Another Hosting Question: Linux, Apache2, PHP5, PostGreSQL 8.3

Question

Hello SO,

I'm hoping that someone will be able to recommend a good hosting company that provides the following environment. I know that I could just google for one, but I'm asking here first because I'm looking for someone that has previous experience working with such a company.

1. Linux Box.
2. Apache 2.0.
3. PHP5 (5.2.6 to be exact).
4. PostGreSQL (8.3.1).
5. Great tech support who know what they are doing.

A little background information for why I'm searching for a new host. I'm doing some freelance PHP work for a client that currently has his site hosted by, first name starts with H and last name starts with V (for anonymity). I'm sure they are a great company, but last night I was able to get my first glimpse at their web portal and frankly, it looked like it was developed in 90s and it terrified me.

I'm looking for a modern hosting company (my personal site is hosted by godaddy, and all the negative that they may get, their hosting control center is great IMO).

I have already spoken with my client, and they are open to switching hosting companies, so there is no problem there. I'm doing all my work on a local machine I have setup, so I want to be able to work with the tech support to get an identical server setup. Simple things like getting the correct php extensions enabled and ini file changes. There is also a part of the site that has its access controlled by http authentication, so I would also need to work with the techs to get that correctly set up. Access to folders outside of the web root is also definitely a plus (for example, godaddy does not allow this via ftp to my knowledge).

The programmer that was previously working on this site talked a bit with the techs at the current hosting company, and got the impression that they could not even correctly set up the pg_hba.conf file.

I'm also looking for a company that either already provides pgPhpAdmin installed, or can properly edit the pg_hba.conf file so that I may install it myself. The differences between the database for the old site and the new site that I will have finished are pretty substantial, so having such a tool would be a huge help to me when it comes to getting the site online and confirming that the database is setup correctly.

Anyways, sorry for the long winded post, and thank you for any replies!

Answer 1

Ask at http://www.webhostingtalk.com/.

Answer 2

Servergrove

Go for a VPS hosting. I have only positive experiences so far, you can do almost everything yourself over SSH. They are extremely helpful and uncomplicated. Plus they have an eco-conscious approach which I like very much.

Answer 3

try webfaction. They offer you a preinstalled environment (apache, php, postgres) and you can (if you want) configure everything yourself. Postgres Version is 8.3.1, the other version you can check yourself. Webfaction has a very good support, so I would recommend having a look.

The concept is a little different from a vps: If you take their software your get regular updates. Only if you install your own Software (like PHP)(which is possible because of a complete preinstalled build-essential) you have to maintain it yourself.

Answer 4

Not a programming question! Ah, what the hell, Hawkhost...

Answer 5

Godaddy.com is the best and cheapest