Dissapointed

[FrankM]

After a year of shared hosting (and bad performance) elsewhere, I decided to go with a dedicated server at Hostrocket to solve all of my hosting problems (yeah right). I'm not sure how I stumbled upon Hostrocket, but when I did, they appeared to have some good equipment with reasonable pricing.

I decided to give their Technical Support dept. a call to see if anyone picked up and how long it took them to do so. I figured that was a good way to determine what kind of support I could expect in the future. Anyway, they picked up the phone quickly so I decided what the heck; I'll give them a chance. So I paid the $230 (2.8 Dual Xeon w/cpanel). Now I didn’t have to share my resources with anyone, or so I thought. I now had a dedicated server, the holly grail of hosting services. Unfortunately, what I discovered was my worst nightmare, my performance was the same if not worse then I was getting on my shared server. Of course, what really hurts is the fact that I am now paying $230 a month for dedicated poor performance as opposed to $35 a month for shared poor performance. But at this point the money is the least of my problems. I just want a host that does its job so that I can do mine. Unfortunately, my job has been to monitor bad servers lately.

The problem is with the bandwidth. Last I checked I am getting about 20.65 kb/sec download. Earlier today (5/2/2005) I was getting about 4.8 kb/sec down which is about the equivalent of a 56k modem. That went on for about 6 hours in the middle of the day. I was also getting about a 4% packet loss when I first started using the server. They have since fixed the packet loss issue. However, sometimes the server works with good bandwidth, sometimes it doesn't. It seems that at peek times is when the bandwidth goes to hell. I can digest some bandwidth issues during peek hours but 4.8 kb/sec, come on! I could throw a p4 (I have collecting dust in my closet) on my DSL line and get 40 kb/sec upload. There is nothing I hate more than an inconsistent server. I was hoping for a host that I would monitor for about a week and come to the conclusion that I was wasting my time monitoring that they had everything under control. Unfortunately I'm starting to come to the conclusion that I am wasting my time keeping a dedicated server at hostrocket. Dave Smulsky has informed me that it may be a bad switch and he is running diagnostics to determine what the problem is. In the mean time, I am paying $230 for a dual xeon server running at 0% load. Yes, the 4.65 kb/sec download really doesn't push the server to its max.

I'm worried that Hostrocket may be out of Bandwidth all together, because the problem seems to be worst in the middle of the day. If that is the problem, a switch isn't going to fix anything. It just seems odd that the switch works fine in the middle of the night but doesn't work at peak times.

I am willing to wait it out a few more days because moving and setting up a new server is such a pain. But these issues have been going on for 2 weeks and I am starting to fear the worst. So I guess I might be out $230 and a weeks worth of setup. Argggghhhhh!

With as tired and upset as I am dealing with these issues I am still hoping hostrocket can fix the problem. If they do I will be the first to say that they have. It may be that my issue is an anomaly and that hostrocket is a top notched host. All I can do is comment on what I am experiencing.

I'll keep everyone posted.

Frank

[FrankM]

Getting 15.58 kb/sec down as of 7:00 central time.

Here is a bandwidth test to my server.

http://deckedout.net/bw/meter.php

[FrankM]

44 kb/sec at 9:50 pm Central

[iDxMan]

27.58 KB/sec

12:51a EST 5/3/05

-r

[FrankM]

35.4 kb/sec

5/3 5:51 am Central

[FrankM]

17.68 KB/sec.

5/3 8:06 am

[FrankM]

Here we go:

13.79 KB/sec. 8:19 am

[KLH]

Well I highly doubt that hostrocket is "running out of bandwidth."
I just finished a test, and got 16.69 KB/sec, but I am also on a slower network, which is probably about as high as I can get..

If you want, I have a speedtest uploaded on my sharded account on Hostrocket, you are welcome to do a couple tests on there to see what you get on my shared server vs your server. http://speedtest.sphereshards.com/speedtest.php

[Silmaril8n]

Your current bandwidth reading is:

566.30kbps

which means you can download at 70.79 KB/sec. from our servers.

[HRTimothy]

Frank,

I checked with a technician about this, and I'm told that it was an isloated issue with a few servers which has now been corrected. This wass definitely not a network-wide problem; HostRocket has plenty of bandwidth to spare.

If you have any additional questions, comments, or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us. Have a great week.

[FrankM]

I just got in from a long day at the hospital. I am now the proud father of a baby girl.

After going through some 25 emails I recieved during the day, I recieved one from Dave informing me he has replaced a switch. I did a speed test and it appears I have more good news to report:

172.13 KB/sec. It may be more but I only get 1.5 mb down from my dsl. I hope it stays this good.

Anyway it has been an extremely long day and I need to get some sleep and get back to the Hospital in the morning.

Good night.

[HRTimothy]

I just got in from a long day at the hospital. I am now the proud father of a baby girl.




Congratulations!

[Silmaril8n]

Wow! Congrats!

My son is turning 1 year old in June... is this your first?

