PowerDNN Review
Last Post 03/13/2010 3:23 PM by Déclic Vidéo FX. 2 Replies.
Author Messages
marchis
Nuke Newbie
Nuke Newbie
Posts:1


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01/10/2009 6:20 PM

    I've been hosting my sites with PowerDNN for over a year now and I could not be any happier.  My previous host was DiscountASP and I had all sorts of issues.

    Why I love PowerDNN?

    Features
    They use Plesk for the Admin panel which gives me all the flexibility I need to manage my site including:
    - manage backup schedules
    - setup FTP accounts
    - manage DNS settings
    - etc., etc., etc.

    Another feature that I love the ability to host your email through gmail.  This is great since I get the awesome interface and features (including Docs) that Google offers yet I get to use my own domain name.

    DotNetNuke Expertise
    - If you transfer your site from a different host (as I did) they have a seamless process to get your site up and running on PowerDNN - this was a life saver!

    - And if you're starting from scratch, just sign up for the account and the newest version of DotNetNuke will be waiting for you installed and ready to go (which I did for one of my sites).

    - When new DNN versions are released, for a small fee they upgrade your existing install to the desired version.  This is great for me since I have better things to worry about.  They backup the site, do the upgrade, test the upgrade and then are ready to roll back if if there are any issues.  I have not had any issues so far - except inheriting new bugs which come with DotNetNuke like the recent one where the Users Online module does no longer display the uses online.  I hope the DNN dev team will fix this one soon.

    Awesome Support - The Best Part!
    Even though I have only the basic account with them they have responded to every inquiry in a timely manner and resolved my issues.  BTW: I'm able to reach via e-mail, ticket system, and phone (yes - a hosting provider who answers the phone, and I'm not talking about the billing department).  Here are some examples:

    - At one point I installed a new RSS module and placed it right on my home page.  The module had a bug which caused the entire site to hang - I had not clue what was going on.  I quickly called PowerDNN support and accused them for my site being done. (Sorry guys!!!)  They figured out what the problem was (for which they were not responsible) and removed from the site the module with the problem.  Site was back up and humming!

    - Recently (a couple of days go) I was working late (as I often do) and noticed that the entire site was down and unavailable for about 3 minutes.  This has also happened in the past - and at the exact same time.  So this time I opened a support ticket with PowerDNN and, again, made it clear that this is not acceptable.  They fixed the problem and, again, it was my fault.  It turns out that when I setup my daily backup schedule I check the option to suspend the site while the domain is being backed up and, surely enough, the system obediently suspended the site every day during the backup per my instructions.

    And did I mention that I only pay $20/month for all this?

    Soon - I'll have to upgrade to the next plan 'cause I feel guilty given how many times I call them with my screw-ups.

    Hope this helps for you guys our there looking for a hosting provider!

    - Adrian

    pwil
    Nuker
    Nuker
    Posts:16


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    12/30/2009 8:12 AM
    I would like to also say that PowerDNN has been fantastic for me.  I switched from Verio, which has no DNN expertise and a general web control panel, to PowerDNN, and I am super happy.

    The setup process was easy and the 15 day trial meant I had no risk.  I was given an up-to-date install of DNN 5, and was off and running.  One of my big concerns was backup and restore, and it is a piece of cake with PowerDNN.  You click the backup icon, give a file name, ask for a direct download, and within 5 minutes you've got a full backup file on your desktop.  Really nice!

    I have also found the support to be top-notch.  I've opened 5 tickets so far, consisting of a few questions and a couple of problems.  In all cases I got a fast response and a resolution to the problem.

    Finally, the PowerDNN control panel gives you a lot of control over your website, which is always good.

    Also, PowerDNN appears to already have the 'pinger' solution in place that keeps your pages loaded in memory at all times, meaning that my site is fast to access even when nobody has visited in a while.  This was a major headache for me previously and it's just part of the package at PowerDNN.

    If you're looking for a hoster for your DNN site, I suggest that you start with PowerDNN, do their free trial, and see if that fills your needs more than completely.  I suspect that it will be hard to find a better DNN hoster.

    Pete
    Déclic Vidéo FX
    Nuke Pro
    Nuke Pro
    Posts:93


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    03/13/2010 3:23 PM
    Hello,

    +1, I am also very happy !!

    I *was* hosted with WebHost4Life since many years with MS VPS account...
    (http://declic-video-fx.com/language.../DNN.aspx)

    Unfortunately, WebHost4Life has been bought by another company, and we have been asked to migrate to a new plateform... The migration is currently pending (for more than 1 month in my case), and so far I was not able to run the DNN website on the new plateform.

    Unfortunately, after spending hours with the support to try solving the problem, I am still alone with my problem and unable to migrate to the new plateform. That's a pity, the service was great, but now it is just unusable for DNN.... :-(

    So if anyone has a similar experience or idea, I am willing to inform you that I migrate to Power DNN. I am VERY VERY happy !

    I was looking for
    - semi dedicated hosting (with dedicated app pool)
    - same price range (59 $ / month with WH4L and I pay now 20$/month)
    - 5 Go storage
    - Email functionnality (Smarter Mail or similar) with at least 100 alias and multiple email account
    - IMAP
    - SMTP Server relay (no limit, or reasonnable limit, like 100 emails/hour)
    - 2 DB and 2 domains
    - Each DB with a limit of 300 Mb minimum (currently 50 Mb per DB)
    - possibility to connect to the database remotely with the web (MyLittle Admin or similar) --> this is problematic, I am using Management Studio 2008
    - possibility to manually backup the database and to restore it (option for automatic backup is an advantage, backup to be downloaded manually is perfect)
    - possibility to use FTP, 10 accounts (using currently 3 accounts)
    - 301 redirect www.domain.com to domain.com
    - Fast response time (no slow DNN please...) !!

    Kind regards,
    DV FX
    Déclic Vidéo FX - http://declic-video-fx.com


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