I currently have a VPS, which I have been very happy and impressed by, but it has become full. The VPS only permits 10 domains and I need to create a few new projects while also professionalising my processes. My current VPS has used Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and I have root access via SSH.
While I could get a second VPS my thoughts are moving towards a dedicated server.
I am looking for advice on:
Managed Vs Self-Managed
Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Vs CentOS 6.0
MariaDB Vs MySQL
Apache Vs lighttpd Vs nginx Vs Cherokee.
In terms of usage I will be hosting Commerce Sites, Hi Res Image Galleries, and HTML5 heavy sites. Every site will have a development version. I also need a mail server (currently using mailchimp).
My skill level is pretty basic. I have used Drush to perform updates and installed things like ruby gems. Whether or not to get the managed I have no clue, I am not sure of the actual requirements, how long it will take to set up or what to put on it. I have found quite a lot of support for Ubuntu and while CentOS seems to be well regarded it seem to have less tutorials available. MariaDB looks like a straight swap in (?). Apache seems to be the most used and referenced but Commerce seem to huge memory hog so may not be the best option.