LaneHost is Down

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Posted by rickb12, 06-14-2008, 12:49 PM
LaneHost is unavailable as of 11:30a (cst). Calls to their sales line 1.866.993.LANE gives a "this number is temp unavailable" message. I sent an email to support@lanehost.com, but I'm sure they're not receiving it as the entire network appears to be down. Hmm...
Posted by rickb12, 06-14-2008, 12:51 PM
Siteuptime.com and downforeveryoneorjustme.com confirms that they're down.
Posted by matador, 06-14-2008, 01:36 PM
Yes, looks like they are down. This is not good. I am also a client. Hope service is restored sooner than later :|
Posted by itisme1760, 06-14-2008, 01:51 PM
Is anyone suffering this? My reseller account is offline, their main site is offline, everything seems to be down from them. Anyone else getting this? I have some important things I need from my site.
Posted by @Matt, 06-14-2008, 01:54 PM
I believe their is a topic currently open in the network outage forum.
Posted by itisme1760, 06-14-2008, 01:58 PM
Down! I need some files from the server!
Posted by rickb12, 06-14-2008, 02:14 PM
Yes. Down since at least 11:30AM (central)
Posted by rickb12, 06-14-2008, 02:15 PM
Approaching two hours and no LaneHost. Not looking good...
Posted by matador, 06-14-2008, 02:38 PM
This sucks.
Posted by Glostar, 06-14-2008, 02:45 PM
yes, it is down, but why I don't know. Does anyone know what was hapened?
Posted by Glostar, 06-14-2008, 02:50 PM
what happened ? do you have information?
Posted by rickb12, 06-14-2008, 03:05 PM
Sorry, no. All I now is that they've been down since at least 11:30a. Phone calls to their fax & sales number result in a "temperately unavailable" message. Derek posts here frequently. Can you fill us in as to what's happening?
Posted by hD-Scott, 06-14-2008, 05:16 PM
There's a thread going around about Lanehost having problems with their paypal account and since this is their sole method of payment, it has been causing problems. I don't know if that's the reason they are down, but it could possibly be.
Posted by indiaberry, 06-14-2008, 07:04 PM
I hope the site come back up soon. I am just finding out my sites are offline as well. I hope they will send an e-mail out soon to explain the situation.
Posted by matador, 06-14-2008, 07:13 PM
Just sucks... I hope as well no data loss and everything will be as is.
Posted by dmdstar, 06-14-2008, 08:56 PM
Also a reseller customer for over a year. Sometimes good, sometimes bad... but mostly good. I've been conned by hosts that up and disappear like this, and really hope this isn't the case this time... Derrick: Please respond!
Posted by dmdstar, 06-14-2008, 09:42 PM
UPDATE: Using the Wayback Machine, I was able to get the link to their online chat... it said tech support was online. Someone came on saying "Hello" ... I asked if he could comment on what was going on, and after 15 minutes no response. still have the window open, and nothing, even after repeatedly asking for even a simple "lanehost is done" ... something is better than nothing. Tried opening another chat window on a second computer, and that one tells me "There are no operators available at the moment..." *sigh* ... guess it's time to go shopping again.
Posted by indiaberry, 06-14-2008, 11:20 PM
I am with you. It is time to go shopping again. I have to find somewhere to get my blog up by noon tomorrow. The service with lanehost was great. I remember when hostnetway disappear, I hope lanehost isn't going to disappear, too.
Posted by dmdstar, 06-15-2008, 02:21 AM
Can't believe this... after ignoring me on the chat for hours, they finally disabled the chat feature altogether. Not looking good, folks! and of course my weekly backup for all my clients was a full week ago. ARGH!!
Posted by dmdstar, 06-15-2008, 02:30 AM
If anyone has any way to get ahold of Derrick, or knows which of the 6 Derrick Lanes in Houston, TX is him, please post it here... He's obviously not paying attention to this site today... or just doesn't care.
Posted by hD-Scott, 06-15-2008, 02:35 AM
There's another thread about lanehost not responding to emails and other contacts and he has not responded there either. this looks bad and I feel for his clients. Last edited by Justin; 06-23-2008 at 06:57 PM.
Posted by dmdstar, 06-15-2008, 02:50 AM
could you link that thread? for some reason i must be searching wrong...
Posted by marandia, 06-15-2008, 03:49 AM
This is the specified post begined by me... http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showth...light=lanehost In my opinion, they make an agressive offer to make fast money and go away, with our money, with our time and with our websites... I hope you find more answers than I could find with my refund. Good luck to all customers! (including me)
Posted by DJ_Alex, 06-15-2008, 04:31 AM
It looks like we have to investigate what happened but there in their datacenter. We have to find someone living near them and go there to have a conversation face-to-face because this is not normal, I'm going to loose a lot of money if this sh#$ doesnt come back up soon! Anyone got news? I have a good idea, to locate where they are placed and send someone there! check this: -http-://whois.domaintools.com/lanehost.com On that website we can see the phone numbers and the addresses. Can anyone try to contact them personally?
Posted by PlotHost-Max, 06-15-2008, 04:44 AM
I don't think we'll have good news very soon .... I was thinking ... maybe someone can contact 'Softlayer Technologies Inc' where I see they have the servers.
Posted by DJ_Alex, 06-15-2008, 04:47 AM
Hi omax! Thats a great idea! I'm going to mail them right now because chat support only works from mon to fri.
Posted by PlotHost-Max, 06-15-2008, 04:50 AM
As far as I know the support service was outsourced.
Posted by DJ_Alex, 06-15-2008, 05:12 AM
I mailed now softlayer.com, lets see if they answer. then, I will post here. We have to know what the hell happened and if our data is secure...
Posted by sherwinaval, 06-15-2008, 05:32 AM
I guess this will be the last days of my stay with them. This is very unacceptable. I'll just get my stuff and move forward. It was all good at the beginning then everything got all messed up. sigh
Posted by indiaberry, 06-15-2008, 05:35 AM
I don't believe he would take our money and run. I used their customer service about 12 hours from the time their server went offline, and the person was helpful. It would not make sense to me that someone would help me if they were planning to disappear. I am sure there is some kind of explanation for the server being offline. I suspected that something had happened beyond their control. I check the whois and his server is in the same city as theplanet's server. Let me know what you find out.
Posted by marandia, 06-15-2008, 06:10 AM
Support is outsourced, this the reason they were helpful. It's really strange that lanehost don't gives here any explanation about outage, because this forum is were they made most of their customers. Maybe outsourcing tech-service company can give us more info. Anyone knows who is? Regards,
Posted by DJ_Alex, 06-15-2008, 09:30 AM
hey marandia, I'm in Portugal and I speak spanish also. Add me on MSN. I have also all my websites in lamehost.com and I'm furious, I have no time to migrate everything to another server and I dont know what we have to do...
Posted by indiaberry, 06-15-2008, 09:33 AM
Did anyone hear anything from them yet? I am beginning to wonder if we are the only people being host by them. The lack of ability to communicate/e-mail their customer is frustrating. When running a business, communication among everyone is very important. I am missing my blog!
Posted by dmdstar, 06-15-2008, 09:48 AM
I tried calling all their numbers in whois and all give the "not available" message... did a whitepages.com search for Derrick Lane and 6 of them in Houston come up. Anyone feel like calling them all? I also stand to lose a lot of money with this. This is the third host to do this to me, and I thought I did proper research this time. Don't think my customers are going to stick around for a 4th time.
Posted by Pintle, 06-15-2008, 09:59 AM
I´m a lanehost client I have a reseller hosting and this is really frustrating and more when i am not a good english speaker.
Posted by indiaberry, 06-15-2008, 10:00 AM
I tried calling the number 1 866 993 5263 but the number is temporarily unavailable. I hope that doesn't mean that they had disconnect the number. When you called them all dmstar, let me know what you heard. This is the second host to do something like this to me. Derrick haven't even been on webhostingtalk since Friday. Someone need to let him know that his server is offline.
Posted by dmdstar, 06-15-2008, 10:48 AM
I also heard "temporarily unavailable" from all of their numbers. I'm sure he knows his servers are offline... at this point, we have to assume he doesn't care or left town. He has several servers, and I think their main website(www.lanehost.com) is on a separate server. It looks as if "everything" is down... all servers.
