5+ extra credit points Kimber. :agree:Have you ever even used Rackspace?We used Rackspace a year or so back and I have never worked with a better company as far as support and sales. They followed through and the support was great. Network is rock solid. I really have a hard time with hearing the whole "rackspace 's only advantage is they own the datacenter" by someone else. Are you speaking from actual experience or are you just being political?I think if you want to put money in the business then RackSpace is the way to go for fully managed.PSM offers a good value, I guess, but they do NOT compare to Rackspace. Not that Rackspace is good either, but these two companies are in completely different leagues. Um... what? Can you enlighten us as to what you base your bold comment above upon? I think three Microsoft Hosting Partner of the Year awards along with several Redhat awards and MySQL reader's awards means something. I think three top finishes in the American Business Awards service category means something.This afternoon, I called Rackspace because my client's web app was down even though we hadn't changed anything and it didn't appear to be hacked. I had a tech on the line within 30 seconds. He sat on the phone with me for an hour, tracked down the reason the app was borked (corrupted DB tables -- partly my fault), checked the disk integrity, fixed the database for me, and even optimized it. Expensive, but 100% worthwhile.IMO the only negative point which rackspace have is that they do 24 month contract ... there is no month to month contracts ... i had to a lease servers for my clients .. contact rackspace but due to this restriction didn't select them ..Greetings:
Keep in mind, typically length of contracts are negotiable; and sometimes even more so than the monthly price.
Thank you.I contacted Rackspace some time ago and I can tell you their sales department is awful. On live chat the sales rep wouldn't tell me anything, but insisted he called me (why have live chat?!). After calling me I gave him the specifics of what I wanted and he gave me a rough price, and said he's call back the next day and that a month to month contract would be possible
The next day he called me back with something completely different, insisting I took things I didn't want and with a much higher price. I gave him some corrections (to get rid of things!) And the next day someone else called me back, with a price still higher.
I let him send me a PDF quote, which I got the following day. The quote had a still higher price and was the first instance I was told about a HUGE setup fee (probably commission for both sales reps, who couldn't answer the simplest of questions for me) and was also informed of the 12 month contract I was told I wouldn't have to take. The quote had a section where one of the sales reps listed what I needed out of the service and it was the opposite of what I had informed both of the techs!
The next day, although they were supposed to, they didn't phone me. I guess I was glad in a way. Now I use LiquidWeb instead, very happy
I contacted Rackspace some time ago and I can tell you their sales department is awful. On live chat the sales rep wouldn't tell me anything, but insisted he called me (why have live chat?!). After calling me I gave him the specifics of what I wanted and he gave me a rough price, and said he's call back the next day and that a month to month contract would be possibleThe next day he called me back with something completely different, insisting I took things I didn't want and with a much higher price. I gave him some corrections (to get rid of things!) And the next day someone else called me back, with a price still higher. I let him send me a PDF quote, which I got the following day. The quote had a still higher price and was the first instance I was told about a HUGE setup fee (probably commission for both sales reps, who couldn't answer the simplest of questions for me) and was also informed of the 12 month contract I was told I wouldn't have to take. The quote had a section where one of the sales reps listed what I needed out of the service and it was the opposite of what I had informed both of the techs!The next day, although they were supposed to, they didn't phone me. I guess I was glad in a way. Now I use LiquidWeb instead, very happy Some clarification for you. The folks that you chat with are NOT sales people. They are like a concierge at a hotel. Their job is to identify potential customers and get their contact info to the proper sales person. They are NOT supposed to give you detailed prices. Rackspace has a very specific sales process that requires that you TALK to a customer. There are different sales teams that focus on different customer sizes and types. If you just want price, you don't understand what Rackspace has to offer. There are lots of companies that sell cheap servers, Rackspace is not one of them. Sometimes people slam the chat reps for prices and they spit out numbers that are very general and are NOT the whole story. Once you factor in o/s licensing, firewalls, backups, etc. prices are quite different than originally stated. So, if you are in a hurry and care only about spending as little as possible, look elsewhere. The chat reps are there to qualify leads, not to generate quotes. Rackspace is all about service and consultative selling, not pricing out speeds and feeds. You can't please all of the people all of the time, right? Hi Mitra,Thanks for jumping to conclusions. Let me help you a bit:Some clarification for you. The folks that you chat with are NOT sales people. They are like a concierge at a hotel. Their job is to identify potential customers and get their contact info to the proper sales person. They are NOT supposed to give you detailed prices.