Questions on reseller accounts

T

techmatters

New Member
Hi,

I am considering your service for a reseller account and a friend in the industry has referred me to you. I am in australia, so some sense of knowing that issues will be responded to promptly and knowledgeably (not with canned answers) and in my "time frame" is important. Do you have any SLA on support responses? Do you offer online chat for direct dialogue with a support person?

I'd also like to know:

Safe Mode on or off?
If safe mode is ON do you provide assistance in highlighting where a script might need to be altered to conform?

Webmail software used? Squirrelmail or ?
Shared SSL?
Version of PHP? Is PHP5 available if needed?
Ioncube or Zend Optimiser supported?
htaccess supported?
Do nightly backups include MySQL?

Do you have automated monitoring for "Services"? A host I am currently using that "boasts" about their fantastic 24/7 support, allowed the MySQL connection of an ecommerce site to be down for nearly 3 hours. They only knew about it when I got onto the online chat and showed them the error. They then started the MySQL service and it was recovered in a few seconds, but they did not appear to have any alert that this was offline nor any way to have this monitored and restarted automatically. It is of course not enough just to have the "server" running if its services are not operational. What can Knownhost provide in this regard?

I am also wanting to install the Kayako ticketing system, which I notice that you also run for your support services (Support Suite). Would there be any problems installing this on a reseller hosting package?

Thanks in advance.

Janet
 
Hello Janet,

Thanks for your interest in KnownHost. We do offer 25/7/365 support but not live chat support. Our support is all done via email/helpdesk. Support I would consider one of our core strengths as we do focus on this.

We use cPanel for Reseller accounts so all the versions rely on that product but to answer your question we support MySQL 5 and PHP 5. Zend and IonCube are both supported. Backup's we do have the entire server so it includes everything in your account. Shared SSL"s we do not support. htaccess sure.

We don't provide automated upgrades as we approve all orders manually before processing them. In your example we would react as fast as possible. We always do our best but I can't guarantee anything. We do have a 99.99% uptime so this assures the client they are being treated with real importance.

Regarding kayako being installed on a Reseller account I do not believe this is possible. You would need a VPS or your own server. We have many use WHMCS which has its own trouble ticketing system but kayako I have never seen used like that before.

Thanks,
Joel
 
KnownHost-Joel said:
Regarding kayako being installed on a Reseller account I do not believe this is possible. You would need a VPS or your own server.
Click to expand...

Joel,

I don't understand, why wouldn't kayako be able to be installed on a Reseller Account?

Just like in that other thread with xaraya(http://forums.knownhost.com/showthread.php?t=753) all kayako needs is to be installed on a linux server with php and mysql. Knownhost Reseller Plans include that.

techmatters- there's no reason why kayako should not be able to be installed on a reseller account.
 
Thanks for your response Joel.

Still missing a few pieces of the jigsaw.

Is Safe mode on or off?

What webmail product do you use?

What version of php/MySQL comes as default? and can I set up occasional packages under my existing reseller a/c with PHP5. So the question is, can I create client packages some with PHP4 and others with PHP5 under a single reseller a/c? We use Oscommerce a lot and it doesn't sit well on MYSQL5.

My questions was not regarding automated upgrades but automated re-starting of "system services" that have failed e.g. connection to MYSQL, or are you manually alerted to the failure? My other host had no idea until I told him 3 hours after the site first went offline. Note that this was a "system service" problem not a "server" problem and not an application problem.

If Shared SSL is not supported what can you offer for e-commerce on a reseller account(IP address + full certificate?) . Do you assist with the installation of this?

I have already purchased the Kayako ticketing system on the advice of their own people who said it can be installed on a shared server. I do believe there is some reference to needing access to the Command line Interface to set up email piping, but I will go through the install instructions in more detail and come back to you for any clarification. While the VPS is an option, I do not have skills in server administration and cannot invest the time at this stage to go through a steep learning curve. I prefer an environment where all the server stuff is installed, works and I don't have to worry about security etc.
 
techmatters said:
I have already purchased the Kayako ticketing system on the advice of their own people who said it can be installed on a shared server. I do believe there is some reference to needing access to the Command line Interface to set up email piping, but I will go through the install instructions in more detail and come back to you for any clarification. While the VPS is an option, I do not have skills in server administration and cannot invest the time at this stage to go through a steep learning curve. I prefer an environment where all the server stuff is installed, works and I don't have to worry about security etc.
Click to expand...

