I'm going to release my website (global, hopefully successful and with large traffic :-)) in a couple of months so I'm starting to think about server.
I was convinced that a managed server would be the best solution for me since I'm not experienced in server administration. However the price for managed server is rather high so now I'm considering virtual non-manged server hired from a hosting company.
I'm an experienced programmer, with masters in IT, skilled to install ubuntu, apacahe, php, mysql but have done it only on my local machine (no server administration skills at all).
If I followed howtos and configs from internet would you recommend me to manage the server myself or do you think it would be more efficient/safe to have a professional to take care of it (for 60 euros a month though)? I'm not going to be a VM/admin guru my intent is only to save money.
What it takes to run such a server? Do I need to be an expert at iptables and security in general if it's a hired virtual server?
What would you recommend me to do?