Posted by indiaberry, 06-15-2008, 11:21 AM
Is it also possible that he is hurt and need medical attention? Could you send a local police to his house to make sure he is okay? I am going to nap right now to gather my strength of finding a new host if my sites isn't back up when I wake up.
Posted by rickb12, 06-15-2008, 11:25 AM
Summary: * It's 10:30a central time and nearly 24 hours since LaneHost's servers went down. * No one from LaneHost has responded to our pleas for help * Calls to their toll-free line & fax line result in a temporarily unavailable message. Does anyone have any additional information regarding the LaneHost outage? Last edited by rickb12; 06-15-2008 at 11:25 AM. Reason: typo
Posted by Oras, 06-15-2008, 11:32 AM
I just want my files to move ... its a disaster.
Posted by DJ_Alex, 06-15-2008, 11:33 AM
I dont know what to do if I loose all my data! I'll buy a flight to the USA and get the fu... HD of the server to copy my data! I have several information there and I have an 2 or 3 months old backup! I mailed softlayer.com thats the datacenter where lanehost server is hosted. When they reply, I will post something here.
Posted by PlotHost-Max, 06-15-2008, 11:39 AM
Alex : I see that the Sales live chat for softlayer.com is available now - softlayer.com/about.html -- so you can ask there ....
Posted by Tiago Martines, 06-15-2008, 11:52 AM
Chat with SoftLayer: Chat start time: Jun 15, 2008 11:43:09 AM EST Chat end time: Jun 15, 2008 11:50:23 AM EST Duration (actual chatting time): 00:07:13 Operator: Doug Chat Transcript info: Connecting now... info: Thank you for contacting SoftLayer. My name is Doug, how can I assist you today? Tiago: Hello Doug. I have an issue and I believe you can help me somehow Doug: I hope so Doug: what can I do? Tiago: I have got a hosting account on LaneHost, and they said on their "about us" page they had SoftLayer as DC Doug: ok, this may be Tiago: Now they are gone for over 24hours, with all contacts to it broken, including phone numbers Doug: i cannot say one way or the orther Tiago: Do you happen to have any information about that? Doug: I am unable to disclose information about possible current or past clients Tiago: I see what you mean. But at least from SoftLayer's side, nothing has gone wrong, hasn't it? Doug: I wish there were something I could tell you, but I cannot even look up an account without the proper customer ID number. Doug: are you in need of a dedicated server you think? Tiago: Well, right now I'm only trying to reach this Derrick (owner) of Lanehost so I can get my files back. Tiago: And eventually move the domains I had hosted there to a new company Doug: ok Doug: please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you. Tiago: But I guess I'll just have to wait for some explanation coming from him, if one is ever coming. Thank you for you help anyways Doug: Thank you, and good luck Tiago: Ty, have a nice day Doug: You too
Posted by rickb12, 06-15-2008, 11:58 AM
Props to SoftLayer for protecting their customer...but we sure could use information. I think it's time to move on.
Posted by sherwinaval, 06-15-2008, 12:00 PM
that's sad how we can we get our stuffs back
Posted by Glostar, 06-15-2008, 12:04 PM
Does Derrick live in USA or in India? I think support of lanehost is outsourced in India. Someone must tell us what was happened really. I have only few testing websites with lanehost and one small forum, so to leave the lanahost in not so painful, but I do not want ... Maybe someone will buy lanehost company and give it to live. It has good hardware, well done marketing, some competitive advantage, and very paciant clients.
Posted by sherwinaval, 06-15-2008, 12:12 PM
can somebody provide the site address of the helpdesk? maybe somehow somebody would be able to help us (though i know it's outsourced) but at least, maybe they can give us some answers.
Posted by rickb12, 06-15-2008, 12:24 PM
Their help desk was run under the secure.lanehost.com domain, which is also down. As of right now, there is no way to get your data back. All you can do is wait for the server to come back online.
Posted by Tiago Martines, 06-15-2008, 12:25 PM
Do you happen to know how could we get our domains hosted with LH? I mean, is there any way to change their NS's in case we move to a new server or are they gone for good? This is this address: https://messenger.providesupport.com/messenger/lanehost.html?ps_s=nISbECP0tI2f&ps_mht=true But it's currently closed.
Posted by indiaberry, 06-15-2008, 12:43 PM
Unless you brought your domain name through lanehost, you have control of your domain name. Log into the register that registered your domain name and update the name server they gave you. If you brought your domain name through lanehost, you will have to wait until they come back up to ask them for that information.
Posted by DJ_Alex, 06-15-2008, 12:43 PM
OMFG we are really f up! . I have all my clients complaining.. damn even in a f'in sunday I cant rest a bit!
Posted by hD-Scott, 06-15-2008, 12:52 PM
A good reliable reseller that I would HIGHLY recommend, one that is always available and constantly trying to outdo itself is innohosting. They have us and uk servers, 99.9% uptime guarantee, whmcs or clientexec for free/free ssl cert/end-user support, among other amenities. If you have to bail, bail here!
Posted by Tiago Martines, 06-15-2008, 12:55 PM
Yeye, that's exactly my case
Posted by indiaberry, 06-15-2008, 01:12 PM
That make things even more difficult. You are going to have to write ICAN about the situation to have your domain name transfer. I have an enom retail account where I host only my domain names so I know my domain are safe. Is your name/address on the domain name?
Posted by itisme1760, 06-15-2008, 01:12 PM
Still down? I just want to get a backup and leave.
Posted by indiaberry, 06-15-2008, 01:16 PM
itis, where are you moving to? I haven't yet found a webhost to move to.
Posted by itisme1760, 06-15-2008, 01:21 PM
Me neither, I had a blog that had pretty good amount of traffic going through. Now, it's gonna go down hill. And the worst thing is, my last backup was maybe 3 weeks ago.
Posted by hD-Scott, 06-15-2008, 01:41 PM
I doubt that lanehost is an icann accredited registrar. If you go to the parent registrar (enom, directi, opensrs, netearthone, etc) you should be able to gain control of your domain.
Posted by Tiago Martines, 06-15-2008, 01:47 PM
Ok, it seems that LH used ENOM as registrar. Any hints on how to proceed?
Posted by geekie246, 06-15-2008, 01:51 PM
they posted here just 4 days ago, advertising reseller accounts. i don't think they would have done that if they had closed shop. i know it's ridiculous that they are down this long, but i am hoping that they will be back online shortly.
Posted by sherwinaval, 06-15-2008, 02:05 PM
so do i
Posted by DJ_Alex, 06-15-2008, 02:12 PM
Hello Alexandro, I am sorry to hear of your difficulties, however as per our Terms of Service agreement we cannot release any information confirming or denying that lanehost.com is a customer of SoftLayer. The best method to resolve this issue is to try and touch base directly with Lanehost. I am sorry I could not be of more help to you with this matter. Thank you, ________________ Arielle Eaton SoftLayer Sales sales-@-softlayer.-com softlayer.-com 6400 International Parkway Suite 2000 Plano, TX 75093 1.214.442.0602 office 1.214.442.0601 fax 866.398.7638 Toll Free
Posted by DJ_Alex, 06-15-2008, 02:26 PM
I'm almost sure the guy didnt payd the bills to softlayer so they shutted down the link!!!
Posted by indiaberry, 06-15-2008, 02:31 PM
I give lanehost a good reputation because they have done a lot of things to help me out with my sites. Within 12 hours time frame before their server went offline, they help me out with my sites. They responsed so quick to the ticket to help me out. A few days before that, they helped me out by restoring a website for me because someone hack my site. I would stay with them but I am leaving as soon as my service is up at the end of month only because of the lack of communication and ability to update on here about the situation. I have to get my site up somewhere for my users to view, so I went ahead and brought another plan else where.
