By cbozman on
We currently have 30 (and growing) subdomains on our current host. We are looking to switch hosts and would like some recommendations. We are currently with Dreamhost and are unhappy as they provide little to no support and don't even provide us with access to the root so we can do such simple things as increase our PHP memory limit.
These sites are all non-production domains for client content development and design review prior to launch. Any recommendations that won't break the bank as far as multiple subdomains and decent support are concerned?
Thanks...
Comments
More specifics?
Can you be a little more specific as to what you're needing?
One is a higher PHP memory limit. If you actually want root access you'll need at least a VPS. If you need higher PHP memory limits, what limit are you needing? With shared hosting, it's better to find a host that gives you the limits you need than relying on finding a way to change it yourself - the host could lock those options down at any point, unless they advertise custom limits as a feature of your plan.
Support is something else you mention - fair enough. As a minimum, test out the support of any prospective host before signing up by asking them a few detailed questions.
Allowing plenty of subdomains is another one - that shouldn't be too hard to find.
But what else do Dreamhost not deliver that you need?
Could you give us some idea of disk space needs, and also budget?
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Hosting multiple subdomains
Hosting multiple subdomains shouldn't be much of a problem on most any hosting package - the piece that will take the most amount of consideration is how much control you want over the hosting environment yourself. If you want to be able to change your php.ini settings and increase memory limits, etc. you will be able to do this (to a point) with most shared hosting accounts - but keep in mind that most shared hosting will cap off your memory limit around 256M. This is actually a good thing - if you're on a server with other sites that are increasing their memory limits to gigs worth of memory, your site is going to suffer.
I think your best bet is going to be to look at a smaller Managed VPS server. You'll have several benefits going this route - for starters, you'll have full control over the entire environment. You get to choose the OS, the control panel, etc. Secondly, you have a guaranteed set of resources allocated to your server - so purchasing a Managed VPS with 1GB of RAM - that entire GB of RAM is yours.
The other benefit of a managed VPS is that the hosting company will handle security updates, patches and most other routine maintenance, so you don't have to spend time maintaining your server. Our Managed VPSs, for example, are managed down to the control panel - so if you have a question about setting up something in your control panel, you could call us and we would help you out. You get the managed aspect of shared hosting in a container you have full control over.
If you are managing multiple Drupal installs, you might also want to consider a host that supports Drupal Drush. If you're not familiar with it, Drush is a command-line utility that lets you manage your drupal installations very quickly and efficiently through the command line. Drush can be installed on any VPS, but may or may not be supported in a shared hosting environment.
If you give us a few more specifics we can recommend some specific plans for you - but none should break the bank and should handle everything you need.
Thanks,
Andy
Community Manager
A2 Hosting
Thanks
Thanks for the feedback. We're thinking of going with Hot Drupal. We've had a good working relationship with them in the past as we've steered many of our Drupal customers to using them as a host. They've always provided us great service and support.
In http://drupal.org/hosting,
In http://drupal.org/hosting, you could find many web hosts which are good for Drupal and all of them support drupal multiple site features.