Pair Networks HostingSince 1996, pair Networks has provided hosting services for businesses, educational institutions, bloggers, musicians, non-profits, and artists. With numerous high-volume customer sites, pair Networks serves billions of daily hits for customers in over 150 countries.

Support

The pair Networks website contains a large knowledge base where you can find FAQs, a glossary, and information about your particular account type. Unlimited* real-time support is available 24/7/365 via email, as well as by phone with certain plans. Technical and customer service staff are in the same location as the datacenters.

Features

Pair Networks offers shared, managed dedicated, and virtual private servers (VPS) hosting.

• Top of the line, custom-built servers with continual upgrades
• Specialization in the FreeBSD and Ubuntu operating systems
• Uptime well in excess of 99.9%
• Daily data backup for full recovery
• Redundant network systems
• You always maintain full control of your account with the Account Control Center
• Most accounts provide command-line access to popular UNIX shells via Secure Shell (SSH)
• Allowance of multiple domain names on 1 account
• Options including Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), PHP Hypertext preprocessor (PHP), custom common gateway interface (CGI), additional mailboxes, MySQL databases, e-commerce software, and Internet merchant accounts
• 100-day money back guarantee on most services
• Plans may be upgraded or reconfigured at any time

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting plans come in four package levels and a high-volume storage package.

• Email support on all packages, with phone support on upper 2 packages and high-volume storage package
• Backups with all packages
• 500 mailboxes
• 10 additional file transfer protocol (FTP) logins
• 5 mailing lists
• Dedicated Internet protocol (IP) address
• Package 1:
  • 15 GB disk space
  • 75 GB transfer
  • 15 MySQL databases
• Package 2:
  • 30 GB disk space
  • 150 GB transfer
  • 30 MySQL databases
• Package 3:
  • 60 GB disk space
  • 300 GB transfer
  • 60 MySQL databases
• Package 4:
  • 80 GB disk space
  • 400 GB transfer
  • 80 MySQL databases
• High Storage Volume Package:
  • 250 GB disk space
  • 600 GB transfer
  • 60 MySQL databases

Managed Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting plans are fully managed, and available in Overstock, Entry or Professional Level, or Enterprise Class.

• Phone and email support
• Service Level Agreement (SLA)
• Unlimited* mailboxes
• 20 mailing lists
• Dedicated IP address
• Intel Dual Core and Xeon Quad Core and Hexa Core central processing units (CPU)
• RAM from 4 GB DDR3 to 256 GB 1,333MHz ECC respectively
• Hard drive range from standard 500 GB to enterprise 8 TB respectively
• Transfer range from 500 GB to 10 TB respectively
• ShadowDrive® Backup with all plans except Overstock
• GigE Network Interface Card (NIC) with levels QS-3 and up
• Enterprise Class QS-6 includes 2 dedicated servers

VPS Hosting

The VPS services are all fully managed, and available in levels named VPS-1 through VPS-4.

• Phone and email support for all levels
• Unlimited* mailboxes
• 20 mailing lists
• Dedicated IP address
• Level VPS-1:
  • 40 GB expandable disk space
  • 400 GB transfer
  • 1.5 GB RAM
• Level VPS-2:
  • 80 GB expandable disk space
  • 600 GB transfer
  • 3 GB RAM
• Level VPS-3:
  • 140 GB expandable disk space
  • 800 GB transfer
  • 6 GB RAM
• Level VPS-4:
  • 200 GB expandable disk space
  • 1000 GB transfer
  • 8 GB RAM

*When hosts describe anything as “unlimited,” it is typically boundless except in cases of abuse. A user may be charged a penalty or be required to subscribe to a more robust package if they are overburdening the servers.

Pros

• Setup fees are often waived
• Money back guarantee and no contracts
• Wide range of pricing and service plans
• Tech support 24/7/365
• Company strives to make little environmental impact

Cons

• Not all plans include support via telephone
• Shared hosting plans are somewhat barebones
• Potentially overwhelming amount of plan details.

The Verdict

Pair Networks is versatile, and able to meet the hosting needs of individuals with basic sites, as well as large businesses with heavy e-commerce traffic. Pricing is available for all kinds of budgets, though if you get a basic shared hosting plan, be aware that you may miss out on phone support and space. Fortunately, you may upgrade your account at any time.