Dedicated Servers

Added: 11/04/2009 | Updated: 7 Years Ago

Setup our software on your own dedicated server!

Setup Fee
$245

There is a one time setup fee of $245 for using a dedicated server with us which includes us installing the server and configuring your site on it. Please see below to understand everything that is included with the server setup.

Recurring Fees

Monthly payments for the dedicated server are made directly to the company that the server was purchased from. We do not charge an additional fee for having a dedicated server.

You will pay the same monthly software and membership fees to us as if you were hosting with us on one of our shared servers. Having your own dedicated server does not lower or remove these fees.

We allow you to have your dedicated server in your own name. This means you pay the hosting company directly and you have full ownership over the server. No need to worry about us going out of business or trying to hold you hostage as your site is installed on a server in your name.

Benefits:

Ability to use the server to host other sites.
Ability to install third party software on the server.
sFTP and root access to the server.
Unlimited mysql databases with phpMyAdmin access.
Spam complaint management
Backup management with daily backups.
Your own IP ranges for your own email reputation.

Not Included:

CPanel or Plesk

We use our own software for maintaining the server and are unable to install CPanel/Plesk or any other similar server management software. However, we can provide assistance and are able to perform any feature found with CPanel/Plesk/etc.

Setup Includes:

Software

We install and configure the following software:

PHP 8.*
MySQL
phpMyAdmin
Apache
Bind
Dovecot
Postfix
OpenDKIM
RoundCube
OpenSSL
IonCube
MaxMind

Setup backups
We setup a backup system where both your files and database are backed up. We provide daily backups as well as an additional backup. Our backup is done on an individual file/database table level which means that if you need to restore a specific file you can (unlike most backup services that require you to restore everything to restore anything). Our additional backup allows you to restore an older version of a file in case your backup is too recent and the original version you want is already overwritten by the newest backup.

Setup DKIM and Sender IP
We setup both DKIM and sender IP for your primary site so that all of the emails sent have this additional verification allowing you to have improved email delivery rates.

Apply for feedback loops
We apply for 10+ major feedback loops. Feedback loops are were major ESPs (email service providers) such as GMail and AOL notify you when someone reports emails you send as being spam. We monitor these feedback loops and automatically remove any contacts that complain to prevent them from making additional complaints. By doing this we minimize complaints which improves your email delivery rate. In addition to this, some ESPs combine their feedback loop with a white listing service allowing you to gain better delivery by being a member of their feedback loop.

Setup private name servers
We will setup private name servers for the primary domain for your server. This means that you will have name servers matching your domain name (ns1.yourdomain.com). This way if someone does a who is for any of the sites hosted on your server they will see your name instead of our name.

Install 1 SSL certificate
We will install an SSL certificate for the primary domain for your server. We provide the SSL certificate and there is no need for you to purchase one elsewhere.

Configure software firewall
We will setup and configure a software file for your server using iptables to protect your server from attacks and hackers.

sFTP/RSA Key authentication
We setup your server to use RSA key authentication which is a more secure method for connecting to your server. We also disable standard FTP requiring connections to the server to be secure (sFTP) so that all ssh connections and file transfers are done with a higher level of security.

Our Control Panel

Instead of using CPanel or Plesk we provide you with our own custom control panel to manage your server. You will still have root access to the server for linux experts to use, however, our control panel provides you with an easy to use interface. Our control panel includes the following features:

Install new websites
Install WordPress sites
Setup email accounts
Retrieve and restore backups
Create new databases
View access and error logs
Block IPs

Server Management

Our control panel and setup is designed to minimize server management so that the servers basically manage themselves. In addition to this, we do annual free upgrades to your server to ensure that it is up to date. However, there may be times when additional assistance is needed. Clients are able to use their own linux experts or to hire us to using our support request system. Examples of times where assistance might be needed is installing special software on the server, or if a hard drive fails, or if the server is experiencing a DDOS attack. If a hard drive fails, or if the server is corrupted, we will need to reinstall the software and the setup fee is charged a second time. These things can be prevented. Cloud servers do not have hard drives that fail as they are based on cloud technology. Corruption of a server can be prevented by only using experienced server administrators and in our 6+ years of managing servers we have never had a client corrupt their own server.

