Dedicated server warning at OVH
Solved
Hubert
-
Pascal THOMAS -
Pascal THOMAS -
Don't take a dedicated server from OVH without knowing what to expect
OVH recommends distributions (e.g., release 2) because they do not require special skills...
/!\ It's a scam! Once contracted, you're all alone!!
To clarify my level, I have experience with Linux Ubuntu. For the past 2 years, I've been working on the command line for:
- mounting, unmounting disks,
- making backups,
- editing text files,
- adding virtual hosts on Apache,
- restarting services,
- doing FTP...
So I thought I had the minimum required... since my needs were the same as for shared hosting (no advanced needs, just LAMP which is already installed).
In short, I just wanted better performance for an online store that runs well.
The first guide I read, update the release and bam, major crash! We start over,
ovh "- But Sir, you shouldn't have done the update..."
me "- Really, it was in your guide"
ovh "- Well yes, but you didn't need to do an update if it wasn't necessary..."
I start the server setup with OVHM and the adjustment of DNS, IPFailover and I spend days on the phone with OVH, at €1.50 per call but hey, that doesn't shock me...
1 year later, bang, hard drive crash!
me "- Hello, my site isn't working..."
ovh "- from what you're telling me, it might be that the hard drive has burned out, please check and let us know!"
me "- What? How do you expect me to know if the hard drive is dead?"
ovh "- check guide no. xxx and ..."
I look at the guide, I test, the HDD is dead, I send a service request, 4 days go by before the HDD is replaced.
me "- I'm glad to hear the HDD has been changed, how does the reinstallation go"
ovh "- Very easily Sir, you just need to synchronize the RAID"
me "- uh,... me? Doesn't it do that by itself?"
ovh "- Well no, you have to do it, read the guide thing..."
Great in the end, we realize that the RAID hasn't worked for months...
It was supposed to function automatically right after the installation of release 2 but here’s what they tell me;
ovh "- but Sir, it's your responsibility to ensure that the RAID is operational..."
In short, I had backups from the week before so I managed on my own...
And now, for the past 10 days, I haven't had any incoming emails, and since it's a store, no orders either, well, I'm going through the back office in the meantime...
ovh "- a security vulnerability has been detected on clamav, receipt is cut off until the security patch is installed, consult guide xxx"
me "- thank you sir, that's what I did, it doesn’t work"
ovh "- well, I'll call you back" (I think when they say that, they are holding back laughter, because they never call back...)
So I call back the next day:
ovh "- Sir, the patch isn't working because you've installed another library thingamajig"
me "- Well, you see, that's not me, I'm darn incapable of that"
ovh "- yes, it is you"
me "- no"
ovh "- yes, because since it’s not us, it’s you"
me "- well, according to the same relentless logic, since it's not me, it must be you"
ovh "- prove it!"
me "- well no, it’s up to you to prove that it’s me, you bunch of ...@#!"
I yelled at him like that, which has never happened to me in my 36 years!
Indeed, it doesn't help anything, I wouldn’t even say it felt good, and that’s why in any situation I usually remain surprisingly calm, except this time.
It should be noted that there is no management solution even paid for...
I have been requesting for a year and I’m being led on with a hypothetical offer that comes out every week...
In short, I can’t take it anymore, I’m looking for a more suited solution elsewhere...
All this to say... beware of the sales service that says there’s nothing to do and that it’s easy...
To those who understand...
OVH recommends distributions (e.g., release 2) because they do not require special skills...
/!\ It's a scam! Once contracted, you're all alone!!
To clarify my level, I have experience with Linux Ubuntu. For the past 2 years, I've been working on the command line for:
- mounting, unmounting disks,
- making backups,
- editing text files,
- adding virtual hosts on Apache,
- restarting services,
- doing FTP...
So I thought I had the minimum required... since my needs were the same as for shared hosting (no advanced needs, just LAMP which is already installed).
In short, I just wanted better performance for an online store that runs well.
The first guide I read, update the release and bam, major crash! We start over,
ovh "- But Sir, you shouldn't have done the update..."
me "- Really, it was in your guide"
ovh "- Well yes, but you didn't need to do an update if it wasn't necessary..."
I start the server setup with OVHM and the adjustment of DNS, IPFailover and I spend days on the phone with OVH, at €1.50 per call but hey, that doesn't shock me...
1 year later, bang, hard drive crash!
me "- Hello, my site isn't working..."
ovh "- from what you're telling me, it might be that the hard drive has burned out, please check and let us know!"
me "- What? How do you expect me to know if the hard drive is dead?"
ovh "- check guide no. xxx and ..."
