OK, so maybe I'm not looking for a VPS per se but I suspect I am given the requirements I have. I am looking for a new web host, both for my personal work and on behalf of my company. (Two separate entities entirely, but odds are I'll end up using the same host for both just to make my life easier.) My specific requirements relate to running medium to large PHP-based web sites. The host we've been using at work is having trouble scaling up nicely, and I want to see what else is out there. Requirements are: - Apache 2 + Must include mod_rewrite, mod_deflate, and other modern tools + Must support at least 2 GB storage per account. - MySQL 5 installed by default. + Must allow databases up to 1 GB in size at least. Larger would be even nicer. + Must support remote database management (tunneled through SSH is OK). + Must allow InnoDB tables; requiring it database-wide and using a different DB server for it is acceptable. - PHP 5.2.3 or better installed by default, including + User-configurable memory limit, up to at least 100 MB. + Respectable set of PHP modules enabled, including SOAP, PDO, SQLite, XML/XSLT, etc. The "modern" tools. + Must be able and willing to install additional PHP modules upon request. + Must be able and willing to configure an opcode cache upon request, or even have it by default. (Here's where I suspect a VPS will be necessary.) - Managed I'm a web developer, not a sysadmin. Installing, configuring, and upgrading the above (such as opcode caches, PHP modules, etc.) must be something the host does, not something they expect me to do. I also don't want to have to go through a multi-week song and dance before the host is convinced to install a common PHP module. (I had to do that to get SOAP support at our current host, and they don't allow us to tweak the memory limit, which is why we're looking elsewhere. A decent control panel is, of course, a must. I admit to not actually liking CPanel or Plesk, as I find them way over-featured and therefore impossible to navigate, but I can probably deal if the host is good otherwise. Naturally a good reputation for not over-selling is also important. It should also be based in the continental USA, but I don't particularly care if they're local. Good corporate citizen track record (e.g., hosts public mirrors) is good icing but not make-or-break as long as they're not douchebags. We're willing to pay for quality, but not be robbed for it. We're looking for a company we can partner with long-term for hosing several dozen sites. So, does this sound like anyone you know? :-) Any hosts you can recommend/avoid? So far random searching has turned up Amazon EC2 and Jaguar VPS as possibilities, but I'd like to get broader input if possible. Thanks all! -- Larry Garfield larry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