Purchasing Your Dedicated Server

Dedicated servers are purchased directly from the company who provides them. We do not act as a middle man raising the fee and we do not limit clients to using specific companies. However, based off many years of experience we recommend using one of the two companies listed below:

iWeb

Dedicated Servers At $75+/mo
We recommend iWeb for their dedicated servers. We have used RackSpace for 6+ years. They are based out of Canada and are less restrictive about bulk emails than most other reputable companies (however they do have anti-spam policies). Their prices are very affordable, their network is reliable, and their support is decent. While their support is not up to the standards we prefer, because we provide management they are rarely needed so their lack of excellent support is typically not a concern (their is only used when needing something done physically to the server, like upgrading the memory. We do not recommend them for any software assistance).

RackSpace

Cloud Servers At $25+/mo
We recommend RackSpace for their cloud servers. RackSpace has a reputation of being the best hosting provider in the world and many top companies use them. They are well respected and have been the preference of companies seeking the best quality for nearly 20 years. While their managed dedicated servers are a bit expensive, their cloud servers are very affordable and built upon what we believe is the best network in the world. Their support is expensive, yet excellent. However, you would not be required to use their support as either we can assist you or you can use your own system administrator/linux expert. They have strict email policies and we do not recommend them for anyone operating an autoresponder service or doing bulk email marketing.

As far as the specs of the dedicated server purchased it depends on the size and needs of the sites that will be on the server. Only sites with 10,000s of active members require something more than the cheapest dedicated server available. Smaller sites (with 100's of members or less) might be fine with a VPN, but please check the VPN's email policies if doing email marketing as many times they are very restrictive. If purchasing a cloud server you can easily upgrade it or downgrade it as needed and we recommend starting with the smallest option. We have successfully operated fast loading sites using our software on servers with only 512mb of memory as our software is well optimized and able to run without huge requirements.

When purchasing a server please choose the following settings:

No Control Panel. We provide you with a control panel which our software requires and our software will not work with another control panel such as CPanel or Plesk.
Linux - Rocky. We require Rocky linux (a continuation of Centos linux). When purchasing the server it may show you many options for linux and typically one option will be recommended. Choose the highest version of Rocky linux that is recommended as long as it is version 6 or higher. If given the option we prefer 64 bit over 32 bit but both are fine.
2nd Hard Drive. While having a 2nd hard drive is optional we strongly recommend it. This way if a hard drive fails you have a backup of your data. NOTE: This does not apply to cloud servers as their storage is based off cloud technology. Having hard drives combined using Raid is also wise. However, even though raid has a very small chance of failing it does, and we've experienced it, so do not think just because you have raid that you are safe. Your safest solution is to have both raid and a separate hard drive in addition to the ones using raid. If choosing between raid or a second separate hard drive we prefer a second separate hard drive.
Unmanaged. Our servers do not require standard management as they are configured very specifically and our control panel does most the management. It is much cheaper to either hire someone (or us) if needing something than to pay monthly for management.
No Backup. We already do backups on the additional hard drive purchased (or if no additional hard drive is purchased we do the backups on the same drive). If an additional backup beyond this is required we do not advise using the backup service provided by the hosting but to use a separate hosting company to backup. This way if a bomb is dropped on their data center and everything is destroyed the backup is still safe in a far away location. NOTE: This does not apply to cloud servers, with cloud servers we recommend using their backup system.

SERVERS CAN TAKE UP TO A WEEK TO SETUP AND INSTALL SO PLAN IN ADVANCE

If your site grows beyond 1 server we can still help you and have it balanced across multiple servers and plan out a strategy.