Managed vs unmanaged hosting
 

I know some Linux, but I am planning to start learning now. I will get it installed, read up to five or more books, go over whats on the Internet on certain topics, and so on. The goal here is to switch from managed to unmanaged hosting, pay less, and do everything by myself. This would include installing programs like Smart Tube Pro, and other things that may be quite advanced (people on the hosting that I have could not do it, and had to transfer the ticket to 2nd level support).

With that, I would like to get an idea, how hard is it to learn all this. Install everything on Linux (server, mysql / php settings, and other things), fix whatever would be needed, and do it on a good and professional level too. This is a separate area of knowledge, there is a lot of programs, additions, and I am not sure what it takes to get familair with all that.

Is it a lot, or not really, how much does it take to learn all this and be good at hosting / linux / support / running unmanaged server?

Thanks.

unless you have a shitload of time on your hands cheaper to get managed hosting.

On average, when setting up new server, we spend around $400 USD per server configuring Linux, Settings, Optimizing, Hardening, Installations, Updates, DNS, Email and so on. However, if you're work isn't just basic straightforward setup with some of the aforementioned then usually once it has been set up you don't have to do it again for about a year and sometimes longer.

We have work done every 6 months on our servers but its not absolutely necessary.

Yeah a lot of the support on the net doesn't apply to your Linux flavour (eg CentOS not Redhat), doesn't apply to your version (v5.0 vs v.10.0) and a shed load of the scripts out there are just untested and won't work without fixing.

Had a lot of fun learning but when I first started it took me two days to get my nameservers working properly.

my advice to you is to start playing around with DigitalOcean first, try out different flavors and things, maybe try and run few smaller project there and then once you're ready - just move to dedicated.

Few advises:
1. keep backups of everything
2. ask google about your problems or bugs
3. don't quit after you fail

Managed - 100% of the time... For the small price you pay extra the upsides of managed are more than worth it...

it's kinda like trying to fly an airplane based on some tutorials found online... yea, it's possible, but unless your goal is to become a pilot one day, does it really sound like a good plan?

Unmanaged for me, it's ALOT cheaper. Unmanaged you can use $5 VPS or even cheaper yearly promos while managed it can cost $30 extra per month management only.

It can be frustrating at first to learn but once you get the hang of it you ca save a lot on a yearly basis.

i am a noob to linux world myself (2 years) too got into unmanaged box when a tube site got bigger than i expected and wanted to cut down the costs. Its not that hard to learn linux,you just need time to search read and locate your problem then fix it. Just take each requirement from you tube script and google it for installation and configuration.
Good luck and take your time!

This :thumbsup It's really not hard to manage your own servers and it can be SO much cheaper not to mention you can setup things just the way you like!

It can be learned if you know how to navigate something like cPanel and install / maintain a good firewall. You can avoid the linux command line somewhat by installing the program Midnight Commander (mc). Plus, a frequent automated backup is 100% necessary. The thing I didn't like about managing my own server was the stress of wondering who was going to break in. With managed, shared hosting it is never on my mind.

fuck the control panel. THis is not the way to start learning linux using control panel.

I'd rather just spend the $30 a month than go through the hours you'll spend learning and testing and tweeking, plus all the frustration! lol

:2 cents::thumbsup

If you want to learn and don't want to pay the high cost of managed hosting i would just go with a hosting company you can ask for support and tips when it comes to your server without paying the high fees for the server or support.

Hit me up and i can setup on our server and our support will help you whenever you are stuck SSD CLoud Hosting - CLoudBlok.com [email protected]

there are many other host which give the same level of support without the crazy high support prices or server prices. You just have to look really good to find them.

While I usually encourage people to dig their fingers into the fundamentals of computers in general and operating systems in particular, you should consider the effort needed for maintaining a normal web site: you will need a web server (that's easy: Apache), a platform running your software (PHP, Java,...), a database (MySQL, Postgresql, ...) and the software itself. You will have to think about a backup strategy, set up your own e-mail service (sendmail is a beast!) and spend most of your day thinking about security. The rest you will be busy fighting e-mail spam. You will learn a lot of stuff, but I'd recommend starting with a (virtual) box at home and get your feet wet with the intricacies of Linux. Allow yourself at least a year for this.
(Disclaimer: I'm a systems administrator and responsible for a couple of Windows and Linux servers.)

That is a lot of effort to save $360/yr.

That is 10 PPS sales.

I would almost guarantee someone spending the hours working rather than learning how to admin their own box can obtain way more than 10 sales.

It simply does not make sense to invest that time for so little money unless you're really shitty at what you do an only make a thousand or two a year to begin with.

FULLY managed only :pimp and you can focus on your biz, getting traffic and making money :pimp