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My first dedicated server
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My first dedicated server

I'm looking for some advice on getting my first dedicated server. For the last few years I've had a server collocated (in the UK) at a local ISP. The server has just failed and getting a new machine up and running is a matter of urgency. The collocation I currently have is ropy to say the least (no UPS, no redundant power, no redundant connection, no air con) but it was a good deal when I first signed up.

I've done a bit of homework and I'm very tempted by a Supermicro MC E3v6 NVMe from Clouvida. With a couple of modifications to the spec it comes in just over my price limit. I've read pretty much nothing but good reviews and I see they scored well in the recent poll here.

I think the main reason I've not hit the buy button is a Hetzner PX61-NVME is around half the price for roughly the same machine (more ram, slightly slower processor).

I've been bitten before by super low cost hosting so the bargain basement prices of Hetzner make a bit nervous. For this machine I need as close to 100% up-time as possible on the years timescale.

Any thoughts?

Before anyone asks, I've looked into getting a VPS but I can't find one even close to a price point I could afford. I need 32GB ram and a fair bit of drive space which just bumps the price up.

Comments

  • v3ngv3ng Member, Patron Provider

    I have the Hetzner PX61-NVME and never experienced any downtimes.

    Performance is also awesome, when ordering the server, you can request a E3v6 in the order form. If one is available, you will get the newer cpu.

  • Cheers, I must admit the other thing that makes me a little nervous about Hetzner is they aren't based in the UK. I'm sure ping times etc will be fine but come March next year buying services from the EU might not be as easy as it is today. With @Clouvider I at least know I'll still be able to give them my money!

    Thanked by 1Clouvider
  • Besides Hetzner being an ancient, big, and reputable company, paying twice the price is hardly justifiable when you can also rent two servers, possibly with two different providers, and mirror them, protecting you from hardware, power, and network failure.

    Thanked by 1vimalware
  • BharatBBharatB Member, Patron Provider

    @wobblycogs

    I can offer you something in Frankfurt if that works ( VPS - 32GB RAM ) is it ok if I pm'ed you an offer?

  • PM away, I'm open to offers.

  • for 100% uptime check leaseweb in netherlands and hivelocity in usa. I never experienced downtime from them in more than a year. good luck.

  • wobblycogs said: need as close to 100% up-time as possible

    If you need a high availability system you can't do it with just one server. That said, both of those providers are highly regarded here.

  • I realise I'm risking it with just one server but that's all I can afford. The only two server solution I could see is with Hetzner, one in Finland and one in Germany. I've learnt the hard way to take copious backups :-(

  • @wobblycogs said:
    I realise I'm risking it with just one server but that's all I can afford. The only two server solution I could see is with Hetzner, one in Finland and one in Germany. I've learnt the hard way to take copious backups :-(

    You could also get one each in Hetzner 's nuremburg and Falkenstein Datacenters via Serverbidding/Dutch auction .

    Ping is under 5ms between them if you want to run sync/replication daemons of any sort.

    Thanked by 1Hetzner_OL
  • mfsmfs Banned, Member

    wobblycogs said: 100% up-time

    If uptime is a must I'd second the advice to get at least two less-spec'd servers in possibly two different DCs rather than getting a single well-spec'd machine. It all boils down to how much "critical" is your uptime requirement, sometimes people wander for five-nines when they're not really in dire need of those digits. A single server @ Hetzner should be fine for most

    wobblycogs said: Before anyone asks, I've looked into getting a VPS but I can't find one even close to a price point I could afford. I need 32GB ram and a fair bit of drive space which just bumps the price up.

    At PX61-NVME's price point you may get LPAR-32 in Italy (DC in MIX-IT, therefore well connected): 4 dedicated cores, 32 GB dedicated RAM, 10TB bw, KVM, fairly respected provider. But it seems to me that you're concerned about latency as well, if you're located in UK and you're that concerned about ping I'd stay within the FLAP region. If you go for the double-Hetzner route, two servers in two different German DCs > one server in Germany and one in Finland, IMHO.

  • I'd say if your product isn't making enough revenue to pay for two servers, you probably don't need HA. Whatever loss you'll incur from a little bit of downtime won't affect you that much. HA is for "my web site is down, I'm losing MILLIONS!!1!". Single server with RAID and good backups is probably sufficient. What is the application if I can ask?

  • It's a custom written application for financial planning, I can't say any more than that. This recent outage is the first we've suffered in ten years and we mustn't have a repeat performance any time soon. My plan is to set it up such that I can redeploy somewhere else at a moments notice, that should keep any downtime to a minimum. Not ideal but better than nothing.

    I've gone with a machine from @Clouvider, just waiting for it to be set up now. I think we'll try and find the money for a cheap Hetzner machine as well as a contingency.

    Thanked by 1Clouvider
  • Hetzner_OLHetzner_OL Member, Top Host

    wobblycogs said: I've learnt the hard way to take copious backups :-(

    Sorry for the delayed response! I've been out of the office. If you do decide to go with us, maybe consider trying out our new Backup Service, which is available if you use backup space or one of our storage boxes. Many of our customers use these together with their dedicated root servers. We also now have a new vSwitch feature so you can set up a private network with your dedicated root servers across our different locations.

    Backup Service: https://wiki.hetzner.de/index.php/BackupService/en
    vSwitch: https://wiki.hetzner.de/index.php/Vswitch/en
    --Katie, Marketing

  • Thanks, I've gone for a server with Clouvider for now but I'll be investing in storage box as an offsite backup.

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