Dedicated Linux Servers Using Other Than Red Hat?

morzel asks: "I've been looking on the internet to rent a dedicated Linux server to perform some back-up tasks for DNS/SMTP and perhaps some minor WEB/FTP. There are a lot of options out there, from $99/month deals to over a grand a month. What amazed me is that in almost every shop, 'Red Hat' is virtually a synonym of 'Linux'. And even if there are different choices, it's basically 'Red Hat 6.2 or Red Hat 7.0'. I for one would like another distribution to be on my production machines (like Slackware), but are there shops out there that can give me that?"

"Since the initial setup of the machines is being done by the hosting admin team, it's very important that they know their way around in the distribution I want, and that they can support me when I screw up big time doing maintenance on that machine. (I do think I'm competent enough to manage without getting in trouble, but these things tend to happen nevertheless <grin!>)

Basically it boils down to me wanting:

• Good quality connectivity
• A greater choice in Linux distributions (Just slack is fine by me, but it's interesting to know if there are other options as well)
• quality support (both in the initial installation, as well as afterwards)
• Possibly added services (back-ups, monitoring)
• A reasonable pricetag for all of the above - mind you, I don't necessarily want the cheapest around, but it has to be payable.

So, what are your experiences with dedicated Linux server providers that offer more choice than Red Hat? Which ones are good, which ones should I steer clear of? What are your experiences on running a Slackware/SuSE/Debian/[insert fav. dist. here] server on the other side of the planet? All information (including blatant plugs) is very welcome!"

Comments

Re:Co-lo?

[morzel]

Co-lo is in most cases more expensive, and not worth the trouble except if you have very specific needs.

If you co-lo your machine you:

have to buy the machine

are responsible for the hardware maintenance, or an SLA is needed with the hosting company (mucho $$$)

Choice is quite limited - basically it needs to be nearby.

In my case (I live in Belgium, Europe), co-lo and hosting are still more expensive than in the US. I don't want to ship a machine to the other side of the planet, and hope that it gets installed properly. I want the hosting shop to be responsable for the HW, so that they can replace that fried NIC, without me coördinating everything.

Co-lo is an option, but it's not always the perfect answer.

Okay... I'll do the stupid things first, then you shy people follow.