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My first instinct is to plan a migration to Linode or Softlayer. I use SliceHost because I want to push a button and have a running server, and push another but

My first instinct is to plan a migration to Linode or Softlayer. I use SliceHost because I want to push a button and have a running server, and push another button to resize it in less than a minute. If I wanted more control, I'd be using EC2. I'm hoping someone with Rackspace Cloud experience can pipe in, but at a glance, it looks like a more bare-metal offering, like EC2, where you have to worry about more of the low-level concerns. Thoughts?

rkischuk 15y ago
I'm hearing from Rackspace that the merged offering will preserve the easy provision/upgrade features. No promises on the pricing, however.
sbarre 15y ago
I've been using Rackspace Cloud Servers for about a year now, and like everyone else is saying the control panel is a bit weak, but you do get "push a button, get a server" tools on there. I'm far from a super sysadmin but I've been able to create/remove servers, resize them and generally administer them competently without any trouble using the Rackspace control panel. That said, my needs are fairly simple. The most complex thing I've had to do is provision additional IPv4 addresses on one of the servers (for SSL hosting), and a support person did that for me in under 10 minutes via their web-based chat support. Unless you have a site that will actually use the gobs of bandwidth that Slicehost or Linode includes (and I don't), then Rackspace Cloud will end up being cheaper.. My single-IP servers cost me between $11 and $15 per month on average, based on bandwidth used.
wallfly 15y ago
No, you are incorrect. Slicehost technology is Rackspace Cloud Servers technology. Cloud servers and Slicehost slices are running in the same racks on the same hardware using identical technology stacks -- always have been. The control panel for managing a Rackspace Cloud account and products (including servers) is distinct from the Slicehost customer control panel, and the support teams were distinct groups of people. Now these two corporate structures and logical pools of resources will simply be merged under the name Rackspace Cloud Servers.
- wallfly 15y ago
  Oh, forgot to point out the other big difference. Slicehost had (and still has) a monthly billing model with a monthly bandwidth allowance bundled into the cost. Rackspace Cloud Servers costs are calculated on two factors: how many hours the Cloud Server ran that month (from the day/time you instantiated it); AND then bandwidth usage is calculated separately, based on some $$/GB rate: http://www.rackspace.com/cloud/cloud_hosting_products/servers/pricing/ http://www.rackspace.com/cloud/cloud_hosting_products/server... So, the real point is that even if this wasn't apparent to you the customer, the substantial differences between Cloud Servers and Slices was branding and different pricing models; the support teams were also separate (and the two front-line support teams have different "styles"). Otherwise, behind the scenes, they're literally the same thing -- in terms of data centers, hardware platforms and hypervisors, etc., etc.
  - kaiuhl 15y ago
    This is what I was looking for in this thread, so thank you. The email left me concerned of the transition and what it would mean for uptime of websites, but if it's literally just a change of billing, branding, and control panel, why are they waiting months and months to change this? If it doesn't affect my websites' uptimes or IPs, they should just rip off the bandaid now.

rkischuk 15y ago

I'm hearing from Rackspace that the merged offering will preserve the easy provision/upgrade features. No promises on the pricing, however.

sbarre 15y ago

I've been using Rackspace Cloud Servers for about a year now, and like everyone else is saying the control panel is a bit weak, but you do get "push a button, get a server" tools on there. I'm far from a super sysadmin but I've been able to create/remove servers, resize them and generally administer them competently without any trouble using the Rackspace control panel. That said, my needs are fairly simple. The most complex thing I've had to do is provision additional IPv4 addresses on one of the servers (for SSL hosting), and a support person did that for me in under 10 minutes via their web-based chat support. Unless you have a site that will actually use the gobs of bandwidth that Slicehost or Linode includes (and I don't), then Rackspace Cloud will end up being cheaper.. My single-IP servers cost me between $11 and $15 per month on average, based on bandwidth used.

wallfly 15y ago

No, you are incorrect. Slicehost technology is Rackspace Cloud Servers technology. Cloud servers and Slicehost slices are running in the same racks on the same hardware using identical technology stacks -- always have been. The control panel for managing a Rackspace Cloud account and products (including servers) is distinct from the Slicehost customer control panel, and the support teams were distinct groups of people. Now these two corporate structures and logical pools of resources will simply be merged under the name Rackspace Cloud Servers.

wallfly 15y ago
Oh, forgot to point out the other big difference. Slicehost had (and still has) a monthly billing model with a monthly bandwidth allowance bundled into the cost. Rackspace Cloud Servers costs are calculated on two factors: how many hours the Cloud Server ran that month (from the day/time you instantiated it); AND then bandwidth usage is calculated separately, based on some $$/GB rate: http://www.rackspace.com/cloud/cloud_hosting_products/servers/pricing/ http://www.rackspace.com/cloud/cloud_hosting_products/server... So, the real point is that even if this wasn't apparent to you the customer, the substantial differences between Cloud Servers and Slices was branding and different pricing models; the support teams were also separate (and the two front-line support teams have different "styles"). Otherwise, behind the scenes, they're literally the same thing -- in terms of data centers, hardware platforms and hypervisors, etc., etc.
- kaiuhl 15y ago
  This is what I was looking for in this thread, so thank you. The email left me concerned of the transition and what it would mean for uptime of websites, but if it's literally just a change of billing, branding, and control panel, why are they waiting months and months to change this? If it doesn't affect my websites' uptimes or IPs, they should just rip off the bandaid now.