All good recommendations. I think the difference is in the contracts (I'm reporting second-hand, since I don't have access to the actuals). With Linode, anyway,

All good recommendations. I think the difference is in the contracts (I'm reporting second-hand, since I don't have access to the actuals). With Linode, anyway, I do a lot of hosting in VPSes, but these clients have contracts stipulating the hosting company manages/maintains/monitors the OS. I guess if I were smart, I'd get the actual contractual requirements from the clients. That'll be my next step.