Hosting recommendations

[mattheweston]

I am looking to get some infrastructure in place and was looking for recommendations for the following

File server type hosting
Version control hosting(svn?)
Web hosting (windows prefered)

I'd like to keep all this online if possible

[dandymcgee]

Web hosting (windows prefered)

What? Ew. I would never pay for a windows web server haha.

No idea about file server, and svn it depends how big the team is. If it's public / open source or small (<~5 members) you can use bitbucket or similar.

[mattheweston]

Lol, I figured most people would say that. The windows server would be for an ASP.NET site.

[janequorzar]

ASP can run on an apache server under a linux OS.

http://www.apache-asp.org/

Its still new however, but they are updating it more and more.

Basically everything your looking for can be run under linux. And there are plenty of hosts out there that run linux servers. Whether its VPN / VPS or Standalone, you will find it a LOT cheaper then you will find hosting that provides Windows NT like OSes.

On a side note, I recommend that you put linux - Debian 5, or what ever linux you would feel more comfortable with and installing it on a cheap computer that is setup on your local LAN. If you do not have a beat up computer, you can get one usually on craigslist for about 50 to 100 bucks. ( USA ). And then this way you can test and play with it on your own until your ready to use a REAL host. This also is a LOT cheaper in the beginning until your absolutely sure of what direction you want to go. I am speaking as a person of whom have used Debian 5 for years and its a whole hell of a lot cheaper then any of the windows hosts. ( Sometimes 3 times cheaper )

These are just suggestions. I by no means want to change your mind about Windows as a Host, but I am looking at this from a money point of view.

[mattheweston]

I know classic ASP can be run under apache, but I didn't think any of the linux options for running ASP.NET were very mature yet. lol, I know enough linux to run all this at home, but given my limited options at the moment for ISPs I'm not really capable of doing the home network thing right now; hence, the preference to go with something online.

Also, I didn't necessarily say I was wanting to go with a pay option. =)

[janequorzar]

I know classic ASP can be run under apache, but I didn't think any of the linux options for running ASP.NET were very mature yet. lol, I know enough linux to run all this at home, but given my limited options at the moment for ISPs I'm not really capable of doing the home network thing right now; hence, the preference to go with something online.

Also, I didn't necessarily say I was wanting to go with a pay option. =)

I think you misunderstood what I meant. .I mean TEST it at home first. You can use your router to run a Local LAN and then just test it first before going live. This way you can get it all setup before you start to find a hosting provider for what your after. This way you know exactly what does and does not work before going live.

Also, if your not planing on paying for a host, then your only going to find free Web-hosting only. That's all. There are no free Server Hosting providers out there. ( At least in all my years of looking I still have not found one )

As for linux, linux has nothing to do with Apache. Apache is a separate program that can run on windows or linux. Its used to run your website ( or ASP in this case ) as if it was a website. Its mainly good for PHP which in my experience is so much better then ASP anyhow. And apache is the "linux" alternative to MS's IIS. I have always preferred the free Apache server over using Microsoft's Resource hog known as IIS.

[dandymcgee]

Out of curiosity what are you running that requires ASP.NET? Is this something you've already chosen to write in ASP, or some preexisting software that you are wanting to use?

[mattheweston]

.net is what I've done the last three years for work and I feel very comfortable using it.

[dandymcgee]

.net is what I've done the last three years for work and I feel very comfortable using it.

Ah, okay. That makes sense. Pretty much all larger webhosts offer both Linux and Windows hosting. I just feel much more comfortable administrating a Linux box than an IIS server.

[janequorzar]

.net is what I've done the last three years for work and I feel very comfortable using it.

Ah, okay. That makes sense. Pretty much all larger webhosts offer both Linux and Windows hosting. I just feel much more comfortable administrating a Linux box than an IIS server.

I totally agree for one point of interest.. security. Too easily have I seen IIS with ASP broken into by many hack attempts and these were run by good Network Admins. But Linux Boxes that use Apache, I have yet to hear of anyone getting broken into. Not saying it cannot happen, I'm just saying it less likely because it uses a different approach to its security. I mean lets face it, when it comes to security, Microsoft would not be my first choice, nor my 2nd.

[mattheweston]

if I were to host at home...what would be a recommended amount of bandwidth for upstream?

[janequorzar]

if I were to host at home...what would be a recommended amount of bandwidth for upstream?

Well although i'm not saying you should ever host at home to be Live for the public, you really should have a minimum of 2 Megabit Upload. And that will kill your net if you have to upload an insane amount of info * how many people log in at once.

Example : 10 people Times ( * ) 20K ( Meaning 160 KiliBITS ) Per person = 1.6 MegaBits. So thats only 10 people you can have uploaded too at one time. AND that is dependant on how long it takes to upload the FULL 20K of files to them.

EXAMPLE : World of WarCraft streams roughly 30K a second per person on average. Imagine their bandwidth.

Bottom line, if its simple, HTML page, then go for it, but if this is for a business, do not bother. USE your LAN only for testing to get all your kinks out of your ASP / PHP or whatever you setup. Once you get it working locally within your LAN then you can find a host to upload it all too. AND you'll know more about what OS and how you want to set this all up.

These are just suggestions. You might find a whole different approach.