Codero
- From the company
Codero provides dedicated and managed hosting services focusing on the real needs of today's small- and mid-sized businesses. Operating out of Overland Park, KS, the company offers a full line of high performance Windows® and Linux servers with service enhancements such as back-up services, security services, eCommerce hosting network services and server access tools. Live US-based support is offered 24/7/365 by knowledgeable solution engineers. Codero utilizes state-of-the-art servers from Intel and Dell to ensure reliable performance, while secure data centers protect customer’s personal and proprietary information.
Codero is a former division of Aplus.net. Codero became a separate entity focusing on dedicated and managed hosting solutions after the acquisition of Aplus.net's shared hosting, web design, and domain registration services by Hostopia, a division of Deluxe Corporation. For us, "Codero" stands for collaboration, engagement, focus, reliability and flexibility. It means a more secure computing experience for email, shopping or data transfer. Most importantly, we strive to focus on our customers' needs.
Codero
Expert Review- From the Editors
http://www.codero.com
7500 W 110th Street
Suite 400
Overland Park, Kansas 66210
General Overview:
Codero.com web hosting company has been in business since 1993. It was a former division of Aplus.net web hosting
and is now a separate entity. The hosting company has 200 employees and has over 8000 dedicated
servers, which are hosted in their own facilities. All of the company’s technology
and infrastructure is housed in their owned facility located in Phoenix, Arizona.
The building is 40,000 square feet with the latest security and runs dual redundant
connections with up to 6 tier one providers, meaning if one connection goes down,
another automatically picks up.
The company does managed hosting for small and mid-sized companies and businesses.
The Codero website is attractive and very easy to navigate. It is grammatically
correct and contact numbers are predominantly displayed on the top right hand side
of the site.
The company has received awards for Green Hosting, which means the dedicated servers
use 100% renewable energy which is sourced out of wind farms. The company touts
the slogan “Go Green With Codero.”
Their experienced staff supports technology for e-commerce, publishing, messaging,
web design, administration as well as network configuration. Technicians are constantly
in training for both IT subject matter and product specific training. Most technicians
are certified in Microsoft and Linux.
Products, Features, and Services:
When shared hosting isn’t enough, Codero offers dedicated servers. The customer
profile includes small to medium businesses, sites with high transaction volumes,
data storage, extended IT operation, application service providers, and gaming servers.
For the first time user, the company can offer a managed server where Codero can
monitor the server, take care of security, set up the server on a separate secure
network managed by Codero engineers, update the server, and install software and
OS so a new business can concentrate on their website and business instead of server
management.
The company offers 3 managed plans: Basic, Select and Premium. The Basic plan starts
at $60 per month and includes:
- Email/messaging
- DNS Services
- OS/Software/Server Updates
- A La Carte Support
- Server Protection Plan
The Select plan offers additional proactive service monitoring, security audits,
intrusion detection systems and a managed backup. Prices begin at $110. The Premium
package continues the upgrades and is priced at $150 per month.
The sales staff is very accommodating. I called to inquire about hosting, gave the
representative a brief scenario of my needs and asked what kind of hosting they
could provide. I told them I had a business starting out (high end sale and service
business), and I wanted them to manage my site since I had little experience and
needed the time to concentrate on my business. The representative suggested I use
Windows platform since I was not familiar with either Linux or Unix.
Server-Pentium Dual Core E5 300 2.6 GHz RAM. The representative described it as
a powerful server, not expensive and perfect to start a new web site.
- RAM-4GB DDR2-800SDRAM. This would be more than enough and would keep Windows running
smoothly
- First Hard Drive-250 GB SATA HDD ( 7200 RPM)
- Bandwidth-2TB
- Uplink Port Speed-10 Mbps uplink
- IP Addresses-5 IP’s included
- Operating System-Windows 2008 Standard Edition ( NoAD) -32Bit
- Control Panel-Parallels- Plesk Panel
The price for set-up is $100. Broken down there is a $25 fee to configure the server
hardware and install. There is a $75 set-up fee for Windows license.
