My host, 247-host.com (skip them in your hunt), has been unable to provide me with adequate uptime or support; the best they could offer is upgrading my plan. Their new (and as yet unpublicized) VPS plan was too expensive, both for me and in comparison with other hosts. I finally decided it was time to get serious with finding a new hosting company. This has been a very "interesting" experience, so I thought I'd share it with you.

I sent the following to each hosting contact:

Request for Pricing

We currently have a reseller account at a hosting company that is not meeting our needs for up time and support. Therefore we are soliciting bids from other hosting companies to replace this service.

Our current usage:

• Live sites: 8.
• Planned Sites: 3.
• All sites are using Drupal

  Drupal

  An open-source content management system that is used on this site and is taking over the world. 5.1 CMS or OSCommerce, installed with Fantastico.
• My SqlStructured Query Language - a language for accessing a database.: 4.1.23.
• PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML.: 5.1.6.
• MySqlAn implementation of a relational database using the standardized SQL. databases: 8.
• Total disk storage: approx. 200MB.
• Total bandwidth: approx. 2GB/month.
• RedHat LinuxA Unix variant that has become very popular. It has itself spawned numerous variants, although not all of those enjoy open-source status..
• Domains registered with Godaddy.

Probable expansion in next 12 months:

(All are estimates based on current knowledge)

• Additional sites: 8.
• Additional disk space: 500MB.
• Additional bandwidth: 3GB/month.
• All sites migrating to multi-siteA logically grouped set of content - also web site. Drupal

  Drupal

  An open-source content management system that is used on this site and is taking over the world. 6.x.
• MySqlAn implementation of a relational database using the standardized SQL. databases: 20.
• All sites running MySqlAn implementation of a relational database using the standardized SQL. 5.x.
• All sites running PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. 5.x.

Preferences:

• LinuxA Unix variant that has become very popular. It has itself spawned numerous variants, although not all of those enjoy open-source status. (Windows is not acceptable).
• MySqlAn implementation of a relational database using the standardized SQL. 5.1.x with phpMyAdmin.
• PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. 5.2.x, with accelerator.
• PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. Safe mode is not acceptable.
• RAID 5 disk storage (non-RAID is not acceptable).
• Service Up time: 99.8% or better (including all components), with penalties for not meeting the SLA.
• 24x7 support with responses in 2 hours or less.
• Daily back ups that can be restored if needed.
• Non-separated MySqlAn implementation of a relational database using the standardized SQL. server.
• Average query time: 3 ms or better.
• Cron access.
• Capability to view server status.
• Capability to increase memory allocation in phpRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML..ini or settings.phpRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML..
• Capability to alter Apache vhost parameters (needed for migrating Drupal

  Drupal

  An open-source content management system that is used on this site and is taking over the world.).
• Capability to view PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. memory usage.
• Capability to host pictures to be used on eBay.
• Capability to host "alternative lifestyle" content (no illegal content).

Responses:

Please respond with the following information to xxx@yyyy.zzz.

• Package name.
• Pricing for monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual payments.
• MySqlAn implementation of a relational database using the standardized SQL. version.
• PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. version.
• Name and version of PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. accelerator.
• CPU type and speed.
• Disk storage type and size.
• Meet/Not Meet the above preferences.
• Domains are addressed as http://www.sitea.com, http://www.siteb.net, http://www.sitec.info, etc. rather than as sub sites.
• Whether or not you have experience hosting Drupal

  Drupal

  An open-source content management system that is used on this site and is taking over the world. sites.
• Whether or not you will assist with the move.

How did they do?

Company	Response Time	Response
HostICan	< ½ hr.	Only pointed to a VPS plan and said, "You should be able to easily do this using..." Too expensive for me.
Hostmonster	1½ hrs	No answers, only "We offer only one hosting plan... To see a list of all the features included, please visit..." - Their web siteA logically grouped set of content - also web site. does NOT answer all my questions.
Bluehost	1½ hrs	Identical to Hostmonster - Also note you may not respond via email, and sales questions do not participate in their ticket system, so no follow up is possible.
Crucial Paradigm	28½ hrs	"...99% of Support tickets are answered within 30 minutes. Billing and Sales we ask to allow for up to 72 hours though most are answered a lot quicker." - What a concept! Answered most questions. MySqlAn implementation of a relational database using the standardized SQL. 4.1.22 - no mention of upgrade plans. "PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. 4.4.7 and 5.2.3 on all reseller servers though we don't run a PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. accelerator as we run PHPsuexec which provides a higher level of security for our servers though in turn does not allow us to run an accelerator." Interesting response since their page says "Zend Optimizer." "...Capability to increase memory allocation in phpRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML..ini or settings.phpRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML.? -- No this is not an option although you can customize the phpRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML..ini file in your account." Isn't that what I asked for? "Capability to alter Apache vhost parameters... No you won't be able to do this though our techs will be able to for you." Didn't understand a few questions, but the tech's name suggests that English may not be his first language. "..we also host a Drupal Drupal An open-source content management system that is used on this site and is taking over the world. hosting to developers..." They will assist with the move.
Polurnet	> 7 days	As of this writing, they have yet to respond. I can only assume they don't want my business.
Drupal Value Hosting	< 1hr	"Steve" answered all question, including the ones he might have thought negative. He then answered a couple of follow up questions very quickly. Payment appears to be yearly only. Disk is RAID-0. Note: their web siteA logically grouped set of content - also web site. needs work.
ANHosting	12 hrs	Answered "Everything that you are requesting is available standard with our Reseller programs here is a linkThe technique which points to another page, anywhere on the Internet, from the current page. to the plan..." No actual answers to my questions. Email answer came from Midphase, but linkThe technique which points to another page, anywhere on the Internet, from the current page. was to Autica (3 separate companies?) Appear to have only monthly and quarterly payments- Expensive plan.
Site5	14½ hrs	Did answer some questions, however, I am nervous with answers like this: "CPU type and speed. - Don't have the exact details on this, we run dual dual core cpus. Disk storage type and size - Again, don't have the exact size, but we run with 6HDs in a raid array." [I'd bet that this information is on the siteA logically grouped set of content - also web site..] Not currently on MySqlAn implementation of a relational database using the standardized SQL. 5, but upgrading early next year. Flexible payment options. They do not help with the move, but have a Wiki article on how to do it.