I look at the guide, I test, the HDD is dead, I send a service request, 4 days go by before the HDD is replaced.
me "- I'm glad to hear the HDD has been changed, how does the reinstallation go"
ovh "- Very easily Sir, you just need to synchronize the RAID"
me "- uh,... me? Doesn't it do that by itself?"
ovh "- Well no, you have to do it, read the guide thing..."
Great in the end, we realize that the RAID hasn't worked for months...
It was supposed to function automatically right after the installation of release 2 but here’s what they tell me;
ovh "- but Sir, it's your responsibility to ensure that the RAID is operational..."
In short, I had backups from the week before so I managed on my own...
And now, for the past 10 days, I haven't had any incoming emails, and since it's a store, no orders either, well, I'm going through the back office in the meantime...
ovh "- a security vulnerability has been detected on clamav, receipt is cut off until the security patch is installed, consult guide xxx"
me "- thank you sir, that's what I did, it doesn’t work"
ovh "- well, I'll call you back" (I think when they say that, they are holding back laughter, because they never call back...)
So I call back the next day:
ovh "- Sir, the patch isn't working because you've installed another library thingamajig"
me "- Well, you see, that's not me, I'm darn incapable of that"
ovh "- yes, it is you"
me "- no"
ovh "- yes, because since it’s not us, it’s you"
me "- well, according to the same relentless logic, since it's not me, it must be you"
ovh "- prove it!"
me "- well no, it’s up to you to prove that it’s me, you bunch of ...@#!"
I yelled at him like that, which has never happened to me in my 36 years!
Indeed, it doesn't help anything, I wouldn’t even say it felt good, and that’s why in any situation I usually remain surprisingly calm, except this time.
It should be noted that there is no management solution even paid for...
I have been requesting for a year and I’m being led on with a hypothetical offer that comes out every week...
In short, I can’t take it anymore, I’m looking for a more suited solution elsewhere...
All this to say... beware of the sales service that says there’s nothing to do and that it’s easy...
To those who understand...
12 answers
It's not just a warning against OVH servers; it's the case everywhere.
That's precisely why we say you need to have a good experience with Linux.
Their Gentoo-based distribution is ready to use right away; after that, it's no longer their responsibility to perform updates. Fortunately, actually: can you imagine the number of servers they would have to manage across different distributions?
This kind of problem exists with all hosting providers; it's not specific to OVH. It's easy to find messages from people complaining about a host, especially since people are more likely to speak up when things go wrong than when everything is working fine.
--
Your computer doesn't do what you want ... but what you tell it to do.
That's precisely why we say you need to have a good experience with Linux.
Their Gentoo-based distribution is ready to use right away; after that, it's no longer their responsibility to perform updates. Fortunately, actually: can you imagine the number of servers they would have to manage across different distributions?
This kind of problem exists with all hosting providers; it's not specific to OVH. It's easy to find messages from people complaining about a host, especially since people are more likely to speak up when things go wrong than when everything is working fine.
--
Your computer doesn't do what you want ... but what you tell it to do.
Hello,
To clarify my point...
I am a regular user of the OVH hotline, and it generally goes quite well. I have around sixty sites on shared hosting, but this time, the thing is, I've moved to a dedicated server... And it's not the same at all!
As much as when there’s a problem on shared hosting, we know it will be resolved "by itself," when it’s on a dedicated server, nothing will sort itself out and issues arise even if we don’t touch anything! In 2 years, what’s happened to me, without me doing anything...
- dead hdd
- raid down
- email blocking until the update is done and update impossible... (still unresolved, but will soon be resolved by moving to a local host that we can see in person!)
Finally, no possibility of managed services, and it's not a question of price; it's a principle: OVH leaves you alone, figure it out! Hasta la vista and don’t forget to pay the bill!
That's it ;)
To clarify my point...
I am a regular user of the OVH hotline, and it generally goes quite well. I have around sixty sites on shared hosting, but this time, the thing is, I've moved to a dedicated server... And it's not the same at all!
As much as when there’s a problem on shared hosting, we know it will be resolved "by itself," when it’s on a dedicated server, nothing will sort itself out and issues arise even if we don’t touch anything! In 2 years, what’s happened to me, without me doing anything...
- dead hdd
- raid down
- email blocking until the update is done and update impossible... (still unresolved, but will soon be resolved by moving to a local host that we can see in person!)