>> That's news to me, and anyway it was the person I spoke to on live chat who called me to discuss things.There are lots of companies that sell cheap servers, Rackspace is not one of them.>> Really?!Once you factor in o/s licensing, firewalls, backups, etc. prices are quite different than originally stated. >> I wanted a free OS, no firewall and I make my own backups. Nonetheless they tried to sell me all of the above and despite quite clearly stating I didn't need or want any of the above, they included it in the quote after the 2 phone calls!So, if you are in a hurry and care only about spending as little as possible, look elsewhere.>> I'd have bought from LayeredTech if I wanted a cheap server. I was looking for something else which is why I contacted them for a quote.You can't please all of the people all of the time, right?>> Believe me, I'm not difficult to please when it comes to a single server. I've been VERY happy with HiVelocity, LayeredTech, RapidVPS, Futurehosting, A2B2, LiquidWeb and eApps.>> I'd have bought from LayeredTech if I wanted a cheap server. I was looking for something else which is why I contacted them for a quote.<<If you only wanted a free o/s (Redhat I assume), no firewall or backups, what did you want from Rackspace that the other providers you mentioned can't provide? You can't please all of the people all of the time, right?>> Believe me, I'm not difficult to please when it comes to a single server. I've been VERY happy with HiVelocity, LayeredTech, RapidVPS, Futurehosting, A2B2, LiquidWeb and eApps.[/quote]None of these companies are in the same business category as Rackspace. People around here will try to tell you that they are the same, and they are simply wrong. Dedicated servers, dedicated network gear, enterprise servers and processes that are required by large companies or other companies that require industry accepted standards for change control, data security, certifications, national recognition and awards (not stuff like the popular "TopHosts" awards that anyone can get). Lots of folks around here have said that if you want a better price at Rackspace, call back and get a different sales rep. Perhaps the person you worked with is new and there are other folks that could meet your needs better?Lots of folks around here have said that if you want a better price at Rackspace, call back and get a different sales rep. Perhaps the person you worked with is new and there are other folks that could meet your needs better?>> I spoke to 2 people from Rackspace (it may be worth stating, Rackspace UK). Besides that I don't believe I was ever given a telephone number.None of these companies are in the same business category as Rackspace.>> LiquidWeb and eApps come close.If you only wanted a free o/s (Redhat I assume)>> Yesno firewall>> Yesor backups>> Why would I let my provider make backups for me?! I bet term number 1000 in their TOS has something like "we are not responsible for backups..." I prefer to make my own backups.what did you want from Rackspace that the other providers you mentioned can't provide?>> That doesn't matter any more, but I made is very clear to both sales people.Whats the point to offer 24 months contract .. when you can negotiate it to month to month contract .. I agree VT6 the same person which was on live chat called me too .. What i think that not mentioning the prices on the website by rackspace is that they can give same type of service to different client at different cost ..I agree rackspace is one of the best but you can get cheaper price if you compare with different provider .. one of my friend have few servers with peer1.com and the prices are cheaper then rackspace and he is happy with them too .>> Why would I let my provider make backups for me?! I bet term number 1000 in their TOS has something like "we are not responsible for backups..." I prefer to make my own backups. Actually, Rackspace has a fully managed backup service where they provide weekly fulls and daily differentials. Backups should be expected from hosting providers, they should not be an exception. It sounds like you simply worked with a new or average salesperson... this is the luck of the draw that every potential customer has to deal with with any provider.Whats the point to offer 24 months contract .. when you can negotiate it to month to month contract Month-to-month contracts are for small businesses and small providers that are simplu afraid of financial commitment. Or, they don't yet have the consistent revenue stream needed to support a real business relationship. Most businesses leverage long-term contracts to lower prices. If you lease a car for 12 months versus 24, the price will be much lower... you should never expect a month-to-month price to be similar to a legitimate contract price. Why would any business go with a month-to-month contract other than to avoid getting tied up in a term that the business can't support? Solid hosting providers have SLA's and contracts that let customers out if the provider fails to meet it's contraftual obligations.Mitra,May I ask if you work for Rackspace? You seem heavily biased in their favour and have gone from putting Rackspace on a pedastal alone to grouping it with other companies, refuting what I would call logic and poking holes in what is my personal opinion all to safeguard the reputation of this company.Why would any business go with a month-to-month contract other than to avoid getting tied up in a term that the business can't support?