WiredTree Review
Recently I move this site, along with a few other sites including CompuTalk to a new VPS (virtual private server).
A VPS is almost exactly the same as a dedicated server, except that they are typically slightly smaller and cheaper. Using virtualization software, VPSes mean that you can have your own OS, root access and everything, without having to buy a big, expensive dedicated server.
I got my VPS courtesy of WiredTree. I am currently on their “VPS384″ plan, which costs $49/month ($34.10/month when using the coupon “10percentoff”). This is a medium priced VPS. It is their smallest plan and comes with 384 Mb of RAM and includes cPanel/WHM, 40 Gb of disk space, 600 Gb bandwidth and 4 dedicated IP addresses.
This is a fairly reasonable price, it isn’t dirt cheap, but it is 110% worth it. I decided to get my VPS after learning some Ruby on Rails things, and because my websites on my shared HostGator account were getting quite big. I asked the live chat some questions, many of them fairly complicated, and got fast replies. Unlike many hosts, the live chat was able to answer my questions without referring me to an email address.
I talked to the live chat for a while, and was very happy. I then placed my order through PayPal. WiredTree verify all their accounts by phone (this is a good idea, keeps out bad people that will overload servers). I talked to the live chat again and was told by the live chat rep that he would give me a call within 20 minutes. Sure enough, 18 minutes later, I got a call from that live chat rep. He basically just verified my phone number and said he would get my account set up.
About 20-30 minutes later, I got a welcome email containing server details and the login details to WiredTree’s “grove” system, it is essentially an amazing support system with other brilliant features including server statistics, server monitoring, service monitoring, bandwidth usage and loads of other stuff. It is easy to use and all the custom tools mean that you can monitor your server and do many other things from within one system.
WiredTree have a nice selection of PDF documents that explain how to do a large amount of things. I followed their guide to set up private nameservers (ns1.calumneilson.com & ns2.calumneilson.com). I wasn’t sure that I had done it quite right, so I opened a support ticket. About 16 minutes later I got a reply to say I had done everything right and it should be working once it has updated.
I also opened another ticket about Ruby on Rails setup. My FCGI install wasn’t working right. Again, within 20 minutes I got an advanced reply from someone who really new their stuff. They advised me to run RoR through Mongrel, instead of FCGI, because FCGI runs through lighttpd but cPanel needs Easy Apache.
He asked me to call if I needed help, because he would be able to help very well over phone.
Pro’s:
- Lighting fast support
- Fairly low prices
- Reliable & fast servers
- Very nice client support portal
- Server monitoring tools
- Helpful live chat
Con’s:
- None!
So, to cap it all off, I have an amazing & fast server with WHM/cPanel included. WiredTree have a brilliant customer support system where I can get replies in just 15 minutes, compared to 6 hours+ on other hosts. I can’t find any faults, everything was perfect.
PuTTY - SSH Client
SSH stands for secure shell and is a method of connecting to a server that has SSH (normally linux) so that you are able to execute commands.
Using an SSH client is almost exactly the same as logging into a computer without a GUI. You are able to issue text commands to do almost anything. SSH is the most common method of managing and running servers, because when you log in you can do anything from install software to reboot the server.
To log into a server via SSH, you need to have an SSH client. The most used, and probably best, SSH client is PuTTY. It is simple, easy to use, free and does everything that is needed.
You can download the PuTTY SSH Client here: PuTTY Download
If you are a Windows user, you should download the top version, labelled “PuTTY”, the file is just putty.exe
If you don’t use Windows, then you should download the version correct for your operating system. Once PuTTY is downloaded you should open it up.
On the main page that opens when you start PuTTY, there is only one or two important things, so it is very easy to connect to your server.
In the box labelled “Host Name (or IP Address)” enter the IP address or host name/domain name of your server. In the box to the right of that, labelled “Port”, the default setting is 22. By standard, SSH runs on port 22. However, for security some server and large hosts such as HostGator run SSH on a different port, you will need to contact them to find out what port this is (but try 22 for now).
Now at the bottom click the “Open” button. A black window with white writing should now open. You will be asked for a username, type it in and click enter. You will then be asked for a password, type your password in (you shouldn’t see it typing, but it is).
You should click enter again and you will now be logged into your server using SSH. If it logs in correctly then it means you have done everything right.
If the prompt to enter your username never appears, or you get a network or connection error, then it means that it can’t connect to your server. This means the server either doesn’t have SSH, SSH runs on a different port or you are having connection problems. In all cases, you should contact your host or service provider.
If, when you enter the host name and click open, you get a prompt about a host key no being cached in the registry, just click yes.
If you get an error about an incorrect username or password, then try a few times and then contact your host for help if it still doesn’t work.