Finally, no possibility of managed services, and it's not a question of price; it's a principle: OVH leaves you alone, figure it out! Hasta la vista and don’t forget to pay the bill!
That's it ;)
The email blocking is still strange on a dedicated server: they don't want to take care of it while they leave you to manage the security of your system. Unless they provide an outgoing mail relay service and block it at that level... But refusing to provide the service under this pretext seems a bit excessive... check the fine print of the contract.
Otherwise, a dedicated server is a dedicated server, read the fine print and understand that it’s a machine entirely yours; if there’s no management service, then you’re on your own. Quickly, if you do not have all the required skills to manage the entire machine, you will encounter the limits of the hardware.
Remember that OVH is low cost. So the hardware is... what it is. The service too. And responsiveness is "best effort." If your business depends on a low-cost server, reevaluate your priorities and consider a more expensive but more professional service, or subscribe to a management service.
Otherwise, a dedicated server is a dedicated server, read the fine print and understand that it’s a machine entirely yours; if there’s no management service, then you’re on your own. Quickly, if you do not have all the required skills to manage the entire machine, you will encounter the limits of the hardware.
Remember that OVH is low cost. So the hardware is... what it is. The service too. And responsiveness is "best effort." If your business depends on a low-cost server, reevaluate your priorities and consider a more expensive but more professional service, or subscribe to a management service.
I have the impression that this is a fairly common disappointment; we had the same issues when we ordered our first server from OVH, and we actually went through a series of problems (we had to reinstall a production server twice, a real nightmare).
A few years ago, we outsourced our IT management; for us, it was the choice of peace of mind. You just need to type "dedicated server IT management OVH" to have a wide choice of service providers who specialize in managing your case (including OVH).
NB: OVH is known for offering the best servers at the best prices. As far as I recall, today they manage over 150,000 servers with undoubtedly very heterogeneous configurations; if they included IT management, it would certainly increase their price, which is not necessarily what every customer wants.
A few years ago, we outsourced our IT management; for us, it was the choice of peace of mind. You just need to type "dedicated server IT management OVH" to have a wide choice of service providers who specialize in managing your case (including OVH).
NB: OVH is known for offering the best servers at the best prices. As far as I recall, today they manage over 150,000 servers with undoubtedly very heterogeneous configurations; if they included IT management, it would certainly increase their price, which is not necessarily what every customer wants.
At the end of 2014, beginning of 2015: Nothing has changed at OVH.
A client for a very long time.
My dedicated server in RAID 1 crashed before Christmas.
Commercial sites shut down in the middle of a peak activity.
Restoration impossible, no disks OK.
Repair done on January 2: replacement of all 4 disks.
Not a shred of help. Not a word of apology.
It’s not worth suing, but it deserves it.
Quick, flee!
A client for a very long time.
My dedicated server in RAID 1 crashed before Christmas.
Commercial sites shut down in the middle of a peak activity.
Restoration impossible, no disks OK.
Repair done on January 2: replacement of all 4 disks.
Not a shred of help. Not a word of apology.
It’s not worth suing, but it deserves it.
Quick, flee!
Hello,
there are also things that work well, I haven't had any issues since I have a few sites with them. Shared hosting for sure, but whenever I've needed technical support, I haven't had a problem.
Maybe it depends on the technician you have in front of you!
--
To have the least amount of dissatisfied customers possible, you always have to strike the same ones.
(as you recognized: Shadoks proverb)
there are also things that work well, I haven't had any issues since I have a few sites with them. Shared hosting for sure, but whenever I've needed technical support, I haven't had a problem.
Maybe it depends on the technician you have in front of you!
--
To have the least amount of dissatisfied customers possible, you always have to strike the same ones.
(as you recognized: Shadoks proverb)
I am currently looking for a dedicated server. My blog is starting to gain importance and I am preparing to take the plunge.
I am currently hosted by Hostgator with great stats, a remarkable service with technical support available 24/7 via chat. A service that, to my knowledge, does not exist with any French host.
Anyway, as I am in Morocco, I recently learned that OVH has set up here, so I decided to contact them to learn more about dedicated servers.
The person I spoke to on the phone (supposedly a salesperson) simply confirmed that I should stay with Hostgator.
What French hosts seem to not understand is that with the emergence of CMS like WordPress, Joomla, etc., there is no need to be a computer expert to create a website or blog that will at some point require a dedicated server. What American hosts seem to have understood, however.
