Recommend a good host?

[Neverwhere]

I have a client that has a .net site that needs some work done on it, but its hosted in the US.

I need to make a copy of the site, so that I can work on it without affecting the original, so I'm looking for a local host to upload the mirror too, get it going, and use it as a test environment.

I need it to be online rather than on my local machine because the client needs to work with it a little too.

It's currently hosted on an IIS6 server and the SQL version is 2005. IIS is ASP/ASP.NET 2.0 & 3.5

Can anyone recommend a good local hosting company that'll meet these needs? I'm new to windows hosting and .net, so I'm not sure if there's anything I need to look out for.. like if I used IIS7, would I end up with problems etc.. I'd just rather match the original host as closely as possible, so when I push changes I made on the test site, to the original site, things won't break.

Thanks!

 

[SilverNodashi]

Do you need to host the website on a server in South Africa specifically, or are you just looking for a company with local presence?

 

[purpleonlineadmin]

Hi Neverthere

I would definitely recommend http://www.123media.co.za/

My company deals with them and their service is outstanding. All of the websites we develop are hosted by them and there are never any issues.

 

[jasonvisser]

Hi Neverthere

If you are looking to move from IIS6 to 7, its quite easy as MS kept this in mind for upgrades.

As for the hosting I was recommended to these guys http://www.clickworks.co.za last year and no problems with their service or support.

Goodluck with your search.

 

[Neverwhere]

Thanks guys, I'm taking a look at your suggestions..

@SoftDux-Rudi - I only want it local for increased speed. In the past I've worked on many php based sites, a lot of wordpress too, and though I do the initial setup and tweaking on my local machine, then I upload it to the clients hosting (mainly in the US as all my clients are from there). When I need to make little tweaks, or add features, I generally ftp into the site with an IDE like aptana or eclipse, and I can just open the files and make the tweaks - but saving takes a few seconds each time, and it's a little frustrating when you're doing it often.

I've done the same on a locally hosted site for a friend, and saving files is lightning fast.

Because this is going to be a mirror of the original site, specifically meant for me to just mess about on, I want to work on the live files, and see my changes instantly, and the client needs to see them too from time to time, so I figure a local hosting company would just be easier to work with speed wise.