MediaTemple, a webhosting from the prehistoric era
About a year ago, we purchased a (dv 3.0 - Base) hosting plan with MediaTemple and since then I have found nothing but weird, really weird stuff.
I'll give you some few examples which you can verify using their knowledge base.
First, they allow PHP4 and PHP5 concurrently (that's not good, don't feel happy when you read this), but they ONLY allow you to run PHP4 as a module and PHP5 as FastCGI. You can not change that.
The versions of PHP they have are truly old: 4.3.x and 5.1.x (while the current now is 4.4.x, and 5.2.x).
Second, although they install CentOS on their machines, I didn't find Yum, or any other package manager! I checked their KB and is says in order to install a software, download its source code and build it!
Third, after negotiations, they installed me what they call "developer tools" so I can have simple stuff like CVS client :) (very generous). But this wasn't also a happy story: when I tried running SVN client it said: "This client is too old to work with working copy ''; please get a newer Subversion client".
Fourth, they declare on most articles on their KB "NOTE: Unsupported Article", and that this is for advanced users only!
Need I say more?
My recommendation is: stay away from Media Temple if you will ever need a *decent* web hosting.
Hello Omar,
I'm sorry to hear that you're not happy with the versions of software that come with the (dv) 3.0 product. I would like to clarify a few points and provide some info:
1. At the time you posted this, the (dv) 3.5 was on our site for purchasing. It includes PHP5, MySQL5, and CentOS 5 & SVN is also updated to version 1.4.2 (was 1.1.4). You can migrate to a new (dv) in your AccountCenter.
2. It is possible to have PHP5 run as an Apache module on the (dv) 3.0 using Yum. We do not include Yum with the default deployment, but all you need is Developer Tools (which includes more than just a few "nifty" programs) and install a couple of RPMs to get Yum running. You can use http://atomicrocketturtle.com/ to find the yum RPMs and the right repositories to use. You can also update SVN in the same fashion.
3. The KB warning is an indicator that a given article should be performed by individuals who know their way around a Linux system. It is meant to inform more than to discourage; we have many customers with limited technical skill and we have to inform them.
For help with things that we cannot directly support, you may join our Forums which has a wealth of useful information created by our own customers. To find out more, visit http://www.mediatemple.net/labs/.
Regards,
Arman Zakaryan
(mt) Media Temple, Inc.
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Submitted by Arman Zakaryan (not verified) on 26 February 2008 - 8:48pm.Arman,
Thank you for taking the time to clarify.
Please be informed that I have written all of the above mentioned points *after* contacting your customer support.
I am so happy to have you replying, but I'd then say you have a problem with your support system because none of what you mentioned was stated by your customer support people.
Now let me reply to each point:
1. The migration from a dv 3.0 to 3.5 isn't for free, though the difference is software versions. So you're, unlike most hosting companies, force your customers to pay for simple and free software updates (PHP, MySQL, SVN, etc)?
2. Your KB says that "if you want to install some software then download, untar and compile"! Purchasing a VPS and then having to request for a "Developer tools" just to be able to use the distro's package manager doesn't seem like a very good idea, does it?
3. Informing a user that he needs some Linux skills is totally different than telling the customer that "this article isn't supported". The statement you have there seemed to me like someone else is writing in your KB. I think you need to adjust that disclaimer.
4. If your KB isn't supported by you, how do you expect me to use your forums and use recipes by your customers?
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Submitted by Omar on 27 February 2008 - 10:08am.Hi Omar. Try out Liquid Web. I've been using them for the past few months. Have set up two VPS and one dedicated server. Nothing but good stuff to say about them.
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Submitted by Themebot (not verified) on 4 March 2008 - 7:57am.Just to make things more clear and to reply on Arman, I have had the following ticket with MediaTemple support:
Response history
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Your response:
I have had Developer tools installed on the VPS and I still can't find YUM installed. I need to install YUM in order to install Apache Ant, a newer SVN client and few other stuff.
Please help me install them as soon as possible.
Thanks in advance.
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Support response:
Yum is not installed by default. The developer tools installs most of the dependencies for Yum but you are required to install it yourself. If you have any further questions regarding your (mt) Media Temple services, please feel free to contact us at any time.
Best Regards,
Rob Hawker
Senior Technical Support
(mt) Media Temple
877-578-4000
310-564-2007
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Your response:
"required to install it yourself"??
Why am I required to download and compile the package manager for any distro in the world?
Why don't you just install it for me?
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Support response:
We do not install it because we do not recommend using it to update the system software. It has been known to leave the server unstable and often down entirely when yum update is used. If you wish to use yum, you will need to install it. If you have any further questions regarding your (mt) Media Temple services, please feel free to contact us at any time.
Best Regards,
Rob Hawker
Senior Technical Support
(mt) Media Temple
877-578-4000
310-564-2007
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Your response:
#1 Okey, so if you do not trust yum updates, why do your servers come with CentOS at all?
#2 Now, please tell me how to install Apache Ant v1.7 and Subversion client v1.4? Download and compile??!
You can't just give me a VPS and tell me that I have to compile everything. I can't wait until I download and compile all dependencies for Apache Ant, I will never think of compiling anything on a VPS.
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Does anyone see this as a good service?
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Submitted by Omar on 4 March 2008 - 8:42pm.Sounds like a lot of trouble to go through.
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Submitted by Soa (not verified) on 5 March 2008 - 7:09pm.Post new comment