ServerBeach now supports FreeBSD
This may be overkill regarding the original post of this thread, but ServerBeach has full dedicated hosting and now offers FreeBSD.
Here's the preliminary announcement:
http://forums.serverbeach.com/showthread.php?p=40612#post40612
Their network peering is wonderful. I think they have 200+ (300?) peers, if I recall correctly.
I've used Debian with them in lieu of BSD just to be on their network and have been a very happy customer for a year.
FreeBSD is new for them, though: started 12/2008. However, it's low risk: It's pay-as-you-go, billed every 30 days and may cancel before 14 days of next billing cycle.
Here's why I recommend that you consider dedicated over shared:
For the same price as some mediocre shared servers, you can get a basic dedicated host.
Regarding other providers with "virtual private servers," I've used Verio's FreeBSD hosts in the past and recommend avoiding their VPS products. While their Tech Support is phenomenal (at least in my experience, and I've been a sys-admin in high-stress production environments), their shared servers have capped resources to such a degree that it's crippling. For instance, maximum number of processes is something like 70-75 for their basic service. Number of open file descriptors also hit a rather low ceiling. So if you use software that forks much or doing a fair amount of background processing, you're doomed. For the same price as Verio's VPS, I could have migrated to an entry level ServerBeach host. (Instead, I upgraded to a beefier box at SB for a little more.)
One final thought: DIY for US$220
If you have a broadband connection at home and unmetered bandwidth (or low traffic requirements), the new Intel Atom 330 CPUs are dual-core and hyperthreaded. Some benchmarks put them on par with a P4 but with amd64 instruction happiness and greatly reduced power consumption (think: light bulb). I've run FreeBSD 7.1-RELEASE on one built for US$220 (complete, mini-ITX) from NewEgg. (Just be sure to get the updated Realtek re0 driver:
http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=123123 )
Be sure to get the dual-core CPU released September 2008 (or newer) rather than the single core found in 2008 netbooks/nettops.
Then consider EveryDNS.net for free DNS. They seem to also have dynamic dns support, should your ISP not offer static IP addresses. By donating funds (US$15+), you get TXT/SPF records and other goodies, but basic DNS is free.
[no affiliations with any of the named companies other than being a past or current customer]
