Sys4net is a hosting firm located in Alcantarilla, Spain with a wide variety of hosting options available. The company’s start date wasn’t listed on the website, but judging by the range of choices available it would appear that Sys4net is an established company and not just a recent start-up.
Uptime & Reliability
They claim 100% uptime
While any claim of 100% availability needs scrutiny, I was a little concerned about the lack of ANY claims about uptime on the Sys4net site. The lack of uptime being advertised could be a cultural difference, with an implication of availability outweighing the need for flashy advertisements.
Features
Nice list of features
Web hosting appears to be one of Sys4net’s biggest draws, with even the basic plan offering “unlimited” data transfer, subdomains, email, email re-directs and FTP accounts. Web hosting using Windows is only available on the top-rated plan, but this probably isn’t a consideration for the majority of Sys4net customers.
Multi-domain hosting is also offered, again with the “unlimited” claim on many key measurements. One item that I hadn’t seen before is “dual hosting” where Linux and Windows can be run using the same plan; this could be a big draw for some business customers.
Dedicated servers are also available, with a wide selection of servers to choose from. Also offered is co-hosting, the company’s motto being “your servant, our space”. Domain transfer, registration and renewal is also part of Sys4net’s service menu.
Support
Fairly good support
Sys4net states that their average response time to tickets is 30 minutes. Using the online knowledgebase to attempt to find answers or instructions is stressed (as is proper) prior to calling. Chat service is available and conveniently linked on every page. The online ticketing system states that it is available 24/7, every day of the year. Phone service is limited to a 4 hour window of 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. daily with no holiday exceptions listed.
While the knowledgebase seems to be well-populated and chat is a great tool, my concern with phone support only being available 4 hours a day makes me wonder if reboots, restores, etc are available in a timely fashion. As with any contracted service, clarification is needed prior to the start of operations.
Pricing
Very reasonable pricing
Web hosting packages start at an economical €3.95 ($4.14 USD) with an allowance of 250 GB disk space, a lower limit than many hosts, but this is offset by the unlimited data transfer, subdomains, etc. The top-rated package lists for €3.95 with an increase of storage to 1.5 TB and the ability to host Windows SQL Server 2005.
Multi-domain, as expected, has a higher price with disk space to 4 GB at €14.95 ($15.66 USD) and allows each user their own control panel, as does the top package that features 8 GB; as with web hosting only the top package offers Windows SQL ability.
All VPS packages offer unlimited monthly transfer, with the base offering at €19.95 ($20.90 USD) monthly including 50 GB of disk space and 1 GB RAM. The top-rated package increases disk space to 100 GB and RAM to 3 GB at €39.95 ($41.86 USD). Sys4net provides proactive management and monitoring at an extra monthly cost.
Dedicated servers are priced at €89.95 ($94.24 USD) monthly; with a 50% discount offered on the first three months. The highest server package runs €109.95 ($115.20 USD) with the same promotional offer.
For server housing, prices appear to be listed by the number of IP addresses, which seems unusual and would need more investigation.
Note: All services are subject to Spain’s 21% value added tax (VAT).
Summary
Nice hosting option
Sys4net has an attractive array of services available at what seem to be reasonable prices with what you get. There is not much that is too bad to say about this company when it comes strictly to the hosting.
Pros:
- Quite a few hosting options
- Generous data and storage options
Cons:
- Limited phone support
- No uptime guarantee