Hybrid VPS -- What are your thoughts?

[SC-Daniel]

What are everyone's thoughts on a "hybrid" style VPS. I know a couple of companies already offer them but I am not sure how popular they are.

Basically what I am looking at is the following config:

Intel Core2Quad Kentsfield
8GB RAM
RAID1 or RAID5 Storage
OpenVZ or Xen
4 VPS per node

The prices would be much higher than your typical VPS and would have MUCH higher specs, for instance:

120GB Disk Space
1400-1800MB RAM
Equal Share CPU
Loads of Bandwidth
cPanel, DirectAdmin, or LxAdmin

We would probably be looking at closer to $125 per month

I'm not sure how well they would sell though! This would give people tons of resources and performance would outperform an entry level dedicated, plus you would have RAID and all of the perks of your average VPS node.

So how well do you think these would sell? Would it be worth investing in?

-Daniel

[T^2]

I'd think you would have a hard time selling it for that price. $125 you can get an entry level server..and it may or may not out perform one. And it also depends on how much bandwidth you plan to offer. It seems to me that your profit margin would be rather small?

[SC-Daniel]

Thanks for the opinion!

Yes, that is what I am afraid about, them not selling very well...

Bandwidth I am still working on at the moment because I am not exactly sure which datacenter I would want to offer these from.

I believe its a good idea if I could get them selling and the profit margin isn't too bad.

+Rep for the opinion ;)

[T^2]

I think you maybe able to find a niche for these things. Maybe if you offered them managed...and maybe gear them towards web masters who have a very heavy site and need the power of such a setup but doesn't know or want to run a dedicated?

I think it would be something that educated customers (ones that are up-to-date with the technology) would use.

[SC-Daniel]

That certainly would be an option...

I've checked a couple places that already offer them and the plans I am looking at would put the resources much higher for about the same price as say from Knownhost.

If I could build enough interest in them and have people ready to buy, I would certainly get a node to use for this concept.

And as far as management goes, yes they would most likely be fully managed ;)

[JasonS]

Hey,

This is why people like Known Host co-locate, they get decent bandwidth provision with Colo4Dallas. So if you wanted to provide Hybrid with lots of Bandwidth, you'd do better trying colo. BUT if you're only doing 4 per node, 500GB bandwidth on a 2000 - 2500GB bandwidth node wouldn't be too bad!

[SC-Daniel]

Hey Jason,

Actually, I was going to look into colo. It would actually be cheaper to colo a box of those specs than to try and lease one.

I would most likely choose FortressITX or GNAX

[fnixws]

Definetly too expensive man, for that price you can get a Dedicated server with almost 2x the avalible resources.

[SC-Daniel]

That is certainly a very good point Fenix...

Knownhost is offering two plans, one for $110 and one for $135 with less resources than what I would be offering.

http://knownhost.com/services/hy-vps.html

But I do see what you mean by getting a dedi with more power and resources.

That is why I posted here to get others thoughts on this, because it would certainly be a huge investment.

[fnixws]

They are fully managed if you didnt notice.

But ye, best to get as much info as u can before jumping into this.

[JasonS]

Hey Daniel,

You're an amazing guy I must say. You think everything through and you're very polite. The thing is, that people who want high specs with cPanel/WHM will want the cheapest option and cPanel/WHM on a VPS can be a LOT cheaper than getting it with a dedicated. The good thing with managed Hybrid VPS is that it's the power of a dedicated server at a lower cost with full management. Just make sure you have a decent support team!

I once looked at colo and co-locating higher spec servers is tonnes cheaper than renting, you should certainly consider that option. Try www.pacificrack.com / www.oc3networks.com as they're based near the coast and I have experienced good pings with them.

[SC-Daniel]

Thanks for the compliment Jason ;)

I'm very analytical... I always have been. I make sure I look at all angles and try and get potential customers input before going forward with anything.

I've personally never had experience with either of the providers that you suggested, but I will check them out.

I recently (as in the day before yesterday) purchased a high spec Windows VPS with Plesk out of a DC in Calgary just to test Windows + Plesk to see if it would be worthwhile offering it on our shared hosting division. Surprisingly the connectivity to here (Central Florida area) is excellent.

I've got a lot of various things in the works for Server Complete, such as LxAdmin and Windows Plesk shared hosting, Monitoring service, and a custom API bridge for our WHMCS to link to the remote reboot system in place by our main supplier ;)

If I were to bring Hybrids to our line of services, it would only be after extensive testing to make sure it actually would perform to my expectations.

Thanks again for the compliment Jason :beer:

[JasonS]

Hey,

I'd recommend Hivelocity if you're in Florida. They have some decent Windows & Plesk prices, might want to check them out. But I don't think windows is a strong market currently.

[SC-Daniel]

You know Jason,

When I was first looking for a dedicated server supplier I started at Hivelocity because they are only 45 minutes or so from my house. I quickly looked elsewhere after testing their network because it was horrible. I could only download at 50-100KB/s when I could download at 3000KB/s from BurstNET.

Windows may not be the thing right now, but just wait until cPanel for Windows hits the market ;)

[JasonS]

Hey,

Well Hivelocity aren't too bad, we've just move ALL operations from them since they're a complete blah. They're alright, speak to Kevin there for a cool discount and free upgrades :D

Anyway,
I wish you the best of luck with your HybridVPS adventure, you might want to use the LST CoreTask node...

[SC-Daniel]

I was looking at the LST CoreTask node, but honestly, it would be smarter for me to colo a box than to lease one.

I just tried the speedtest at Hivelocity again and topped out at a whopping 67KB/s and I am on the fastest cable connection you can get in my area.

[JasonS]

Hey,

Correct. Colo is much cheaper these days, if you contact me I MAY be able to sort something out as I plan to purchase some racks in California in the near future :)

With Regards

[david432111]

I'd say go for it, but make sure there fully managed otherwise most people would buy a dedi instead.