Hosting Showcase: Softlayer, The Stalwart Hosting Warrior

Ghan

Administrator - Servers are fun
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Softlayer is primarily a dedicated hosting provider that was founded back in 2005 to provide high quality and reliable dedicated hosting. Over the past 6 years, they have done all of this and more. Softlayer has exploded into the industry to become one of the largest dedicated providers out there and indeed, one of the largest hosting companies in existence, period. Softlayer has a very robust network that stretches across 7 geographically diverse locations in Dallas, Seattle, Houston, Washington, San Jose, Singapore*, and Amsterdam*. Being a large company, Softlayer has some of that corporate feel that comes through sometimes when dealing with their support. I have run into Softlayer level 1 support techs that were not quite fully versed in the problem I was having, which can be somewhat frustrating, but with a bit of patience, you can reach someone who knows what they are doing and will be able to help you. Softlayer's hardware quality, however, cannot be beaten, and their network is one of the best in the business.
The Helper had a dedicated server with Softlayer in the past, and unfortunately we had to leave due to monetary issues, but I would not hesitate to return if the config was good and the money was there. Their setups can be a bit expensive compared to other providers depending on what you need, but they often have a good coupon available that can give you an easy $100 (or more) discount if you use it correctly. And yes, that does apply for the life of the server, not just the first month or similar like many other providers. Softlayer has also extended into the cloud and managed areas of hosting, providing customers with a great number of configurations and options all under one host.

* These datacenter locations are not open yet, but are nearly complete and ready to go.

The quick and dirty:

PROS:
- Good support most of the time - occasionally need to find a tech that can actually help you.
- Excellent network - you can use private connections between servers in different datacenters.
- Multiple locations - Softlayer has been growing very quickly and has a presence around the world.
- Great hardware
- Lots of flexibility and options

CONS:
- Can get expensive compared to other providers
- Cloud setup isn't the best yet - my experience saw very slow disk speeds
 

UndeadDragon

Super Moderator
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These should have a sub forum, I'm enjoying reading through all of these.

It's nice to have someone with a lot of experience in the area commenting on their experiences.
 

The Helper

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Softlayer is the best if you can afford it. They are not afraid to fight ddos attacks because they have the hardware and infrastructure to actually handle those. Alot of hosts will just kick you if you start getting attacked. Softlayer puts up a decent fight for you.
 
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