Open a thread and share your experiences with HostNexus!

[NexDog]

We always welcome feedback. Be it positive or negative, it helps us become a better host and it may help others in their search for a stable and reliable host.

Please feel free to start a new thread and share your experiences and update it as time goes by.

[Doogles]

HostNexus, NexDog and the rest are quite simply the best, most responsible, most customer-centered hosting crew on the Internet. Period. Support is terrific. Upgrades are always timely (like with the recent mail server SPAM solution). Host Nexus solves problems even before some users realize there are problems. Service is fast and rock-solid. On a price/performance/features basis, HostNexus is #1.

Thanks, HostNexus.

[Tuvok]

I am a new customer but very impressed with the service so far. I hope the high level of service continues.

[ozarkhost]

The only thing really that I wish was available would be Virtuozzo VPS services.
That being said I find that the service, uptime, support, and vast information/resources on the site excellent. It could however be updated.

[JoeSmith]

Well, I only really got to know everyone through some XXXXXXXX with Alpha. I am not one of those crazy loons that thinks technology is perfect though. Granted HN did make a blunder in this regard. I was impressed with the level of communication and responsiveness.

Customer support will keep me around far longer then anything else. To this I have to say Laurence is very commendable, as he puts the customer completely first, even when some of us are paying as little as 6.95 a month is it??

I know all too many people who would tell someone, here is your 6.95 back, and kiss my XXX. Granted, thats bad business, but I have seen it.

So, overall, HN is probably one of the best hosting companies out there, due to its personnel. The equipment sometimes isn't up to par (which is getting changed) but that happens every 4-7 years.

[drowssap]

Originally posted by NexDog
We always welcome feedback. Be it positive or negative, it helps us become a better host and it may help others in their search for a stable and reliable host.

Please feel free to start a new thread and share your experiences and update it as time goes by.

tried and failed for 2 dayz now ... is there a problem with submitting new threads¿

[NexDog]

Should be no problem. Can you PM me your password and I'll try from my end. Your settings look okay though...

[Piro]

Originally posted by NexDog
We always welcome feedback. Be it positive or negative, it helps us become a better host and it may help others in their search for a stable and reliable host.

Well here's a negative one that will probably be censored, but I'm pissed off and rightfully so. Dispite that I will be as articulate as possible with my anger.

My only comment in the public forums was 3 or 4 days ago here http://www.nexusportal.net/showthrea...&threadid=9606 when I asked for an answer to the spam filter problem which I've been getting stonewalled on for over half a year. I still haven't gotten an answer to that question. I likely wouldn't have posted here again, except for the fact that today, MySQL, Plesk and Coldfusion went down.

Twice.

It is currently down now.

The server monitor shows MySQL on Atom down for over 60 minutes now and the web server down intermittently during that time. Incidently, Baryon's web server has also been down just as long.

Plesk says:
Unable to connect to database: Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock' (111) 0: /usr/local/psa/admin/auto_prepend/auth.php3:66 psaerror(string "Unable to connect to database: Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock' (111)")

All Coldfusion sites connected to MySQL are down:
Cannot connect to MySQL server on localhost:3306. Is there a MySQL server running on the machine/port you are trying to connect to? (java.net.ConnectException)

Earlier today when it went down and I reported this it was suggested the problem might be on my end, which we all know is tech code for "we don't know". These are clearly server errors and there is no possible way they could be caused on my end. I'm in San Francisco and my clients in Los Angeles are having the same problem.

The sites came back up with no explaination as mysteriously as they went down and I was told the server would now be "monitored" to see if it happens again now that I brought the problem to their attention. Well it's been over an hour now since it happened again, my ticket which I reopened from this afternoon hasn't been responded to yet, and it doesn't seem like Atom's been getting any special monitoring since I brought this problem to your attention. I would think a server that had an admittedly unexplainable problem would at least have someone watching it for the first 24 hours after it was reported.

Clients who were already pissed about the spam filter being down for HALF-A-YEAR are now doubly pissed about their site's going down twice within 12 hours. I shouldn't be getting calls at 9:45 pm by clients asking me why their site and email isn't working, but I am.

I probably lost two clients today, and I can't say that I blame them. They've been more than patient with the spam issue, but their patience wore out months ago. Now this. I dont have answers to give them because no one gives me answers.

I want this fixed yesterday. And I want a REAL response to the spam mail filter issue that I and countless other customers have been raising for MONTHS. You either know how to fix the problem or you don't. We're paying for service and in the past, we used to receive it. Not only are you now not providing it (yet continuing to charge for it), you are not even bothering to communicate with us about the situation other than to continaully make empty promises like "its coming, be patient". I've been patient for 6 damn months, and whether you agree or not, that is an UNREASONABLE amount of time to expect patience on these issues.

A spam filter is not an optional piece of equipment on a modern hosting provider. It is essential. My clients demand it, and i'm paying for it as part of my serivce agreement, I'm just not getting it.

What happened to "responses within minutes or hours, not days". It's been more like weeks or months.