Posted by rickb12, 06-15-2008, 02:34 PM
Well, the data center angle isn't working: Chat InformationConnecting now... Chat InformationThank you for contacting SoftLayer. My name is Arielle, how can I assist you today? Rick: Hi Arelle. I am a client of Lanehost.com, a customer of yours. Their servers are down and LaneHost is not responding to my requests for help. I was hoping that you would have a technician get in touch with them. Arielle: Hello! Arielle: I am sorry to hear that, serveral people have had this same issue Arielle: however I as per our privacy policy there is not really much I can do as we can only deal with the direct Soflayer account if they are a customer of ours Rick: That's completely understandable and I can appreciate that. However, I have exhausted my contact methods with LaneHost. Their telephone numbers are disconnected and their email addresses are not functioning. Do you have a suggestion as to how to proceed? At this point, I'm up for anything. Arielle: Well I would say the only real route would be to contact someone directly with LaneHost Rick: I'm finding that to be difficult, especially because all contact methods result in a dead end. Rick: I appreciate your help, Arielle. Arielle: I am so sorry I can't really offer you more in the way of help Rick: Understandable. Thank you. I hope SoftLayer is making contact with LaneHost behind the scenes. Time to pack your bags kids...moving to another provider is the best resolution that I think you'll find at this point. Rick
Posted by rickb12, 06-15-2008, 02:36 PM
If that's the case...grrrr. SoftLayer frequents these forums as well. I wish someone would stop by and make a suggestion. SoftLayer- There is a way to assist us without violating your terms of service/privacy policy. Please assist us.
Posted by rickb12, 06-15-2008, 02:44 PM
Registrant: Derrick Lane 3615, Highway 6 # 77 Sugar Land, Texas 77478 United States Domain Name: LANENETMEDIA.COM Created on: 20-Jul-05 Expires on: 20-Jul-08 Last Updated on: 17-Apr-08 Administrative Contact: Lane, Derrick 3615, Highway 6 #77 Sugar Land, Texas 77478 United States (832) 794-2044 Fax -- Technical Contact: Lane, Derrick 3615, Highway 6 # 77 Sugar Land, Texas 77478 United States (832) 794-2044 Fax -- Domain servers in listed order: NS5.ONLINESERVERSYSTEMS.COM NS6.ONLINESERVERSYSTEMS.COM Hmm...wonder if that 832 number and yahoo email works?
Posted by rickb12, 06-15-2008, 02:49 PM
Lanenetmedia.com's email contact is lanespot@yahoo.com I tried calling the 832-794-2044 and asking for Derrick. They told me it's a "wrong number." Super sleuth Rick is going to take a nap now while he waits for his new host to email him login data. Last edited by rickb12; 06-15-2008 at 02:50 PM. Reason: hit submit too soon. :)
Posted by geekie246, 06-15-2008, 02:53 PM
all of the ips for lanehost are not answering with the phone numbers out of service, i'm guessing that this company is now gone. cut your losses, move on.
Posted by geekie246, 06-15-2008, 03:02 PM
sites appear to be coming back online. get your data now and move.
Posted by rickb12, 06-15-2008, 03:02 PM
LANEHOST APPEARS TO BE BACK!
Posted by dmdstar, 06-15-2008, 03:05 PM
You beat me... yep, appears to be back... Now everyone quick make backups... I, for one, will be moving, even if they stick around. This was an unacceptable outage with unacceptable communication. ...oh wait... don't do it yet, lets not take the servers down again. :0 Last edited by dmdstar; 06-15-2008 at 03:08 PM.
Posted by geekie246, 06-15-2008, 03:06 PM
not all their servers are backonline though. only 2 is showing on their site.
Posted by DJ_Alex, 06-15-2008, 04:06 PM
everything looks to be normal now... I'm curious to know what happened...
Posted by Pintle, 06-15-2008, 04:09 PM
lanehost is coming back but not mine... :-(
Posted by DJ_Alex, 06-15-2008, 04:11 PM
you have to wait, try to open a ticket... I think it was a DNS server problem because they had problems with DNS I think
Posted by Pintle, 06-15-2008, 04:27 PM
Yes, I have already made it (send a ticket) , now I'm waiting for the answer. Thanks.
Posted by Pintle, 06-15-2008, 04:53 PM
Update.. The support team is in touch now... I'll tell you what's go on.
Posted by itisme1760, 06-15-2008, 05:20 PM
Yeah! Online again!
Posted by dmdstar, 06-15-2008, 05:27 PM
Response to a ticket I sent just after it came back up: I don't think they understand how this "small network shortage" and lack of communication affected people.
Posted by hD-Scott, 06-15-2008, 05:33 PM
Don't you think that softlayer may have said their was an outage in their dc if that were true? I'm not saying the LH is lying, but I would think that other hosts would have been affected (like with the planet a few weeks ago) and would have posted something on wht? just wondering out loud.
Posted by dmdstar, 06-15-2008, 05:37 PM
Agreed... I replied that he needs to have Derrick update us in this thread, and "small network shortage" wont cut it.
Posted by geekie246, 06-15-2008, 06:06 PM
softlayer is and was showing no outages. the other thing to be concerned about, is why did this company's phone say "temporarily out of service"????
Posted by hD-Scott, 06-15-2008, 06:12 PM
and as I've said there is another thread about lanehost that has not been responded to about a refund per their sla. the op of that thread said something about lanehost said that paypal froze their account because of some fraud activity (not from lanehost, but against lanehost?). I don't know what's going on there, but perhaps that may have something to do with it. with any regards, a more detailed explanation needs to be offered if they want to maintain their reputation. Especially with their slogan "professional one-stop fast and reliable web hosting solutions."
Posted by indiaberry, 06-15-2008, 06:25 PM
I just woke up from my nap. I thought the company was gone for real that I went and brought a new plan while I was stressing out over this one! I am still waiting for them to reply here to say what had happened. I might stay with them... Last edited by indiaberry; 06-15-2008 at 06:34 PM.
Posted by geekie246, 06-15-2008, 06:48 PM
The lack of communication has been ongoing with this provider. if Derrick is not around, there is no communication, period. there's no doubt that something is very fishy going on ...
Posted by indiaberry, 06-15-2008, 06:58 PM
Derrick had always kept communication. It is just these 24 hours when there was no communication during the network shortage. This was just the first time I didn't have communication with them. They were probably busy trying to get the server back online.
Posted by geekie246, 06-15-2008, 07:32 PM
Read my reviews of them over the last year plus. Communication has always been an issue. How long would it have taken to stop by here and say "this is the problem"???
Posted by indiaberry, 06-15-2008, 07:58 PM
I have only been with them since December. I pay monthly, not yearly. I wonder if the server got hacked and DOS by hackers. It seemed lanehost doesn't like to share their problem with everyone else. I don't think they are going to stop by here to say what had happened, but we know that something beyond their control did happen.
Posted by rickb12, 06-15-2008, 08:53 PM
From the LaneHost message board... http://forums.lanehost.com/showthread.php?p=264#post264
Posted by rickb12, 06-15-2008, 08:55 PM
I'm sure they were. That's never a small task. However, not notifying customers about a major service interruption is inexcusable.
Posted by UH-Matt, 06-15-2008, 09:09 PM
You do all have a choice, now you can grab your data and run. No excuses for not communicating issues back to customers, and calling it a "small outtage".
Posted by dmdstar, 06-15-2008, 10:26 PM
I agree with Matt-- Unfortunately I just paid them for a year (just renewed after my first year was up), so might try to get in touch with Derrick over the next week and see what his take on this was. He's always been a helpful one.
Posted by geekie246, 06-15-2008, 10:34 PM
Derrick is the 'only' one that provides any answers there. I've said this before, it appears to be a one-man show. with this forum here, if the servers were down because of an outage, it would have taken a few minutes to update the people here.
Posted by sherwinaval, 06-16-2008, 12:00 AM
can you believe this? then An unexpected server maintenance?
Posted by hD-Scott, 06-16-2008, 12:23 AM
this is clear evidence that they do not have their stories straight at least with the people that provide their support. communication is key in this industry. we all know that crap happens, but being honest about it and communicating what is going on each step of the way is the way to positively impact your customers and keep them in the end. customers will forgive a lot, but lack of honest communication is not one of them.
Posted by geekie246, 06-16-2008, 12:38 AM
lol. no, it doesn't surprise me to be honest. i will wait for Derrick to chime in on this and make a statement. I won't hold my breath though.
Posted by indiaberry, 06-16-2008, 03:27 AM
rsbenedict Are you a customer of lanehost?
Posted by hD-Scott, 06-16-2008, 10:26 AM
No I'm not. I'm just relaying information from other parts of wht and my opinion on any web host that doesn't communicate with their clients.
