Root Access to Dedicated Server: $20

Maybe I'm a bit of a control freak, but I don't like shared web hosting. Yes, it is cheap, and if you are really scraping on your budget then it's wise to opt for the tiny bill. In fact there are plenty of places out there on the Web that will host your files for free. You probably get some web space with your Internet access account, and that's a great pace to start if you really want to stay cash-flow neutral or positive. You could start there and only move up when you have enough revenue from your site to pay for your own domain name and better hosting.

For me, though, it isn't a good fit. I run about 9 different domains, including web and email. I like being able to experiment with new server technologies. In short, I want root. Now, there are plenty of places out there that will lease you dedicated hardware, but usually for a pretty steep price. If you have $100 a month to spend, you probably can find what you want at The Planet. I have worked with them before and always got good support. But my sites were not making $100 a month in revenue, and I don't like being cash flow negative.

If you have broadband and your provider allows it, you might be able to build a machine yourself and host it at home. If you have an old PC lying around, you can install Linux on that old codger and put it back to work. I had trouble with this solution, though, because my provider was not quite as reliable as I wanted, and seemed to randomly change firewall rules to block my traffic. (Plus, that old box could flame out at any moment!)

The solution to the problem is virtualization. The technology behind it is pretty high tech. I don't fully understand it myself. But what it basically means is that your hosting provider builds a big server farm, and then subdivides it into virtual machines, which he leases out to you. This is a sort of hybrid approach. Although you do not get truly dedicated hardware, you do get a "server instance" of your own, to which you and only you have full access. Other virtual servers on the same hardware are kept completely separate, and you won't even know they exist. Because virtualization allows the hardware resources to be divided up into smaller pieces, you only have to pay for part of the hardware.

There are a few places where you can get a virtual server. I think the two best choices are Linode and OpenHosting. OpenHosting uses what they call utility pricing, billing you only for what resources you use, and expanding resources dynamically as your server demands them. Linode, on the other hand, dedicates resources to your use, and limits your access to those resources for which you have paid. Linode allows you to install any number of different Linux distributions on your virtual server, where OpenHosting gives you Fedora Core 4.

I have not used OpenHosting, but I have used Linode and I can tell you that the tools and service that they provide are good quality. I heartily recommend Linode to anyone looking for this kind of service. (If anyone out there has a review of OpenHosting or another virtual server provider, please post a comment.) Both services have virtual servers starting at $20 a month.

All the providers mentioned in this article rent month-to-month, no long term contract required. I'm not getting paid for these links, I just like the companies and wanted to spread the word. I hope it helps you with your own hosting needs.