The price for the above scenario was quoted to me for $149 for the first month and
$233 per month after that. If I paid the annual amount in advance of $2543.97, I
would get a discount. After questioning the sales representative, I learned a client
does not have to sign up for a year and that there are many discounts and specials
available depending on needs.
The company offers a Price Match Challenge, which effectively reflects competitively
priced products and services. The company claims if you find publicly advertised
prices from a competitor for the identical products and services within 30 days
of signing up with Codero, the company will match prices for dedicated web hosting
and managed services, however the company will not match prices for cPanel, Parallels
products, business mail, eVault, Microsoft, and Red Hat.
Codero also provides e-business solutions by offering:
- Hardware load balancing
- Personal firewalls
- RAID O, RAID 1, RAID 5
- Dual, Quad, Dual Core processor solutions
- Smart Services Suites
- Plesk and cPanel Control Panels
- Managed dedicated Solutions
For domain name registration, the company suggests http://www.hostopia.com. The
company is not ICANN accredited.
Backup services range from FTP ($10 per month to $40 per month), self-managed, and
Vault services. Their Disaster Recovery Plan ranges from FT, do-it-yourself, and
fully managed options to the addition of a server protection plan which will waive
bandwidth overages and reinstall operating systems at no charge.
Service and Support:
Basic support is free and there is 24/7 phone and email. The Codero Knowledge Base
is easy to navigate and provides a lot of useful, practical information, as well
as Q&A. High level support is available from 6am to 11pm for more complicated problems.
I was able to immediately connect with their tech support and asked a question about
e-commerce and asked about SoftCart and ShopSite. The representative told me I would
have complete control of the server and could install any e-commerce software I
wanted for my domains. I also inquired about more information for security. He did
refer me to http://www.codero.com/managed-hosting for more information and explained
that an SSL certificate encrypts data from the workstation to the server to prevent
someone from gaining information that is sent for the workstation to the server
or back for the server to the workstation. This explanation was helpful.
The response time was excellent, but the tech’s explanations were difficult to understand,
especially if one is a novice looking for more information. The website described
security, but I found more information on my own as I studied the Codero site and
found the following: http://www.codero.com/security/ssl-certificates. I was disappointed
I was not referred here initially; otherwise the information was comprehensive.
Advanced technical support is available for $99/hour. They will:
- Install software that is not part of the standard server pack
- Do advanced configuration of servers
- Custom backup scripts
- Scripting
Security updates available include:
- 24/7 NOC monitoring
- 24/7 tech support
- EVault back up services
- Managed Cisco firewalls- automatically blocks malicious traffic and has rapid threat
responses
- Intrusion detection system
Uptime guarantee:
- 99.9% uptime
- Guarantee all hardware functioning 100% of the time (except for normal maintenance)
- Power HVAC systems functioning 100% of the time (except for normal maintenance)
- Network uptime 99.9%. If a network failure causes a server to be down for more than
one hour, the client will be refunded 5% off the following month’s regular bill.
The refund will continue at 5% per hour for extended failures until 100% refund
for the next month.
Terms of Service:
Codero can change or modify their TOS without any notice. There are no refunds or
reimbursements paid at anytime. Services are automatically renewed on the anniversary
date of the contract, and without the client notifying Codero, the credit card on
record is charged. The client is responsible to notify Codero 7 days prior to the
anniversary date. Codero has the right to cancel a contract if they give 10 days
notice.
Summary:
The company offers excellent technical support, and the sales staff is very helpful
putting together a workable hosting solution. There are a wide variety of programs
available, and it is easy to customize so it’s not a one-size fits all. Response
time is excellent and the company’s knowledge base is easy to navigate and provided
helpful information.
The fact that there is no money-back guarantee, however, is of interest and should
be considered.