Linux Server Management
Server Surgeon has been providing Linux Server Management to customers worldwide since 2005. Our system administrators are experts in Linux server management. They can assist you with server hardening, optimization, software installations, and monitoring as well as provide ongoing 24/7 server support for outages, migrations, disaster recovery, troubleshooting, updates, and more. This keeps you focused on building your business and not on managing your server.
Our Linux Server Management Includes
24/7 Server Support
- 24/7/365 Support
- Unlimited Tickets
- Fast Response Time
Server Surgeon provides 24/7/365 ticket support for anything you need for your Linux server. Included is support for:
- Troubleshooting server and website issues and slowdowns
- Performing server migrations
- Investigating and recovering from a hacking disaster
- Resolving complex email and DNS issues
- Installing Linux software packages
- Responding to website and server outages
- Any system administration task
Most support tickets are answered by our system administrators within 10 to 30 minutes and fully resolved within 1 hour. Urgent tickets are responded to within 5 to 10 minutes and generally have a much faster resolution time.
There is no ticket limit nor any additional charges for the work provided by Server Surgeon.
Server Monitoring
- 24/7/365 Server Monitoring
- Fast Admin Response Time
- Custom Site & App Monitors
Our server management provides constant monitoring of your Linux server to ensure all services are responding correctly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our system administrators respond to any alerts triggered by your server within 5 to 10 minutes. The monitoring includes
checks for:
- Thresholds of CPU, memory and disk usage
- RAID array and disk failures
- Outbound spam outbreaks
- Web and mail services response
- DNS, FTP, SSH server response
- MySQL or MariaDB server response
- Control panel services response, if applicable
Custom monitors such as website sanity checks and application response checks can be added by request at any time, ensuring that we are monitoring what is most important to you.
Additional checks for your server may be added by our system administrators to detect ongoing or potential issues unique to your server.
For complex environments, you can provide us documentation on how to respond to particular issues and include a list of people we can call when we cannot resolve something.
Linux Server Hardening
- Advanced CSF Security
- ModSecurity, PHP Hardening
- PCI Compliance
We will perform server hardening on your server, which includes the current best practice Linux server security configurations in addition to our security software installations and configurations such as:
- Advanced CSF Firewall
- Login Failure Daemon
- Linux socket monitor
- Logwatch
- Rootkit Hunter
- chkrootkit
- Remove unnecessary system users and processes
- SSH and DNS configuration hardening
- OS patching and updating including kernel
- Secure /tmp, /var/tmp and /dev/shm
- Remove unnecessary SUID and GUID on system binaries
We take full advantage of Linux’s internal security features as well as those offered by CloudLinux if your server utilizes it.
For e-commerce hosting servers requiring PCI compliance, we can assist with getting and keeping your server PCI compliant.
ModSecurity and PHP configuration hardening are included by request only. These can break the functionality of certain websites. If you have us perform this part of the hardening, you can schedule it for a time when you are available to test your websites thoroughly afterward.
You will be sent more details after ordering and can schedule the hardening with our system administrators to be performed at any time.
Disaster Recovery
- Disk Crashes
- Server Compromises
- Server Outages
Apache & NginX Optimization
- PHP-FPM, LSAPI, FastCGI
- Apache, NginX, LiteSpeed
- HTTP/2
Let our system administrators advise you on and integrate the fastest Linux web hosting environment for your specific needs and server resource availability. Common setups we perform on Linux servers include Apache with PHP-FPM or FastCGI, NginX, and LiteSpeed with LSCache/LSAPI PHP.
In addition to this, we can set up Memcached or REDIS as an in-memory web caching database and configure HTTPD compression using mod_deflate or mod_gzip. HTTP/2 can also be enabled to provide fast per user connection multiplexing. That is, HTTP/2 utilizes a single network connection for a complete web page load rather than one connection for each css, js, image and other file required to load the page.
Linux Server Migration
- Same-Day Migrations
- Little or No Downtime
- Migrate to AWS or Cloud
Our system administrators perform multiple server migrations each week as part of our server management services.
We can migrate your websites to a new Linux server, a new data center, or into a cloud environment such as Amazon AWS, Digital Ocean, or Google Cloud.
We can migrate your Linux server to a control panel server, including DirectAdmin, Plesk, Virtualmin, and cPanel. We are experts at migrating large and complex hosting environments as well as migrating from bare metal to cloud environments.
You can schedule a migration to be performed by us for any time and any day. We limit or prevent any downtime and loss of data during the migration by performing a final fast data sync before making the server switch public.
Linux Server Setup
- Linux Server Hardening
- Server Optimization
- Custom Configurations
If not already installed, our server managers will install the Linux operating system as well as the hosting control panel if needed. We will perform our Linux server hardening then install and configure the services that you will be hosting. Finally, our administrators will migrate your existing websites and applications from your old server to this one.
When applicable, Let’s Encrypt will be installed for generating free, valid SSL certificates on your server, and certificates will be configured for all services and websites requiring them. We will configure the hostname, forward and reverse DNS, and set up proper DNS templates for all of your domains. DKIM, SPF, and DMARC will be enabled for all mail domains.
