After following Mapserver development/evolution for a couple years, I've reached a point where a very small entity has requested my help to build a web-based dynamic map application. From my vantage point, it seems to be a great fit for a LAMP (Linux/Apache/MySQL(or Postgres)/PHP-or-PERL) environment.
Once in a while there are posts/blogs that point to Dreamhost and a couple others but so far each has been less than I'd hope for. Dreamhost does allow compiling your Mapserver.cgi with Apache2.x but asserts they will NOT support Apache DSO modules. Also, they do not allow Postgres..which would be OK if they just allowed DSO modules like mod_auth_mysql and php_mapscript!!! Other hosts that seem to cater to Mapserver folk appear to be still using Mapserver 4.x instead of the current, apparently stable 5.x version. I've queried one or two by e-mail and get absolutely no response, so that tells me a lot about how they take care of their customers! Short of contracting for a virtual host with root access at 6-10 times the typical cost of a main stream hosting service like Dreamhost, MidPhase, et al, I'm stumped with regard to WHERE to look! And this while I live within a 10-minute drive of AT&T headquarters and the new Rackspace mega-data-center!!! TIA for any advice/hints from mapserver production practitioners! Dave Nuttall San Antonio, Texas
