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Looking for dedicated windows server provider advice for 25 or so concurrent RDP users
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Looking for dedicated windows server provider advice for 25 or so concurrent RDP users

Currently on an older RISE plan with OVH and my clients want to upgrade.
They currently have about 15 or so concurrent users RDPing into the machine and using basic office apps but are constantly hitting slow downs and performance issues at 64GB of ram (no surprise there).

They want to up the number of users to 25-30 so looking at what options are available.
This is small company so budget is tight so why I am looking to see what the good folks on LowEnd have for advice.

OVH has the upside of the server being based only an hour away from their offices (we're in Canada) and I believe we can move the current IP we are using over. That being said, I don't have a great history with OVH with getting absolutely fucked over a few times with their billing department and when some of their hardware died so I am very open to comparable services. OVH also doesn't allow for upgrades to their systems which would be really nice for down the line if the company grows more rapidly than anticipated.

Thanks for any advice!

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Comments

  • alt_alt_ Member
    edited March 2023

    Amazon EC2 or Azure probably suit your need.

  • BasToTheMaxBasToTheMax Member, Host Rep

    Why not use VM's with Ubuntu with xRDP installed? Ubuntu uses way less ram/cpu than Windows. And with Ubuntu, you don't need to buy any licenses.

  • alt_alt_ Member

    @BasToTheMax said:
    Why not use VM's with Ubuntu with xRDP installed? Ubuntu uses way less ram/cpu than Windows. And with Ubuntu, you don't need to buy any licenses.

    I don't think so. Users may not familiar with office softwares on Linux.

  • BasToTheMaxBasToTheMax Member, Host Rep
    edited March 2023

    @alt_ said:

    @BasToTheMax said:
    Why not use VM's with Ubuntu with xRDP installed? Ubuntu uses way less ram/cpu than Windows. And with Ubuntu, you don't need to buy any licenses.

    I don't think so. Users may not familiar with office softwares on Linux.

    You could use Onlyoffice. And Microsoft has web versions of it.

  • BasToTheMaxBasToTheMax Member, Host Rep

    @Tamerax What is your budget?

  • bruh21bruh21 Member, Host Rep
    edited March 2023

    You could go for an OVH eco server like the SYS-6-SSD-128 in Canada. Main downsides are:

    • It’s OVH
    • Only 2x500gb nvme
    • 500mbps port speed

    The upsides are

    • It has twice the RAM
    • It has an epyc 16 core CPU
    • it’s still in Canada
    • It’s less than $100 USD per month

    There are also 256gb versions and 24 core versions

    Else I would recommend @MrRadic

    Thanked by 1Tamerax
  • loayloay Member
    edited March 2023

    Hetzner dedicated servers with less users per machine.

    @alt_ said: Amazon EC2

    For the same configurations, he will pay at least 300$ per month for the hardware only.

  • BasToTheMaxBasToTheMax Member, Host Rep

    What about Hetzner?

  • alt_alt_ Member

    @loay said:
    Hetzner dedicated servers with less users per machine.

    @alt_ said: Amazon EC2

    For the same configurations, he will pay at least 300$ per month for the hardware only.

    I guess for EC2, you can talk with their representatives for better price. Azure Virtual Desktop is also a good alternative.

  • loayloay Member

    @alt_ said: you can talk with their representatives

    No, you can't.

    @alt_ said: Azure Virtual Desktop

    It is close in pricing to EC2

  • @BasToTheMax said:
    @Tamerax What is your budget?

    Want to keep it under $200-300 CAD/mn if possible.

    Also it has to be a Windows machine as we are just moving the exisiting 2019 install over having to retrain people to a new OS/login procedure/different versions of the software outside of the MS ecosystem would be an absolute nightmare. Some of the staff got really mad when they had to switch away from Office 2007 a few years ago :P

    I forgot one key piece of info is that they do have one piece of very specific software that is company specific and must run on MSSQL (which they already paid for).

    Thank you so far for everyone's advice. I have never looked into Hetzner before. Just seen the name on here floating around.

  • I also would like an opinion on the bandwidth speeds because I am looking at a choice between 500 and 1000 at the OVH selections and I am curious about what the real world differences in the speeds are for something like this sort of setup.

    I used a bandwidth calulator recently and it was saying with 20 users doing video streams, looking at 300/400 mbits but I don't know how accurate that is.

  • skorupionskorupion Member, Host Rep
    edited March 2023

    I'd personally recommend something like this:
    EPYC 7502P or Ryzen 9 5950X, or Ryzen 9 3900X
    128 GB of RAM
    Storage I'd recommend running 4x some TB NVMe in RAID10 (depending on current usage per user [current usage per user * amount of users/2] for calculating the amount of storage needed per NVMe, and maybe add some room for expansion)
    1 Gbps unmetered (with fair use policy letting you blast at least 500 Mbps sustained)
    And location: AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO WHERE THE USERS ARE

    Thanked by 1Tamerax
  • alt_alt_ Member
    edited March 2023

    @loay said:

    @alt_ said: you can talk with their representatives

    No, you can't.

