UnixTools' HostNine.com Review

Last count there were about 4 zillion web hosting companies out there. Some resell services and others have their own hardware. Obviously specifications, prices, service, etc will vary.

I left my last webhost because the owner apparently disolved his entire customer service department. Another service got big by buying up a slew of other services. Too bad their billing, admin, and migration services didn't work. Other issues have involved severe hardware issues, RAID arrays which didn't work, and one fire in the computer room.

Harware glitches are inevitable, so I think it's really the service which counts for the most, assuming the host has all the features you need at a price you're willing to pay.

This site, and a number of others of mine, were hosted?with Hostnine.com. I found them through a recomendation on the KeywordAvalanche forums. Since some of the KA people really stress their hosting services it seemed like a solid recommendation.

Hostnine has a live chat on the home page which is accessable 24/7 and the KA people recommended trying it. So I did. I asked plenty of questions and then signed up.

The inevitable issues with hardware and transfering sites popped up and the Hostnine people were always available. That 24/7 chat service doesn't go away after you sign up. Other times I've emailed them for whatever issue and their email response?has always been?measured in minutes, not days.

One issue has arisen, twice. If your site uses "excessive resources," whatever that means, they will shut it down cold. In addition, for some reason, their tech support suddenly becomes somewhat less responsive. No help is forthcoming to solve the issue, much less assistance with tracking the exact problem.

Of course, a hosting company has to keep their hardware happy. Excessive resource usage isn't good for their systems and can cause problems if left unchecked, so measures have to be taken. Unfortunately, since there's no way for the user to measure resource usage and to take action as it becomes excessive...

For this reason I have moved my sites away from hostnine.com. As I write this I am not?recommending any hosting service.

Greg
Unixtools.com