Posted by rv_irl, 06-16-2008, 11:02 AM
What exactly was the maintenance? What did they have to do which meant they couldn't provide any updates or any explanation whatsoever? If they were doing maintenance, then surely they could take 2 mins out of the time to send a mass mail update to customers.. Unless of course, there was no maintenance and the owner didn't know the server was down or something he would rather not tell you..
Posted by Calinax, 06-16-2008, 11:21 AM
unpaid bills.....
Posted by geekie246, 06-16-2008, 11:23 AM
it's posted on their site that they were having trouble with their phone systems. this was posted on June 13 according to the date of the post on their forum. many customers are seeking clarification for what had transpired.
Posted by dmdstar, 06-16-2008, 11:27 AM
and so far, none of those customers are getting that clarification...
Posted by geekie246, 06-16-2008, 01:31 PM
dmdstar, I doubt they will receive clarification. this should be a warning shot across the bow of all those that remain. i have only a few more domains to move away. To be honest, when LaneHost is good, it's great. When it's bad, it's pathetic. It's truly hit or miss, and I think that it has something to do with the growth this company has experienced. Just my thought.
Posted by dmdstar, 06-16-2008, 04:03 PM
I actually got an email from Derrick today. Here is what he had to say: I told him to stop by this thread and tell us whats up. I also told him I'm sure he lost customers over this.... and is on very thin ice with me. Two words: "REDUNDANT SWITCHES!"
Posted by dmdstar, 06-16-2008, 04:12 PM
http://www.lanehost.com/company/ournetwork.html might need some tweaking.
Posted by LaneHost, 06-16-2008, 05:50 PM
An explanation can be found on our forums about the issue we experienced over the weekend at below: http://forums.lanehost.com/showthread.php?t=214 Please kindly reply on our forums, open a ticket or send us an email with any concerns, questions, or any other assistance so that we can best help you. We greatly apologize about any inconviences you experienced over the weekend and are working hard to address all issues. Thank you for your understanding. Kind Regards, Derrick Lane
Posted by Patrick, 06-16-2008, 06:54 PM
Original Excuse: Second Excuse: Which one is it, Derrick?
Posted by geekie246, 06-16-2008, 07:15 PM
Someone else said it in this thread ... it's about funds and billing. We've heard 3 different stories, 1 from a tech who said it was a minor maintenance issue, derrick emailed someone and said it was a bad switch, and states on the forum it was a credit card issue. Which one of these is correct? The latter sounds more plausible. Derrick, my offer to buy your company still stands.
Posted by dmdstar, 06-16-2008, 07:27 PM
He said that because of the credit card issue, they shut off switch ports... Likely it was originally thought to be a switch problem, and started their investigation there, rather than immediately thinking of a billing situation. As a systems engineer, I could understand this is how the thought process would progress. Derrick-- don't sell, just really do what you are saying you are going to do: Hire some QUALITY help, so you aren't the only one taking care of things, and get some real redundancy. Last edited by dmdstar; 06-16-2008 at 07:30 PM.
Posted by hD-Scott, 06-16-2008, 07:32 PM
Again, I'm no lanehost customer, but it all sounds fishy to me. First phone problems, then server problems, and the worst of it lack of communication. and finally when lanehost customers DO get communication, the reason varies depending on the source. this is no statement against derrick or his company, but something sounds fishy.
Posted by ayksolutions, 06-16-2008, 08:41 PM
I think you already mentioned this before, so please move on. As you said you are not a client, so this does not concern you. Perhaps you should find something better to do with your time? These types of errors do happen. However, I would think that Lanehost would have been able to figure the credit card issue out a lot quicker than shown here, especially if they already discussed the invoice problem with their server provider. I hope this was indeed a mistake and that Lanehost has taken steps to ensure this does not happen again.
Posted by indiaberry, 06-16-2008, 09:16 PM
It take a minor maintenance to fix a bad switch and work with credit card issue. All that seem to fit in piece. Keep in mind that not all gossip around the forum are true or have solid proof. Despite the the miscommunication that occur with lanehost during the 24 hours downtime, I decided to stay with them. Miscommunication can occur anywhere, and we can all best learn from the situation and find a way to make sure it doesn't happen again. I am not going to run away from lanehost just because a problem occur.
Posted by geekie246, 06-16-2008, 10:00 PM
indiaberry, i've been a network administrator for 25 plus years, and have grown up through alot of different network topologies, hardware, software, operating systems etc ... i know what a minor problem is. Communication is key and everything that has happened points to poor communication, the biggest complaint that I have ever lodged against LaneHost. As I've said many times, this company has the potential to be a great company, but it just never learns from what happens. I've offered on several occasions to buy the company and run it like it should be run, staff it like it should be staffed and provide the support that customers deserve, complete with communications. Again Derrick, my offer is out there. I can have my accountants and lawyers contact you at anytime.
Posted by dmdstar, 06-19-2008, 09:37 AM
UPDATE: So far so good, no downtime since the weekend fiasco. In speaking with Derrick this week (who is obviously losing sleep over this), I will be staying with Lanehost for now as well... but really this is mostly because I just paid for my 1-year renewal a couple months ago. Rest assured, I'll be watching with an eagle-eye, and when my renewal time is up, Lanehost will be evaluated, and we will make a determination whether to stay or go. Lanehost, this part's up to you. Really, my only beef is communication as well. Being ignored on the chat support, after I finally managed to figure out how to get into it, was unacceptable. Chat support and webhostingtalk.com should have been the first places to go when you found out there was a problem, knowing that your phone systems were down. Also, Derrick being the only one who can do anything is a hinderance. Derrick really needs to hire some quality staff to support the systems so he's not having to stay awake 24/7 supporting his business. Guess that's it for now. ... I'm just glad it all worked out in the end.
Posted by geekie246, 06-19-2008, 01:47 PM
One thing that we have to accept is that 1) we are all paying for this poor communication. I have heard the promises many times before where I was told that communications efforts would be improved etc. Unfortunately, it has not happened. And yes, the online support people did ignore every request, they would accept the call and say NOTHING! What was up with that Derrick???? I've been both an advocate and a critic of LaneHost. When it's good, it's great. When it's bad, it's terrible. There is no in-between with this company in my opinion. Yes, I have remained a customer, only because of some personal issues with family illness that keeps me from evaluating some of the other hosting companies that my own staff has recommended to me, or to authorize a new server at a co-located provider near me. With a stepbrother dying of brain cancer, my mind has been elsewhere for some time now. Maybe it's time for me to delegate some of the decisions to my own staff and have them move everything. LaneHost HAS TO IMPROVE because if it gets much worst, it won't be around for much longer. I don't for one minute believe the story that was spun on this one. Seems to be a pretty big coincidence don't you think ... phone service "temporarily unavailable", "network ports shut off because of credit card troubles" .... if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it definitely isn't a pigeon!
Posted by ResolvedDesign, 06-20-2008, 12:27 PM
Well, I have been a customer of Lanehost since January of this year. I've had a lot of problems. Derrick, when he is available, seems to really do a great job. But unfortunately, he isn't always available. I've had technical tickets that have taken over a MONTH to resolve even with me getting on chat DAILY and complaining and updating the ticket too. And yet, I still am with them. So for me, this outage and, more specifically, the non-existent communication during it along with the lack of followup after the event was the final straw. I opened a ticket 5 days ago asking them to transfer all my domains from their eNom account to my eNom account (which is FREE and takes just a few minutes)and they haven't as yet done anything...not even responded to the ticket. I have complained every day and gotten nowhere. As soon as they transfer, I'm outa there. Oh...and their phones are still down 6 days into this fiasco.
Posted by Glostar, 06-21-2008, 02:01 AM
Today some servers are down agian Do you have the same problem?
Posted by Glostar, 06-21-2008, 02:58 AM
Answer from LaneHost was: Hope I won't lost my data and server will work properly.
Posted by sherwinaval, 06-21-2008, 06:55 AM
well, I guess we'll have to pray not to lose our data.... but I just got frustrated when you said you hope that server will work properly coz it doesn't... I'm experiencing database issues currently. Btw, which server is having a drive replacement?
Posted by Glostar, 06-21-2008, 08:51 AM
BM3, but maybe some others are having as well.
Posted by Thales, 06-21-2008, 10:28 AM
Didn't the first outage teach you to do frequent backups? I would be worried if it didn't. -fin Thales
Posted by Pintle, 06-21-2008, 09:21 PM
I have the same problem, my reseller hosting has been offf line more than 24 hrs, :-( Some one else..??