>> To avoid huge losses should a new venture fall through, to allow moving to another company should the provider's service slump, as happens with most in the hosting industry, for something which won't last 2 years, the list really does go on.If I'm totally honest with you, the sales people at most companies aren't great, however I do expect the person working on my quote to listen to and understand what I'm saying which unfortunately isn't Rackspace. Considering I spoke to 2 people from Rackspace and they were both lacking fundamental skills I was pleased not to hear from them. The smaller companies such as RapidVPS tend to have the best sales departments since they are handled by the same people who do support, and have the indepth knowledge and can answer questions regarding the service. Rackspace sales people didn't know what ECC RAM was.<<May I ask if you work for Rackspace?>>Yes, you may ask. And yes, I do. <<Why would any business go with a month-to-month contract other than to avoid getting tied up in a term that the business can't support?>> To avoid huge losses should a new venture fall through, to allow moving to another company should the provider's service slump, as happens with most in the hosting industry, for something which won't last 2 years, the list really does go on.>>As I said before, SLA's exist to protect customers. If a "provider's service slumps" the SLA should cover you.<<The smaller companies such as RapidVPS tend to have the best sales departments since they are handled by the same people who do support, and have the indepth knowledge and can answer questions regarding the service. Rackspace sales people didn't know what ECC RAM was.>>Does it matter if the rep knows or cares about ECC RAM? Personally, I actually see this this as a potential problem. It is the sign of a small company. What happens if a salesperson/support tech is at the end of the month and is short of his number, while at the same time technical problems occur? Salesperson's gotta eat, so he's going to focus on closing deals that put money in the bank before dealing with an upset customer. Or, he's going to work on a tech problem and let his commission slip away. It's something that many small companies go through, and when they grow they eventually separate sales roles from support roles. Not a bad thing, just a matter of scalability. And please remember, Rackspace is all about providing customer service, not simply selling hardware, speeds and feeds. If you want to talk about ECC memory you probably don't need to be shopping so far up market. Sure, it is nice to be able to talk to a tech during the sales process. But how does that model scale as the company gets more customers? And, if you want to talk to someone technical at Rackspace, just ask. Ask the sales rep to get an engineer on the phone. There is a team of folks ready to take customer questions. Does it matter if the rep knows or cares about ECC RAM?>> Without doubt, yes. I wanted to make sure I got some with my server. I didn't want Rackspace just for that, but it's something I wanted to make sure I got.As I said before, SLA's exist to protect customers. If a "provider's service slumps" the SLA should cover you.>> What about the other cases? It is also leaving the provider in control to an extent.It is the sign of a small company. What happens if a salesperson/support tech is at the end of the month and is short of his number, while at the same time technical problems occur?>> Financial stability has little to do with size. Before I buy from hosting providers I do ask if they have significant debts and so forth, and RapidVPS as my previous example seemed perfect.And please remember, Rackspace is all about providing customer service, not simply selling hardware, speeds and feeds.>> Sure, but I still need the hardware, speeds and feeds.If you want to talk about ECC memory you probably don't need to be shopping so far up market.>> I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. If I want to make sure I get good hardware I should go to LayeredTech? Rackspace is for people who don't know anything about servers? Easy customers only?Sure, it is nice to be able to talk to a tech during the sales process. >> Sorry, I wouldn't know since I wasn't offered that opportunity.And, if you want to talk to someone technical at Rackspace, just ask.>> I given the impression that the support team were only available after purchase.<<May I ask if you work for Rackspace?>>Yes, you may ask. And yes, I do. What i think that reviews are valid from actual customers not employees .. company team member always say's that we are the bestWhat i think that reviews are valid from actual customers not employees .. company team member always say's that we are the bestI would say that it depends on the company and on their employees.But FYI I'm a customer of Rackspace for enough time to know what they mean by fanatical support.They are a very good hosting company. I have tried many since 6 years and I can say this company is quite unique. I don't know if they love their job as much as I do (I do love my job) but their support is just awesome. Any day, any time.I wish anyone involved in developing, designing, managing commercial websites to work with a company that supports you like Rackspace does.Just my 2 cents.GregoryI would say that it depends on the company And by that I gather you mean Rackspace is fine since they sponsor WHT.<<May I ask if you work for Rackspace?>>Yes, you may ask. And yes, I do.