    @alt_ said: Azure Virtual Desktop

    It is close in pricing to EC2

    It's possible that you didn't receive enough traffic. Last year, I negotiated a customized traffic pricing plan with AWS that followed the 95/5 rule.

    Thanked by 1loay
  • loayloay Member
    edited March 2023

    @Tamerax said: $200-300 CAD/mn if possible.

    @Tamerax said: bandwidth speeds because I am looking at a choice between 500 and 1000 at the OVH selections

    Hetzner is not suitable for this, their dedicated servers locations are in Europe but you can contact them for custom solution or check dedicated providers in Canada or US. Maybe @SmartHost can help?

    Thanked by 1Tamerax
  • alt_alt_ Member
    edited March 2023

    nvm

  • loayloay Member

    @alt_ said: nvm

    Yes, they have US location for their cloud not dedicated servers yet, but they offer custom solutions:
    https://www.hetzner.com/custom-solutions

  • @loay said:

    @Tamerax said: $200-300 CAD/mn if possible.

    @Tamerax said: bandwidth speeds because I am looking at a choice between 500 and 1000 at the OVH selections

    Hetzner is not suitable for this, their dedicated servers locations are in Europe but you can contact them for custom solution or check dedicated providers in Canada or US. Maybe @SmartHost can help?

    I was just looking up Hetzner and it looks there closets location is Virgina which is still not ideal but better than Europe for this.

    Montreal would be best but maybe NYC, Toronto or Buffalo as they are all about 6-7 hours away.

    But all that being said, I am looking at all the possibilities presented because open to things. Because they are all continues RDP sessions, closer is better.

  • edited March 2023

    They might be restricted to Canada only, depending on what they're doing or if they have certain privacy restrictions.

    In that case you can check out GTHost. They've got servers in Montreal & Toronto and they're active here on LET.

    For USA, check out ReliableSite in NYC.

    Thanked by 3alt_ loay Tamerax
  • alt_alt_ Member
    edited March 2023

    @CyberneticTitan said:
    They might be restricted to Canada only, depending on what they're doing or if they have certain privacy restrictions.

    In that case you can check out GTHost. They've got servers in Montreal & Toronto and they're active here on LET.

    For USA, check out ReliableSite in NYC.

    I guess you are right, I am currently using LinodeAkamai Connected Cloud for most of work, and ovh for handling high volume of traffic as in Ontario. I saw a branch of ServerMania in Hamilton when I driving on the highway. I don't know much about them, but you can probably take a look https://servermania.com/dedicated-servers-toronto.htm

    Thanked by 1Tamerax
  • If you want to stick with a host in Canada, I would look at @GTHost like mentioned by CyberneticTitan and Servarica @servarica_hani which is located in Montreal.

  • @alt_ said:

    @CyberneticTitan said:
    They might be restricted to Canada only, depending on what they're doing or if they have certain privacy restrictions.

    In that case you can check out GTHost. They've got servers in Montreal & Toronto and they're active here on LET.

    For USA, check out ReliableSite in NYC.

    I guess you are right, I am currently using LinodeAkamai Connected Cloud for most of work, and ovh for handling high volume of traffic as in Ontario. I saw a branch of ServerMania in Hamilton when I driving on the highway. I don't know much about them, but you can probably take a look https://servermania.com/dedicated-servers-toronto.htm

    This was funny because I looked it up and their Toronto locations are actually in Montreal LOL.

    "Looking for dedicated server hosting plans in Toronto? ServerMania offers the best servers in the nearby city of Montreal for a fraction of the cost of dedicated servers in Toronto. "

    I mean I think we have a different idea of what "nearby" means but it did actually put it much closer to me.

    AMD Ryzen 3950X with 128 GB and 1 TB NVMe for $249 CAD seems a bit high though.

  • alt_alt_ Member
    edited March 2023

    @Tamerax said:

    @alt_ said:

    @CyberneticTitan said:
    They might be restricted to Canada only, depending on what they're doing or if they have certain privacy restrictions.

    In that case you can check out GTHost. They've got servers in Montreal & Toronto and they're active here on LET.

    For USA, check out ReliableSite in NYC.

    I guess you are right, I am currently using LinodeAkamai Connected Cloud for most of work, and ovh for handling high volume of traffic as in Ontario. I saw a branch of ServerMania in Hamilton when I driving on the highway. I don't know much about them, but you can probably take a look https://servermania.com/dedicated-servers-toronto.htm

    This was funny because I looked it up and their Toronto locations are actually in Montreal LOL.

    "Looking for dedicated server hosting plans in Toronto? ServerMania offers the best servers in the nearby city of Montreal for a fraction of the cost of dedicated servers in Toronto. "

    I mean I think we have a different idea of what "nearby" means but it did actually put it much closer to me.

