Datacenter Provider/Software

[jayadev]

I had a very good meeting today. It things pan out it will generate a few hundred clients instantly and well we figure that if that happens we should start our own hosting company instead of reselling others.
So I'm looking into providers.
I've checked out Alabanza.. I don't like what they offer as far as packages etc, plus their setup fees are atrocious.
I've also checked out VDI. Their packages are better but I'm a bit put off by their reputation, the fact that one of my sites was down as a result of their problems, and that their website isn't the best.

I'm looking for a sorta turnkey solution for colocation. I send them the server, they hook it up and install the contol panel stuff, and I can run it.
I really like the cpanel/webhostmanager software you get with VDI too.
I don't want to lease a server or buy it from the company simply because
1. I know I can build it cheaper
2. I've never built a linux system so it'll be a learning experience.
Also I'm assuming that I'll need to use a rackmount case for it correct?
Any advice would be appreciated.

[monaghan]

A rack build is far different that for desktop use.

Things to think about,

cooling, you don't have space for a huge heatsink & fan (unless you want to pay for 2/3/4U of co-lo space), therefore you need to design the motherboard / case / cpu combinations to provide the optimum cooling.

repairs, a DC tech will not be going to repair your co-lo server, if it dies, then they will most probably only pull it from the rack and deliver it to a build room, the rest will be up to you. Rental sever, they will repair and rebuild if you get a hardware failure.

learning, would you buy from someone who's not done this before ? By all means build a box and learn, but don't host your hard earned customers on a training box, get a "proper box" and host them there

[TWD_Tony]

Agreed - you REALLY need to know what you are doing before you co-lo a server... Have you ever used KVMoIP at 3am in the morning to try and bring a dead server back to life... Would you know how?

It's also not cost effective for a single server - you don't start getting the good discounts on space / power and bandwidth until you have at least 1/2 a rack if not more.