<<Why would any business go with a month-to-month contract other than to avoid getting tied up in a term that the business can't support?>> To avoid huge losses should a new venture fall through, to allow moving to another company should the provider's service slump, as happens with most in the hosting industry, for something which won't last 2 years, the list really does go on.>> As I said before, SLA's exist to protect customers. If a "provider's service slumps" the SLA should cover you. <<The smaller companies such as RapidVPS tend to have the best sales departments since they are handled by the same people who do support, and have the indepth knowledge and can answer questions regarding the service. Rackspace sales people didn't know what ECC RAM was.>> Does it matter if the rep knows or cares about ECC RAM? Personally, I actually see this this as a potential problem. It is the sign of a small company. What happens if a salesperson/support tech is at the end of the month and is short of his number, while at the same time technical problems occur? Salesperson's gotta eat, so he's going to focus on closing deals that put money in the bank before dealing with an upset customer. Or, he's going to work on a tech problem and let his commission slip away. It's something that many small companies go through, and when they grow they eventually separate sales roles from support roles. Not a bad thing, just a matter of scalability. And please remember, Rackspace is all about providing customer service, not simply selling hardware, speeds and feeds. If you want to talk about ECC memory you probably don't need to be shopping so far up market. Sure, it is nice to be able to talk to a tech during the sales process. But how does that model scale as the company gets more customers? And, if you want to talk to someone technical at Rackspace, just ask. Ask the sales rep to get an engineer on the phone. There is a team of folks ready to take customer questions. I would like to add my personnal experience... First, I am a happy customer of Rackspace UK since a year now and well... already 7 servers.... 1) Long contract terms: I do agree that Rackspace is an investment that cannot be measured in a period of a month or even a few months... But I do agree signing up for long term contracts give you better deals, normal... 2) The sales rep did not know about ECC memory ? Well OK and so ??? During this year I had frequent contacts with my BDC and god knows we asked him anything and everything !! Did he know all ? For sure no and this is not his job but at each time he did not know he put a Tech on the line... Fair enough... 3) Now I saw earlier a post about pricing and peer1, I can talk about both Rackspace and peer1 since I am a rackspace client and I was a peer1 client: Reboot / Boot (if server does not respond) request sent to peer1: reboot done with 40 to 60 minuts, YES !Reboot / Boot (if server does not respond) request sent to Rackspace?: within the next few seconds, with or without ticket (if you call them)... Does it worth the price ??? Well if you can stand being down for an hour waiting for your server to be booted no it does not worth the price but if like our business you need to be as fast as possible back online after an outage, yes iit does... I think that every people should check their goals before contacting any companies..+1 for rackspace. Very nice support and uptime.I'm having a lot of problems dealing with Rackspace right now. It seems that they do not want to deal with handicapped persons. They are giving me a hard time about trying to converse via email or chat instead of over the phone. They even told me that I should have someone else call for me. This does not seem to be fanatical support. If Rackspace is discriminating against me prior to the sale, I can just imagine how un-fanatical thier support will be later on. I will give Rackspace another chance, see if they can get thier stuff together, but so far, Rackspace sucks!I've definitely heard good things about Rackspace, although I've never been a customer.+1 for Rackspace here too.I'm having a lot of problems dealing with Rackspace right now. It seems that they do not want to deal with handicapped persons. They are giving me a hard time about trying to converse via email or chat instead of over the phone. They even told me that I should have someone else call for me. This does not seem to be fanatical support. If Rackspace is discriminating against me prior to the sale, I can just imagine how un-fanatical thier support will be later on. I will give Rackspace another chance, see if they can get thier stuff together, but so far, Rackspace sucks!This is third thread I've found that you've posted this topic in. I work for Rackspace and I've offered to help if help is needed. That was about ten hours ago. I've not yet received a PM with your information. Please contact me if you still require assistance.Month-to-month contracts are for small businesses and small providers that are simplu afraid of financial commitment. Or, they don't yet have the consistent revenue stream needed to support a real business relationship...Or they don't quite believe the hype about the provider they are testing. Saying a month-to-month contract is only for small businesses or those who "are afraid of finanacial commitement" is just plain wrong. There has to be a testing period for dedicated servers, especially if you're getting in to a really specific environment.When I called our business office ISP, who happen the be the fastest and best in the province, I told them I was only signing month-to-month. "But we can offer you a better price," they said. My reply to them stands also against your