Reseller to VPS - tips/advice?

[bones]

Hi

I'm thinking of moving from Reseller type hosting to VPS (Linux/Plesk), and wondered if anyone else here had made that transition, and how steep the technical learning curve is?

Basically, I host all my own web design clients sites, and although a Reseller package has suited me till now, I really need to look at something with a bit more server space and bandwidth; I like the general spec of the Power 1/2/3 packages, but don’t really have the time to learn all the technical stuff that seems to be involved with running a VPS (security issues, software updates, reboots, whatever – just browsing the forum here I see a load of stuff that I know nothing about ) - hey, root level access doesn't push my buttons, I can't help it :) I’m OK doing all the basic stuff that needs doing in Plesk

Any tips/advice from anyone else who switched from Reseller account to VPS would be appreciated.

[Zaf]

There is one difference between your case and mine, I was on cPanel b4 as well as after moving to VPS. I'd prefer a VPS anyday but my opinion is biased for the fact that I like to learn and be involved in every little thing that matters. I prefer more control in my hands than is available on a reseller.

On a VPS, your sites are isolated from the sites of other resellers who might have a badly coded script on their domain & that might put the entire server down. I've recently faced this issue on a Windows Server where I have a reseller account and it took 10+ reboots during one day to pinpoint the problem sites for them.

[StingRay]

If you are not interested in learning at all then I suggest finding a good management company that will setup your box for you initially.

Once it's setup properly it really doesn't take much to keep it going, and Support here can help you if something goes wrong.


On the other hand, if you don't mind learning, then spend a month with a new box getting to know all the ins and outs of security and proper setup before moving your clients over.

Within a month you will know enough to effectively keep things running.

[bones]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Me, I don't mind learning, but the web design side of things already takes up so much of my day (and night!) that putting in extra time to get to grips with all the server stuff too sounds a bit much.

I kind of like the basic idea behind the DirectAdmin packages, where everything is set up to go, and you can learn as you go along. If I wasn't so keen to stick with Plesk, maybe I'd go for that. I've been using Plesk CP's for about 3 years now; not really looking to switch to something else now. So far I've been happy enough with reseller accounts, but like Zaf says, you only need one bad script on the server, and you can kiss your sites goodbye for a few hours whilst everything gets sorted out.

I suggest finding a good management company that will setup your box for you initially.

Man, I wish I made enough money to be able to pay someone else to do stuff I can't do! (Maybe I should put my prices up lol)

[jhobbs]

You've picked the right company to host your sites and begin learning. PowerVPS has the best support and hardware/software capabilities of the four hosts I've tried- and all the others were highly rated in WebHostingTalk forums. You may have a few questions during your first-time setup. They'll provide all the help you really need. Ask for help when ordering, they may be able to set up your DNS and more for you.

I suggest you use your old and new providers simultaneously, until you're comfortable with your VPS, security, backup, etc.

Look at http://www.hostinglife.com/ for startup hints, and Search Google for security and other keywords.

[bones]

Actually, I already moved my Reseller hosting across to PowerVPS last week; I have been so impressed with the support and service so far, that I wanted to explore their VPS hosting packages as an alternative, which I why I was posting here, to find out from others how they found starting out with all the techinical server stuff.

I think maybe the best way to go is to leave my sites under my reseller account for now, and just set up a VPS and 'play' with it for month to get a feel for it, then transfer my sites later. I imagine that moving my sites within the PowerVPS server hierarchy should be painless enough.

[gordonw]

I think maybe the best way to go is to leave my sites under my reseller account for now, and just set up a VPS and 'play' with it for month to get a feel for it, then transfer my sites later. I imagine that moving my sites within the PowerVPS server hierarchy should be painless enough.

That's exactly what I am doing. I've signed on for the smallest VPS service and have 3 months to run on my current reseller host. I have a site of my own which I'll set up and get working first, then copy across the secondary site of one of the smallest of my clients. If I don't get everything ready for the major shift I'll pay another 3 months of reseller hosting at the old host. The extra I'm having to learn is my investment, not my clients'.

My reason for shifting was not disatisfaction -- mainly that blacklisting of mail servers because of other shared sites led to problems which are widespread (though denied as a problem by many hosts), and with VPS being suggested. PowerVPS was recommended by a couple of their staff as they do not (yet) offer their own VPS. Who knows, if I add a few extra clients I may keep both hosts.

Gordon W
publisherhost.net

[Robert]

Actually, I already moved my Reseller hosting across to PowerVPS last week; I have been so impressed with the support and service so far, that I wanted to explore their VPS hosting packages as an alternative, which I why I was posting here, to find out from others how they found starting out with all the techinical server stuff.

I'm very pleased to hear you have enjoyed our service so far!

I think maybe the best way to go is to leave my sites under my reseller account for now, and just set up a VPS and 'play' with it for month to get a feel for it, then transfer my sites later. I imagine that moving my sites within the PowerVPS server hierarchy should be painless enough.

Absolutely! What I might suggest if you plan to play around with the VPS for awhile and then move everything to it is to ask support to help you copy all of your sites from the reseller account to the VPS and move your IPs to the new server.

There is a small amount of downtime to get all of the accounts copied and to get the IPs moved, but it saves you having to update your nameserver IPs, etc.

The nice thing about PowerVPS is that you can start off with a small reseller account, move to a VPS, upgrade the VPS through the different plans, and move to a full blown dedicated without ever losing your IPs ,etc. You also have the same support team backing you up and helping answer questions/problems you might have.

Hope that helps!