Howdy all,

This is my first formal review of a provider here on LET. This review is of a VPS that I have with AlphaVPS ( @AlexBarakov ). I haven't really seen any reviews for AlphaVPS, so thought I'd provide a somewhat in-depth review.

AlphaVPS Review

Presale

Back in February, I posted a request for a yearly VPS on the East Coast of the US with DDoS protection. Within a few minutes Alex had simultaneously posted an offer that met these specs and sent me a PM. After some discussion with him regarding IPv6 and their DDoS protection, I considered all the offers and ultimately decided to go with them due to their low price point and decent specs.

VPS Information

For 12€/year I was able to secure the following VPS, which is still available:

1 GB Dedicated RAM  
2 vCPU Cores  
15 GB SSD  
1 Gbps Port Speed  
1 TB B/W  
1 IPv4 + 10 IPv6  
OpenVZ  
NJ/NYC  
20 Gbps DDoS Protection  

The VPS is located at Choopa's NJ/NYC DC and has great peering to most of the world (see speedtests below). I've had no issues with the node itself, as it isn't massively oversold and I haven't noticed any noisy neighbors. Alex is doing a great job at monitoring for abuse.

My use for the server is a somewhat large TeamSpeak server and Node.js site/forums for a gaming community (hence the need for DDoS protection) along with a few other personal static sites for myself and friends/family.

Issues & Support

Even the best providers can have issues arise from time to time, but it's how they deal with the problems that set them apart from others. Initially when I ordered the VPS, as I'm sure most of us do, I ran a quick bench.sh of the server. Immediately I noticed that the port speed was limited to 100 Mbps. I shot off a ticket to Alex and he alerted me that other users had recently reported the same and the problem was with a recent replacement of a DC switch that wasn't negotiating the correct port speeds. He quickly offered a refund, if I wished, since the VPS did not match the exact specs of what was advertised. I was willing to wait until the problem was resolved. Within two days, I received a reply from Alex that the issue was fixed and sure enough it was.

I also had reached out to get IPv6 addresses assigned via a ticket. Within 10 minutes it was done. 10 minutes! Overall, Alex provides great and professional support for his products and serves as a great example of how providers should keep customers informed and provide stellar support.

Control Panel

The control panel is your standard WHMCS CP. You're able to monitor your server (see B/W, Mem, & Disk stats) as well as power cycle and launch a serial console (not tested) from the site. The usage graphs don't load for me, but that's a minor worry.

Conclusion

I am thoroughly satisfied with the services provided by Alex at AlphaVPS. The VPS is top notch, as is the support provided. I wouldn't hesitate to order another server from him should the need arise.

Speed & I/O Tests

As with every review, here is the obligatory Speed and I/O test, using the ServerBench script:

