Ask HN: Which managed VPS will you recommend?
Need some recommendations for managed VPS hosting for someone who is n00b in linux administration.
Something like linode 512 but managed. Budget is less than $50/month.
Something like linode 512 but managed. Budget is less than $50/month.
What he needs is better performance than shared hosting( specifically in terms of handling high traffic) and ease of use.
Ideally, a preconfigured VPS with a control panel.
Highly recommended based on my two years old experience.
edit: It's not a VPS, but based on your description, you should check it out.
Shameless plug: my webfaction affiliate link is in my profile.
That said, you will need to familiarize yourself with the OS, control panel, and the other software that's included in the VPS image that you use. With this in mind, I think your time would be better spent learning how to set up a server. One of the biggest regrets of my career is the time I wasted trying to take shortcuts (e.g., using text editors other than Vim and Emacs).
Now, I have something of a vested interest in saying this, so make of it what you will, but /someone/ needs to know how to fix it when it breaks. My opinion is that a control panel does not make a managed service. I mean, a control panel is a great addition to a managed service, but a control panel without someone who actually understands how things work who is willing to clean up the mess when something happens that the control panel can't fix is a time bomb.
I think that if you don't want to learn how it actually works, you should find someone else who is willing to help you clean up when your system breaks. These things happen from time to time. Now, if that person or business that has agreed to help you out wants to give you a control panel so that you can do administrative tasks yourself? That's great! that's exactly what control panels are for, and some of them perform admirably in that role.
This entity who agrees to help clean up your mess? This computer janitor? This could be a friend who owes you big time, or it could be a consultant, or it could be your service provider. But you want to make this agreement ahead of time. You don't want to be posting desperate ads on craigslist while your system is down. And this person, the one who will be picking up the pieces when it breaks, should help you pick out an appropriate control panel. It is important that this person understands how that control panel modifies the configuration of the system. How well this person understands the internal workings of that control panel is going to be more important than how "good" the control panel is in the general case.