Item: Akamai Cloud Computing
Rating: 9
Author: Shion Song

Overall Satisfaction with Linode

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Linode is currently being used as the primary development platform relating to client websites and WordPress plugin development. By leveraging its flexibility to conveniently spin up new server environments, it serves as the perfect platform to fine tune various client configurations in isolation. Linode is also recommended as one of the potential web hosting providers for clients that have outgrown the limits of shared hosting and are in need of dedicated resources and consistent stability.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Flexibility and ease of use to quickly spin up new server instances.
Stability and uptime are almost perfect, but if some issue arises, customer support goes above and beyond to troubleshoot.
Pricing is transparent and generous resources in bandwidth offer peace of mind.
Different server configuration packages to fine tune to needs (e.g., high CPU, high RAM, etc.).
Ability to move up and down between packages easily depending on traffic.
Super fast SSD hardware.

Cons

Storage space can be limiting on lower-end plans
Backup feature is very limiting and can only restore in full to specific days as defined by linode (e.g. cannot restore to a backup from 2 days ago - only yesterday, 7 days ago, etc)
Backup feature cannot restore individual files - the entire server has to be restored
Can be challenging for business owners with little sysadmin knowledge. Requires some knowledge/reading of various guides to properly secure the server

Return on Investment

Pricing is great and even comparable to shared hosting but offers far more power.

Alternatives Considered

SiteGround, DigitalOcean, Amazon Web Services, GoDaddy and DreamHost

While SiteGround, GoDaddy, and DreamHost all offer ease of use and work OK when they're working, their performance is not consistent. All three can become very slow for even very low traffic sites. Linode, in comparison, offers much more consistent performance and any issues are usually solvable thanks to root access. While DigitalOcean was considered many times due to its even greater flexibility in their package lineup and features, we have remained at Linode due to its outstanding customer service and very knowledgeable staff.

Support Rating

Linode support is fast (sometimes responding within a few minutes) and is always transparent about potential issues affecting the physical server that our VMs are on. They go above and beyond to troubleshoot issues and also take the time to include guides in each response to ensure we know how to properly perform them.

Key Insights

Do you think Akamai Cloud Computing delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Akamai Cloud Computing's feature set?

Yes

Did Akamai Cloud Computing live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Akamai Cloud Computing go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Akamai Cloud Computing again?

Yes

Other Software Used

NGINX, WordPress, Drupal, Microsoft Visual Studio Code, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Illustrator CC, WooCommerce

Likelihood to Recommend

Linode is great for business owners (or have team members) with some technical skills who have outgrown what shared hosting provides. It offers power and an environment similar to a physical dedicated server but without the high upfront costs of purchasing the hardware and networking. Unlike a dedicated server, it is also very easy (with very little downtime) to migrate up or down packages as needs change. This process is completely automatic and requires no user intervention. Linode is also a great platform for cloud/compute applications without worrying about usage billing, as you would with AWS.

However, with great power comes some responsibility. While it's definitely doable, there is a bit of a learning curve to secure and optimize the resources available. Luckily, there are hundreds of great guides on Linode but the service is still a significant departure if you're used to "one click" interfaces that are commonly available through shared hosting providers.

Linode Support

Akamai Cloud Computing Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Premium Support

Premium support is not offered

Bug Resolution

Exceptional Examples of Akamai Cloud Computing Support

There was an issue that ultimately resulted from an issue in one of the software stack being used on the server. While this was outside of Linode's obligations, they provided support over a span of 1 month trying to diagnose the issue and was able to pinpoint its source.

Comments

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Linode: The best surprise is no surprise! It's reliable and predictable with great performance.