very naive response" Price doesn't matter right now. What matters is whether you can deliver on what's printed in your ads. Call me in four months. If I am happy, I'll sign your annual contract".Business relationships are exactly that: relationships. Everybody knows that the best relationships aren't started by one party telling the other to cough up $XXX no matter how bad things get. Yearly contracts (as opposed to optional yearly payments) just don't tend to work out in the hosting industry. It's volatile, it's ever-changing, it's too easy for a user to crash their server and try and blame the provider.If someone doesn't want to sign a monthly contract, that's their choice. They shouldn't have to be called cheap (which is what you did, in a round about way), they shouldn't have to have their company size or stability called in to question. It's their choice.SimonMonth-to-month contracts are for small businesses and small providers that are simplu afraid of financial commitment. Or, they don't yet have the consistent revenue stream needed to support a real business relationship.WOW - there is alot wrong with this statement - Simon has hit on most of the points - but, we dont sign yearly contracts with ANY vendor until we are certain that the risk of doing so is minimal - once they have proven themselves, we will sign on the dotted line in order to realize a lower monthly rate - in the interim, we will happily pay more per month until we are convinced that they are a good fit for our business.Conversely, we do not even offer yearly contracts for our services nor do we offer discounts for such terms. We assume our customers want to stay with us and our rate is our rate - why should we offer a discount for annual payments? especially when we prefer monthly revenue streams....Offering discounts for 12 or 24 month contracts makes business sense. Just like a 30-year lease on a house has lower payments than a 15-year lease. Costs need to be spread over the life of a contract. When you are just talking hardware it's easy to recover the costs in a short amount of time. Rackspace is about much more than hardware, the majority of its costs are labor/people/support. SLA's exist for a reason: If a provider fails to meet them customers have an out. Perhaps it's easy to deploy a single server solution on a month-to-month basis, and Rackspace offers month-to-month terms for all configurations... but when you talk about deploying ten servers, redundant firewalls, etc. the company has to dish out a lot of cost up front to provide the hardware. It's a different story. Each business is different. Month-to-month contracts are an option, and in my personal experience I've only seen them requested by companies on a tight budget, unsure of their future, or those that constantly price shop. Just my opinion, mind you. Each business is different. Month-to-month contracts are an option, and in my personal experience I've only seen them requested by companies on a tight budget, unsure of their future, or those that constantly price shop. Just my opinion, mind you. Well, we are certainly each entitled to our opinion - however, I can assure you that very large companies look for and only accept monthly contracts now - and especially with infrastructure. Nothing like being 12 months into a 36 or 48 month contract and needing to cough up $100k to exit it because you arent happy. SLA's are great, but, if the customer does not believe it is being met to their satisfaction and the vendor claims it is - what is the result? take them to court (VERY expensive) and hope you get a favourable ruling?Each business is different. Month-to-month contracts are an option, and in my personal experience I've only seen them requested by companies on a tight budget, unsure of their future, or those that constantly price shop. Just my opinion, mind you. We have MANY such customers with 10 or more servers, load balancers, storage arrays, firewalls, DDOS equipment, full management services, etc - and they are all on monthly contracts - the reality is, as long as the hardware is within its servicable life cycle, they can be re-used - if a customer cancels after that point, then the investment has been re-couped. It is all about how a business wants to operate - there is no requirement for longer commits and a model can be easily constructed to accomodate that.If you want to avoid low end bargain shopper types of customers, dont hit their price points. We only attract higher end customers and businesses and except for the very rare occassion, our monthly commit model has done nothing to hinder our growth and has directly related into businesses trying our services (and ultimately growing into a VERY large relationship) who would otherwise might have been hesitent to do so if the initial commit was 3 to 4 years guaranteed....I have no issue with most of what you have said - it is your experiences you are sharing and who am I or anyone else to disagree with your experiences - however, blanket statements should be avoided, as the monthly model does work quite well in this industry and my experiences show that very large customers are starting to do, and prefer to do, business this way...disclaimer - this has nothing to do with rackspace in particular - if their model works and thats how they do business, all the power to them - I am not judging whether its right or wrong or whether it is inferior or superior to other models...Well said Cartika. I again defer to SLAs. From what Ive seen of most of them out there, they have no teeth. Rackspace offers specific SLA criteria and specific remedies. There's no ambiguity. It makes SLA enforcement and/or credit requests much easier to deal with.