| Posted by Franki, 08-13-2002, 05:35 PM | | Hello guys. I have some web hosting clients and I'd like to host them. I don't want to be just a reseller of virtual hosting plans but also I don't want to have my own dedicated server (I don't want to have technical responsibilities). What solution do you suggest? What exactly is a Virtual Private Server? I'd like to have a disk space in a shared server and a control panel to add web hosting account (for my clients). I'd like all the technical work such as software updates, etc. to be done from the service provider, not from me. Is that a VPS service? You help would be really appreciated!
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| Posted by GIC, 08-13-2002, 06:03 PM | | Well actually a regular reseller account would do just this. I would reccommend you check out Valcato.net (but at the time I am writing this, their server is having problems, but my server through them isn't). They allow you to make your own plans and add/remove accounts through WHM. It's easy. A VPS might work, but many require you to update your own software.
my 2 cents.
jesse middleton
getitconnected.net
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| Posted by Franki, 08-13-2002, 06:12 PM | | GIC,
Do you use this reseller program as well? Or you have your own server?
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| Posted by Franki, 08-13-2002, 06:15 PM | | So what are the differences between a reselling program and a Virtual Private Server?
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| Posted by tilted, 08-13-2002, 06:58 PM | | Let's first understand what a virtual private server is. The basic definition is that it's a fraction (theoretically between 1% and 99%) of a dedicated server, but that it runs its own copy of an operating system (usually Linux or BSD). That said, a hosting provider could get a dedicated server (hopefully a nice one with RAID! oh the liabilities! ), get virtualization software from Ensim (ServerXchange), SWSoft (Virtuozzo) or someone else, and sell these partitions known as "virtual private servers". Frankly, they can be crap, or they can be sleek.
What you get in the end is very similar to a dedicated server. You can reboot it, you can log in as root. You can create users, you can delete users. You can add to the operating system, you can remove from the operating system. And in the end, if you don't know what you're doing, you can screw the whole thing up. Because of this risk, many people end up using a control panel system on their VPSes. The control panels make it easy to add/remove accounts, do backups, etc. What many of them won't do for you is keep the software and OS up to date. Depending on your hosting provider, and on the VPS software that they're using, it may be easy or difficult to update/patch the private servers. Ask your host what their policy is, it's the only way to find out.
How does this differ from reselling virtual accounts? The difference is pretty straightforward: access, resources and flexibility. With reselling virtual (shared) accounts, you're usually purchasing the right to create XX number of virtual hosting accounts on your provider's server. Many providers today allow you to create specially tailored plans to suit your clients' needs. What you don't get with reselling is root access, a guaranteed resource level (which may or may not be a good thing, depending on the quality of the server you're reselling), and the flexibility to update/install/restart software as you wish. Again, possibly a good thing if you're not looking to get up to your elbows in server guts.
Either which way you go, you probably will have to deal with supporting and billing your clients. If your host is friendly enough, they will probably help you out with some support issues that stump you, but generally, you are expected to be the first line of support when your client requests assistance.
What it comes down to is this: how much responsibility do you want to have? Reselling is easy and straightforward if you're looking to just offer normal hosting. If you want to add special software to your server and be able to reboot as you please (which you shouldn't have to do, btw), then go with a VPS.
Have fun, let us know how it goes.
George
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| Posted by Franki, 08-13-2002, 07:30 PM | | tilted, thank you very much for your interesting information. I think I will use a reselling program.
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| Posted by GIC, 08-13-2002, 07:51 PM | | I do use this reselling program for some of my accounts. I also have some hosted elsewhere, but Valcato provides excellent support. If you have any questions, email jerome@valcato.net and he will help you. Hopefully they solve their Apache problem soon.
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| Posted by mk123, 08-15-2002, 12:32 PM | | Wise decision Franki for Reseller plan....
u can also visit Voxtreme.com or Weberz.com for the reseller plans... they have great uptime... super great support.
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