Posted by Thales, 06-21-2008, 09:26 PM
If you provide us with some IP Addresses or Domain Names we can help confirm the outage. -fin Thales
Posted by Pintle, 06-21-2008, 09:54 PM
Thanks, IP: 74.86.18.131 DN: pintle.net Last edited by Pintle; 06-21-2008 at 10:09 PM.
Posted by ResolvedDesign, 06-21-2008, 11:25 PM
Well, I'm on BM3...apparently its been down for hours. I don't know how long exactly. I do know that their support chat is not available again. I do know that its been a WEEK now since I requested via ticket that they transfer my 17 domains I registered with them from their eNom account to mine. (Takes just a few minutes and cost nothing to do this but they won't even respond. The phones are still out, their billing department who is apparently responsible for handling the transfer cannot be reached in chat no matter when I try and since phones are down I can't reach them. This is the most unprofessional behavior I have ever seen from a hosting company. You know, if they are going out of business FINE. At least have the decency to be above board about it. I'm about 1 day away from getting my attorney involved in this whole thing. They are basically holding my domains hostage. There is no way I'm leaving them in their control where if they go out of business I can't even manage my domains.
Posted by Thales, 06-22-2008, 02:21 AM
74.86.18.131 C:\Documents and Settings\Jupide Networks>ping 74.86.18.131 Ping statistics for 74.86.18.131: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss), 30 Hops on the Traceroute. Nasty timeouts on AT&T, but it seemed to correct itself. Domain, however, is unreachable. DNS issue on the server? I would suggest that EVERYONE make backups and do some investigation about transferring their domains to another company. -fin Thales
Posted by CretaForce, 06-22-2008, 05:16 AM
If your domains registered using your e-mail address then you can transfer them away on your own. But you have to renew them for 1 year.
Posted by ResolvedDesign, 06-22-2008, 08:39 PM
Yeah, I'm aware that I can transfer them on my own if I'm willing to renew all of them. But frankly, I don't have an extra $170 laying around at this time due primarily to Lanehost. The outage last weekend cost me and then it happens again this weekend. I spent a bunch of money on Google adwords campaigns both weekends (prior to knowing they were offline) and that money didn't get me any business because my sites were not there. I been trying to get away from them since last weekend but they won't even answer my tickets. Their chat support has been offline since BM3 went down over 24 hours ago and their phones have been unavailable for over a week now.
Posted by Glostar, 06-23-2008, 01:18 AM
Does anyone know how long driver replacement generally take? Server is down more than 48 hours.
Posted by UH-Matt, 06-23-2008, 01:35 AM
If you chose a good host with good backups they shouldnt be down more than 2-4 hours for a drive replacement. Or better yet just choose a host with RAID disks in their servers which helps to avoid downtime during drive failure.
Posted by rv_irl, 06-23-2008, 07:39 AM
Why is anyone still with LaneHost? You all seem to be giving the provider a "chance" but for what? When was the last time you heard something good about these guys? What have you received from the owner except from excuses and his advertisements posts here? Reading the forum link posted, they are implementing things which should have been implemented long ago. Doesn't comments such as: Worry any of you? Dispatching a technical team where exactly? The servers are rented, you have no control over them. Where is this technical team being dispatched to? Why are you even dispatching a technical team for a billing issue? What can they possibly do? Where is this technical team? Why aren't they responding to tickets? And they say they are hiring new staff? What staff? A more accurate statement would be "we are changing outsourcing companies". Do you all not see these excuses? I applaud those that have such loyalty to stick it out, but it appears your loyalty is not even being appreciated. Anyone can go round posting excuses of X being done, Y being fixed and Z put in place. But read the excuses, has anything actually been done? Do these excuses even make sense half the time? Or am I missing something here?
Posted by Mxhub, 06-23-2008, 10:01 AM
RAID will fail as well. It all depend on how the webhost manage their backup. The more backup options they have, the better.
Posted by Pintle, 06-23-2008, 02:51 PM
Thanks for the info Thales, I really appreciate your help.
Posted by Thales, 06-23-2008, 03:09 PM
No problem. Are you able to FTP in at all? -fin Thales
Posted by Pintle, 06-23-2008, 07:49 PM
I can not connect by FTP, any time I try to connect I get this message... ----------------------------- -------------------------------
Posted by geekie246, 06-23-2008, 11:29 PM
Well, it seems that Derrick Lane is getting married, that's why there have been no updates. Hmmmmmmmmmm, if I look back at things, here's some of the reasons that derrick has indicated he was unavailable, all around times of outages like this one: 1) a very good friend of the family had died (or been killed) 2) his fiance had left him 3) his credit card got rejected and they shut the servers down 4) he is getting married I guess his fiance came back. Support is now answering questions, but they are useless. i have all but 1 domain that i need backed up, it's a personal domain and the backup that i have is a little old, but then again, it's been down for a week now, how stale can the data be? Phones still not working at lanehost, cell phone number derrick gave me does not work, yahoo account is now cancelled, a hotmail account i had is now cancelled. time to cut losses and move people.
Posted by indiaberry, 06-24-2008, 02:32 AM
I am glad my site is up right now. How do you know that he is getting married? When did he ever say he was getting married?
Posted by Glostar, 06-24-2008, 03:12 AM
I have recently received their answer:
Posted by geekie246, 06-24-2008, 06:39 AM
indiaberry, it was lanehost support that indicated he was getting married last night.
Posted by geekie246, 06-24-2008, 07:28 AM
Is anyone's sites back online now?
Posted by Hosemeyer, 06-24-2008, 08:35 AM
As you can see from the two links below, I believe I've found his home phone number. There was only one other Derrick Lane in Houston, and given that the one I've found is within walking distance of the office of Lane Host, I'd have a hard time believing it isn't him. I gave him a call a few minutes ago. It most definitely was a guy in his twenties... he was very quick to hang up. The only reason I'm posting this is because he hasn't responded to anything for a number of days. http://www.whitepages.com/search/Rep...orm_mode=opt_b - Home http://www.whitepages.com/search/Rep...orm_mode=opt_b - Office None of my websites are up. I too am in the process/have left lane host. Last edited by Hosemeyer; 06-24-2008 at 08:41 AM.
Posted by geekie246, 06-24-2008, 10:31 AM
HoseMeyer, did he say anything at all or give any indication as to what is going on? Great investigative work, I'll make sure not to get on your "bad" side. LOL!
Posted by Thales, 06-24-2008, 10:33 AM
Try using the following format for your username: cpanellogin@domain.tld (ex: pintle@pintle.com) See if that works. Also, try getting in contact with this guy through the above phone numbers. You may end up on the receiving end of some nasty words, but it's worth inquiring to see if this is the guy. -fin Thales
Posted by geekie246, 06-24-2008, 10:46 AM
thales, that won't work either, it looks like they have the IP changed on the new server, and have the old drive probably pulled. how long to change a drive? lol Since this outage my techs have built a 50 TB SAN, installed ESX Enterprise and created 4 virtual servers, configured 5 linux servers for clients and migrated 5 other Windows servers to new hardware. Wait, that was only yesterday and today. It's less time than this outage!
Posted by Hosemeyer, 06-24-2008, 10:53 AM
Nope, as soon as I said "Derrick" he quickly hung up. The good thing about the phone number I found is that it's a land line... pretty hard to make it disappear, and the fact that it rings and rings unless you take it off the hook. I'll try a little later.
Posted by dmdstar, 06-24-2008, 10:55 AM
This is why I always, always, always keep my domains registered with someone other than my hosting company... They are all mine, and I can do whatever I want with them regardless of what happens to the hosting company.
Posted by geekie246, 06-24-2008, 10:56 AM
Hosemeyer, it is definitely him then. Must have shocked the hell out of him that someone tracked him down.
Posted by Hosemeyer, 06-24-2008, 10:58 AM
Oh certainly. He'll definitely continue to get calls from me until he lets everyone know what's going on.
Posted by Hosemeyer, 06-24-2008, 11:11 AM
I have also filed a request with the Texas Secretary of State for more information pertaining to Lane Host Solutions Inc. Hopefully it'll provide enough information as to truly confirm Derrick's home phone number and so on.