So where does this leave me?

Only Drupal

Drupal

An open-source content management system that is used on this site and is taking over the world. Value Hosting, Site5, and Crucial Paradigm bothered to read and answer my request. I am completely disregarding all the rest as unworthy of my money.

It concerns me a bit that Site5 couldn't take a few seconds to look up the CPU and disk specifications. On the positive side, they appear to have RAID disks (having already had one disk loss with my current host, this is important). They plan to upgrade to MySqlAn implementation of a relational database using the standardized SQL. 5 early next year - but can I count in it? Their payments plans appear more flexible.

Drupal

Drupal

An open-source content management system that is used on this site and is taking over the world. Value Hosting is a bit more expensive and only has a yearly payment plan. Look at their name - DRUPAL

Drupal

An open-source content management system that is used on this site and is taking over the world.. Their disks are RAID-0, which is not really RAID and actually decreases the reliability of the array in order to gain speed. They answered all my questions very quickly.

Crucial Paradigm's apparent emphasis on current customers over new ones is interesting, although it tends to indicate that the sales and support staffs are not separate functions. Running a fairly old, and unsupported, version of MySqlAn implementation of a relational database using the standardized SQL. concerns me to the point of probably not going any further with them. I don't currently know anything about "PHPsuexec" so I can't really say anything about it. However, I am also concerned about the lack of an accelerator. Theor web page does not indicate any pricing except monthly, and is a bit higher than I'd like, although the plan exceeds my needs considerably. They do have an affiliate program. [Folow up: PHPsuexec is a CGI implementation of PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. - there are a number of posts on DO that indicate this is bad for Drupal

Drupal

An open-source content management system that is used on this site and is taking over the world..]

Updates

I allowed the responding hosts to review this article before posting it. I got some responses back.

DrupalValueHosting

• "DNS propagation from our Data Centre hardly takes 30-45 minutes to become operational" - Nice, if it really happens across the web like that.
• Yes, we have flexible pricing; you must go to step 3 of the order process to see it. (As I said, their siteA logically grouped set of content - also web site. can use some work. One should not need to go that far.)
• "...We have a free premium hosting account offer in place for one month period to help prospective customers try out our hosting infrastructure and the experience of doing business with us." Handy feature.
• "...We are adding overall 14 machines with a combination of Raid 5 and Raid 10 configs from mid-Jan in our private rackspace. Orders for the hardware are already in place. But till that time only Raid-0 disc striping." [RAID links are mine.]
• Has an affiliate program. (I guess that would put me in competition with myself?)
• Will sell a limited number of reseller accounts.

Site5

• Most of our newer servers have 2x dual-core Woodcrest 5130s at 2GHz per core.
• CentOS 4.5.
• 6x500GB SATA drives in a PERC5 controller card in a RAID10 array.
• We offer PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. 4 for now. We will be phasing it out early next year due to it being end-of-lifed.

Crucial Paradigm

• We have a 32MB PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. Memory usage limit, and as far as I know we don't have that option compiled into PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. (viewing how much PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. is using).
• Regarding running RAID 5, vs. RAID 1 - we actually made the conscious decision to use Raid 1 across 2 drives, and have a third drive dedicated to backups… Data corruption is very rare, but we prefer to cover all circumstances!
• We do actually have Zend Optimizer on all our shared and reseller servers! The confusion was that we don't run a more advanced PHPRecursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" - is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. accelerator like eAccelerator or xcache as these are not compatible with phpsuexec.
• Our billing, sales, and tech support are not combined, and separate teams so no need to worry about that! We were however consulting our techs to make sure all your questions were answered accurately and correctly.
• We do actually have discounts available when paid quarterly, semi-annually, and anually.
• In the near future, we do plan to make MySQLAn implementation of a relational database using the standardized SQL. 5 available on our newer servers - so its not too far off.
  

Summary

Host	Reseller?	Price (3, 6, 12 mons.)	Space	Bandwidth
Crucial Paradigm	Yes	$49.95 / $99.95 / $199.50	10GB	200GB
DrupalValueHosting	No / Yes	$31.50 / $60.00 / $114.00 $49.50 / $96.00 / $180.00	2000GB / 200GB	9000GB / 1000GB
Site5	No	$31.50 / $57.00 / $102.00	750GB	75,000GB

My Choice?

Crucial is a bit more expensive and has less disk space, but more included reseller features. Expense is an important issue for me; the reseller features are not. Site5 and DrupalValueHosting are kind of a toss-up with current postive and negatives that will be addressed soon; both offer far more resources than I need.

I could toss a coin, but that's not the way I do things. So, I guess I have to go with my feelings, and I got the feeling that DVH was a bit more hungry for my business. We'll see.