I've run servers on pretty much all the local providers - FairPoint, Comcast, One Communications (previously Lightship), Waitsfield Telecom, etc. If you really want to host a 'server', you'll want a business class service. In almost all cases, (with the exception of One who is dedicated to business), business class service comes with additional line monitoring and a dedicated technical support team with a timed response window. Home service just doesn't offer this - and that's normally true even if you add a static IP to your home service.
In the cast of Comcast, they explicitly tell you that you can't run a 'server' on their home service. Some ISPs will block particular ports for home users (I had a customer using Comcast where port 25 was blocked as they were running home service). In terms of rating an ISP, this varies widely between home vs business. I've never once had a problem with Comcast/FairPoint/Waitsfield's business class services in terms of overall reliability and time to address issues. However, I've had MAJOR issues with home service from both Comcast and FairPoint (I called FairPoint 20 days in a row starting on the expected available date they set - I counted - to do a new install at my place and when I finally got it on the 25th day after I was told it would be ready I had 768 Kbps instead of the 3 Mbps I was promised and it turned out I couldn't even get the service they sold me). If you are happy with your current offering, I would suggest getting a VPS. You can get a hosted VPS very cheaply online with a ton of bandwidth. If you shop around you'll find pricing ranging from $20-$50 per month depending on whether you need cpanel, etc. If you are just hosting files and using it as 'just a box' you'll be on the lower end (usually with 300 GB/month+ on starting packages depending on the provider). With this, you normally get a static IP and the ability to run email/other services. If you consider the fact that you don't have to power your box anymore and will save on electricity this might be a better option. One of the better places to shop around for a VPS and other hosting packages would be http://www.webhostingtalk.com/. A lot of vendors monitor the forums there and if you post what you are looking for and your price range it's likely someone will make you an offer even if it's outside their normal pricing. -- Brett Johnson simpleroute | 1690 Williston Road | South Burlington, VT 05401 tel: 802-578-3983 | email: [email protected] | web: simpleroute.com On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 9:55 AM, Rene Churchill <[email protected]> wrote: > You didn't say what your budget range was, but both FairPoint & Comcast > offer static IP options for a slightly higher monthly fee. > > You can also use the lower cost dynamic IP along with a service like DynDNS > that changes your DNS host file as your IP changes. > http://www.dyndns.com/ You'll probably run into issues with having the > IPs flagged as 'residential' and the resulting email rejection however. > That shouldn't happen with the static IP ranges though as they're targeted > at business use. > > I've had Comcast service at the house for years and it's pretty stable, > going out for a couple of hours perhaps twice a year. One question to ask > the neighbors who already have Comcast about is how loaded the line gets. > I'm out on a residential road and it's great, but friends downtown tell me > they see a slowdown during the workday and the prime-time 6-9pm range. > > SoverNet offers co-lo services in Burlington but they're expensive. > Waitsfield Telecom does as well, their server room is located in Hinesburg. > (I think) > > Finally, shop for a T1, just for shits and grins. Since a major portion of > the T1 cost is the loop charge (the fee for the wire from the CO to your > house, billed by length) and you're right next to the CO, it should be > fairly cheap. See some sites like: http://www.t1shopper.com/ or call > Sprint directly. > > Rene > > > > > On 7/15/2010 6:05 AM, Gary Brown wrote: > > Hi John, > > I'm not sure if they serve your area, but I've been with Green Mountain > Access (Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom) www.wcvt.com for over 10 > years with a static IP and I've never had any of the issues you describe. On > the other hand, I've never utilized the level of service you are looking > for. For our needs (home server, etc...), they've been great. > > Gary > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Campbell" > <[email protected]> <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 23:35 > Subject: Local ISP recommendations? > > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > Intrex, the local ISP in North Carolina that I've had my servers on > since 1997, is pulling out of the area, pushed out by AT&T/BellSouth. I'm > losing my servers' pipe at the end of the month. This eliminates the only > advantage of leaving my servers down in NC that's outweighed the > disadvantages of having them physically out of reach (namely, that Intrex > was charging me much less for vastly more and better service than the major > > ISP alternatives), so I'm looking at bringing my servers up here rather > than > rewarding BellSouth for finally succeeding in driving Intrex out by > switching over to them. > > But for that, I need an ISP here, and I'm not sure what the options > are. I won't do business with Comcast, and they don't appear to offer any > plan that meets my basic requirements in any case (though it's difficult to > > tell, because the big ISPs won't put prices and details for high-end plans > on their Web pages... I figure they want to force everyone to call and > negotiate their screwing individually, for maximum possible screwage). > > FairPoint is my current ISP, but while I haven't had any trouble > with them, the basic residential DSL I've got isn't going to cut it for > hosting servers, and their rep is such that I'm not sure if I should trust > them with my email and Web servers. > > I don't know what else there is. I think I'm just far enough outside > Burlington (Milton village - literally next door to the CO here) that I > don't have any of the nice options that Burlington residents get. I don't > think Sovernet offers service here - though I should get in touch with them > > and find out for sure. I'm pretty sure VTel doesn't get this far north. And > > I'm not sure who else is out there. > > I need broadband (and not all that much bandwidth, really - my > 1M/384k FairPoint DSL is fine - but modem speeds just don't cut it > anymore), > routable static IPs (at least a three-bit subnet), and *no* usage caps, > port > blocking, listing as "residential" to cause other servers to bounce email > from it, throttling connections to competitors' networks, or any of the > other tricks that ISPs use to keep people from using their Internet > connections. > > I don't give a damn about Web space or email addresses or virusware > or any of that crap. I just want a pipe and the ability to hook Linux > servers to it without the ISP interfering with my usage. Given that, I can > handle everything else myself. > > Anyone got any suggestions or recommendations, or should I just call > up FairPoint and see how much they want to take me for? > > - -- John Campbell > [email protected] > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (GNU/Linux) > > iD8DBQFMPoHrPu/PJk2ePZ0RAu9qAJ9QhJ+KkBSXXW+JPDTYAeAnpWh2IQCgh2m7 > 0xE0j7kEfIt7QVwrHOrqFIg= > =0YDM > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > > -- > ------------------------------ > René Churchill > VP of Devleopment (i.e. Geek #2) > WherezIt.com - Your source for Local information > [email protected] > 802-244-7880 x527 > http://www.wherezit.com/ >