    AMD Ryzen 3950X with 128 GB and 1 TB NVMe for $249 CAD seems a bit high though.

    Glad you found a plan suits your need.
    That's quite funny! I just visited Montreal last week and took a 1 hour and 20 minute flight from YYZ. While I was there, I had the pleasure of dining at Bar George - a charming and atmospheric vintage restaurant that I would highly recommend trying out.

  • buddermilchbuddermilch Member
    edited March 2023

    @Tamerax said:
    AMD Ryzen 3950X with 128 GB and 1 TB NVMe for $249 CAD seems a bit high though.

    The company wants roughly 30 users to connect and work on the machine. Thats not really a small number. Probably 2-4 employees earn 250$ per hour alone on wages, thats the price of the server per month. I understand that small companies want to save money but isnt it more costly when users waste time because of a bad experience using office only because they cheaped out 100 bucks on hardware?

    Thanked by 1bgerard
  • @alt_ said:

    @Tamerax said:

    @alt_ said:

    @CyberneticTitan said:
    They might be restricted to Canada only, depending on what they're doing or if they have certain privacy restrictions.

    In that case you can check out GTHost. They've got servers in Montreal & Toronto and they're active here on LET.

    For USA, check out ReliableSite in NYC.

    I guess you are right, I am currently using LinodeAkamai Connected Cloud for most of work, and ovh for handling high volume of traffic as in Ontario. I saw a branch of ServerMania in Hamilton when I driving on the highway. I don't know much about them, but you can probably take a look https://servermania.com/dedicated-servers-toronto.htm

    This was funny because I looked it up and their Toronto locations are actually in Montreal LOL.

    "Looking for dedicated server hosting plans in Toronto? ServerMania offers the best servers in the nearby city of Montreal for a fraction of the cost of dedicated servers in Toronto. "

    I mean I think we have a different idea of what "nearby" means but it did actually put it much closer to me.

    AMD Ryzen 3950X with 128 GB and 1 TB NVMe for $249 CAD seems a bit high though.

    Glad you found a plan suits your need.
    That's quite funny! I just visited Montreal last week and took a 1 hour and 20 minute flight from YYZ. While I was there, I had the pleasure of dining at Bar George - a charming and atmospheric vintage restaurant that I would highly recommend trying out.

    I didn't go with that plan (yet) but just had a giggle at the Toronto servers located in Montreal which is the "rival" city.

    The flight is so short but I am very ok with this.

  • @buddermilch said:

    @Tamerax said:
    AMD Ryzen 3950X with 128 GB and 1 TB NVMe for $249 CAD seems a bit high though.

    The company wants roughly 30 users to connect and work on the machine. Thats not really a small number. Probably 2-4 employees earn 250$ per hour alone on wages, thats the price of the server per month. I understand that small companies want to save money but isnt it more costly when users waste time because of a bad experience using office only because they cheaped out 100 bucks on hardware?

    I didn't mean it in a "i don't want to spend that much" way. I meant that I think I saw comparable server configurations for less based on links other people provide.

  • I'd have assumed you'd want two machines for 30 concurrent users. Also, why are people remoting into the machine in the first place, instead of having their software locally. Finally, would it not be cheaper to just build a machine and keep it in the office?

  • @bgerard said:
    I'd have assumed you'd want two machines for 30 concurrent users. Also, why are people remoting into the machine in the first place, instead of having their software locally. Finally, would it not be cheaper to just build a machine and keep it in the office?

    Good questions.

    The short answer is there is actually 5 offices spread out in the area with several of the staff also logging in while traveling.

    There is one central file storage drive that everyone has various access levels too and one very specific piece of software that need to be accessed by all the staff but can't be split across multiple servers (major software limitation).

    Ideally it would be a machine hosted in one of the offices because then upgrading would be easier but none of the ISPs in any of the locations offer reliable or fast enough speeds even for business purposes plus if the power goes out in that location, all the rest of the locations would be in a pinch.

    Basically have several limitations that need to be worked around and dedicated box in a datacenter has always been the easiest solution.

    Thanked by 1bgerard
  • Just want to say thank you to everyone for your input so far! Very very helpful.

    I am still stuck on the 500mbit vs 1gbit bandwidth question. I know OVH claims these bandwidths but lots of people say they never really have them and also if I need the 1gb based on my requirments. If money was no question, I would absolutely opt for the higher and guaranteed bandwidths.

  • @Tamerax said:
    Just want to say thank you to everyone for your input so far! Very very helpful.

    I am still stuck on the 500mbit vs 1gbit bandwidth question. I know OVH claims these bandwidths but lots of people say they never really have them and also if I need the 1gb based on my requirments. If money was no question, I would absolutely opt for the higher and guaranteed bandwidths.

    Might be worth monitoring your existing environment to get an idea what you currently use and how much you'll need in the future.

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