The latter offer "self-managed" dedicated servers, with no need to worry about updates, etc... the server is managed almost like on a shared server with minimal experience.
The first message was posted in 2010 and unfortunately, this still seems to be the case.
I am currently hosted by Hostgator with great stats, a remarkable service with technical support available 24/7 via chat. A service that, to my knowledge, does not exist with any French host.
Anyway, as I am in Morocco, I recently learned that OVH has set up here, so I decided to contact them to learn more about dedicated servers.
The person I spoke to on the phone (supposedly a salesperson) simply confirmed that I should stay with Hostgator.
What French hosts seem to not understand is that with the emergence of CMS like WordPress, Joomla, etc., there is no need to be a computer expert to create a website or blog that will at some point require a dedicated server. What American hosts seem to have understood, however.
The latter offer "self-managed" dedicated servers, with no need to worry about updates, etc... the server is managed almost like on a shared server with minimal experience.
The first message was posted in 2010 and unfortunately, this still seems to be the case.
Hello
I share the opinion that OVH Morocco are scammers.
On 04/28/2015, I had one of the worst experiences with OVH Morocco. I do not recommend them as they are scammers.
They took my payment in advance, then suspended my server and to top it all off, they deleted my data. Three months of work disappeared, a freshly launched site that was destroyed after 13 days of suspension. More than 20,000 euros of investment vanished with a click. They received their money and refuse to acknowledge their mistake. My dedicated server was rented out the next day. They are double profiting from it.
I STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST OVH Morocco; they are thieves.
Their customer service is incompetent. Their managers hide when there are problems. However, I plan to take the matter to court for compensation for the damages caused.
I am asking if there are any specialized lawyers?
I share the opinion that OVH Morocco are scammers.
On 04/28/2015, I had one of the worst experiences with OVH Morocco. I do not recommend them as they are scammers.
They took my payment in advance, then suspended my server and to top it all off, they deleted my data. Three months of work disappeared, a freshly launched site that was destroyed after 13 days of suspension. More than 20,000 euros of investment vanished with a click. They received their money and refuse to acknowledge their mistake. My dedicated server was rented out the next day. They are double profiting from it.
I STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST OVH Morocco; they are thieves.
Their customer service is incompetent. Their managers hide when there are problems. However, I plan to take the matter to court for compensation for the damages caused.
I am asking if there are any specialized lawyers?
end of December 2015: "Nothing has changed at OVH"..
I confirm!
Customer since the beginning at OVH Roubaix
My 2nd dedicated server in RAID crashed on December 18, 2015.
One of the hard drives is dead. Booting from the 2nd drive and crashing:
they changed the RAM, same problem
then they changed the power supply and the motherboard.
48 hours have passed since the crash.
Crashing: "the 2nd hard drive is dead!"..
we lost the server!!!
Restoration impossible!
OVH resets it.. we lost everything.
24 hours later, crash:
"the motherboard is still defective".
changing the motherboard again (2nd time)
we lost 4 days!!!
to this day, we think the 2nd hard drive was fine.. it was simply not detected by the defective motherboard
we lost everything for nothing!!!
in the meantime: "your server is too old.. it needs to be replaced"
it's 4 years old.
they tried to sell me a Linux server to run ASP with an MS SQL database.
They're too good!
The new server was poorly configured: impossible to easily install MS SQL Server, SMTP..
NO HELP. NO EXCUSE!
Incompetence at all levels
we could come together to seek compensation
in real-time, the servers crashed at OVH in Roubaix
http://travaux.ovh.net/vms/index_rbx.html
I confirm!
Customer since the beginning at OVH Roubaix
My 2nd dedicated server in RAID crashed on December 18, 2015.
One of the hard drives is dead. Booting from the 2nd drive and crashing:
they changed the RAM, same problem
then they changed the power supply and the motherboard.
48 hours have passed since the crash.
Crashing: "the 2nd hard drive is dead!"..
we lost the server!!!
Restoration impossible!
OVH resets it.. we lost everything.
24 hours later, crash:
"the motherboard is still defective".
changing the motherboard again (2nd time)
we lost 4 days!!!
to this day, we think the 2nd hard drive was fine.. it was simply not detected by the defective motherboard
we lost everything for nothing!!!
in the meantime: "your server is too old.. it needs to be replaced"
it's 4 years old.
they tried to sell me a Linux server to run ASP with an MS SQL database.
They're too good!
The new server was poorly configured: impossible to easily install MS SQL Server, SMTP..
