

Ask YC: What's the best virtual hosting for a development stage startup? - jmtulloss

I'm currently using WebFaction to host my Pylons based web app, which is under development and really not that close to be ready for public use.<p>I've had some issues with WebFaction. Mostly it's just that every once in a while I want to be root, though I have other gripes as well. The reason I stick with it is that it's cheap.<p>What I'd love is a virtual hosting platform, but I'm not sure when ones offer the best bang for your buck. We don't have any money yet, so Amazon EC2 doesn't make sense right now (it's not very cheap until you get some traffic). I've looked at Joyent, but I haven't heard whether they're any good or not.<p>So, what does the YC community recommend when it comes to cheap, development stage virtual hosting?
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cstejerean
I highly recommend Slicehost. I've been amazed with their responsiveness,
availability and competence.

<http://slicehost.com>

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jmtulloss
Those guys do look pretty good, and cheap.

I'd sign up right away, but we are using facebook for our social aspects, so
we probably qualify for Joyent's free accelerator (for a year). That's a
pretty tempting offer, even if I have to learn Solaris.

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madmotive
We've used SliceHost for over a year now. We tried one of the free Joyent
Accelerators a couple of months back but whole experience for us wasn't as
good as with SliceHost. Their kind of hosting is worth paying for.

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SwellJoe
Joyent is solid. We've worked with them for several years (we build the
control panel they use), and they're among the smartest in the business,
technically speaking. I think the price is quite nice on their Accelerators,
particularly those for Facebook apps (which are free for a year). $45/mo for
root-equivalent access and 512MB of memory is a very nice price. Their shared
hosting accounts are in the middle of the low-to-high price continuum, but
their support is very well-regarded, and they actually know how to host
framework-based apps (Rails and PHP has been their focus, but I believe they
accommodate Python frameworks, as well).

Another customer of ours, GridZones, also offers Solaris Zones accounts
similar to Joyent's Accelerators, for a few bucks cheaper.

We've got a dedicated box with the Planet and one with Layered Tech, and both
have been reliable and cheap--the Planet I've used for about five years, and
Layered Tech only this year. Both seem to have competent support and reliable
networks.

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zealog
I can't directly answer your question I have only used shared hosting,
dedicated servers, and EC2.

However, I would say that EC2 is actually not that expensive compared to the
others. I've been using it for my latest project and really like it. The cost
is only about $75 a month and it behaves just like my dedicated servers (but
it has more RAM!). That's coffee money.

Also, you will eventually leave the "development stage" and finding a place
where you can easily (and without great expense) move to a larger VH will save
you money in the long run, too.

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jmtulloss
$75/Month is way more than the $20/month slicehost is offering. They do offer
a lot more memory, but for the time being, I just can't justify $75/month.

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pistoriusp
I don't use a virtual host, but I can highly recommend webfaction especially
for Python based applications.

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jmtulloss
WebFaction is nice for shared hosting, but the 60MB limit on RAM and the lack
of root access is fairly irritating sometimes.

600GB of bandwidth is nice though, way better than the paltry 100GB slicehost
offers with their minimum package.

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bdr
I use Joyent, and I'm happy with them. Fast connection, great support,
sufficient documentation. But, it's somewhat more expensive than other options
if you just look at the technical specs.

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ephextom
another vote for slicehost.

it's run by developers in response to their own frustrations with other
hosting companies. full root access to the VM, flexible pricing/options,
super-reliable.

we've been using them for about 3 months for staging and some back-end admin
tasks, and so far it's been brilliant.

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jm4
I've been using Linode for a couple years. They're reasonably priced and I've
never had any issues with them.

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tim2
Serveraxis, another Xen host, for me.

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nreece
Slicehost!

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martianpenguin
Look into a VPS. I currently use vpslink.com, but there are many to choose
from.