Posted by dmdstar, 06-24-2008, 11:11 AM
Well, if anyone is planning legal action, please let us know. Others might want to get involved. IH-Rameen, you have a solid case in your post. Even though I'm on the BM4 server, and wasn't affected by this second outage, the lack of support clearly continues. This could have been easily handled by saying "We had a drive outage and have to rebuild the server and restore from backup." ... Since you guys didn't even get such a message anywhere (even their own forums), it's not boding well for this company. I'm afraid I will have to take Rameen's advice and move on. I just hate shopping for a new host... Every time, I think I do the proper research, and every time I get burned.
Posted by Thales, 06-24-2008, 11:13 AM
http://www.aboutus.org/LaneHost.com Different address? A quick call to a store in the Shopping Center at 15209 Westheimer Rd. confirms that there is no LaneHost in that shopping center. -fin Thales
Posted by dmdstar, 06-24-2008, 11:14 AM
This is a brilliant idea... As a corporation, the officers would have to be documented.
Posted by Hosemeyer, 06-24-2008, 11:17 AM
Even that location is within 5 miles of the home phone number I found earlier... The other Derrick Lane is about 20ish miles away from both locations...
Posted by Hosemeyer, 06-24-2008, 11:19 AM
As a side note, I've signed up with www.asmallorange.com... I was considering them when I moved to lane host about 12 months ago. While they are on the more expensive side, 99% of the reviews I've seen for them have been excellent.
Posted by geekie246, 06-24-2008, 11:54 AM
A few months back myself and my lawyer were on our way down to Houston, Texas to start legal action against LaneHost. Unfortunately, my stepbrother was diagnosed with brain cancer, given only several days to live. While my stepbrother has hung on now for a few months, the outages continue and my patients have worn thin. I think the tickets that I have may still be valid unless accounting has used the credit for other travel in our company. Something definitely has to be done.
Posted by Thales, 06-24-2008, 12:24 PM
What are you going to sue for? -fin Thales
Posted by dmdstar, 06-24-2008, 12:26 PM
yeah, that's the million dollar question. (well maybe not that much ) Unfortunately, I don't know enough about the law to even know what could be done with this.
Posted by geekie246, 06-24-2008, 12:36 PM
Anything! I would let the lawyers fight that out. I've already had intepretation of his TOS and they don't cover his negligence, and his indemnity clause isn't worth crap. Now this is coming from Canadian lawyers who are not as familiar with US law .. LOL! Even if it was just to prove a point, it's no longer about trying to get at the data, I've written it off as I don't think this company will ever have the server back and running. it doesn't take this long to restore data, especially from disk to disk.
Posted by Thales, 06-24-2008, 12:43 PM
And your goal in suing him would be monetary compensation? Seems as though every time a host flops, goes down or does something to anger their customers someone starts in about a lawsuit. If you have the time and money to litigate good luck, keep everyone posted. The chances that a lawsuit would result in anything but wasted time seems highly improbable. -fin Thales
Posted by geekie246, 06-24-2008, 12:53 PM
notice that my lawsuit didn't stem from this outage, I said I was heading down to investigate suing him before. LaneHost and the "staff" of LaneHost had destroyed data of several customers through a negligent act. It has nothing to do with this outage, I've written off the data that is on the one personal domain hosted on the server that is down. I've got the rest of my data and have started switching hosts. Fact is I should have done this much earlier, but I was somewhat tied up with family matters, and never approved the transfers even at the beckoning of my own staff. Unfortunately, my own procrastination has come back to bite me in the ***. Anything that is critical for my company's operation has been moved elsewhere and was there for since the previous issue I had with him. The domains that remain are largely my own personal thngs, ventures that are more of a hobby.
Posted by Thales, 06-24-2008, 01:16 PM
Notice I didn't say that the outage was the impetus for a suit, I merely pointed out that people seem to be litigation-happy. I don't see how you have anything resembling a worthwhile suit on your hands. As I said, good luck. Lord knows that's what the word needs, more lawsuits. -fin Thales
Posted by geekie246, 06-24-2008, 02:01 PM
Thales, this isn't an issue that has come from this outage. It's an issue that comes out of LaneHost's employees negligence that resulted in them destroying data that was hosted on the server and corrupting several databases causing clients that i had hosted on their servers to lose considerable time & money. Their TOS covers their hosting services, and the availability of their hosting services, plus "loss of data" as a result of the outages. It does not cover negligence by the employees who arbitrarily decided to restore several databases, corrupt customer files, and then say "oh, we made a mistake, we restored files over your databases in error" ...
Posted by dmdstar, 06-24-2008, 03:01 PM
I just managed to get ahold of Derrick via IM (actually, he pinged me). He said that the BM3 server is on a RAID1 array, and one of the drives failed. They rebuilt the array, and are currently restoring the server... just a waiting game. I brought to his attention the issues with getting ignored by his techs, and he said he was unaware of this, and the techs would be disciplined.
Posted by geekie246, 06-24-2008, 03:08 PM
Waiting game? It's been 5 days. I've seen terabytes of data rebuilt in less time. He's indicated he's disciplined his "techs" a number of times. They are not his techs. They are outsourced. he cannot discipline them. Last edited by geekie246; 06-24-2008 at 03:16 PM.
Posted by Thales, 06-24-2008, 04:06 PM
"Thales, this isn't an issue that has come from this outage." - geekie246 (Today 01:01 PM) "Notice I didn't say that the outage was the impetus for a suit, I merely pointed out that people seem to be litigation-happy. " - Thales (Today 12:16 PM) Once again, I didn't even imply that the suit was a result of the outage, my ORIGINAL post was an observation. Threat of litigation seems to arise whenever someone is miffed about their hosting companies, and more often than not nothing comes of it. My second post was reaffirming that I in fact DID NOT imply that the lawsuit was relevant to the outage, nor did I stipulate a specific reason for you threatening to sue Lane Host. -fin Thales
Posted by dmdstar, 06-24-2008, 04:17 PM
Point taken.
Posted by geekie246, 06-24-2008, 07:18 PM
dmdstar, any indication from Derrick? has he been in touch with you anymore?
Posted by dmdstar, 06-24-2008, 07:31 PM
I was actually in touch with him quite extensively this afternoon... Since I had his attention, I asked him to help with a few things that were minor but bugging me about my account, and he resolved them. I inquired about the BM3 situation again, since my stuff was minor, and didn't want him spending time with it when he had a server to get back up; and basically, he said he was waiting for the restore to complete, and was at the mercy of his backup software for time... That's about all I know. Last I heard from him was about 3:30 CST when he had to leave for an appointment.
Posted by UH-Matt, 06-24-2008, 07:50 PM
Well at least you all know what you now have to do...
Posted by magicvorlon, 06-24-2008, 09:18 PM
I have to echo Rameens comments earlier, I`m amazed so many people are giving Derrick so many "second, third, forth or whatever chances". As a former customer of Lanehost, this is a oh so familiar story. Derrick is quite the man to get hold of, yet he always manages to find time to post new "specials" on WHT. Lanehost has spouted so many excuses for their various problems, it`s quite a joke. Don`t they rent their servers? Definately a one show. I got so tired of submitting a ticket and getting the old "I am forwarding this to an admin". The admin aka Derrick, and of course if Derrick is away that ticket just sits there for days or more! For those waiting for refunds, good luck. They like to hold out in the hope you`ll just forget about it. Chase them down, use chargeback if you paid by card.
Posted by Hosemeyer, 06-25-2008, 12:27 AM
Everything seems to be back up now... I'm just taking backups and I've already switched hosts. I had nothing of any true value up, besides one site, however that site was undergoing a redesign/redevelopment so it really didn't matter.
Posted by rickb12, 06-25-2008, 10:36 AM
LaneHost's servers are up but PHP is down.
Posted by Thales, 06-25-2008, 11:35 AM
Grab your backups and RUN. Any further complaints about LaneHost outages should be ignored. If you don't leave when you can, you deserve very little pity. -fin Thales
Posted by Hosemeyer, 06-25-2008, 11:41 AM
For the record, this is what I got back from the Texas SOS. It appears as if the land line number that I found earlier is in fact Derrick's phone number as it was registered to a Derrick B Lane. LaneHost Solutions, Inc. Texas corporation, they are active. File number is 800787447. Filed on 3-14-07. Registered agent is Derrick Braden Lane 15209 Westheimer Ste. 110-26 Houston, Tx. 77082 Entity address is the same address Director Derrick Braden Lane Craig Warren Lane Porn Lane
Posted by dmdstar, 06-25-2008, 11:43 AM
That's some crazy detective work there. ... Do you spose this number will soon be disconnected? ... Wait, does that say "Porn" Lane??
