Atomicorp

I currently have a physical server with Softlayer, now IBM and need to reduce my expenditures. The dynamic cloud server from 1and1 appears attractive due to cost. Just how attractive is the CS and actual service. I know many here have or are using 1and1 and would like some feedback please.

Thanks.

I'm currently looking to migrate away from Softlayer as well. I think my hang up with 1and1 cloud was a very strict IP address limitation. I've been looking into https://www.ubiquityservers.com/cloud as well.

Limitation on IP address's how? They are $0.99 each.
I'll look at your link.

.99 up to seven of them....or at least that's what their maximum was last I checked. I guess that would probably be fine for most, but I host a lot of ecommerce sites so a maximum of seven was a deal breaker for me.

All ubiquityservers cloud servers sold out...

Do you need the IP's for SSL certs? SNI might be an option for that, it would allow you to bind multiple certs to a common IP

So Scott, instead of having dedicated IP's for the carts etc.. I could do this:

IP 1 =main web / mail
IP 2 =NS
IP 3 =NS
IP 4 =Shared SSL / Website?

As for the CS / Tech support and service of 1and1, are they reliable, which was my main question?

SNI looks like a great option down the road, but it's my understanding that it's not supported on Windows XP...which, sadly, is still about 15% of the market. For people selling things online, that's a decent sized chunk of their market.

As for the CS / Tech support and service of 1and1, are they reliable, which was my main question?

I've not had any issues this year getting a smart tech on the phone within a few minutes. Mind you for us that usually just means we need someone to figure out why a box didnt power cycle, so I cant speak to their support for more complex tasks.

I've had terrible experiences with 1and1 , not provisioning a box when they were supposed to, billing for transferred domains etc.
My experiences with their customer service and billing depts. was terrible.

I use serverbeach/peer1. Can't remember who it was I used before SB , but they had an extended network failure , I tried to get operational with 1and1 but they let me down at every turn , I saw SB had a great deal to onboard with them if you were a victim of company whose name I can't remember.

My must haves with any provider are (1and1 has these, so do others):

1) Remote power cycling (If I have to call someone, or email someone, this ia a non-starter)
2) Serial port consoles (*not* IP kvm's.)
3) PXE boot rescue mode

As long as I have that, I can pretty much solve any problem short of a physical one. Mixed bag with physical issue responses (hardware failures, etc), sometimes a high end outfit does bad things, sometimes a low end outfit dows good things. Noone particularly stands out one way or the other for me.

I don't know if the hosting powers that be monitor these things, but I coincidentally just got a "how are we doing?" survey request from SB.