As part of our Linux server hardening, Server Surgeon has many other best practice Linux server security configurations that will also be applied to your server.
Software Installation
- OS & Control Panel Install
- Virtualization Environments
- Custom Software Installation
Our system administrators will install the software you need on your Linux server, from the operating system and hosting control panel to custom server modules and third-party software applications. Examples of installations we perform for our customers include:
- Java
- Tomcat
- Apache
- NginX
- Squid
- Varnish
- Solr
- LiteSpeed
- CloudFlare
- SolusVM
- Xen
- OpenVZ
- QUEMU
- WHMCS
- MySQL
- MariaDB
- InfluxDB
- PostgreSQL
- CloudLinux
- MagicSpam
- MailScanner
- Let’s Encrypt
- BIND
- RADIUS
- OpenVPN
- Poptop PPTP VPN
- Docker
- Webmin
- Virtualmin
- cPanel
- Plesk
- DirectAdmin
- Red5 Media Server
- Git
In most cases, if something has a Linux installation guide, we will install it for you.
MySQL & MariaDB Optimization
- MySQL Tuning
- MariaDB Tuning
- RAM Disk Caching
Our server management experts will optimize your MySQL or MariaDB server by increasing the size of the memory buffers, the thread stack, and the thread cache as available memory resources allow.
Additionally, when ample memory is available, an in-memory RAM disk will be created, and MySQL or MariaDB configured to use it for storing temporary variables rather than on a physical drive. This configuration can reduce if not eliminate slow queries, lower overall IOWait and CPU load average, and free up the physical disk to work on other tasks.
When available, we can relocate the MySQL or MariaDB databases to a secondary or faster (read SSD or NVMe) dedicated drive. This results in faster database reads and writes as well as allows your primary disk to focus on web and mail services, which speeds up the entire server.
If your server or websites are experiencing performance issues that you suspect are caused by the database server, we can help. There are many things we can do and suggest as part of our Linux Server Management to troubleshoot and resolve these issues.
Backup Restoration
- Rapid Backup Restoration
- Your Backup or Ours
- Crashed Drive Repair
Linux Updates & Patching
- OS and Security Patching
- Kernel and OS Upgrades
- Security Outbreak Response
Let our system administrators ensure the OS patch level of your Linux server is maintained and that you are notified of required reboots to complete a Linux kernel or other core Linux utility update.
Additionally, security patches for major Linux security outbreaks will be applied promptly as part of your Linux Server Management.
And Much More
- Expert Advice
- Peace of Mind
- Discounts Available
Server Surgeon has advised and assisted customers in the hosting industry since 2005. With our Linux Server Management, you can relax knowing that your server will be monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days week. Our experienced system administrators will work around the clock to get your server and sites back online during an outage, even in your complete absence.
Server Surgeon provides a 20% discount to customers with five or more servers with us, and up to a 15% discount for customers who pay quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. Additionally, customers running very minimally resourced cloud and virtual servers hosting only a few websites each, as well as customers who resell servers to their customers, qualify for a discount. Please contact us if you want to inquire about these discounts.
Server Surgeon is starting an affiliate program in early 2020. If you are interested, please contact our sales department.
Order Linux Server Management
You can order our Linux Server Management online. Our system administrators will get your server setup in management within an hour or two of receiving your server information, which you will provide after ordering. If you have questions about our service, you can view the Quick FAQ below or search our extensive list of FAQs here. You can also call our sales department or post a question on our Contact Us page.
The cost per server is $65/month. Customers with five or more servers save 20%, and customers who pay quarterly, semi-annually, or annually save up to an additional 15%.
Linux Server Management Quick FAQ
You will receive an email from our company requesting that you access our ticket system and provide us the login information to your server(s), a list of those in your company authorized to communicate with us on your behalf, a list of emergency contacts we may call during a server emergency, and your hosting providers support access details in case we need to reboot your server or troubleshoot a networking, power or hardware issue.
Yes. All protected data such as logins and passwords you provide to us using the sensitive data fields in our ticketing system will be automatically deleted from our system within 24 hours of us closing the ticket. The logins and password data we send to you are also subject to this deletion. Additionally, our production system is contained within our locked rack in the PhoenixNAP datacenter and all login access to it is blocked except traffic from our own internal network. You can also change any of the passwords you provide to us after the initial management setup is complete.
Yes, we have been providing dependable 24/7/365 Linux server support since 2005.
Standard tickets are responded to within 10 to 30 minutes often faster, depending on the current ticket volume; urgent tickets are answered within 5 to 10 minutes.
Every system administrator at Server Surgeon has at least eight years’ experience in Linux system administration specializing in the web hosting industry.
Server Surgeon has been in business since 2005.
No, there are no ticket limits. Customers coming to us with significant issues often use much more time in their first month; however, there is never an extra charge.
Due to the time involved in setting up server management, we do ask that customers stay at least three months after ordering. If you cancel before that you will still be charged for three months. If you only need one-time support for an issue or server setup, please contact our sales department for a quote.
We provide a 30-day money-back guarantee on all our services.
No, there are never any additional charges for our support. You may opt-in to buy our Linux Server Backup, which is extra.
No. You can purchase our Linux Server Backup when ordering your server management service, though.