Managed or unmanaged dedicated servers

[infoserv]

I would like to know what are all of the differences between a dedicated server that is managed and one that is unmanaged. I want to determine if I can go unmanaged.

[Matt]

The main difference is that with managed, we install the OS and cPanel, and completely configure and secure the machine for you. We also add your server to our internal monitors so that we are alerted if their are any issues which may affect your server's performance. We also proactively go in and fix any problems that we see, usually before you even know about it.

With managed we also continuously update the server software, perform minor optimizations, manage the firewall, and add additional security precautions as we become aware of the need for them. Kernel updates are also included.

With unmanaged, we install the OS, control panel (if desired) and then hand you the root logins and remote reboot port. It is up to you to secure the box and configure the operating system and control panel. If you need support from us, we generally bill out for it. Repairs we always will bill for with an unmanaged dedicated server.

With managed all support is free, unless you require something outside of our normal product offering, or if you do something silly like format your servers primary hardrive we'd of course need to bill for an OS reload. Many of our managed users do not even have a root login and we handle the entire thing for them. Root + managed is entirely optional and we allow both options, whereas some managed providers will not give root.