NO HELP. NO EXCUSE!
Incompetence at all levels
we could come together to seek compensation
in real-time, the servers crashed at OVH in Roubaix
http://travaux.ovh.net/vms/index_rbx.html
I manage rented servers at OVH, a nice bunch.
I've lost disks, motherboards, but never data.
Why:
- I monitor disk degradation with SMART tools
- I have a backup on another machine multiple times a day
- when there is a serious issue: I open a ticket, if there’s no reaction after 2 hours I call. There is support 24/7 unlike other hosting providers, not necessarily as low cost, and they change the equipment very quickly after diagnosis.
However, I have learned to configure a system and diagnose it, read tons of FAQs and various docs. It’s a job different from developer or architect (which are normally my jobs).
I've lost disks, motherboards, but never data.
Why:
- I monitor disk degradation with SMART tools
- I have a backup on another machine multiple times a day
- when there is a serious issue: I open a ticket, if there’s no reaction after 2 hours I call. There is support 24/7 unlike other hosting providers, not necessarily as low cost, and they change the equipment very quickly after diagnosis.
However, I have learned to configure a system and diagnose it, read tons of FAQs and various docs. It’s a job different from developer or architect (which are normally my jobs).
I've only had 2 major issues with OVH in 5 years (always hardware).
I find their dedicated servers great.
I placed an order with them for a major client (thousands of euros a month), and I've had no issues in 3 years, as well as orders at €59/month.
For me, there's nothing to complain about.
A dedicated server is a dedicated server; you manage your configuration as you wish. The problem, especially for Hubert, is mainly the advice. Two years of experience in Linux is not enough, in my opinion, to jump into a dedicated server; the person who advised you on this or didn't discourage you made a mistake.
Server management is a profession that cannot be improvised. You often lose a lot of data and make many mistakes before you feel completely comfortable.
At OVH, managed services exist. They just won't do the development for you ;-) !!!
I find their dedicated servers great.
I placed an order with them for a major client (thousands of euros a month), and I've had no issues in 3 years, as well as orders at €59/month.
For me, there's nothing to complain about.
A dedicated server is a dedicated server; you manage your configuration as you wish. The problem, especially for Hubert, is mainly the advice. Two years of experience in Linux is not enough, in my opinion, to jump into a dedicated server; the person who advised you on this or didn't discourage you made a mistake.
Server management is a profession that cannot be improvised. You often lose a lot of data and make many mistakes before you feel completely comfortable.
At OVH, managed services exist. They just won't do the development for you ;-) !!!
"If you need a standard configuration, choose release 2, you won't have any issues and if there's a problem, we're here!" My experience has shown that they were not there! If it weren't for the guides, fortunately, they are here, hum hum.
Other people have noticed that other hosting providers have a more comprehensive approach... Nexen was particularly mentioned by Giheller. Do you know of any others that support dedicated hosting with a managed services offer?
If management were included in the price, then I don't see why it would be an option:
http://www.ovh.com/fr/espaceclients/support/infogerance.xml
Can you cite the page where this is written?
Here, all you can read is that OVH's Release 2 is a directly operational distribution designed for web hosting. They (OVH technicians) handle proposing updates themselves (they only propose them, they don’t install them for you!).
As usual, it’s the people who read poorly who complain...
PS: before it occurs to you, no, I don’t work for OVH (I don’t think they employ 15-year-olds). I defend them because I find that they are a very good host, and that too many people criticize them when they are the problem (I’m not making a generalization, it’s possible that they make mistakes).
Just to clarify things, I don’t work for another hosting provider other than OVH, lol.
As for the managed service option, I specifically asked for this option from technical support repeatedly, and I was always told it was excluded, even if I pay (and of course, all work deserves compensation; I never doubted that).
But then, why this double talk?
No idea, I’m neither a philosopher nor paranoid. My problem is much more concrete:
even for a fee, OVH does NOT OFFER me managed services on their dedicated server.
I’m not generalizing; I’m reporting information that I’ve been able to verify.
Lastly, it seems delicate to say that I’m a problem... apparently, I just have a problem; thank you for being a bit more nuanced...
Personally, I'm not very skilled, so I chose Elassar (elassar.com) as my hosting provider because their dedicated servers are all-inclusive with updates and 24/7 support. What attracted me is the incremental SQL backup for 30 days, which is also included. In case of an issue with a database, they restore it for me without having to go through a payment.
You can call them by phone; the team is friendly.