Posted by Hosemeyer, 06-25-2008, 12:20 PM
hehe, that's what I was wondering too. I quoted it from the email I received back from them. I'm really not sure nor do I care if he'll disconnect it. His hosting days are numbered.
Posted by rickb12, 06-27-2008, 10:03 AM
LaneHost is down again. Since 8:57AM (Central time).
Posted by dmdstar, 06-27-2008, 10:06 AM
Fabulous... I'm sure it's just a "minor" issue again... right?
Posted by rickb12, 06-27-2008, 10:11 AM
I was in a chat with one of their outsourced technicians who assured me that he'd restart the server. He exited the chat after I asked him what was taking so long. Hmm...
Posted by dmdstar, 06-27-2008, 11:19 AM
everything appears to be down... lanehost.com, bm3, bm4, bm5... not just a server issue this time. As they said earlier in this thread... if we report more downtime, its our fault for not moving sooner. Trouble is, I was shopping, and planning to switch in the next day or two. This is getting to be insane. When I spoke with Derrick yesterday, he says "We've been hit with a lot of bad luck recently." I told him that it's these kinds of situations that shows what a company is made of, and so far his company is failing horribly.
Posted by dmdstar, 06-27-2008, 11:45 AM
Update: Servers back up now.
Posted by Glostar, 07-01-2008, 02:36 AM
When you see LaneHost servers are down please contact them immediately and they can fix it. I do that and has result. I think they do not monitor servers and do not have alert system, that is why we must contact them
Posted by dmdstar, 07-01-2008, 09:47 AM
Ummm... yeah, that'd be great, except they dont have any way to contact them immediately. When they go down, they turn off the chat support, their phones haven't been working for weeks, and when their website is down, so is their email, support ticket system and forum.
Posted by dmdstar, 07-01-2008, 09:50 AM
On a positive note, the servers seem to still be up since my last post. *knock on wood* Holding out long enough for me to research for a good alternative.
Posted by PlotHost-Max, 07-14-2008, 10:37 AM
the server is down again :-(
Posted by Thales, 07-14-2008, 11:00 AM
Are you still with them? -fin Thales
Posted by PlotHost-Max, 07-14-2008, 12:18 PM
Yes - but with this downtime I'll definitely move. dmdstar: did you find the alternative ?
Posted by Thales, 07-14-2008, 12:27 PM
Why would you stay with them after any of the other issues? -fin
Posted by PlotHost-Max, 07-14-2008, 01:33 PM
They are back online Because I also had such downtimes with other hosting companies.
Posted by dmdstar, 07-14-2008, 11:03 PM
Yes... as of last week, we completed the move of all our accounts to Innohosting. Too soon for a good/bad review, but initially, support has been quite good and responsive for our transition needs. Definitely don't count this as a recommendation for mass exodus to Inno... that's just where I happened to go. I highly recommend anyone moving do extensive research and contact the companies you are considering. I finally decided on Inno due to their reputation here, as well as the size and longevity of their business. I was hesitant due to them being an overseas company, but decided ultimately that they seemed like a company I could count on. Time will tell. I'm very cautious about anyone at this point. Burned too many times.
Posted by Thales, 07-15-2008, 10:09 AM
Innohosting is a great host. I can't rightly recall any issues I ever experienced with them, so I'm sure you'll love the transition from frequent downtime and unresponsive support to stellar service and a knowledgeable staff. -fin Thales
Posted by dmdstar, 07-15-2008, 11:43 AM
Well that's what I'm hoping for (and paying more for)... so I'm hoping you're right. I've had to use their support system a couple times since the transition... once I was escalated to "Level 2" ... and to my surprise, this wasn't Chris or Rameen. Gave me a lot of confidence.
Posted by rickb12, 07-23-2008, 06:43 PM
You're not the only one dmdstar, they owe me $27.90. Thankfully, I am able to process a chargeback through my bank. LaneHost does not honor their 60 Day Cancellation policy.
Posted by Glostar, 07-10-2009, 02:23 AM
LaneHost's servers are down again. I cannot open even their website.
Posted by dmdstar, 07-10-2009, 09:42 AM
LOL-- Way to resurrect a really old thread. Was this an isolated incident? I seem to be able to launch their website. Might want to keep Derrick's contact info on hand, and also make a direct shortcut to their support chat page (the actual chat window, not the lanehost.com page. This way, you can always get the support chat if the site is down (if they are available). I've been happy since leaving there, but they seem to have been doing better since we left. I've been checking in to see if their site is up every so often. I have no complaints about Derrick, however. Working with him was a joy, when I was able to get ahold of him. He's either genuinely a helpful, nice guy; or a really good salesman. I didn't feel like I was being snowed though. Because of this, I gave him ample chance to fix things, and when my loyal customers started threatening to leave me due to downtime, I had to do something and quick. This meant leaving Lanehost behind. Hope your Lanehost experience has been good over the last year. If it was a singular outage, you might want to contact support for an official explanation. ________ Matt Schlueter StarTech Hosting Services Last edited by dmdstar; 07-10-2009 at 09:46 AM.
Posted by itisme1760, 07-10-2009, 09:58 AM
There was an outage overnight. But none of the support tickets are getting through because they have a "License Validation Failed" for their WHMCS. My site has been 500'ed for 2 days now and no response from the D-Man.
Posted by evildarkness, 07-15-2009, 12:19 AM
lanehost dowen for 5 last day and all of service's down no support ticket's answered ! what happened? i yhink this is the server movement operation ! but it still to long!!!
Posted by Glostar, 07-16-2009, 09:52 AM
LaneHost's servers are down again. I cannot open even their website.
Posted by dmdstar, 07-16-2009, 12:11 PM
Might want to try to get ahold of Derrick for an "official" statement, if you can. What I noticed while I was with them is that they tended to get very quiet when things are going wrong.
Posted by itisme1760, 07-16-2009, 11:25 PM
Yup, they are looking quite down to me...
Posted by geekie246, 07-17-2009, 01:58 AM
Easier said than done! LOL!
Posted by itisme1760, 07-17-2009, 02:00 AM
I Twittered @LaneHost asking why the servers are down, but have received no response yet. I hope he checks his twitter reply stream frequently! I have $50 left in server credits. After this runs out, I'm definitely leaving for a better hosting company.
Posted by geekie246, 07-17-2009, 02:18 AM
He hasn't updated the LaneHost twitter stream in over 2 weeks. His DerrickLane twitter stream was updated a few days ago. Try calling his number at the office / cell phone.
Posted by DStar, 07-17-2009, 08:44 AM
Anyone have Derrick's cell phone number?
Posted by Glostar, 07-17-2009, 10:14 AM
one you can find in his domain whois http://whois.domaintools.com/lanehost.com Technical Contact: LaneHost Solutions, Inc. +1.8006535509 Fax: +1.8323449721 15209 Westheimer Ste 110 26 Houston, TX 77082 US
Posted by geekie246, 07-17-2009, 10:29 AM
That's not up-to-date. I wish the current customers Good Luck in getting him. When there's problems, Derrick used to just disappear for days and days.
Posted by DStar, 07-17-2009, 10:56 AM
Calling the toll-free line and it's unavailable. Anyone have any idea where the local or "remote off-site" datacenters are?
Posted by geekie246, 07-17-2009, 11:08 AM
softlayer is their data centre I think.
Posted by DStar, 07-17-2009, 11:48 AM
Sites are working again (including lanehost support) but cpanel license is expired.
Posted by Glostar, 07-17-2009, 12:19 PM
With cpanel license is ok with my server, I am no Spot. What server are you on?
Posted by dmdstar, 07-17-2009, 01:34 PM
He actually gave me his cell phone once, but I can't seem to find it. I think I deleted everything Lanehost from my inbox when I switched.
Posted by DStar, 07-17-2009, 01:59 PM
And down again.
Posted by DStar, 07-17-2009, 02:38 PM
Whoo, cpanel! Up again.
Posted by evildarkness, 07-18-2009, 04:05 AM
all of my visitor's lost!!! this server's not goning to work again?