I'll let KH answer your other questions but there's no reason why a VPS or your own server is needed just to be able to use Kayako. I have installed Kayako myself on shared web hosting solutions. Yes for email piping I believe you do need command line but if thats the case you can always just use kayako's pop email retrieval which always served me well.
 
Techmatters,

Technically speaking Kayako will work on a reseller account but personally speaking from experience (much more then most) is for helpdesk software don't put that on a server shared with others as shared/reseller hosting has absolutely no real isolation. I just know if my website goes down because of a $5 shared hosting customer (sharing a server with) I would at least want my helpdesk to work unless I plan to be one of the WHT hosts who have this happen and blame it on Kayako, etc. I believe in spending a little more money and ensuring my clients at least they can open a ticket if something goes wrong. So when I answer questions I also answer them based on the best approach not just what technically is possible. Safest route is what we will always recommend not cheapest but feel free to use kayako on a reseller account, we don't disallow it. I can say we have no reseller clients using Kayako but VPS's we have hundreds. Below I have answered your questions.

Is Safe mode on or off?

--Off

What webmail product do you use?

--Horde or Squirrelmail with cPanel accounts.

What version of php/MySQL comes as default? and can I set up occasional packages under my existing reseller a/c with PHP5. So the question is, can I create client packages some with PHP4 and others with PHP5 under a single reseller a/c? We use Oscommerce a lot and it doesn't sit well on MYSQL5.

--All come with PHP 5 and MySQL 5. No, you can't use PHP 4 and PHP 5 so it would need 5x.

My questions was not regarding automated upgrades but automated re-starting of "system services" that have failed e.g. connection to MYSQL, or are you manually alerted to the failure? My other host had no idea until I told him 3 hours after the site first went offline. Note that this was a "system service" problem not a "server" problem and not an application problem.

--We get notified and will react as fast as possible. It isn't automated but we are quite fast not to mention experienced.

If Shared SSL is not supported what can you offer for e-commerce on a reseller account(IP address + full certificate?) . Do you assist with the installation of this?

--We can install SSL's for you if you buy one and send it to us. We do this for many clients.

Hope this answers your questions.

Joel
 
KnownHost-Joel said:
Technically speaking Kayako will work on a reseller account but personally speaking from experience (much more then most) is for helpdesk software don't put that on a server shared with others as shared/reseller hosting has absolutely no real isolation. I just know if my website goes down because of a $5 shared hosting customer (sharing a server with) I would at least want my helpdesk to work unless I plan to be one of the WHT hosts who have this happen and blame it on Kayako, etc. I believe in spending a little more money and ensuring my clients at least they can open a ticket if something goes wrong. So when I answer questions I also answer them based on the best approach not just what technically is possible. Safest route is what we will always recommend not cheapest but feel free to use kayako on a reseller account, we don't disallow it.
Click to expand...

Very good point. However, maybe next time you could make that more clear as the way you phrased it:
KnownHost-Joel said:
Regarding kayako being installed on a Reseller account I do not believe this is possible. You would need a VPS or your own server. We have many use WHMCS which has its own trouble ticketing system but kayako I have never seen used like that before.
Click to expand...

It makes it seem like kayako cannot be installed due to a technical reason but WHMCS you have seen that it can be installed.

To clarify its best to keep your support suite SEPERATE from your hosting account - regardlress if one gets a KH Reseller account or a KH VPS account if the support suite is in the same "account" or "VPS server" than if the hosting account or server goes down, so does the support suite. In addition, WHMCS is no different than kayako in the sense that it would still go down with the hosting plan.

/Just my 2 cents to make sure that there's no misunderstanding.
 
Thanks Joel for the clarification.

FYI my use of Kayako is not for hosting "support" but for change requests from clients and workload management of our team. We are a web development shop and hosting is on the side. We already have a reseller hosting account in Australia and I'm looking for another option and not to put all eggs in same basket.

I would be interested in VPS but just do not want to take responsibility for server management. Perhaps in the future...

Will need to consider the issues surrounding PHP5 and MYSQL 5 with many of our legacy systems.

Thanks for your responses (and yours PPC! - are you the quality controller here?)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top