I got started with system administration sometime in 2004, when I first picked up a copy of Red Hat from a co-worker. I really enjoyed how Linux worked and for years always had a server or two (or six) at home to tinker on. Later on, I co-managed all of the servers for a small software company. They had a mix of in-house servers and remote dedicated servers (this was before VPS hosts came into the market).

I’ve used that experience when I started freelancing. Building Ruby on Rails applications is only one side, you also need to host them. Sure now there are Platform-as-a-Services that claim to let you write code and have it automagically hosted, but knowing about the underlying system has always been valuable.

It doesn’t matter what my client wants, every one has either asked me where to host their application or to review their current application host that the previous developer picked. This conversation is always specific based on what their application needs, services it uses, and the load levels but I’m finding I’m always coming back to a small set of recommended hosting companies for my clients.

Instead of keeping those recommendations private, I’ve decided to create a short 1-page report on the top three server companies I recommend to my clients. You can read this report by subscribing to my newsletter at the link above.

Eric Davis

P.S. I’m planning to create a few more reports in the near future based on my freelancing experience. I’ve been thinking about a few topics and feel like they would be valuable to share beyond my clients. If you have a question for me, ask me in the comments below or on Twitter by sending me a message (@edavis10).