Gonna buy an Aluminum Reseller Package, but have some questions

[MaxGal]

Hi guys,

First of all sorry for my English. It's not my natural language
I'm thinking about buying an Aluminum Reseller Package for start, but I have some questions before I can make my choice.

1. For example, if my client break a TOS, what will HG does:
- suspend whole my account;
- give me notice;
- or suspend my client?

2. In case, if someone will DDOS my main website or website (or websites) of my client, has HG something against it? I mean DDOS Protection. Do I need to pay for it?

3. Can I change/add addtional modules to Apache/Php/MySQL configuration?

4. Can I just pay using PayPal and credit card or I also can use other payment methods? If yes, what methods I can use?

I will appreciate any help.
Thx.

Regards,
Maxim.

[rhwired]

Originally Posted by MaxGal

1. For example, if my client break a TOS, what will HG does:
- suspend whole my account;
- give me notice;
- or suspend my client?

2. In case, if someone will DDOS my main website or website (or websites) of my client, has HG something against it? I mean DDOS Protection. Do I need to pay for it?

3. Can I change/add addtional modules to Apache/Php/MySQL configuration?

4. Can I just pay using PayPal and credit card or I also can use other payment methods? If yes, what methods I can use?

1 = They would probably suspend your whole account and tell you to contact them.

2 = Hosts usually have DoS protection/firewall, reseller isnt that much different too the shared server.

3 = No, I have already requested mod_autoindex.c too be installed, and they will not do it on a reseller plan.

4 = Yes, when you sign up, you can choose from Credit Cards, or paypal.


Cheers,

[GvilleRick]

I suspect it would depend on what your client did. Unless it is something that affects the security of the server and other accounts they would more likely suspend the client account on a first offense. If it becomes a pattern, that is if you don't deal with the problem, then they would likely suspend the whole account.

HG does manage DDOS attacks but again if there is a pattern of people attacking your site then it is not in HG's interest to allow it on the server as it would affect all accounts, not just yours.

Reseller accounts are still shared accounts. Any modifications to Apache would affect all accounts on the server. A mod that helps your site could well be a problem for another.

Basically, if you have had problems with other hosts with your sites using too many resources, subject to DDOS attacks, etc. or if you really need specific changes to PHP or Apache then you would be better off looking into a dedicated server rather than a reseller plan.

[GatorChrisN]

1. For example, if my client break a TOS, what will HG does:
- suspend whole my account;
- give me notice;
- or suspend my client?

If your client is in violation of the TOS, we will suspend their account and contact you via e-mail and a phone call to let you know what the violation was and what steps are necessary to resolve this.


2. In case, if someone will DDOS my main website or website (or websites) of my client, has HG something against it? I mean DDOS Protection. Do I need to pay for it?

We have a team of admins that work around the clock 24/7 to monitor all servers for any flood attacks/etc and mitigate them as soon as they arise. We have a good custom firewall on all of our shared and reseller servers that prevents most attacks to begin with.

3. Can I change/add addtional modules to Apache/Php/MySQL configuration?

We do not allow custom Apache modules on shared or reseller servers. We do, however, install most PEAR and Perl modules upon request so long as they are in STABLE release and not beta/alpha. By default, most common php modules are already installed/compiled in.

4. Can I just pay using PayPal and credit card or I also can use other payment methods? If yes, what methods I can use?

We accept both Paypal and Credit Card, though if you contact sales you may be able to use another form.


Welcome aboard!

[MaxGal]

Thx guys,

I really appreciate your help.
I forgot about one question ))

I couldn't find any information about IP's?
Does HG provide an IP for my reseller account?
What I mean is I don't wanna my customers to be able know that I'm reseller.
How can I protect myself from too curious customers? ))
And actually what they will see, if they connect via telnet to SMTP for example?

Thx again.

[GvilleRick]

If the customers are too curious they are likely to figure out that you are reselling. The server name will be somename.websitewelcome.com for reseller servers. You can set up nameservers based on your domain to use with the client accounts.

Realize that you cannot compete with HG or any other host in terms of price, space, and bandwidth. You must provide value to the accounts you sell. Some users do that through website development.

For more privacy a dedicated server provides many more options including additional IP addresses, the ability to use whatever servername you want, and control over the server setup. Most folks here who started out as resellers and moved to dedicated suggest going dedicated as soon as possible. Once you switch you will wonder why you waited so long.

[GatorChrisN]

Originally Posted by MaxGal

Thx guys,

I really appreciate your help.
I forgot about one question ))

I couldn't find any information about IP's?
Does HG provide an IP for my reseller account?
What I mean is I don't wanna my customers to be able know that I'm reseller.
How can I protect myself from too curious customers? ))
And actually what they will see, if they connect via telnet to SMTP for example?

Thx again.

You can purchase a private IP for your reseller account here:

http://hostgator.com/ticket

As for hiding the fact that you are a reseller, you can have us set up private nameservers for you. Telnet-ing to various ports will not reveal anything regarding Hostgator on reseller servers, but it will show 'websitewelcome.com'. They could probably dig and eventually follow the trail back but they would have to be really nosy.

[MaxGal]

Ok, thx again!

[Serra]

Originally Posted by MaxGal

And actually what they will see, if they connect via telnet to SMTP for example?

Your SMTP server will not be on your private name servers, so it will show up as something like 'xxx.websitewelcome.com', which can be traced back to HG.

Originally Posted by MaxGal

What I mean is I don't wanna my customers to be able know that I'm reseller.
How can I protect myself from too curious customers? ))

That is a mistake. You can never hide that you are a reseller. You can't even hide that you are using a dedicated server at some data center.

Your customers will not have any problems finding that out. However, you will find that 99% of your customers simply don't care. If you are offering value added services, then it doesn't really matter where the services are coming from.

That is very much like what HG is doing. They don't have their own data center. They lease all of their systems from thePlanet. That hasn't stopped them from becoming one of the largest hosting companies in the US.

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by Serra

That is a mistake. You can never hide that you are a reseller. You can't even hide that you are using a dedicated server at some data center.

Your customers will not have any problems finding that out. However, you will find that 99% of your customers simply don't care. If you are offering value added services, then it doesn't really matter where the services are coming from.

In fact, it should be an advantage and the right language can boost your credibility. You're giving customers the best of both worlds: your personalized service and equipment maintained 24/7 by one of the largest, most professional forces in the world. (Somewhere in the forum is the language we worked up for a reseller who had your very questions, and he turned the issue to an advantage on a "technical information" page.)

As far as the outgoing mail is concerned, the main thing (re credibility) is that it goes out through mail.theirdomain.tld--most people will not connect via telnet, and never look at the headers to see any further details about mail.theirdomain.tld.