[FrankM]

Yes, it is my first. I can't stop holding and kissing that sweet little girl. Luckily my wife will keep her in line because I'm beginning to think I might have a hard time in doing so.

Now to the business at hand, after doing several more speed tests everything is still working great. I am no longer a disappointed customer. This is what I wanted when I made the move to a dedicated server.

Thanks to everyone involved at hostrocket for getting my dedicated server working the way I wanted it too. Being in business for myself I realize that sometimes things don't go as planned. But it's what you do when your company is faced with a bad situation that says what kind of company you are. It's obvious that hostrocket is willing to do what it takes to make a bad situation right and I appreciate it.

Now I can go back to serving my clients and taking care of my family and let hostrocket take care of my server.

Thanks again.

[cookie]

Hey, I'd like to install that php script on my new dedicated server.

I had a look around on the net and couldn't find a place to download anything like that...other than the online test that exist.

Thanks.

[FrankM]

It appears that there is still a little bandwith issue. I've been testing it for the last 3 days and have been getting around 50 kb/sec numerous times. I really want better then that. Does it work, yes. Is it optimal, no. Is asking for 150 kb/sec down minimum at all times asking to much?

[FrankM]

http://deckedout.net/bw/meter.php You can check the bandwith by clicking the link. Post the time and the speed. I can go up to about 160 kb/sec down with my connection.

[f-stop]

Well, if I am reading the results right, I got

1st test) 112.6 KB/sec from your server and am capable of getting 900.80kbps with my connection.

1st test about 1Min. later) 94.89 KB/sec from your server and am capable of getting 759.10kbps with my connection.

3rd try) 109 KB/sec from your server and am capable of getting 872.00kbps with my connection.

These were all done about 1 minute apart. Hope that helps.

[Sadoun]

Frank

I have roadrunner here and just did a test on your server. It is FAST.

Your current bandwidth reading is:

5.46 Mbps

which means you can download at 699.05 KB/sec. from our servers.

Check this post date and time.

[hanser]

Your current bandwidth reading is:

3.32 Mbps

which means you can download at 424.86 KB/sec. from our servers.

[cookie]

What I'm asking is where did you get the PHP file that you put on your server?

I'd like to put it on my server as well, and test my dedicated server as well.

Thanks for any info.

[darkstar]

i installed a speed test on my server because im worried bout the low speeds im getting and it says 300kbps (40 KB/s) and im on a 2 MBit connection and the server load is 0.00, is there something wrong?

[darkstar]

17KB/s thats just out of order, i usually get over 260KB/s from other sites

[FrankM]

I'm getting less than 10 kb/sec right now. In other words I could throw my server on a dial up and do know worse. Time to start shopping around for a new host.

I thought they fixed the problem. Evidently, they haven't.

[RammsteinNicCag]

I just got:

Your current bandwidth reading is:

3.40 Mbps

which means you can download at 435.45 KB/sec. from our servers.

[darkstar]

i think it gets really bad at around 22.00 gmt, cant we all pull together and see if we can make hr do someting bout it? lol

[FrankM]

Getting 20 kb/sec down at 4:20 pm. Yuck

[FrankM]

Rammstein I saw the fast download you got at 10:00 pm. That would be great if I lived in Europe. However, at peek times there is not enough bandwidth. It's probably a shared reseller paying $20 a month with 5000 clients sucking down all the resources. Or maybe a Britney Spears forum with people uploading their 1920x1200 pictires. Who knows.

Dave Smulsky said he is working on it. Granted, he's been working on it for 3 weeks.

Like Jack Nicholson once said "his is as good as it gets"

[f-stop]

Well just for another reference, I just tested again and got:

Your current bandwidth reading is:

2.65 Mbps

which means you can download at 339.2 KB/sec. from our servers.

[RammsteinNicCag]

Now I got:

Your current bandwidth reading is:

3.69 Mbps

which means you can download at 472.34 KB/sec. from our servers.

I'll try to test it again at another time.

Jennifer

[FrankM]

Been in contact with Dave Smulsky and he has informed me that they are adding an OC3. I'll keep everyone posted when it is up. That should take care of it. I hope.

[darkstar]

nice one :)

[hanser]

Your current bandwidth reading is:

526.30kbps

which means you can download at 65.79 KB/sec. from our servers. Which is slow.

FWIW, I installed this same script on my own shared server, and I'm getting the same speeds on that as I am on yours.

Actually, better speeds.

Your current bandwidth reading is:

772.30kbps

which means you can download at 96.54 KB/sec. from our servers. That's from mine. I dunno man, I'm thinking of going dedicated, but your story isn't too encouraging because I'm having the same issues with a shared account. Sometimes the test is fast (2.5Mbps) and sometimes it's like what I got with yours. :(

[KingMotley]

I've run numerous tests against Host Rocket's servers, and it's quite conclusive. Host Rocket's servers are being bottlenecked by something in their data center. The trend is repeatable and predicatable.