Posted by geekie246, 07-18-2009, 10:08 AM
Do yourselves a favour. Leave LaneHost. After migrating the majority of my clients several months ago and just finished migrating several accounts prior to this latest outage. I feel your pain, but take some advice - SWITCH HOSTS!
Posted by geekie246, 07-18-2009, 05:16 PM
If you need his cellphone number, drop me a note. I can provide it. I also have his home number if it still works. Derrick & LaneHost change numbers more frequently than my wife changes her mind.
Posted by dmdstar, 07-18-2009, 10:50 PM
I don't need it. I switched from them last year when this thread first started... I'm sure the others here might enjoy it though. Though it pains me, I advise a hasty retreat. I always like to give someone the benefit of the doubt, but Lanehost rolled over me too many times last year so had to give up on them.
Posted by geekie246, 07-19-2009, 08:03 PM
If anyone needs it, I have it. I will gladly give it. However, it simply rings to dead air right now. I'm sure that Derrick either has it cancelled or forwarded.
Posted by evildarkness, 07-23-2009, 10:06 AM
i want to migrate from lane host , but all the server down and i cant access to my panel and pick my backup and support not abswered to tickets!!!! plz guide me !
Posted by UH-Matt, 07-23-2009, 10:14 AM
This thread is a month old and NOW you want to migrate?.
Posted by dmdstar, 07-23-2009, 10:24 AM
Actually, this thread is over a year old.
Posted by dmdstar, 07-23-2009, 10:30 AM
Without getting ahold of Derrick directly, I think you are out of luck. This is the reason I left last year. The servers went down without notice, and support was completely unavailable. One of the reasons I keep weekly full offsite backups of all my sites as well (scripted cron job FTP's cpanel full backup files to different server). At the very least, if my current host went up in smoke (unlikely), I lose a week's worth of data. I know this isn't much comfort to you now, but hopefully food for thought after you switch. In the past, when Lanehost went down, sometimes I was able to hit the server via it's IP address (ie. DNS is down, but I could still go to http:///cpanel or FTP to it's IP to download files. Worth a try, at least.
Posted by geekie246, 07-24-2009, 05:45 PM
Try his cell number if you have it ... if not, send me a message, I'll provide it.
Posted by indiaberry, 08-10-2009, 02:15 PM
I am very stress out and frustrated right now about my website being suspended. I sent them a ticket about 6 hours ago with print screen proof that paypal had tried to send them the money on the 1st and 4h of this month. My payment was due on the 6th. Paypal wrote me to let me know that the subscription failed because of a problem with lanehost's account. When paypal tried to send them the money again on the 9th, lanehost cancel my subscription and charge me a $6 late fee. I am still waiting to hear from lanehost on this matter. I tried to call the number that they provide but it didn't work.
Posted by dmdstar, 08-10-2009, 02:24 PM
The phone number on their website hasn't worked for a year and a half (he used to say it was being fixed). I recommend sending geekie246 (previous post) a PM for Derrick's cell #. Without getting ahold of him directly, you might be in a bad way.
Posted by indiaberry, 08-10-2009, 04:08 PM
I am frustrated right now that no one had bother to response to my support ticket yet. I do not want to have to move to another company that offer reseller package with complete freedom and dedicate ip address.
Posted by dmdstar, 08-10-2009, 04:19 PM
No one wants to move to a new host as it's a pain in the rear for many reasons; but if you aren't getting a response from support, and phone numbers aren't working, I can tell you that I, for one, would be host shopping immediately (in fact, that's the situation I was in with Lanehost last year when I ultimately moved on). Hopefully you have recent backups. In my case, my customers are very important to me, and it was worth moving them to a more expensive host in order to ensure good support and reliability. After more than a year, I can say I'm very happy with the move, despite it costing quite a bit more. I'd rather have a cut into my profit margin than having to deal with a host with magically disappearing support when things go wrong.
Posted by indiaberry, 08-10-2009, 04:48 PM
I am looking for a new host to move to for September. If someone would pm me some good reseller company, I will be glad to check them out before signing up.
Posted by indiaberry, 08-10-2009, 09:30 PM
Okay my problem was fixed. I was frustrated. He apologized for that.
Posted by geekie246, 08-11-2009, 06:41 PM
Do yourself a favour and move from LaneHost. The company has only one admin, Derrick Lane - he is extremely difficult to contact, cares nothing about his customers and is very unreliable. There phone numbers on their site have not worked for over a year, their blog and forum links are not working and haven't for about 3 months, and Derrick doesn't care 1 bit. SWITCH NOW that you have access to your sites. Trust me, it will go down, you will lose everything.
Posted by dmdstar, 08-11-2009, 11:10 PM
I have to agree with geekie-- Now that you have access, it's a good time to make full backups of all your sites, and initiate a move.
Posted by geekie246, 08-12-2009, 10:15 AM
It's only a matter of time before Derrick Lane disappears AGAIN, the servers crash AGAIN. Just think about it - they can't even fix their own forum or their own blog - it's been down for a month. They cannot keep a phone number active - it's been down for over a year. At one point when I was with them, all LaneHost servers got suspended by their own provider - the data centre - because of a credit card payment problem. Derrick will apologize and come up with every EXCUSE in the book. Been there, have the extra large T-Shirt from them. You've got access to data, move now while you have the opportunity. It's that simple.
Posted by dmdstar, 08-12-2009, 10:22 AM
Can't agree more. Sounds like you and I were in the same boat together, there geekie. Your story sounds very familiar.
Posted by geekie246, 08-12-2009, 02:28 PM
I'm pretty sure we have more than the same story. Got every excuse such as friend got killed, parents sick, fiance left him etc etc etc Derrick Lane of LaneHost must have the book of "Lame"-Host excuses, and regardless of how sincere you may think that he is, at the end of the day, it's sad that you pay for such crappy service. It's only a matter of time until LaneHost disappears.
Posted by magicvorlon, 08-13-2009, 05:06 PM
Yes, he has a fantastic book of excuses at home. I`m tempted to ask if he will sell me a copy so I can use them at work. Honestly when I was with them, I heard at least a dozen different reasons for the problems I endured! Their forum is probably offline because it was mostly full of complaints about poor service! Just remember, you get what you pay for. For 10 bucks a month or whatever it was - for what was being offered, is it any wonder the service dollar store quality.
Posted by geekie246, 08-16-2009, 02:52 AM
Looks like LaneHost is down again.
Posted by Hostify Networks, 08-16-2009, 01:47 PM
I think they've been bought by another company. Also, even though I no longer have an active account, they felt that it was necessary to send this email to me twice. and another this morning
Posted by geekie246, 08-20-2009, 02:20 PM
Interesting development. I suspected that something was up some time back. The server outage was related directly to credit card being rejected. The nature of the outages experienced when I was a client pointed clearly towards a poorly run company that was struggling behind the scenes. Just look at it: 1) No phone service 2) Outages related to credit cards 3) disappearing "admins" 4) 2 or 3 data centre changes in 4 months (from what I could tell) 5) consolidating servers consistently to "save" money Glad I bailed before this all went through.
Posted by indiaberry, 08-20-2009, 11:45 PM
My account will be cancel at the end of billing cycle, which is the first week of September. My websites had already be transfer to another webhost the other week.
Posted by indiaberry, 08-21-2009, 02:23 AM
I forgot to mention that I asked them to cancel it at the end of billing cycle. And when they tried to pressure me to stay, I told them to cancel my account right away... and they did that. So my hosting service is canceled as of this moment.
Posted by Dustin B Cisneros, 08-21-2009, 02:26 AM
Well im not sure how they pressured you but it's common to see a provider try to see what the problem is and if they can resolve it. (which i see nothing wrong with) May i ask who's your new provider?
Posted by dmdstar, 08-21-2009, 09:22 AM
Congratulations!
Posted by dmdstar, 08-21-2009, 09:24 AM
I felt the same pressure from Derrick when I asked to cancel my account (no refund, by the way) -- However I allowed him two rounds of excuses after the third, I was done.
Posted by indiaberry, 08-21-2009, 03:51 PM
Read the last post on page 15 in this thread. Earlier this year I was on vacation without Internet access when my sites were suspended because of a problem with their paypal account. I am not waiting around for that to happen again. I have am very comfortable with my new provider.