-------------------------System Information-------------------------
CPU model            : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E3-1270 v3 @ 3.50GHz
Number of cores      : 4
CPU frequency        : 3492.021 MHz
Total amount of ram  : 1024 MB
Total amount of swap : 0 MB
System uptime        : 69days, 2:5:20
Load average         : 0.11, 0.15, 0.06
OS                   : Debian GNU/Linux 7
Arch                 : i686 (32 Bit)
Kernel               : 2.6.32-042stab120.19
--------------------------IPv4 Speed Tests--------------------------
Node Name           IPv4 address        Download Speed
CacheFly            205.234.175.175     101MB/s
Vultr, Tokyo, JP        108.61.201.151      9.87MB/s
Linode, Tokyo, JP       106.187.96.148      12.0MB/s
DO, Bangalore, IN       139.59.44.249       6.12MB/s
Softlayer, Chennai, IN      169.38.65.84        5.58MB/s
Vultr, Singapore, SG        45.32.100.168       4.75MB/s
DO, Singapore, SG       128.199.210.182     5.89MB/s
Linode, Singapore, SG       139.162.23.4        4.95MB/s
Softlayer, Singapore, SG    119.81.28.170       8.49MB/s
Leaseweb, Singapore, SG     103.254.153.18      6.74MB/s
Softlayer, HongKong, CN     119.81.130.170      9.90MB/s
Leaseweb, HongKong, CN      43.249.36.49        6.13MB/s
Vultr, Sydney, AUS      108.61.212.117      5.54MB/s
Softlayer, Sydney, AUS      168.1.1.212     5.32MB/s
Softlayer, Melbourne, AUS   168.1.65.244        7.64MB/s
Tele2, Gothenberg, SE       90.130.74.151       10.2MB/s
Tele2, Kista, SE        90.130.74.149       12.3MB/s
Softlayer, Milan, IT        159.122.128.84      13.0MB/s
Prometeus, Milan, IT        37.247.53.10        22.6MB/s
Tele2, Riga, LV         90.130.74.113       12.7MB/s
Tele2, Vilnius, LT      90.130.74.117       9.35MB/s
Server.LU, Luxembourg, LU   94.242.192.2        24.5MB/s
Tele2, Frankfurt, DE        90.130.74.155       11.9MB/s
Vultr, Frankfurt, DE        108.61.210.117      15.4MB/s
Linode, Frankfurt, DE       139.162.130.8       14.5MB/s
Softlayer, Frankfurt, DE    159.122.69.4        15.6MB/s
Leaseweb, Frankfurt, DE     37.58.58.140        14.4MB/s
DO, Frankfurt, DE       46.101.201.140      12.4MB/s
Vultr, Paris, FR        108.61.209.127      2.02MB/s
OVH, Gravelines, FR     5.196.90.200        9.26MB/s
OVH, Strasbourg, FR     5.135.128.81        8.02MB/s
OVH, Roubaix, FR        188.165.12.106      9.39MB/s
Online.Net, Paris, FR       62.210.18.40        21.7MB/s
Tele2, Amsterdam, NL        90.130.74.153       15.4MB/s
Vultr, Amsterdam, NL        108.61.198.102      15.6MB/s
DO 2, Amsterdam, NL     146.185.152.145     22.2MB/s
DO 3, Amsterdam, NL     178.62.219.145      20.5MB/s
Leaseweb, Amsterdam, NL     5.79.108.33     13.4MB/s
i3d, Amsterdam, NL      213.163.76.200      15.5MB/s
Vultr, London, UK       108.61.196.101      16.7MB/s
DO, London, UK          188.166.152.227     18.3MB/s
Linode, London, UK      176.58.107.39       17.7MB/s
Softlayer, London, UK       5.10.97.132     31.5MB/s
Softlayer, Mexico, MX       169.57.4.116        32.7MB/s
Softlayer, Brazil, BR       169.57.128.148      12.1MB/s
DO 1, NYC, USA          67.205.188.39       84.8MB/s
DO 2, NYC, USA          162.243.9.77        94.9MB/s
DO 3, NYC, USA          138.197.20.252      96.6MB/s
Vultr, New Jersey, USA      108.61.149.182      52.5MB/s
Linode, Newark, USA     50.116.57.237       102MB/s
Vultr, Illinois, USA        107.191.51.12       33.8MB/s
Vultr, Atlanta, USA     108.61.193.166      33.0MB/s
Linode, Atlanta, USA        50.116.39.117       67.7MB/s
Vultr, Miami, USA       104.156.244.232     38.4MB/s
Vultr, Washington, USA      108.61.194.105      23.3MB/s
Softlayer, Seattle, USA     67.228.112.250      34.5MB/s
Leaseweb, Washington, USA   207.244.94.80       86.3MB/s
Vultr, Dallas, USA      108.61.224.175      31.9MB/s
Linode, Dallas, USA     50.116.25.154       30.9MB/s
Softlayer, Dallas, USA      173.192.68.18       49.5MB/s
Leaseweb, Dallas, USA       209.58.153.1        27.8MB/s
Vultr, Los Angeles, USA     108.61.219.200      23.0MB/s
DO, San Francisco, USA      138.68.237.46       14.2MB/s
DO, San Francisco, USA      192.241.209.37      22.1MB/s
Linode, Fremont, USA        50.116.14.9     4.47MB/s
Leaseweb, San Francisco, USA    209.58.135.187      16.8MB/s
DO, Toronto, CA         138.197.135.163     34.5MB/s
OVH, Beauharnois, CA        192.99.19.165       55.0MB/s
EastLink, Canada, CA        24.222.0.194        30.6MB/s
Softlayer, Montreal, CA     169.54.124.180      80.0MB/s
--------------------------IPv6 Speed Tests--------------------------
Node Name           IPv6 address        Download Speed
Linode, Atlanta, GA     2600:3c02::4b       37.6MB/s
Linode, Dallas, TX      2600:3c00::4b       22.8MB/s
Linode, Newark, NJ      2600:3c03::4b       102MB/s
Linode, Singapore, SG       2400:8901::4b       5.16MB/s
Linode, Tokyo, JP       2400:8900::4b       12.3MB/s
Softlayer, Paris, FR        2a03:8180:1301:8::4 29.3MB/s
Softlayer, Tokyo, JP        2401:c900:1001:16::4    8.01MB/s
-----------------------------I/O Test-------------------------------
I/O speed(1st run) : 344 MB/s
I/O speed(2nd run) : 406 MB/s
I/O speed(3rd run) : 411 MB/s
Average I/O speed  : 387 MB/s