Sorry for sounding pissed, but I am. And justifyably. I know others here feel the same way. This place has really gone down hill lately, and I suggest the people in charge start to look at what they've been doing differently over the past year and address it. I don't know what's changed on your end, but clearly SOMETHING has changed in the way you conduct business. The service that exists today pales in comparison to what existed here a year ago. As someone else said, it's disappointing.

[NexDog]

Atom's MySQL issue was caused by a mailbomb that filled up the /var partition. Adrian relocated /var to /home which is much larger so this won't happen again.

Tickets are still responded to fast and we have techs on duty 24/7. When I logged on this morning I saw a ticket about the Atom MySQL issue and fixed it. If this happened earlier and another tech worked on it and didn't diagnose the issue properly then it's from lack of experience. In the last few months we have taken on alot more techs and there is always a learning curve in any system.

As for the anti-spam system, yes, I have to agree that it's disappointed that we still haven't deployed a new system. The original system just caused too many server problems (high loads) and teh second custom solution caused too many email problems. While it's true there's no spam solution as of yet but at least servers have less issue (this issue not included) and email is reliable. I discussed this with our head admin just yesterday and told him he simply must complete this before the month is out. I will hassle him everyday and try and ease his workload so he has time to complete the new program.

I have to disagree that things are going downhill. Tech support is faster and more reliable than a year ago, servers run better and everything is smoother. Just need to get that damn Dspam solution finished.

[Piro]

Thanks for your response, Lawrence.

Originally posted by NexDog
Atom's MySQL issue was caused by a mailbomb that filled up the /var partition. Adrian relocated /var to /home which is much larger so this won't happen again.

That's good to hear. Your response to unforseen disasters like this is pretty good. I just wish it applied to all problems. Not just emergency outages.

Originally posted by NexDog
In the last few months we have taken on alot more techs and there is always a learning curve in any system.

I understand learning curves, and had there not been a pre-existing problem with the spam filter, the mail bomb last night would have been only a minor inconvenience.

I can expalin temporary downtime to satisfied customers on the rare occassion when they happen. The problem is that my customers haven't been satisfied because of the the spam hell they've been going through for months.

So when they started calling me about the server outage yesterday, it was not a friendly "hey, the server is down, see what you can do" which is how they normally react. It was "hey, the %&*#$! server is down again, and I'm still getting 450 @^#& spam mails a day. Don't you know what the %^$&* you're doing?!?"

When you allow one problem to drag out for so long, it emphasizes each additional problem that comes up. I consider the mail bomb to be a random unforseen occurance normally within acceptable perameters. The spam issue was known for months and preventable. It wasn't prevented, and that made the server outage problem more significant for my clients than it should have been.

Originally posted by NexDog
As for the anti-spam system, yes, I have to agree that it's disappointed that we still haven't deployed a new system. The original system just caused too many server problems (high loads) and teh second custom solution caused too many email problems. While it's true there's no spam solution as of yet but at least servers have less issue (this issue not included) and email is reliable. I discussed this with our head admin just yesterday and told him he simply must complete this before the month is out. I will hassle him everyday and try and ease his workload so he has time to complete the new program.

I'm glad you are finally making this a priority. But it should not have taken this separate issue and my publically airing a complaint to fix a problem that I and others have been mentioning for months. I hope you make note of this in the future. To your credit, you usually do recognize problems when they are pointed out and work to correct them. Hopefully this time will be no different. Which brings us to:

Originally posted by NexDog
I have to disagree that things are going downhill. Tech support is faster and more reliable than a year ago, servers run better and everything is smoother. Just need to get that damn Dspam solution finished.

Faster response to a question is not always better if the response doesn't contain an answer, or if the problem is merely responded to but the issue is never solved.

Although I'm generally satisfied with the response to tickets when there is a major catastrophy, like the CF server going down, or the mail bomb last night, the response time for lingering problems like the spam filter haven't been that great. This is the first response I've seen in months that indicates it is now a priorty.

I do hope the filter actually goes up by the end of the month. By now I think my clients would rather loose one or to legitamate emails than get bombarded by hundreds of spam emails every day.

You have the benefit of dealing with cutomers (us) who understand that systems fail from time to time and as a result, we are normally quite patient. OUR customers, however do not always understand that these things happen, and they want answers. We can not provide answers if we don't get them. I also don't have the power to solve every issue that comes up. If I could have installed a spam filter myself, it would have been done the first time I got a complaint. Since I can't do that, I depend on you and my business depends on my service provider just as any business depends on venders and service providers.

I'm very flexable to personal inconvenience. I don't give a damn about the spam I receive. I filter it through my email client and never see it. But I can not afford to be flexible when my clients have a complaint that I can't solve myself.

When some of my clients first started complaining about their level of spam, I started getting up and the crack of dawn, logging into the email accounts I have passwords for, and manually deletiing the hundreds of spams that accumulate over night so that when they get to work in the morning, their box isn't filled with spam. Spam free service is what I told them I'd provide, and that is the inconvenience I've had to personally endure for months to give it to them. I certainly had better things to do with an hour of my time than manually deleting spam for people. But when I promise service, they get it. I expect no more or less from the people who promise me service. And that's all I ask.

I hope the spam filter problem is solved soon. I look forward to sleeping in again for the first time in 4 or 5 months.

Thanks for your attention.