Midnight to 8:45am: everything is great. Low ping times, high throughput, and little packet loss.
8:45am-9:30am: there is a huge spike. Ping times skyrocket, low throughput, and packet loss increases.
9:30-6pm: quick drop followed by ping times getting worse over the course of the day, throughput gets worse, and packet loss continues to increase.
6pm-8pm: Things improve gradually.
8pm-midnight: everything is great again. Low ping times, high throughput, and little packet loss.

Repeat day after day. These tests were performed every 15 seconds over the course of one week.

It's currently 3pm and this is what I get:
Your current bandwidth reading is:

704.30kbps

which means you can download at 88.04 KB/sec. from our servers.

That's about 1/8th the total bandwidth that I get during off-peack hours.

[darkstar]

have u submitted your results in a trouble ticket? Could help them do something about it. What timezone is that in? I find its at its worse at around 10-11pm GMT

[FrankM]

They added an oc3 line last week and it appears that the bandwidth issues have finally been put to rest

[darkstar]

today its still really bad, 14KB/s on a 2Mbit connection, if its not fixed by next month, im switching to a different host.

[Gamerz]

this morning it was bad but it seems that they got the problem fixed so i hope for the best.

[milkman95]

/begin thread hijack
Hey, at least your server is up... mine has been down for over 24 hours... :(
/end thread hijack

[darkstar]

yeah ive had enough now, i bought a server today at layeredtech.com, hostrocket seems more bothered about "viatalk" and stuff

[RammsteinNicCag]

I'd really like to see a response from HR in this thread....

Jennifer

[bimmer95]

First my site was DOWN for over 24 hours straight and now I can't receive emails from my customers all day due to "a problem with mailbox2". This is complete BS, I'm going back to I-Dentity, they never had problems like this.

[darkstar]

ive been with layeredtech over a week now. I got an Athlon 2400+, 512MB RAM, 80GB Hard Drive, 1000GB transfer, 100Mbps for $65 a month, buy 3 months get 4th month free and its great, no troubles and you get bandwidth monitoring graphs and stuff

[Gamerz]

i had some trouble when i first got the server as well as when i was ordering it but once they got it set up i really haven't had any problems except when they didn't have the new line in and during peek hours the connection would be slow, but now i don't really have any problems.

The only think that i would like to see is they would drop the price because it is a lot more than some other places and i makes it hard for me to stay here.

[bimmer95]

I really REALLY want to know what piece of hardware in a mail server can't be replaced in less than hour?!? It's now been down for over 26 hours, complete crap.

[Gamerz]

I would think that is would be software because a computer is simple and i don't see how a hardware problem would just affect the just the mail and not the entire server.

If you are going to switch how would u go about doing it beause i have my domian registed with hostrocket. I can do data but that is the only real problem i would see in switching domains.

[npinchot]

You may need to transfer your registrar. Godaddy.com does free transfers if you buy a year or 2 of domain registration. Godaddy is the only one I know of off the top of my head that's cheap and will work well. Probably others out there too.

[Elisha]

I read your message regarding your disaapointment with your host.
How about giving [removed url] a try? You mention that you were being billed bandwidth, well guess what you have unlimited bandwidth with sparkservers, you pay the price listed on the site and no other hidden fees!
No contracts. Plesk control panel unlimited not just one domain! (Comes with the server) also, you will get a server, you will notice the difference. When they say dedicated they mean it. Best of all, the funds are Canadian.

Real customer support, and their prices start at $149CAD per month! Cheaper than your current host at $230.

check them out!

Thanks
Elisha

[RammsteinNicCag]

Any host that says "unlimited bandwidth" or "unlimited space" should absolutely be disgregarded because there is no such thing. Any host that does try to give this will eventually run into many problems.

Jennifer

[darkstar]

ive always been tempted to join an "unlimited host" and become a mirror for sourceforge or something to see what they do lol. There is of course the chance that they give u a slow connection speed so that u physically cant use too much bandwidth

[bimmer95]

My site's down AGAIN due to a supposed DoS attack. I'm done with HR, they SUCK.

[MarkHutch]

My site's down AGAIN due to a supposed DoS attack. I'm done with HR, they SUCK.

How is a DoS attack HR's fault? Just trying to understand your statement that "they suck".

[bimmer95]

Not properly dealing with the attack and getting the services restored is their fault. I've been doing high level network engineering for ten years, I know what can be done and it's not happening.

BTW, my site averages over $1000/day in sales, so I'm a little more pissed regarding these outages than someone hosting a Back Street Boys fan blog.

[HRTimothy]

Not properly dealing with the attack and getting the services restored is their fault. I've been doing high level network engineering for ten years, I know what can be done and it's not happening.

BTW, my site averages over $1000/day in sales, so I'm a little more pissed regarding these outages than someone hosting a Back Street Boys fan blog.

Please keep in mind that HostRocket is a budget hosting provider. Some users with sites with special needs may not be suitable for a budget shared hosting environment and should consider options such as dedicated hosting.