There are certain items that will always come with it: rebooting stuck servers, load monitoring, and just about anything that relates to making sure that your server maintains a bare minimum standard of operation are just about always in there.  If nothing else, your host will need to do most of these things to make sure you don’t have a greater impact on their network.

Nonetheless, some hosts push the envelope by offering you way more than that, stuff that you would normally just assume would always be your responsibility to handle.  We went through our list of providers, and here are some hosts that are stretching the boundaries of what it means to be “managed::

1) Codero

Codero offers four different levels of managed hosting.  Three of the plans include managing operating system, server and software patches. The top 2 include daemon and service troubleshooting and security audits, and the highest level account also adds in application troubleshooting.  All four packages include optional paid support for anything else not already covered.

2) Lunarpages

Lunarpages’ highest managed service offers a number of important security features.  Among these are notifications of exploits on popular software packages, guaranteed same day hardware replacement, upgrades of Apache, PHP and even the kernel upon user authorization. For the latter, they don’t just do it, but inform you and then let you decide. Hardware replacement can be a major bonus if some critical flaw is found in, say, a RAM chip on your machine.

3) AYKsolutions

The list of services AYKsolutions offers goes right off the chart.  Control panel support, hack recovery and dissection, server hardening and optimization are included. Hack recovery and dissection means that if you are hacked, they’ll help you figure out how to fix it. Guess what? That’s in their lowest level package!  Their list of what they add to that for their full package is a few dozen items long, and includes such items as installation of 3^rd party software and custom kernel configurations: considering what a host risks if they do it wrong, that’s a highly notable service to offer.

4) Hosting.com

Hosting.com doesn’t have a list of services as long as some of the above, but they do offer some specific services that many sites might find critical.  Among them is compliance management, in which they help the user achieve compliance with a number of important business certifications, such as HIPAA and PCI (Payment Card Industry).

5) Connectria

Connectria’s managed hosting services offer some of all of the above.  They will perform server hardening for both Linux and Windows machines, server protection from many different fronts including “Advanced Attack Correlation”, and more than a half dozen types of data encryption.

Web hosts are aware of the fact that there is far more involved with web hosting than even the most dedicated and capable webmaster can keep up with.  They are showing this understanding in their managed hosting packages, and this is a case where you, as the consumer, can definitely use this to your advantage.

Related posts:

• September 20, 2011 – Dedicated Hosting: Managed or Unmanaged?
• September 15, 2011 – From Dedicated Servers To Managed Hosting – Life In The Fast Lane
• June 22, 2011 – Global Event and Media Group Managed Hosting Solutions
• June 14, 2011 – Ascent to Partner with Comcast
• June 1, 2011 – Latisys Expands Credit Facility to $125 Million
• April 28, 2011 – A Review of the Most Affordable Windows Web Hosting Providers
• February 28, 2011 – What Does a Managed Web Hosting Provider Do?
• February 21, 2011 – New Partner Program Announced by Tenzing
• June 30, 2010 – Dedicated Web Hosting – Plan Options
• March 9, 2010 – The Difference Between Managed Hosting and Colocation Hosting

Prior to the merger in May of 2009, both providers operated their VMware-based cloud hosting solutions independently.  Thanks to their strikingly similar infrastructures, scalable platforms and dedication to support, the integration process was seamless, going off without a hitch.

Art Zeile, HostMySite CEO, revealed that the company will continue to integrate HostMySite and Hosting.com cloud computing solutions at a fast pace to deliver highly sought after, client-centric services to the virtual and cloud markets.  He says the name Cloud 9 was chosen because it is already an established cloud hosting band.  According to Zeile, these two new solutions will provide customers with an unparalleled level of flexibility and control.

Cloud 9 Enterprise provides customers with an on-demand cloud hosting solution via a secure web portal, giving businesses the ability to quickly deploy virtual servers and modify their resources on an as-needed basis.  The service is quite comparable to a virtual private server yet offers the additional benefits of high availability and adaptability.  Cloud 9 Enterprise doesn’t require any contracts, allowing customers to provision and incorporate resources such as RAM, storage and RAM online in a matter of minutes.

Cloud 9 Private delivers virtual, clustered environments at a price considerably lower than traditional dedicated server solutions.  The service provides an enhanced level of scalability, fault tolerance and security in an isolated environment occupied by a single tenant.

News of the merger was HostMySite.com’s first major announcement since acquiring Hosting.com.  Company reps are confident that several business clients will make use of the Cloud 9 Enterprise and Cloud 9 Private solutions to extend their internal cloud environments to geographically distributed infrastructures in its SAS 70 Type II certified data centers.

HostMySite/Hosting.com is said to be working closely with the VMware platform to deliver enterprise-class cloud hosting solutions to businesses of all sizes.  The company is actively participating in the VMware vCloud Initiative and working side by side with VMware to launch trial-offer cloud hosting services for virtual appliances and general hosting needs.  Enterprise and small to medium sized businesses can leverage the benefits of the VMware virtualization platform via both the Cloud 9 Enterprise and Cloud 9 Private solutions.

About HostMySite/Hosting.com

As a fully merged entity, HostingMySite/Hosting.com provides enterprise-level dedicated and colocation hosting, managed hosting, cloud computing, disaster recovery and business continuity services to a global base of customers.  The company operates multiple world-class data centers in California, Delaware and Kentucky with another facility currently being constructed in Denver, Colorado.  The HostMySite/Hosting.com infrastructure is designed to support business clients who run mission-critical operations and demand a high level of availability.

Related posts:

• January 20, 2012 – Data Backup and Recovery Solutions
• December 30, 2011 – Comparison of Popular Web Hosting Methods
• December 2, 2011 – Is Cloud Computing Worth It for Your Business?
• November 19, 2011 – Know What Cloud Hosting Has to Offer You
• November 19, 2011 – The Future of Cloud Computing – Where it’s Going, and What it Means for You
• October 6, 2011 – 5 Hosting providers that re-define “Managed”
• October 5, 2011 – A Look at Common Cloud Hosting Lingo, Part One
• September 2, 2011 – Saving Money and Increasing Sales with the Cloud
• August 31, 2011 – Top 5 Cloud Storage Service Providers
• August 31, 2011 – The Buzz Surrounding FireHost