Pre-Sales & General Information
Common Support Questions
Can I easily upgrade hosting plans? [back to top]
Yes, you can upgrade your plan at a pro-rated discount through the end of your billing cycle at any time.
Once you have your login details, just view your
Account Center: Details page
and you can upgrade your plan and add services at any time.
Where are your servers located? [back to top]
In both Portland, OR and Dallas, TX in world-class datacenters.
What's up with dedicated memory and Mongrel/Thin? How does it all work with shared/reseller hosting? [back to top]
Check out our
Mongrel and Thin hosting page for more information.
Essentially, Mongrel/Thin processes typically take up about 35-50 MB of server memory each, so we sell
dedicated memory (RES + SWAP) in blocks of 50MB for shared (Basic - Platinum) and reseller plans.
Thus, you can think of 50MB equating to one Mongrel processes (also called "instance" or "server"),
so if your account has 300MB of
dedicated memory you can run ~6 Mongrels. This dedicated memory limit does not apply to the "Pay-as-you-go" plan.
Can I run multiple Rails apps off of one Mongrel server? [back to top]
No, Mongrel is a special web server that loads one Ruby application (like Rails, Og+Nitro, Camping, etc...)
into memory. So if you want to run multiple Rails apps on Mongrel you need to fire up separate Mongrels for each one.
Can I run one Mongrel app and multiple FastCGI apps in one shared hosting account? [back to top]
Yes, this is typically what our clients do. They run their key site on Mongrel and
often host their blog and other applications on FastCGI. You can host as many FastCGI apps as you'd like for FREE on the Basic-Platinum plans. On the "Pay-as-you-go" plan, fastcgi instances count toward your static memory pricing when they are loaded.
How hard is it to upgrade and transfer my account to a VPS/dedicated server? [back to top]
The easiest way is if you opt for the cPanel control panel for your server. cPanel has its
own account packaging and migration capabilities so we could transfer your whole account in minutes.
However, even with a webmin/virtualmin control panel the transfer is usually just
a matter of copying files and re-creating/re-populating your database. We also offer custom transfer services
for $50 USD if you'd rather us take care of it for you.
How long have you been in business? [back to top]
We started up at the beginning of 2006 and have been growing at a steady and rapid clip ever since.
One of the features that have made us stand out above other companies is our specialization in Rails
(e.g. we offer a custom Rails app installation service, with optional SVN and Capistrano instruction,
our support staff consists of Rails developers, etc...),
so as the popularity of the framework has grown we have seen an increase in the number of clients who
have come to us as well.
Do you provide phone support? [back to top]
Not at this time. Our 24/7 helpdesk team, however, is very effective at promptly resolving support tickets.
What exact service do I receive with a "Custom Rails App Installation"? [back to top]
You upload a zip file of your application that you have working on your local machine, make sure there's
a way for us to populate a database for you (e.g. migrations, sql file, etc...), tell us what gems/plugins
you're using and how many Mongrels (or just FastCGI) you want loading up your application, and we
get it working for you so you can view it in your web browser within 24 hours. In addition, we also have
a
Git (or SVN) and capistrano service, where we will setup your svn repository and give you the deploy.rb script
to automate your production deployment in the future. The completion of this service is teaching you
how to do this yourself so you have a good understand of what is going on behind the scenes.
Not officially, though we do usually grant requests to install Sun Microsystems' Java Runtime Environment.
Would you be able to install X software package for me (Shared Hosting)? [back to top]
In most cases, unless we have been able to test its performance and compatibility with our
highly-customized server setups, installation of custom software will not be allowed. Notable
exceptions are libraries, modules, and gems for software we do already support.
Would you be able to install X RubyGem for me (Shared Hosting)? [back to top]
Sure - if its in RubyForge's database and there are no known security or performance issues, we'd be happy to
install it server-wide for you.
Can I install my own RubyGems (Shared Hosting)? [back to top]
Unless it requires compiling (like RMagick, which we already have installed), then YES you can install it yourself. Check out
this tutorial.
HELP! My Rails application "failed to start." What do I do? [back to top]
They are many (but a finite number) of reasons why this might be occurring. Please carefully read
this and
this article, which cover and resolve about 99% of the problems
that cause this error.
I've read all the documentation, but my Rails app still won't start, can you take a look? [back to top]
Sure, of course. Just follow the directions
here for the
best way to contact us.
I'm using SVN and Capistrano to deploy, and everything looks OK but my Rails app won't start, can you help? [back to top]
If everything looks OK according to the Documentation, then check out
this thread. Which
is often the magic bullet for solving cap problems. If you're still having trouble do feel free
to
contact support.
My Rails app starts but I'm still getting a 500 Error (Application Error) [back to top]
In this case check your /log/production.log and if the error doesn't make sense please feel free to
post it in our
support forums and we'll help you out.
HELP! I'm seeing a 503 Error "SERVICE TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE" message in my browser. My site is down!!?
[back to top]
This message always means that your Mongrel or Mongrel cluster is not running. You will need to SSH
into your account and get it (them) back up.
I cannot restart my mongrel server...it says a PID file is missing?
[back to top]
In this case ssh into your account an run a 'ps' - note the process ID (PID) of your mongrel_rails process(es) then
issue a 'kill -9 <PID>'. After they are killed you can start up your mongrel(s) again.
I cannot start my mongrel server...it says its already running?
[back to top]
You will need to clear out the mongrel.pid file(s) from your Rails app /log folder. Then you'll
be able to start up your Mongrel(s).
My Rails app works on my local machine but not your server, what's going on?
[back to top]
There can be many reasons for this. Most commonly it is a version discrepancy of Rails or other gems/plugins.
You should freeze all working gems you use into your app's vendor folder. We also frequently see typos in the
dispatch.fcgi or .htaccess files when client's are used to developing on webrick or Mongrel (e.g.
make sure the correct Shebang line is in the dispatchers).
My addon domain Rails app is not working correctly, can you help?
[back to top]
Make sure you have carefully followed
this tutorial. Remember
that your addon domain's DocumentRoot will be ~/public_html/addondomain_folder, but you do not need to
change any of the BaseURL or relative_url_root settings in your app (those are only for running Rails
as a subfolder app). If you are using Capistrano - you will need to remember to recreate your symlinks
so you addon domains work correctly.
My addon domain NON-Rails app is not working correctly, can you help?
[back to top]
Make sure you have carefully followed
this tutorial.
What is critical for non-rails apps is that you have a "RewriteEngine OFF" in the .htaccess of the DocumentRoot
for the domain.
How can I have multiple domains point to the same Rails application?
[back to top]
All you need to do is "Park" the extra domains on top of the first domain for this app. This can
be done through your cPanel.
What is the difference between an addon domain, a parked domain, and a subdomain?
[back to top]
A clarifying article on this topic can be found
here.