Comment by heyitsnick | Hacker News Reader

Comment by heyitsnick | Hacker News Reader

I just want to add one alternative voice; I've been a slicehost user for about 2 years and I've couldn't be a happier customer. It's the first time I've used a VPS like this so I can't comment on how their service compares price/speed/functionality-wise with Linode et al., but I can say that:

- My sites haven't once gone down.

- I have found the whole interface and management backend very intuitive.

- Their articles are fantastic. I went from pretty much knowing nothing about servers or linux to running 6 sites on my slice, with email server, FTP, securing it with iptables, django installed, installing postgres with remote access, etc etc, all through their articles.

- The support is exemplary. Last week I accidently made a double payment (my stupid fault). I emailed them, a human responded within 40 seconds saying it had been forwarded to the billing department; 90 seconds later the billing department emailed me saying they had reversed the transaction.

(edit: formatting)

I have nothing against slicehost, but a key point in the OP was price. Ever since their June RAM bump, they (on paper) offer a much better value.

Its also worth pointing out that of the various benchmarks I've seen (a handful on blogs and there are some pretty key threads on webhostingtalk.com), Linode typically comes out on or near the top.

On top of that, you add their participation to things like Rails Rumble and their data center choice (just missing Asia), and it all makes a compelling argument.

Even before the Linode memory upgrade, Linode was more competitive for many uses because they offered 32 bit systems, whereas Slicehost only has memory-hungry 64 bit systems:

http://journal.dedasys.com/2008/11/24/slicehost-vs-linode

After the ram upgrade, Linode is a clear winner. I just hope they don't screw up the good service as they gain customers.

> whereas Slicehost only has memory-hungry 64 bit systems

http://www.slicehost.com/articles/2010/3/1/32-bit-images-now...

Good catch, I didn't realize that. Before writing my article and switching to Linode, I politely asked if that was going to happen any time soon, but they said no, and the rest is history. It took them, it looks like, over a year to add that functionality.

You wouldn't be happier if you got virtually the same experience for 40% to 50% less money each month?

Having used both Slicehost and Linode, the (user) experience is similar, node performance is better, and the price is cheaper.

I never said I wouldn't be.

I'm with Linode, but I have to give kudos to Slicehost for their documentation. This is my first time running a VPS and I have gone to Slicehost's tutorials just as often as I have to Linode's. I've also found the videos through vpsbible.com to be a big help as well.

I assume you've checked out Linode's Library? It's pretty comprehensive, with new articles being added almost daily (they have several full-time staff members who spend a great deal of time writing/testing library articles).

I'm with Slicehost as well and agree. I did have on major downtime though - a incorrectly configured RAID wiped my entire slice. Luckily, I only had a couple smaller sites on it at the time... but what impressed me was they gave me a year's worth of credit and did so without me even saying/asking anything, it was right in the email they sent explaining what happened. Mistakes happen, and they responded in a great way with it and because of that I have recommended them to many.

That said... I am looking at Linode now just b/c of pricing. I know you get what you pay for, but I've only heard good things from Linode as well.

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