German Gentoo Server Providers

So far I did test FirstDedicated and Internet24. Both provide servers pre-installed with Gentoo.

FirstDedicated was definitely the worst experience I ever had concerning security. I did receive the password for the management web front end by standard e-mail and there was no option to change it anywhere. The login page was only offered over an unsecured line though that is something that they probably changed by now. Once logged in on the server it was easy to observe network traffic that did not belong to my machine and from time to time my arpwatch detected massive amounts of activity that did not look quite normal.

The server itself was okay though the installed Gentoo release was not the recent one which forced me to upgrade a good deal of packages. On the plus side the server had an automatic rescue mode so that I was able to upgrade the kernel and reboot the machine without any manual intervention.

Last but not least they unnerved me when I requested electronically signed invoices. Or printed ones as an alternative. Both versions are accepted for getting your taxes reimbursed in Germany. Simple electronic invoices are not. They outright rejected this even though the law is not too hard to understand. In the end I simply stopped arguing and moved my server to a different provider.

Internet24 did actually make a good impression concerning security. The Gentoo release was up-to-date and they also provided signed invoices by default. So the initial impression was definitely far better.

The only significant problem was the lack of a rescue system. A serial console. Or some other possibility of managing the machine once you have to upgrade your kernel. You have to call their technicians which might cost you money depending on the amount of work they have to do. While you certainly don't have to pay for a simple reboot this might change once you realize that you fucked up your kernel configuration and need a rescue system.

So I did not upgrade the kernel. For eleven months. During which the machine never failed or developed any kind of problems. It's Gentoo Linux after all. But finally some process destabilized the machine and I suddenly had no SSH access anymore. That was the moment the machine went down the drain. I had to pay a technician that was unable to fix the thing and then I got a rescue CD that at least allowed me to rescue my data.

I immediately cancelled my contract which was about to get eleven months old in two days. With an automatic extension period of three months and 30 days of advance notice for cancellation I figured this would be just in time. I did overlook that they actually predate a contract that was closed in the middle of a month to the first day of the month. So I was actually a few days late and I have to pay another three month for a broken server. So if you ask me, Internet24 sucks too.

Finally I came back to http://1und1.de which provides a really good service and a smoothly running network. Sadly no Gentoo. So far I converted five of their servers to my preferred distribution. But I wonder if there are any Gentoo Server providers out there in Germany that combine the service and technical features that I am used to get from 1&1?

gentoo server provider germany

Posted at: 17:38 | Permalink | category: /english/technical/gentoo