Usable JSP/Servlet Hosting

Question

Has anyone found a usable JSP/Servlet hosting provider? Lunarpages offers JSP as an option, but the server they use (Resin 2.1) is poorly implemented, out of date, cantankerous, and is always running out of memory. There's javaservlethosting.com, but they apparently have a rather negative reputation for poor service. Myjavaserver.com is cool, but limited to ~5MB of stuff. Not a lot of space to work with.

Ideally, I'd like to run applications like Apache Roller and JForum, as I'm rather tired of the constant security issues with PHP apps. Java also provides more options for customizing the software without having the beg the hosting provider to install a PHP extension to meet the needs of the plugin.

Any ideas? Are there any decent hosting options short of a dedicated server?

Answer 1

If you're open to virtual private server (VPS) hosting, I can recommend eApps. It may not be suitable for more memory-intensive apps, however.

Answer 2

look at http://www.kattare.com/

Answer 3

Hey,

I tried kattare.com, had to chase them for my server after 2 days, and I had a 'my tomcats not working' support question out for 5 days without any response at all - plus after the total 8 or 9 days still no sign of the domain name I asked them for. Waste of $20. Not recommended!

I'm now using javaservlethosting.com. Much much better, really great UI for managing your space and all just happened quickly and without fuss. $17.50 per month right now, 1GB of storage, 3 MySQL databases - so far, I'm enjoying the experience...recommended.

I'll update this answer if anything else interesting as I haven't actually used it much yet...

Answer 4

Why not host it yourself? All you need is a server and a static IP (there are even workaround for that).

Answer 5

Something else I thought about but didn't try, hosting in a cloud like Amazon EC2. Could be a neat compromise between having your own server where you don't have to build the stack, and could turn out to be a cheap option if you're not planning on consuming much in the way of resources.

Found JBoss EC2 as a servlet container in that environment.

Answer 6

I moved from JavaServletHosting.com to JSP Servlet.net because they impose fewer restrictions on what you can and cannot do in your Java app (e.g. JSH restrict [or used to] the use of a number of common Java libraries because of the way they host apps).

Update: I've moved from JSP Servlet.net to VPS hosting with Rimu Hosting.

Answer 7

If you don't mind using your own virtual server, I recommend using VPSLink. It's the cheapest I've ever seen, starting with 7 USD/month and you've got seven Linux distributions to choose from. I've been using this provider for a long time, and it's quite reliable from my experience.

Another provider I can suggest is WebFaction. It is not a VPS, instead you get an account under a Linux system, shell access and ability to install your own apps in your folder. So if you want to install your own Tomcat, you're welcome, I did that myself. I used this provider prior to VPSLink but switched to VPSLink as I like the idea of my own server. So, the disadvantage is that you share the server with others, but WebFaction is a bit cheaper than VPSLink.

Answer 8

FYI, these days I use Google App Engine for hosting. They provide a number of Servlet/JSP features at a low cost and with high scalability. Their availability is still iffy (apparently the demand was higher than they had originally planned for), but it's otherwise a great service. If you have something that does not require 3-5 9s of service, go take a look.