You have to start somewhere. And right now the amount of transparency in the dedicated server market is pretty atrocious. How do you begin to compare one plan

You have to start somewhere. And right now the amount of transparency in the dedicated server market is pretty atrocious. How do you begin to compare one plan from another, one provider from the next? Server spec and price gives a hard number that you can use. It's certainly not the only number you should. But if someone is ripping you off on a commodity part or feature, you're going to be inclined to think that they're doing that to you in other places. FYI I do expect people will want and factor in those extra services in their decision. Those services should be made available with their costs, SLAs and exact support spelled out (aka an explicit managed hosting plan). I'll eventually work this all into the analysis of provider plans.